Roman-candles--they cost a shilling; some Italian streamers, a fairy
fountain, and a tourbillon that cost eighteen-pence and was very nearly
worth it.

But I think crackers and squibs are a mistake. It's true you get a lot
of them for the money, and they are not bad fun for the first two or
three dozen, but you get jolly sick of them before you've let off your
sixpenn'orth. And the only amusing way is not allowed: it is putting
them in the fire.

It always seems a long time till the evening when you have got fireworks
in the house, and I think as it was a rather foggy day we should have
decided to let them off directly after breakfast, only Father had said
he would help us to let them off at eight o'clock after he had had his
dinner, and you ought never to disappoint your father if you can help
it.

You see we had three good reasons for trying H. O.'s idea of restoring
the fallen fortunes of our house by becoming bandits on the Fifth of
November. We had a fourth reason as well, and that was the best reason
of the lot. You remember Dora thought it would be wrong to be bandits.
And the Fifth of November came while Dora was away at Stroud staying
with her godmother. Stroud is in Gloucestershire. We were determined
to do it while she was out of the way, because we did not think it
wrong, and besides we meant to do it anyhow.

We held a Council, of course, and laid our plans very carefully. We let
H. O. be Captain, because it was his idea. Oswald was Lieutenant.
Oswald was quite fair, because he let H. O. call himself Captain; but
Oswald is the eldest next to Dora, after all.