The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Brownie Scouts in the Cherry Festival, by Mildred A. Wirt

Six needles nibbled at the gay scraps of cotton cloth. Six pairs of scissors went snip, snip, snip as the Brownie Scouts worked at their sewing in the Williams’ living room.

The girls were making a crazy quilt. Dark-eyed Veve McGuire, who hated to sew, declared that the task was as silly as the quilt’s name.

“Oh, bother!” she exclaimed as her thread tangled into an ugly knot. “Why not pitch this old thing and think of an easier way to earn money?”

“I don’t mind sewing,” piped up Rosemary Fritche, who always liked to be cooperative.

“Neither do I,” chimed in Connie Williams. A leader among the Brownies, she had worked very hard to make the organization a success.

Eileen Webber and Jane Tuttle, the other two girls who made up the Rosedale Brownie Scout troop, nodded sober agreement.

Miss Jean Gordon, the Brownie leader, had suggested weeks before that the girls sew and sell the quilt to raise money.

No one wanted to be disloyal or lazy. But the girls had stitched steadily for nearly six meetings now. Even for Connie and Rosemary, who liked to sew, the task was becoming a bit tiresome.

“How else could we make money?” speculated Jane. She folded her patchwork and gazed thoughtfully at Veve.

“W-e-ll—” Veve was unprepared for the question. “We could tend babies maybe. Or run errands.”

“Everyone thinks we’re too young to look after babies—for pay, that is!” returned Jane, tossing her long, yellow pigtails.

“And folks always forget to offer money when you do something for them,” added Eileen.

“Well, there must be some way we could earn money,” Veve insisted. “Maybe there’s an advertisement in the paper.”

Taking the afternoon paper from the table, she spread it out before her on the rug.

Veve was still studying the ads when Miss Gordon came briskly into the living room. The Brownie leader, who also taught fourth grade, had brought a plate of freshly baked cookies and a pitcher of chocolate milk.

“Any tired little Brownies here?” she asked in her cheery voice. Miss Gordon was very pretty, always pleasant, and the girls loved her.

“Piecing blocks is hard work,” grumbled Veve. “The thread tangles. Besides, I pricked my finger twice!”

“Dear me, I’m afraid this session of sewing has run on a little too long,” replied the Brownie leader. “But making a quilt is so worth while. And you’ve done splendidly!”

Miss Gordon placed the pitcher of milk on the table as she bent to inspect the pieced blocks.

All the Brownies except Veve had done very well indeed. So rapidly had the quilt grown, that very soon it would be ready for the quilting frames.

Now the coverlet was an amazing thing. Blocks4 were of all color, shape and size. A red triangle of cloth taken from one of Connie’s cotton frocks, snuggled against a square which once had been part of Eileen’s outgrown black checked jumper.

Even the stitching was different. Rosemary had used beautiful feather stitching. Connie had pieced her blocks with a briar stitch. Veve had used very plain and long ones.

Nevertheless, the over-all effect was pleasing despite the “crazy” hit-or-miss pattern which gave the quilt its name.

“My thread knotted,” Veve explained. Out of the corner of her eyes, she had noticed that Miss Gordon frowned as she examined a badly stitched orange block. “Anyway, I don’t like to sew!”

“Why, Veve!” Miss Gordon smiled at the little girl. “Our lovely quilt is nearly finished now.”

First she unknotted the tangled thread and sewed a few neat stitches just to encourage Veve.

Then she told the Brownies they might put away their patchwork for the day. Connie and Sunny began to pass the cookies and glasses of cool milk.

Veve scarcely nibbled at her cookie. Instead, she kept reading the advertising page of the paper.

“I wish I could find an easy way to make money,” she mumbled. “Only no one seems to want a baby sitter.”

“Beautiful patterns were originated by pioneer women who outdid themselves to see how cleverly they could piece the blocks,” she declared. “Many of our earliest American patterns were adapted from designs on rugs and shawls brought to this country from Europe and the Orient.”

“‘The Hand of Friendship,’ and the ‘Pine Cone.’ My mother has one she calls an ‘Album’ quilt.”

“Altogether, there are hundreds of patterns,” explained the Brownie leader. “Some of the better quilts were signed with the name of the maker.”

“Is that the same thing as an autograph quilt?” asked Connie. She had heard her mother speak of such a coverlet.

“No, in a true autograph quilt, each block was6 inscribed with the name of the person who made it,” Miss Gordon replied. “Many of the blocks were dated.”

“Were the names stitched on?” inquired Sunny, reaching for her third sugar cookie.

“Sometimes they were. Then again they often were written on the block with indelible pencil or ink. These old type quilts are historically important.”

Having ended her little talk, Miss Gordon handed around several books which showed quilt patterns in beautiful colors.

Veve, however, was too deeply absorbed in the newspaper to look at the pictures when they were passed to her.

“Girls, how would you like to have a quilt show?” Miss Gordon asked unexpectedly.

All the Brownies pricked up their ears and listened hard. Even Veve forgot for a minute that she didn’t much care for anything connected with quilts.

“How can we have a show when the only quilt we own isn’t finished?” This practical question came from Connie.

Miss Gordon explained that she did not expect the Brownies to sew all the quilts which would be displayed in the show.

No, indeed! Instead, she proposed that the girls borrow from their acquaintances as many different types as they could.

“I know where I can get a beautiful orange and yellow one,” added Connie. “It’s called the ‘Sunburst’ pattern and is out of this world!”

The girls chattered excitedly, discussing where they could obtain quilts to display in the Brownie show. Veve, however, was more interested in the advertisement page of the Rosedale Herald.

Suddenly she uttered a squeal of delight. “Say, I’ve found it! This ad is just the thing!”

“Oh, who wants to be a baby sitter?” scoffed Eileen. “Having a quilt show will be more fun.”

