“How can we?” asked Cathalina. “It’s almost time for the bell now, and I’ve got oodles of work to do tonight.” “After study hours. If I can I’ll get permission for a midnight feast. If I can’t, come around for a little while between study hours and lights out anyhow. Grace has a lovely cake from home and she is over at the janitor’s now, engaging his wife to make sandwiches and lemonade for us. I’m going to see if we can’t sit up to have it. It’s Friday night—the fatal thirteenth of the month, too—and no school tomorrow, of course, and I haven’t asked for a special thing this year. It’ll be a pity if I can’t have a single party! O, yes, wear a sheet and some sort of a white muslin mask,—just holes to breathe, talk and see through, and better wear white gloves or cover up your hands some way, ’cause we’d recognize your hands, you know. And think up the most scary ghost story you know to tell when you join the magic circle by moonlight! Isabel, you’ll have to think up something besides the woman in black. I’ll send you all word if we can have it. If we can, come in your ghostly garb at ten bells!” “Won’t it be fun!” “Elo’ ought to ask the ‘mysterious’ girl to a ghost party.” “O, it’ll just be our bunch, I think,” said Isabel, with much pride in belonging to it! “Why should she ask Louise Holley? She’s older, and then we just called her ‘mysterious’ at first.” “I’m not so sure that there isn’t something queer about her,” said Hilary, creating quite an impression; for Hilary was regarded as very “level-headed.” “After being so snippy to Cathalina at first, she has been in to see her a number of times lately, and hinted very broadly after hearing about my visit that she would ‘so enjoy New York.’ She asks such funny questions, and shuts up like a clam about herself,—of course we haven’t asked anything after the first things one would naturally ask at school, and got snubbed for them!” A smothered sneeze from around the corner made the girls stop talking and look at each other. “Somebody’s been listening,” whispered Cathalina. “Trying to find out about our party! I hope she hears a lot of good about herself,” promptly and pertly spoke Isabel, the last quite loudly. Hilary sprang up from the ground and hurried around the corner. But she was too late. “Whoever it was either skipped out into the grove or whisked into the side door. It’s of no use to follow, too many girls everywhere. She’d be strolling along like one of them.” Friday was the accustomed night for the occasional “midnight feast”, official name for any sort of affairs after hours. Privileges of this kind were granted only to girls of good standing in both character and lessons at Greycliff. As Eloise qualified in both lines she had no difficulty in securing the desired permission. “Be quiet, though,” she was admonished. “O, it’s an especially quiet party,” and Eloise laughed to think of the ghostly plans. With such assurance, Miss Randolph dismissed Eloise with a smile.