The groan was repeated, and then they realized that it said, "Welcome, welcome!" but in such a wailing voice that it seemed to add to the gloom. The voice proceeded from a figure draped in a white sheet. "Hello, Ghost!" said King, who knew that Dick Fulton himself was wrapped in the sheet. "O-o-o-o-ugh!" groaned the ghost. "You don't seem to feel well," said Marjorie, giggling. "Poor Ghost, why don't you go to bed?" But before the ghost could speak again, a gorgeous witch came prancing up, carrying a broomstick wound with red ribbons. The witch was all in red, with a tall peaked hat of red, covered with cabalistic designs cut from gilt paper and pasted on. She groaned and wailed, too, and then spoke in a rapid and unintelligible jargon. The Maynards knew that this witch was Gladys, but some of the guests did not know it, and were greatly mystified. A few older persons, whom Mrs. Fulton had invited to help entertain the children, were stationed in the various rooms. Dressed in queer costumes, they played bits of weird music on the piano, or struck occasional clanging notes from muffled gongs. All of this greatly pleased Marjorie, who loved make-believe, and she fell into the spirit of the occasion, and went about on tiptoe with a solemn, awed face. Indeed she made the ghosts and witches laugh in spite of their wish to be awesome. The rooms were decorated to befit the day, and great jack-o'-lanterns grinned from mantels or brackets. Autumn leaves were in profusion, and big black cats cut from paper adorned the walls. Soon the party were all assembled, and then the games began. First, all were led out to the kitchen, which was decorated with ears of corn, sheaves of grain, and other harvest trophies. On a table were dishes of apples and nuts, not for eating purposes, but to play the games with. There were several tubs half filled with water, and in these the young people were soon "bobbing for apples." On the apples were pinned papers on which were written various names, and the merry guests strove to grasp an apple with their teeth, either by its stem or by biting into the fruit itself. This proved to be more difficult than it seemed, and it was soon abandoned for the game of apple-parings. After an apple was pared in one continuous strip, the paring was tossed three times round the head, and then thrown to the floor. The initial it formed there was said to represent the initial of the fate of the one who threw it. "Pshaw!" said Marjorie, as she tried for the third time, "it always makes E, and I don't know anybody who begins with E." "Perhaps you'll meet some one later," said Mrs. Fulton, smiling. "You're really too young to consider these 'fates' entirely trustworthy." Then they all tried blowing out the candle. This wasn't a "Fate" game, but there were prizes for the successful ones.