“Who’s talking about being an old baby sitter?” Veve thrust the newspaper page under the other girl’s eyes. “This is a chance to make real money!”

Veve’s announcement took the Brownies so by surprise that they stopped eating cookies.

“Where?” questioned Connie. Although she intended8 to remain loyal to Miss Gordon and the quilt show, she couldn’t help being interested.

“Just read the ad!” Veve had jumped up from the rug and was prancing around the room like a frisky steed.

“How can anyone read it with you hopping up and down?” Eileen demanded. “Hold still a minute!”

As Veve quieted down, the Brownies crowded around to see the advertisement for themselves.

It read: “Cherry Pickers Wanted Immediately. Two Cents a Pound. Apply Wingate Farm, Rt. 1, Clove Rd.”

“Two cents a pound!” Veve chortled. “I bet I could pick a hundred pounds in just a few minutes.”

“Like fun you could,” scoffed Jane Tuttle. “Where is Clove Road anyhow?”

“Just at the edge of town,” supplied Connie. “I’ve seen the Wingate Farm too. We drove past it one Sunday afternoon when the cherries were in bloom. Oh, the orchard was pretty then!”

“Cherry picking might not be so bad,” spoke up Sunny Davidson. “And we could earn money fast.”

Miss Gordon waited until the Brownies had talked about the matter for a while. Then she said:

“Girls, not for anything would I discourage you9 in any of your plans. However, I think cherry picking might be very hard work. Perhaps more tiring than sewing quilt blocks.”

“It would be exciting though,” Veve cut in quickly. “We’d earn a lot of money too for our troop.”

“I’m a little afraid the advertisement may have been intended for grownups,” the Brownie Scout leader went on.

“You mean they wouldn’t take children as pickers?” Veve asked, her disappointment keen. “Why, we’d be good at it.”

“I’m sure you would, dear. It’s possible they’d take Brownies, but—”

“Then why don’t we do it?” Veve broke in before the teacher could finish. She was eager to have the matter decided at once.

“I’ll find out!” Veve offered. “As soon as the Brownie meeting is over, I’ll ride out there on the bus and talk to the man in charge.”

“I suppose it will do no harm to investigate,” she admitted. “But you mustn’t go alone or without your mother’s consent.”

Veve’s mother worked in a downtown office. However, the little girl knew how to reach her.

“Why don’t we appoint Veve and Connie to find out all about it?” Rosemary proposed, winding up the discussion. “That is, if their mothers will let them go.”

So the decision was reached that the two girls, after obtaining permission, should make the trip to Wingate Farm that very afternoon.

Upon their return they were to report to Miss Gordon, who would notify the other Brownies.

“We’ll have to work fast to get the job,” Veve said anxiously. “I imagine a lot of people may have read the advertisement.”

The meeting now broke up with all the girls singing the Brownie organization song.

Immediately afterwards, Veve telephoned her mother to ask if she might go to the orchard. The distance by bus was not far.

“Why, yes, if Connie is going with you,” Mrs. McGuire consented after hearing the plan. “But don’t stay late.”

Mrs. Williams was quite busy washing dishes the Brownies had used for their refreshments.

“If only I had the car this afternoon, I gladly would drive you out to the orchard,” she told her daughter. “How far is it, dear?”

“Oh, not far,” Connie assured her. “Veve and I don’t mind a bit going by bus. We’ll be back long before dark.”

“We don’t dare wait, Mother. If we do, other folks will get the job instead of our Brownie organization.”

Mrs. Williams knew that this might be true. So after thinking a moment, she said Connie might go.

The two girls wore their Brownie beanies and put on light coats over their brown pinchecked uniforms. Mrs. Williams gave Connie enough bus fare for both girls.

Veve frequently took a bus downtown and knew which one they must catch to reach the outskirts of Rosedale.

“It’s marked ‘Crosstown,’” she told Connie. “I don’t think the bus runs very often though. We’ll have to watch sharp or we may miss it.”

In about ten minutes along came a yellow bus which had “Crosstown” printed on a card in the front window.

When it stopped at the curb, Veve and Connie climbed aboard. They dropped their fare into the box.

Then, just to make certain they were going the right direction, Veve said to the driver:

“It’s on Clove Road,” shouted Connie. She had to yell to make herself heard above the roar of the big motor and the clash of gears.

“Clove Road?” The bus driver shook his head. “This bus only goes to the city line. Clove Road’s a half mile beyond.”

“You can transfer at the city line,” the driver said, stopping for a traffic light. “You’ll have a twenty minute wait. Board a Fulton bus and it will take you directly to Wingate Farm. Coming back you may be able to catch a Rosedale bus which will eliminate the twenty minute wait. Got it?”

So they asked the driver to say it over once more. To make sure she wouldn’t forget, Connie then wrote it down on paper.

“If we have to wait twenty minutes each way, we may be late getting home,” she said anxiously as they took seats.

“Oh, we can hurry after we get to Wingate orchard,” Veve replied. She was not in the least worried.

Soon it had arrived at the city line and the end of the run. The friendly bus driver told the girls it was time to get off.

“Don’t forget,” he directed them. “The Fulton bus stops across the street. It should come along in twenty minutes. Don’t miss it, because after it leaves, another isn’t due for a long while.”

“We won’t miss it,” laughed Veve. “A Brownie Scout always is punctual.”

She was thinking that upon more than one occasion Veve had been tardy for Brownie meetings.14 Once too, when the troop was on its way to Snow Valley, she had nearly missed the train.

“We have lots of time to look around,” Veve remarked. “Twenty whole minutes.”

They gazed into a drugstore window before crossing the street to the other bus stop.

“Let’s get a dish of ice cream,” Veve proposed. “One with nuts and whipped cream on it.”

