it,” she said at last.
“What are we going to call our costume in the contest?” asked Caroline. “Just ‘shrub’?”
“Something that will appeal to the principal,” Eddie said. She thoughtfully chewed her lip. “I’ve got it. A natural habitat’¡ That’s what we’ll call ourselves.”
By the time they had put the sticks in the garage, Mother was standing at the door waiting for them: “I’ve made a pie for the Hatfords, and I want you girls to take it over,” she said. “Just give it to whoever answers the door. Tell them it’s in appreciation for the boys washing our windows. I’ve put it in this old hatbox and stuck a note inside.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” said Eddie.
“Why would I be kidding?” Mother looked at her curiously. “You know, there are times I think I haven’t raised you girls right. Maybe people just aren’t as neighborly in Ohio, but here in West Virginia you show people you’re grateful when they do something for you. It’s the least we can do.”
“I’ll bet they throw it in the river,” murmured Caroline.
“Throw it in the river¡ Why in the world would they do that?”
Caroline didn’t even get a chance to tell Mother she was to be Goblin Queen in the fourth-grade play, because moments later she was crossing the swinging bridge, her sisters beside her, carrying the old hatbox with Mother’s pumpkin chiffon pie inside it.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Eight
•
Pumpkin Chiffon
“L ook!” said Josh.
Wally looked where his brother was pointing. On the bank, across the river, Caroline and her sisters were down by the water gathering sticks.
The boys moved behind some wild rhododendron and watched.
“What do you suppose they’re up to?” asked Jake.
Josh turned to Wally. “Your class isn’t doing a project with sticks, is it?”
Wally shook his head.
“Maybe they’re going to have a fire in their fireplace,” suggested Peter.
“The Bensons left them stacks and stacks of wood,” Jake told him. “This has got to be something else. What do you think, Wally?”
Wally watched the girls without answering. Hewatched them holding the sticks up in the air, sort of like poles for a tepee.
“A tepee/’ he said.
“That’s it!” cried Jake. “Wally, you’re a genius¡ They’re going to come to the Halloween parade as a tepee and Indians¡ Eddie will probably be the tepee and Beth and Caroline will be the chief and squaw.”
“Wow!” said Peter admiringly.
Wally felt sick. The Malloys would win for sure. Nobody had ever entered the parade before as a tepee and Indians. How could they ever top that?
“How can we top that?” asked Josh.
“We don’t have to top it!” Jake answered. “All we have to do is stop it. All we have to do is dress up like something that would naturally knock down a tepee. Think , everybody!”
“A train?” said Peter.
“Not a train, dum-dum.” A car?
“Peter, we’re talking Old West here, way back before there were any cars. C’mon, Wally. What could it be?”
Wally tried to remember pictures he’d seen in his history book, in the chapter called “Westward, Ho!”
“Buffalo,” he said.
“That’s it!” cried Jake. “We’re buffalo. We don’t have to be vultures after all. Josh, you’ve got to design some new costumes.”
The boys went on home and made milk shakes in the kitchen to celebrate.
“I didn’t think they’d be a centipede,” Josh said. “I’ll bet they whispered that just loud enough for Peter to hear so it would throw us off. They probably knew already they were going to be a tepee and Indians.”
“All this time they’ve probably been working on their costumes—the chief’s headdress and everything—while we were trying to find something that looked like vultures’ claws,” said Josh.
Ding dong.
Jake had just turned off the blender and was pouring the
“What are we going to call our costume in the contest?” asked Caroline. “Just ‘shrub’?”
“Something that will appeal to the principal,” Eddie said. She thoughtfully chewed her lip. “I’ve got it. A natural habitat’¡ That’s what we’ll call ourselves.”
By the time they had put the sticks in the garage, Mother was standing at the door waiting for them: “I’ve made a pie for the Hatfords, and I want you girls to take it over,” she said. “Just give it to whoever answers the door. Tell them it’s in appreciation for the boys washing our windows. I’ve put it in this old hatbox and stuck a note inside.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” said Eddie.
“Why would I be kidding?” Mother looked at her curiously. “You know, there are times I think I haven’t raised you girls right. Maybe people just aren’t as neighborly in Ohio, but here in West Virginia you show people you’re grateful when they do something for you. It’s the least we can do.”
“I’ll bet they throw it in the river,” murmured Caroline.
“Throw it in the river¡ Why in the world would they do that?”
Caroline didn’t even get a chance to tell Mother she was to be Goblin Queen in the fourth-grade play, because moments later she was crossing the swinging bridge, her sisters beside her, carrying the old hatbox with Mother’s pumpkin chiffon pie inside it.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Eight
•
Pumpkin Chiffon
“L ook!” said Josh.
Wally looked where his brother was pointing. On the bank, across the river, Caroline and her sisters were down by the water gathering sticks.
The boys moved behind some wild rhododendron and watched.
“What do you suppose they’re up to?” asked Jake.
Josh turned to Wally. “Your class isn’t doing a project with sticks, is it?”
Wally shook his head.
“Maybe they’re going to have a fire in their fireplace,” suggested Peter.
“The Bensons left them stacks and stacks of wood,” Jake told him. “This has got to be something else. What do you think, Wally?”
Wally watched the girls without answering. Hewatched them holding the sticks up in the air, sort of like poles for a tepee.
“A tepee/’ he said.
“That’s it!” cried Jake. “Wally, you’re a genius¡ They’re going to come to the Halloween parade as a tepee and Indians¡ Eddie will probably be the tepee and Beth and Caroline will be the chief and squaw.”
“Wow!” said Peter admiringly.
Wally felt sick. The Malloys would win for sure. Nobody had ever entered the parade before as a tepee and Indians. How could they ever top that?
“How can we top that?” asked Josh.
“We don’t have to top it!” Jake answered. “All we have to do is stop it. All we have to do is dress up like something that would naturally knock down a tepee. Think , everybody!”
“A train?” said Peter.
“Not a train, dum-dum.” A car?
“Peter, we’re talking Old West here, way back before there were any cars. C’mon, Wally. What could it be?”
Wally tried to remember pictures he’d seen in his history book, in the chapter called “Westward, Ho!”
“Buffalo,” he said.
“That’s it!” cried Jake. “We’re buffalo. We don’t have to be vultures after all. Josh, you’ve got to design some new costumes.”
The boys went on home and made milk shakes in the kitchen to celebrate.
“I didn’t think they’d be a centipede,” Josh said. “I’ll bet they whispered that just loud enough for Peter to hear so it would throw us off. They probably knew already they were going to be a tepee and Indians.”
“All this time they’ve probably been working on their costumes—the chief’s headdress and everything—while we were trying to find something that looked like vultures’ claws,” said Josh.
Ding dong.
Jake had just turned off the blender and was pouring the
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