we should have! I've hired costumes
before, and they charge a terrific amount for them," commented Francie.

"It's rather fun to make our own, especially when we're all limited the
same as to material," maintained Nora.

The girls usually did needlework after supper, but this evening the
sitting-room was to be devoted to the sale. Mollie and Phyllis were wise
in their generation, and, anticipating a stampede, they picked out
Gertrude Holmes and Laura Norris as being the most stalwart and
brawny-armed among the damsels of St. Elgiva's, and set them to keep the
door, admitting only two at a time. Even with this precaution a rather
wild scene ensued. Instead of keeping in an orderly queue, the girls
pushed for places, and there were several excited struggles in the
vicinity of the stairs. As each girl came out, proudly exhibiting what
she had purchased, the anxiety of those who had not yet entered the
sitting-room increased. They were afraid everything might be sold before
it came to their turns, and had it not been for the well-developed
muscles of Gertrude and Laura, the fort might have been stormed and the
stores raided.

Mollie and Phyllis had invested their capital with skill, and showed an
assortment of white and coloured crinkled papers, cheap remnants of
sateen, lengths of gay butter muslin, and yards of ribbon. For the
occasion they assumed the manners of shop assistants, and greeted their
visitors with the orthodox: "What can I show you, madam?" But their
elaborate politeness soon melted away when the customer showed signs of
demanding more than her portion, and the "Oh, certainly!" or "Here's a
sweet thing, madam!" uttered in honeyed tones, turned to a blunt "Don't
be greedy!" "Can't give you more than your shilling's worth, not if you
ask ever so." "There won't be enough to go round, so you must just make
what you've got do. Not a single inch more! If you don't go this minute
we'll take your parcels back. We're in a hurry."

By using the greatest dispatch Mollie and Phyllis just managed to
distribute their goods before the bell rang for prayers. The ribbon and
sateen were all bought up, and the crinkled paper which was left over
they put aside to make decorations for the hall.

Next day St. Elgiva's was given up to the fabrication of costumes. The
girls retired to their dormitories, strewed their beds with materials,
and worked feverishly. In No. 9 the excitement was intense. Sylvia, who
intended to repre