“Why, Veve, you greedy girl! Didn’t you have milk and cookies at the meeting?”

“You’re always hungry,” Connie accused. “We might miss our bus if we don’t stay right here.”

“Oh, all right.” Reluctantly, Veve gave up the idea. “It will be tiresome waiting, though.”

After a while, Connie arose and sauntered a short distance down the walk. She tried stepping over each crack. It seemed to make the time pass faster.15 The little girl had counted twelve cracks when she paused near a large white house. Something in the back yard drew and held her attention.

“It’s as nice as any of those pictures Miss Gordon showed us,” Veve agreed, joining her friend.

“Well, it won’t take long to find out. Come on!” Veve seized Connie’s hand, pulling her a few steps along the sidewalk.

Pausing only a moment to admire the green and white quilt, the girls went directly to the door and16 rapped. A long while elapsed before they heard footsteps.

Finally, a pleasant-faced woman in a blue house dress came to the door. She smiled in a very friendly way when she saw the girls, for she recognized their Brownie uniforms.

“Well, I declare! Brownies!” she greeted them. “I’ll venture you’re selling cookies.”

“Oh, no,” Connie said breathlessly. “We saw your quilt on the line. It’s very beautiful.”

“The green and white one?” the woman asked, pleased that the girls had noticed it. “My mother made that particular one. It’s called the ‘Sawtooth’ pattern.”

“We were wondering—” Connie became a trifle ill at ease, then went quickly on, “—you see, our Brownie Troop is planning a quilt show. Miss Gordon—she’s our leader—asked each Brownie to get as many quilts as possible to display. So we thought—”

“We thought you might be willing to let us have your quilt—just for the show, that is,” Veve cut in quickly. “We will have to have your answer right away.”

“Right away?” the lady repeated. “Dear me, you have taken me so by surprise. I suppose you might have the quilt if I were certain it would be returned in good condition.”

“Oh, thank you,” Connie said gratefully. “We can’t take the quilt now, but we’ll come back later for it.”

“Dear me, you are in a hurry,” observed the lady. “You haven’t even told me your names or the troop to which you belong.”

Connie supplied the information, all the while keeping her eye on the bus stop. It seemed to her that twenty minutes must be nearly up.

“My name is Mrs. Grayson,” said the nice lady. “I have several other quilts, though none quite as nice as the ‘Sawtooth.’ But I do have something you should see!”

“An old woven coverlet. It is blue and white and shows the face of George Washington.”

“Yes, the coverlet is an historical treasure. It is in perfect condition. You really should have it for your exhibit as it is much nicer than the Sawtooth quilt.”

“We’ll see,” promised Mrs. Grayson. “Before we decide, I’ll show it to you.”

By this time both Connie and Veve were becoming uneasy about how fast time was slipping away.

“We have to catch a bus,” Connie explained regretfully. “Please, may we come back tomorrow to see the coverlet?”

With a little squeal of dismay, she seized Connie’s hand. Not even taking time to say good-bye to Mrs. Grayson, they made a dash for it.

Already the bus had pulled up at its regular stop. Only two passengers alighted and not a single one got on.

“Hey, the driver’s not going to wait!” Veve cried in panic. “He hasn’t seen us!”

The bus driver, however, did not see them. Already19 several minutes behind schedule, he slammed the door, and drove away.

They gazed down the road at the fast disappearing bus, and then looked at each other.

“It wasn’t anyone’s fault,” Veve replied in a subdued voice. “It—it just happened.”

“And now we’re stranded here.” Connie sounded a bit frightened, as indeed she was. “The driver told us another bus wouldn’t be along for a long time. Now what are we going to do?”

CHAPTER 2
Cherry Pickers Wanted

QUILTS and coverlets no longer seemed important to Veve and Connie as they realized that they were stranded at the bus stop.

An hour might pass before another Fulton bus came along. How were they to reach the cherry orchard?

“We never should have gone to that lady’s house to see the quilt,” Connie said, self-accusingly. “Oh, dear!”

However, Mrs. Grayson had been watching the21 two girls from her front porch. Of course she knew that they had missed their bus. Still wearing a kitchen apron, she came down the sidewalk toward them.

“To Wingate Farm,” Veve supplied. She had to sniff very hard to keep from crying.

“Why, that’s not far,” declared Mrs. Grayson. “I know! I’ll get the car out of the garage and drive you there.”

“Oh, will you take us?” Connie asked, all dimples. “Won’t it make you too much trouble?”

Mrs. Grayson re-entered her own home to change from her apron. Less than five minutes later she came outdoors again, this time wearing a hat and a light tan coat.

“Here we are,” she said, bringing her coupé to a standstill beside the curb.

Connie slid in beside Mrs. Grayson, while Veve22 sat on the outside. On the way to Wingate Farm, the girls chatted gaily, telling about their Brownie Troop and the quilt show which was planned.

Veve told her too about the exciting times the Brownies had enjoyed the previous year—at Snow Valley, and later with the circus folk. Both of these stories are related in the volumes, “The Brownie Scouts at Snow Valley,” and “The Brownie Scouts in the Circus.”

“I was the youngest Brownie to be ’nitiated,” Veve explained proudly. “Miss Gordon says I make more trouble than all the others put together. That’s because I’m always thinking up things to do.”

“Veve once was carried away on a sled hooked to an automobile,” Connie revealed. “Then another time, she crawled into a circus car and—”

“Never mind that,” broke in Veve. “I’m grown up now. Was it my fault we missed the bus?”

“No, it wasn’t,” Connie admitted. “Anyway, it’s much nicer riding with Mrs. Grayson.”

The girls began to talk of quilts once more. Mrs. Grayson told them that there were some which had political or patriotic names such as the Union Calico quilt, the Yankee Puzzle and the Confederate Rose.

