Gypsy stood still and winked fast for about a minute.

Then Joy heard a fall and a bubbling laugh.
"That old Tom! It's nothing but a broom-handle and a sheet.

Oh, Joy, just come and see!" After that, Joy declared she wouldn't go to the wood-shed alone, if she dressed without a fire the rest of her life.

So Gypsy started with her, and they crept downstairs on tiptoe, holding their very breath in their efforts to be still, the stairs creeking at every step.

Did you ever _particularly_ want stairs to keep still, that they didn't creak like thunder-claps?
The girls managed to get into the wood-shed, fill their basket, and steal back into the kitchen without mishap.