a hoarse whisper, pointing to the tall phantom.

"That's telling," said Elmer, laughing. "Ask him yourself who he is."

"Who?" grunted Dolly again, addressing herself to the tall one.

"Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-Eater!" and the tall ghost grunted out the words
from one corner of his mouth and Dolly could not recognise the voice.
As the ghost spoke he patted Dolly on the head.

Dolly disliked his manner, for none of the other boys were other than
correctly formal and polite, so she turned away from him, making a
gesture of dismissal with her hand.

Apparently "Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-Eater" was desolated, for he put his
hands to his eyes and rocked himself back and forth with wailing groans
of despair. He was funny, and Dolly had a great desire to know who he
might be, but she did not like the familiarity of his manner, and she
turned away to speak to some one else.

"Take partners for a Virginia reel," called out Mr. Holmes, "and after
that, we will unmask for supper."

The next moment Dolly found the tall ghost bowing before her and
evidently asking her to dance with him.

But instinctively she felt that she preferred not to dance with a
partner who was what she called "fresh" in his manner and she shook her
head in refusal.

"Peter" urged and begged her, in dumb show, to consent. Dolly was
tempted to do so, for his gestures were pleasantly wheedlesome, but as
she held out her hand in half consent, Peter grasped it and falling on
one knee kissed it with his hand on his heart with all the effect of a
most devoted cavalier.

"He's too silly!" Dolly thought to herself; "I won't dance with him, for
I don't know how he would carry on. But I wonder who he is."

So Dolly turned decidedly away from the tall suitor and found two other
ghosts bowing before her and evidently requesting her to dance.

She looked at the two figures and having no idea who they might be, she
hesitated which to choose.

Finally, with a white-gloved finger, she touched each in turn, "counting
out."

"My--mother--told--me--to--take--this--one!" She mumbled, in a
monotonous singsong tone.

And then as her final choice rested on one of the ghosts, she went away
with him to take her place in the lines that were forming for the dance.

Dolly was at the end of the line of girls and opposite her, of course,
was her partner. Next to Dolly's partner stood the tall ghost and as
Dolly looked at him, he waved his hand at her and then lightly blew her