“And do you have samples of them?” Connie asked23 eagerly. She hoped, of course, that the unusual quilts might be obtained for the Brownie quilt show.

“The only quilt of quality I have is the one you saw,” the woman replied. “And then, the woven Washington coverlet.”

“May we have them both for our Brownie display?” Connie asked the question before Veve could frame the same one.

“Yes, I think I can promise you the quilt and the coverlet,” Mrs. Grayson replied.

Veve sat very still for a moment. She was glad that Connie had obtained both a quilt and a coverlet for the show. All the same, she wished she had thought of asking for them first.

Mrs. Grayson had slowed the car to peer at mailboxes along the road. The name, Carl Wingate, had been painted on one of them.

All along the road the cherry trees were so loaded with scarlet fruit that the boughs hung almost on the ground. The girls had never seen a more beautiful sight.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right now?” Mrs. Grayson asked, opening the car door.24 “Oh, yes,” Connie assured her. “Thank you for the ride and the quilt.”

Scarcely noticing as Mrs. Grayson drove on, the girls gazed up and down the road. On either side, as far as could be seen, stretched row upon row of cherry trees.

“It looks like a sea of red,” Veve declared in awe. “There must be millions and millions of pounds of cherries here! Don’t you wish we could pick them all?”

Both girls were now in high good humor, thinking of the money they and the other Brownies would make for the troop. Unfastening the gate, they walked between rows of cherry trees, up a winding driveway toward the house.

When the two girls were half-way up to the dwelling, they heard someone speaking in a loud, angry voice. At first they could not guess who might be talking, for they could not see the speaker.

“Juan, you’re a lazy, no-good!” the man shouted. “Three times today I’ve told you not to bruise the fruit in stripping it! But do you pay attention? Not25 the slightest. Either you’ll take orders, or quit the orchard. Savey?”

Veve and Connie had rounded a bend in the road and now were able to see the two speakers. The man, who wore a rough checkered shirt and large straw hat, was short and fat. His sunburned face twisted into hard lines as he talked.

The one he addressed appeared to be a Mexican lad, no older than 10 or 12 years of age. Juan was dressed in ragged grayish-white trousers and shirt. He too wore a straw hat to protect himself from the sun, but was barefoot.

The boy scooted off with his empty cherry pail as the girls approached. Rather nervously, Connie and Veve spoke to the man, who eyed them in a most unfriendly way.

Connie and Veve gazed at each other in dismay. From the very first moment, they had disliked this man because of his rough way of speaking. And now he proved to be Mr. Wingate, the man for whom they expected to work!

“Well, what d’you want?” the owner of the orchard repeated. He fast was losing patience. “Out with it!”

“Please—” Connie swallowed twice and struggled on. “We would like a job picking cherries.”

“Oh, no!” Connie corrected. “We’re an organization. Our troop motto is: ‘Lend A Hand.’ That’s what we want to do here at your cherry orchard.”

“For pay, that is,” added Veve. She was afraid Mr. Wingate might get the wrong idea.

“I hire only experienced pickers,” the orchard owner said. “Can’t use kids.”

“Sure, but he’s one of the Mexicans. I use a crew of ’em—professional pickers. A stupid lot too!”

“I need experienced pickers, sure. My fruit is ripening fast and if I don’t get it marketed, I’ll lose a nice profit.”

“Then may we have the job?” Veve asked hopefully. She did not like Mr. Wingate, but she thought he might be nicer to the Brownies than to Juan.

“Listen!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once! I hire only experienced pickers. I can’t be bothered with a bunch of fairies—”

“Brownies,” said Connie, flushing. “And we are dependable. Ask Miss Gordon.”

“Run along,” Mr. Wingate ordered. “I have work to do and you’re bothering me.”

Thus dismissed, Veve and Connie dejectedly walked back to the main road. After all their hopes and plans, they were not to be allowed to pick cherries. It was very discouraging.

“Never mind, Veve,” her friend said to cheer her. “We’ll make money when we sell the crazy quilt.”

“I don’t think it would have been very nice working28 for Mr. Wingate, Veve. He talked so ugly to that little Mexican boy. Miss Gordon never would have wanted us to work for him.”

“And he was fussy about the way the cherries were picked,” Veve agreed. “I guess it wouldn’t have been much fun.”

Arm in arm, the girls walked up the road, looking for a bus stop. They were becoming tired now, and wished that Mrs. Grayson had waited for them. Evidently, she had driven on home, for her coupé was nowhere to be seen.

“I’m thirsty,” Veve said presently. “I wish I had a drink of water. Or maybe a handful of those cherries.”

Thoughtfully she gazed toward a tree whose heavily laden branch hung over the fence.

“Oh, no you don’t!” said Connie, reading her mind. “Those cherries belong to Mr. Wingate. Not to us. We’re not taking a single one.”

“Who wants any of his stupid old fruit? Anyway, I think the trees on the other side of the road have larger and riper cherries.”

“Oh, I’m not swiping anything,” Veve retorted.29 “But it doesn’t do any harm to think how nice those juicy cherries would taste. SAY—”

The last was uttered in a loud voice, for the little girl had noticed a painted sign on the fence to the left.

“That’s us!” exclaimed Veve. “We’ll get a job for the Brownies yet!”

Connie, however, was less enthusiastic. She pointed out that very likely if they applied, they would be turned down again.

“We’ll get home somehow,” Veve waved aside the objection. “Don’t you want a job, Connie?”

“But this is across the road, so it can’t be his orchard. The gate’s just ahead. Let’s go in, Connie. I’ll do the talking this time.”

The barrier had been securely fastened with a chain. The girls could not open it. However, they climbed over and started up the gravel driveway.

Cherry trees were everywhere, fairly dripping red treasure. Under many of the boughs, fruit had fallen to the ground.

