he’s great!”
“Pipkin—?”
“Hospital—?”
“Great—?”
The air jumped out as if each had been punched in the stomach. Then the air went in and out again in a great rave, a yell, a ragged shout of triumph.
“Pipkin, oh, Pipkin, Pip!”
And the boys stood on Pipkin’s lawn and the sidewalk in front of Pipkin’s porch and house and looked with numb curiosity at each other as their smiles spread and their eyes watered and they yelled and the happy tears ran down their cheeks.
“Oh, boy, boy oh boy, oh boy oh boy,” said Tom, exhausted, and weeping with happiness.
“You can say that again,” said someone, and they all said it again.
And they all stood there and had a fine happy cry.
And since the whole night was turning soupy with tears, Tom looked around and revved them up. “Look at Pipkin’s house. Don’t it look awful? Tell you what we do—!”
And they ran and each came back carrying a lit pumpkin and lined them up on Pipkin’s porch rail where they smiled outrageous smiles to wait for Pipkin to come home.
And they stood on the lawn and looked at the lovely sight of all those smiles, their costumes tattered upon their arms and shoulders and legs, and the greasepaint dripped and running on their faces, and a great wondrous happy tiredness gathering in their eyelids and arms and feet, but not wanting to go yet.
And the town clock struck midnight— GUNNNG!
And gunnng again, to a full count of twelve.
And Halloween was over.
And all about the town, doors were slamming and lights going out.
The boys began to drift saying Night and Night and again Night and some Good Night but most Night, yes, Night. And the lawn was empty, but Pipkin’s porch was just full of candle illumination and warmth and baked pumpkin smell.
And Ghost and Mummy and Skeleton and Witch and all the rest were back at their own homes, on their own porches, and each turned to look at the town and remember this special night they would never in all their lives ever forget and they looked across the town at one another’s porches but especially on and over across the ravine to that great House where at the very top Mr. Moundshroud stood on his spike-railinged roof.
The boys waved, each from his own porch.
The smoke curling out of the high Moundshroud gothic chimney fluttered, motioned, waved back.
And still more doors were slamming to lock all around town.
And with each slam, one more pumpkin and then another and another and another on the huge Halloween Tree snuffed out. By the dozens, by the hundreds, by the thousands, doors banged, pumpkins went blind, snuffed candles smoked delicious smokes.
The Witch hesitated, went in, shut the door.
A Witch-faced pumpkin on the Tree went dark.
The Mummy stepped into his house and shut his door.
A pumpkin with the face of a mummy extinguished its light.
And finally, the last boy in all the town remaining alone on his veranda, Tom Skelton in his skull and bones hating to go in, wanting to wring the last dear drop from his favorite holiday in all the year, sent his thoughts on the night air toward the strange house beyond the ravine:
Mr. Moundshroud, who are YOU?
And Mr. Moundshroud, way up there on the roof, sent his thoughts back:
I think you know, boy, I think you know.
Will we meet again, Mr. Moundshroud?
Many years from now, yes, I’ll come for you.
And a last thought from Tom:
O Mr. Moundshroud, will we EVER stop being afraid of nights and death?
And the thought returned:
When you reach the stars, boy, yes, and live there forever, all the fears will go, and Death himself will die.
Tom listened, heard, and waved quietly.
Mr. Moundshroud, far off, lifted his hand.
Click. Tom’s front door went shut.
His pumpkin-like-a-skull, on the vast Tree, sneezed and went dark.
The wind stirred the great Halloween Tree which was now empty of all light save one pumpkin at the very top.
A pumpkin with Mr. Moundshroud’s eyes and face.
At the top of the house, Mr.
“Pipkin—?”
“Hospital—?”
“Great—?”
The air jumped out as if each had been punched in the stomach. Then the air went in and out again in a great rave, a yell, a ragged shout of triumph.
“Pipkin, oh, Pipkin, Pip!”
And the boys stood on Pipkin’s lawn and the sidewalk in front of Pipkin’s porch and house and looked with numb curiosity at each other as their smiles spread and their eyes watered and they yelled and the happy tears ran down their cheeks.
“Oh, boy, boy oh boy, oh boy oh boy,” said Tom, exhausted, and weeping with happiness.
“You can say that again,” said someone, and they all said it again.
And they all stood there and had a fine happy cry.
And since the whole night was turning soupy with tears, Tom looked around and revved them up. “Look at Pipkin’s house. Don’t it look awful? Tell you what we do—!”
And they ran and each came back carrying a lit pumpkin and lined them up on Pipkin’s porch rail where they smiled outrageous smiles to wait for Pipkin to come home.
And they stood on the lawn and looked at the lovely sight of all those smiles, their costumes tattered upon their arms and shoulders and legs, and the greasepaint dripped and running on their faces, and a great wondrous happy tiredness gathering in their eyelids and arms and feet, but not wanting to go yet.
And the town clock struck midnight— GUNNNG!
And gunnng again, to a full count of twelve.
And Halloween was over.
And all about the town, doors were slamming and lights going out.
The boys began to drift saying Night and Night and again Night and some Good Night but most Night, yes, Night. And the lawn was empty, but Pipkin’s porch was just full of candle illumination and warmth and baked pumpkin smell.
And Ghost and Mummy and Skeleton and Witch and all the rest were back at their own homes, on their own porches, and each turned to look at the town and remember this special night they would never in all their lives ever forget and they looked across the town at one another’s porches but especially on and over across the ravine to that great House where at the very top Mr. Moundshroud stood on his spike-railinged roof.
The boys waved, each from his own porch.
The smoke curling out of the high Moundshroud gothic chimney fluttered, motioned, waved back.
And still more doors were slamming to lock all around town.
And with each slam, one more pumpkin and then another and another and another on the huge Halloween Tree snuffed out. By the dozens, by the hundreds, by the thousands, doors banged, pumpkins went blind, snuffed candles smoked delicious smokes.
The Witch hesitated, went in, shut the door.
A Witch-faced pumpkin on the Tree went dark.
The Mummy stepped into his house and shut his door.
A pumpkin with the face of a mummy extinguished its light.
And finally, the last boy in all the town remaining alone on his veranda, Tom Skelton in his skull and bones hating to go in, wanting to wring the last dear drop from his favorite holiday in all the year, sent his thoughts on the night air toward the strange house beyond the ravine:
Mr. Moundshroud, who are YOU?
And Mr. Moundshroud, way up there on the roof, sent his thoughts back:
I think you know, boy, I think you know.
Will we meet again, Mr. Moundshroud?
Many years from now, yes, I’ll come for you.
And a last thought from Tom:
O Mr. Moundshroud, will we EVER stop being afraid of nights and death?
And the thought returned:
When you reach the stars, boy, yes, and live there forever, all the fears will go, and Death himself will die.
Tom listened, heard, and waved quietly.
Mr. Moundshroud, far off, lifted his hand.
Click. Tom’s front door went shut.
His pumpkin-like-a-skull, on the vast Tree, sneezed and went dark.
The wind stirred the great Halloween Tree which was now empty of all light save one pumpkin at the very top.
A pumpkin with Mr. Moundshroud’s eyes and face.
At the top of the house, Mr.
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