l volunteer as
longshoremen?"

There was a quick response, and this group exhausted all the boys. They
were designated by arm bands each marked LONGSHOREMAN. Then she called
for girls for the other two detachments and divided them into two
sections, one marked SORTERS and the other DISTRIBUTORS.

Under Roger's direction a chair, turned over on its face, made a
sloping gangplank down which the bundles could be slid.

"Have your lieutenants place their men around the deck and on each side
of this plank," he instructed the captain. "Then order a few
longshoremen to go aboard and hand the bundles from one to another and
slide them down the plank to the men on the pier who will take them over
to the sorters. You," he called to the girls, "you stay at that side of
the room and open these large parcels when they are brought to you, and
you read what it says on the packages and make two piles, one of those
marked 'Boy' and the other of those marked 'Girl'. Then there are
bundles marked with the children's names. Give them out. See that
everybody has one package marked with his name and one package just
marked 'Boy' or 'Girl'."

The Ethels had proposed this arrangement so that all the children should
feel that the distribution of gifts had been made by chance. The parcels
bearing the children's names were filled with candy and goodies and were
all alike.

"Didn't I tell you they'd like foolishnesses!" she said to Helen in an
undertone. "Look at those boys with jumping jacks. They love them!"

"See those youngsters with those silly twirling things Tom made," said
Della. "He's right about the charm of those little flat objects. They'll
twirl them by the hour I really believe."

All the gifts were of the simplest sort. There were the Danish twins
that Ethel Blue had made for the real Ship--little worsted elves
fastened together by a cord; and rubber balls covered with crocheting to
make them softer; dolls, small and inexpensive, but each with an outfit
of clothes that would take off; a stuffed kitten or two; several
baskets, each with a roll of ribbon in it.

"They can fit them up for work baskets afterwards, if they want to,"
said Margaret, "but I'm not going to suggest sewing to these youngsters
who have to do it every day of their lives whether they want to or not."

There were various kinds of candy in boxes covered with bright colored
and flowered paper, for James had outdone himself in developing new
pasting ideas.