A few ladders stood against the low, well-pruned trees. Back in the orchard only a few pickers could be seen.

In vain the girls looked about for a dwelling. Where a house once had stood there now was only a gaping, burned-out hole.

“Why, the place is all gone except its foundation!” Veve exclaimed. “The house must have burned a long while ago, and never was rebuilt.”

The only building to be seen was a long, low shed in which cherries were sorted and packed for market.

A bent old man, his back toward them, busily packed cherries into a big box. He whirled around upon hearing footsteps. And a shaggy white dog that had been dozing in a corner, sprang up with a warning snarl.

“Down, Cap!” the old man ordered the animal. To the girls he said: “Don’t be afraid. He won’t bite you or anyone else. I keep him on the place to frighten off intruders. His bark, though, is all bluff.”

Thus reassured, Veve and Connie stood their ground. They rather liked the old man who looked31 like a farmer in blue overalls and white shirt. His face was friendly and his eyes twinkled as he studied them.

“I’m Pa Hooper,” he introduced himself. “What may I do for you young ladies?”

Now this made Connie and Veve feel quite at ease. And even Cap tried to show them that they were welcome, for he came sniffing at their heels.

“We saw your sign,” Veve said, going directly to the point. “We would like a job picking cherries.”

As Mr. Hooper kept studying her, not saying a word, she told him about the Brownie organization. And Connie added that Mr. Wingate next door had sent them away most rudely.

“We may not be experienced pickers, but we can learn,” she declared. “Just give us a chance and we’ll prove what Brownies can do.”

Pa Hooper was greatly impressed with the direct approach of the two little girls.

He told them he very much needed pickers because some of the larger orchards had hired most of the Mexican pickers.

Unless his fruit could be harvested quickly, he might lose a large portion of it.

“I scarcely know what to say,” he told her kindly. “Cherry picking isn’t as easy as it looks. You might fall from a ladder and hurt yourself. In that case, I’d be liable.”

“Brownies are taught to be careful,” Veve assured him. “You wouldn’t catch us falling off a ladder!”

Pa Hooper chuckled. “I pay a cent and a half a pound for stripping,” he explained. “That’s not as good a rate as some of the orchards offer. It takes a lot of cherries to weigh a pound.”

“We won’t mind,” Connie said. “Please, Mr. Hooper, let us try! The trees aren’t high, and you could let us pick the lower branches.”

“I’ll tell you what I’ll do. Suppose I test you with a half hour’s picking? If you do well, and think you would like the work, then I might hire all the Brownies. How many are there of you?”

Mr. Hooper said he would show the girls as soon as he had finished packing another lug.

Other boxes in the shed were “jumble” pack. This, Mr. Hooper explained, meant that the fruit was not placed in any particular order.

After he had finished sorting cherries for the fancy box, the orchard owner told the girls to follow him.

Mr. Hooper led them to a low-hanging tree near the roadway. Two short ladders already were in place.

The orchard owner showed the girls how to strip cherries rapidly from the trees.

Even if a few stems fell into the pail, it would not matter, he said. Once the cherries reached the canning factory, they would be washed and stemmed.

“I’ll be back here in half an hour,” Mr. Hooper said. He handed each girl a tall tin bucket. “Just be careful. Don’t climb more than a few steps on the ladders.”

Veve and Connie mounted separate ladders. At first they went up only three steps. It was easy to reach the fruit.

“Let’s have a race,” Veve proposed. “I can pick more cherries than you, Connie!”

Both girls stripped as fast as they could. But try as they would, they could not make the fruit fall into the pail as fast as Mr. Hooper had done.

“It’s getting late,” she remarked uneasily. “I wish Mr. Hooper would come back.”

The girls had seen one Rosedale bus pass the orchard, and they knew another soon would be due.

Unless they started for home very shortly they were afraid their parents would worry.

“Oh, here comes Mr. Hooper now,” Veve announced a little later. She felt very much relieved.

“We’ve picked a lot of cherries,” Connie said proudly. “Do you suppose he’ll think we have done all right?”

For a moment she stood quite still on the fifth step of the ladder. From her perch, she could gaze directly across the roadway into the Wingate orchard.

Now in doing so, Veve’s right arm came sharply against the half-filled pail of cherries. It teetered and started to fall.

But her hand missed. Down clattered the tin pail, spilling cherries in every direction!

Nor was that the extent of the disaster. In working convulsively to save the precious fruit, Veve had thrown the ladder off balance.

Then, as she uttered a wild yell, it slipped sideways, hurling her to the ground.

CHAPTER 3
Over the Fence

Connie scrambled down from her own ladder to help her little friend up from the ground.

Veve brushed dirt from her Brownie uniform and picked up the beanie which had fallen from her head. Ruefully she gazed at the spilled cherries. Scarcely a handful remained in the tin bucket.

“Oh, I’m all right,” she muttered, rubbing an elbow. “But see what happened! Now Mr. Hooper won’t want the Brownies to pick in his orchard.”

From a distance, he had seen Veve tumble from the ladder. He was afraid she might have been injured.

“Didn’t I warn you to be careful?” he asked a trifle crossly. “If you had broken an arm—”

“You don’t have to be liable for my fall,” Veve assured him. “I’m not hurt a bit.”

“We tried so hard,” Connie said. She felt quite crushed by the disaster. “I—I guess we aren’t very good pickers.”

Pa Hooper patted her shoulder. “You’ve done well for the first time,” he said, peering into her pail. “It was just an accident. They will happen sometimes, despite precautions.”

“Then you think we’re good enough to get the job for the Brownies?” Veve demanded. Pa Hooper’s words had revived her hope.

Before the orchard owner could reply, Cap gave a little yip to attract attention. Then he sat up and begged, waving his two front paws.

