an endless stock of jokes, which
he fired off like crackers among the girls. They all knew him well, as
he often came to Heathercliffe House. His daughter Doris had been
educated there, and though she was now nineteen, she was fond of her
old school, and had accompanied her father this evening to watch the
fireworks.

"Out of my way!" shouted Mr. Cameron; "make room for the principal
figure, the leading actor on the stage, we may call him, and if you
don't admire him, it's your own bad taste!"

He was staggering from the house as he spoke, carrying in his arms a
huge guy, stuffed with straw, whose comical red face, dangling arms,
and helpless legs roused shouts of laughter all round.

"There," said Mr. Cameron, seating him on a convenient barrel in the
midst of the bonfire, "anyone can change places with him who likes; he
mayn't look clever, but at any rate I can guarantee he'll get a warm
reception before he even takes the trouble to open his mouth. Now
then, stand back, children; we're going to begin."

[Illustration: "IN A FEW MINUTES A GRAND BLAZE WAS FLARING UP"]

The gardener had brought out a large torch, which he applied to some
loose shavings, and in a few minutes a grand blaze was flaring up,
catching the boxes, hampers, and brushwood of which the pile was
composed. Mr. Cameron fastened a match to the end of a pole, and,
lighting it, approached within a few feet of the guy.

"Now look," he said; "watch very carefully, and you'll see him roll
his eyes."

He applied the match to the mask where two small pin-wheels had been
fitted in front of the empty sockets. They went off immediately, and
gave exactly the appearance of two horrible, flaming eyes whirling
round and round in the big head. The younger children screamed and
clung delightedly to the elder ones, and even Miss Kaye was quite
startled at the effect.

"Now he's going to talk," declared Mr. Cameron; "he's like the girl in
the fairy tale who dropped diamonds and pearls whenever she opened her
lips."

He held his lighted pole to the guy's mouth, where a Roman candle was
hidden inside, and out came balls of red and blue and green, shooting
into the air one after another with great brilliance. By this time the
flames had reached his arms and legs, which, being stuffed with squibs
and crackers, exploded with much noise, and the luckless conspirator
disappeared with a crash into the midst of the burning barrels, to the
accompaniment of a storm of