Veve and Connie had to laugh. Cap looked very cute, and seemed to be coaxing his master into saying that the girls might have the cherry picking job.

“So you think I should, eh, Cap?” chuckled Pa Hooper. “That does it, old boy. We’ll hire the Brownies! The entire troop!”

“Whoopee!” shouted Veve. She capered around so madly she nearly upset Connie’s pail of cherries.

“Careful now,” warned Pa Hooper, rather sternly. “Cherry picking is serious business. If you work here you’ll have to obey orders and not act the fool. Furthermore, you’ll have to use the short ladders. I can’t risk having you fall from the top of a tree.”

“We’ll do exactly as you say,” Veve promised. Because she couldn’t curb her high spirits, she broke into a snatch of a Brownie song:

“I hope the Brownies do stay and prove to be good pickers,” Mr. Hooper said, sighing. “I’ve had plenty of trouble with the crop this season.”

“Well, as I said, the larger orchard owners have hired nearly all of the professional pickers. I’m supposed39 to have a crew coming in tomorrow, but they may fail me. And my fruit is ripening fast.”

Mr. Hooper gazed thoughtfully up into a cherry tree as he spoke. The fruit nearly all was bright red and so plump it looked as if it might burst.

“You’ve picked four pounds,” he said. “That’s six cents. After you’ve practiced awhile, you’ll find you can strip the trees three times as fast.”

Pa Hooper told the girls that a professional picker usually made from six to ten dollars a day. The Brownies, of course, never could hope to earn that much.

Instead of paying Connie for the cherries she had picked, Mr. Hooper wrote her name on a card and the amount that was due.

“This is your account,” he said. “If you’re a good picker and stick to it, the sum should grow and grow like Jack’s beanstalk.”

Then and there, both Connie and Veve made up their minds to be the fastest pickers in the Rosedale Brownie troop. They scarcely could wait to return home to relate their good news!

“Be at the orchard early in the morning if you40 want to get a good start,” Mr. Hooper urged. “At least by seven o’clock.”

Now, as a rule, Connie and Veve scarcely had their breakfasts by that hour. You may be sure, though, that they didn’t tell the orchard owner. Instead, they merely nodded and promised to be on hand.

The girls felt quite happy as they trudged to the bus stop. Their arms ached from such fast picking, and Veve had several cherry juice stains on her pinchecked dress. But they were pleased to have obtained a promise of work.

“We should make a lot of money for the troop,” Veve declared as they waited for their bus.

“What if Miss Gordon shouldn’t let us pick?” Connie asked anxiously. “After all, she only told us to find out about the job. Not to take it.”

“And it will be hard getting the Brownies to the orchard by seven o’clock,” Veve added.

“Mr. Hooper really needs our help though. If he doesn’t get pickers soon, his crop will be lost. When the Brownies hear about that, I’m sure they’ll want to pitch in.”

“Sure, they will,” Veve agreed confidently. “If they don’t, we’ll make ’em!”

The arrival of a city-bound bus brought the talk to an end. During the ride into Rosedale, Veve had little to say. After awhile, Connie noticed her companion’s unusual silence.

“Treat them right?” Connie couldn’t understand what Veve meant. “Why, he agreed to pay a cent and a half a pound. That must be a fair price, even if some of the larger orchards pay two cents.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean money, Connie. I was wondering if Mr. Hooper will beat the Brownies if they make mistakes.”

Connie stared at her little friend, who now was etching a face on the dusty bus window.

“Maybe not,” Veve admitted, “but some of the orchard owners beat their pickers.”

Connie had become a bit annoyed. She was quite certain Veve had no reason for making such remarks.

“You saw it?” Connie echoed in disbelief. “Well, I didn’t. And I’ve been with you every minute this afternoon.”

Veve smoothed wrinkles from her skirt. “I saw it from the tree,” she revealed. “That was what made me fall. I was so startled.”

“You must have been looking over into Carl Wingate’s orchard. What did you see, Veve?”

“Mr. Wingate struck Juan with a stick, Connie. I saw it plainly. He hit him hard too.”

The information worried Connie, even though she43 knew the Brownies never would pick cherries in the Wingate orchard.

“Mr. Wingate is a cruel man,” she declared. “I’m surprised that the Mexicans pick for him even if he does pay two cents a pound instead of only a cent and a half.”

“You see now why I fell out of the tree,” Veve defended herself. “I wasn’t awkward. You’d have tumbled too if you’d seen what I did!”

Connie told her little friend that she thought it would be wise not to alarm the Brownies by repeating the story. If they heard about Juan being whipped, they might refuse to pick for Pa Hooper.

The bus now had reached a familiar street. Veve and Connie alighted to walk to their homes. However, because they were in such haste to tell Miss Gordon the good news, they stopped at a drugstore to telephone her.

Pa Hooper’s offer surprised the Brownie leader very much. At first, she hesitated and declared she hardly knew what to say about the girls taking on the picking job.

“Mr. Hooper really needs our help,” Veve urged.44 “And think how much money we will make for the troop.”

Finally, the Brownie leader gave her consent. She said she would telephone each girl personally. If parents were willing, the troop would meet at Miss Gordon’s home the next morning at six-thirty sharp. From there they would drive in the Brownie leader’s car to the cherry orchard.

“Be sure to wear old clothing,” she warned Veve and Connie. “Cherry picking could be very hard on Brownie uniforms.”

The two girls were jubilant as they hung up the receiver. If Miss Gordon called the other Brownies, the cherry picking job was assured!

“We’ll have a lot of fun at Mr. Hooper’s orchard,” Connie declared gaily. “I like him so much.”

“He must be a hermit or a miser or something, living all alone at the orchard.”

“He sleeps in the packing shed.” Veve was proud that she had made the observation. “I saw his cot45 in one corner of the room. He had an electric plate too where he cooks his food.”

“That’s another strange thing, Connie. His home must have burned down a long time ago. Why didn’t he rebuild it?”

Veve had been reading mystery books and considered Connie’s explanation entirely too matter-of-fact.

“That isn’t it at all,” she insisted. “Mr. Hooper must have a special reason for not rebuilding his house. While we’re picking cherries at his orchard, I intend to learn all about it!”

CHAPTER 4
“Tail-ender”

AT six-thirty the next morning, six sleepy-eyed Brownies were at Miss Gordon’s home, ready to drive to the cherry orchard.

Eileen was the last to arrive. Usually she did not arise until eight o’clock and so felt a little cross.

All the girls wore blue jeans instead of dresses, for Miss Gordon had warned them that frocks might be ruined by fruit stains. The Brownie leader had packed enough lunch for everyone, and had filled a thermos jug with hot chocolate.

“All aboard for Pa Hooper’s orchard!” she called, herding the girls into her car. “Time to get started if we’re to arrive there by seven o’clock.”

During the ride to the orchard, the Brownies47 asked Veve and Connie dozens of questions about the work they were to do. Everyone except Eileen thought it would be great fun.

When Miss Gordon was less than a half mile from Pa Hooper’s place, her car was passed by a truck. Mexican workers were leaning over the high sideboards. Seeing the Brownies, they laughed and shouted, and waved their hands.

“They must be pickers for the Wingate place,” Connie declared. She had glimpsed Juan, the little Mexican boy, among the group.

Miss Gordon drove her own car into Pa Hooper’s place. As the girls tumbled out, they noticed only a few persons picking cherries some distance from the packing shed.

“Well, you did come after all!” Pa Hooper exclaimed, walking over to the group. “I need pickers. Ready to start in?”

The orchard owner laughed and said that would depend entirely upon how steadily the girls kept at their picking.

“It’s easy the first hour,” he declared. “After that—well, we’ll see how you hold up.”

Then and there the Brownies made up their minds that even though the job was hard, they would not give up!

Mr. Hooper led the girls to a group of nearby trees. Each Brownie received a pail and was shown exactly how to strip a branch.

“Pick clean and don’t bruise the fruit,” he instructed. “When your pail is filled, weigh in at the shed.”

The orchard owner told the girls to strip only the lower tree branches. He said he could not risk having them fall from the stepladders, and so would leave the higher picking for older persons.

After Mr. Hooper had gone to the shed, the Brownies fell to work with a will. At first the cherries thudded into the tin pails, making a tinkling sound. Soon the bottoms of the buckets were covered.

“I have almost two inches of cherries in my pail!” Rosemary called after a few minutes.

Hearing the report, Veve began to strip at a faster rate, for she was far behind. She had stopped too often to sample a cherry and to look around.

Seeing a clump of especially large cherries directly overhead, the little girl reached for them. Her hand touched something which was dark-green in color and very slimy.

With a squeal of dismay, Veve pulled back. The pail of cherries nearly dropped from her hand. But she managed to save it.

“O-oh, see this horrid creature on the tree!” she exclaimed. “Ugh! It gives me the creeps.”

The other Brownies and Miss Gordon, who were picking close by, came over to look.

“Why, it’s only a harmless little slug,” the Brownie Scout leader laughed. “One frequently finds them amid the foliage.”

Miss Gordon plucked the leaf which the creature had been eating. Half of the soft leaf tissue had been nibbled away, leaving ribs and veins exposed.

“Orchard owners control slugs by spraying with arsenate of lead,” she told the girls. “Somehow, this fellow escaped.”

Veve went back to work but she kept looking at the foliage before she touched it. She did not see another slug.

When Mr. Hooper presently came to the orchard to see how the Brownies were doing, Veve remarked that she thought the trees needed spraying.

“Why, bless you!” the orchard owner chuckled. “Already they’ve been sprayed four times. I put on one early in the season to control scale insects. Then I sprayed a second time just before the blossoms opened up. Since then the trees have had two extra treatments.”

Veve was amazed that so much work was required to keep the orchard in good condition.

“It’s a never-ending battle,” Mr. Hooper sighed. “One has to fight leaf spot, brown rot and the fruit fly, to mention only a few troubles.”

After the orchard owner had returned to the shed, the Brownies picked steadily for a while.

Then Rosemary shouted that her pail was filled. She was far ahead of the other girls.

“My bucket is full too,” announced Miss Gordon. “Come, Rosemary, shall we be the first to weigh in?”

Soon Connie was ready to have her fruit weighed.51 Jane’s pail next was filled. Both girls were proud to have done so well.

“Veve’s the tail-ender!” teased Jane. She whirled around fast and her jeans caught on a strand of wire attached to the fence.

As the little girl pulled away, she heard a tearing sound. A long jagged hole had been torn in the leg of her almost-new jeans.

“Oh, now see what I’ve done!” she exclaimed. “My knee shows right through!”

“That comes from picking so fast,” declared Veve. Actually, Jane had not been stripping the tree at the moment of the accident.

Near tears, Jane hastened to the shed to show Miss Gordon the torn place. Veve followed her, although her pail was not quite filled.

In the shed, Pa Hooper had just finished weighing in the cherries and noting down the amount on cards.

When he saw Veve’s pail, he shook his head. “Only three-quarters filled?” he asked. “Now, it’s a waste of time to weigh in less than a full pail.”

Miss Gordon told Jane she would sew up the tear in the jeans during the lunch hour.

“I have a sewing kit in my car,” she said. “Also a first aid kit. But I hope and trust we’ll not need the latter.”

“Will it soon be lunch time?” Rosemary asked. Already she was growing hungry.

After Pa Hooper had weighed all the fruit, the Brownies returned to their posts. Soon their arms began to ache from reaching up into the branches. And as the sun rose higher and higher, they became very warm.

However, the Brownies were good sports and not afraid of hard work. No one wanted to be the first to complain or quit, so they all kept on. But everyone, even Miss Gordon, picked at a slower pace.

“No wonder you can’t keep up with the rest of us,” Connie scolded her. “You stop so often to eat.”

Veve knew she deserved the lecture, for she found it hard to keep her mind on work. She liked to watch the other pickers and to glance now and then over53 into the Wingate orchard to see what was going on there.

By eleven-thirty the Brownies were so hungry they declared they were nearly famished. They were certain they could not wait another minute for lunch.

“We’ll weigh in and open up the hamper,” Miss Gordon decided. “My! I wonder if I packed enough lunch?”

All of the Brownies except Veve quickly went to the shed to have their cherries weighed.

“In a minute,” the little girl answered. She did not have many cherries in her pail and was ashamed to have either the Brownies or Mr. Hooper see how poorly she had done.

While the others were in the shed, Veve picked as fast as she could. Even so, her bucket was not half filled.

“Do come along, Veve!” Miss Gordon called. “We’re having our lunch now.”

Veve climbed down from the stepladder and walked slowly toward the shed. The Brownies already were at the car, removing the lunch hamper54 and thermos jug. They planned to eat under a shady oak in the front yard.

“Hurry up, slow-poke!” Jane shouted. “You won’t get anything to eat if you don’t.”

Without going to the shed, Veve covered her pail with a handkerchief, and joined her friends.

“Haven’t you weighed in your cherries?” Connie asked her as she helped to spread a tablecloth under the oak tree.

“I’ll do it later,” Veve mumbled. She knew Pa Hooper would not accept a half bucket of cherries. He had told her twice to fill the container to the brim before bringing it in.

“It doesn’t matter how many cherries anyone picked,” said Miss Gordon quickly. “The important thing is we’re doing useful work and earning money for our troop.”

Miss Gordon said she had not kept accurate account, but she was certain it amounted to several dollars.

The morning work had made the girls very hungry. Although the Brownie leader had prepared two sandwiches for each person, it did not seem enough.55 Veve bolted hers in a twinkling and so did Sunny. The chocolate disappeared equally fast.

“Oh, dear, I’m still hungry,” moaned Sunny. “I could eat anything—anything, that is, except cherries.”

Her remark made Veve think of a little joke. “What’s worse than biting into a worm?” she asked the Brownies.

The Brownies did not laugh very hard at Veve’s joke. During the morning picking, nearly everyone had bitten into at least one worm. It had not been a pleasant experience.

“I’m so hungry, I could even go for a worm,” added Veve, just to make the girls shudder. “Say, whose car is that?”

“Why, that’s our car!” cried Connie, leaping to her feet. “It’s Mother!”

Now the Brownies were very surprised and pleased to see Mrs. Williams. Eagerly, they swarmed about the car.

“Oh, those!” smiled her mother. “I thought the girls might want a little more lunch. I baked a cake and made potato salad. But if you’ve already had too much, I can take them home.”

The Brownies carried the baskets to the big oak tree. There, upon the tablecloth, they spread out an array of delicious looking food.

“There’s one back of the shed,” Miss Gordon told57 her. “The water, though, tastes of mineral. You’ll find better water at the spring.”

“Only fifty feet from the entrance gate. Just follow the road.” The Brownie leader pointed out the direction.

Not wishing the other girls to see the contents of her cherry pail, Veve carried it with her.

After she had trudged a short distance along the dusty road, she found the spring. A cool stream of water flowed out of a small pipe.

He had been washing his hands under the stream of water piped from the hillside. One of them seemed to be scratched, for it was bleeding.

Juan glanced up and grinned, his lips parting to show a double row of even, white teeth.

Veve felt quite grownup to be called a senorita, which she knew was a Mexican word for “Miss.” It worried her, though, to see that Juan’s hand had been deeply scratched and bruised.

The Mexican boy shrugged his thin shoulders. “Wingate has an evil temper. He treats all of his pickers mean—but he hates me worse than the others. Often he beats me.”

“I know! I saw him strike you with a stick only yesterday. Why do you work for him?”

“The pickers have a contract,” Juan explained. But he added darkly, “We may break it. Si! If we leave before the fruit is harvested, then he will be sorry!”

“I should think so,” agreed Veve soberly. “Juan, wait here! I am going to get Miss Gordon’s first aid kit and wrap up your hand.”

She ran to the car for the materials she needed—cotton, gauze, iodine and tape. Returning to the spring, she dressed the cut as Miss Gordon had shown the Brownies how to do, and taped on the bandage.

The finished job did not look too neat, but Juan said it was fine and made his hand feel better. He seemed very grateful.

“How do you like stripping cherries?” he inquired. “Does the orchard owner beat you if you damage the fruit?”

Juan had glanced at Veve’s nearly empty pail. “How many pounds a day can you pick?” he asked.

Juan did not say anything, but from the way he smiled, Veve knew he did not think she had picked very many cherries.

Before Veve could prevent it, he picked up his own filled bucket and dumped cherries into hers until it was ready to overflow.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have done that!” she exclaimed. “Mr Wingate won’t like it.”

“Who cares for that old goat?” scoffed Juan. “He has no friends. Hooper, his own relative, dislikes him—and for good reason too. Si!”

Before Juan could answer, he heard his name angrily called. Mr. Wingate stood at the entrance to the orchard, gazing toward the spring.

“Si, Senor,” the little Mexican boy muttered. Picking up his nearly empty pail, he smiled again at Veve, and ambled up the road.

Back at the Hooper orchard, the Brownies had finished their lunch and were ready to resume their picking.

“Where’s Veve?” Jane demanded impatiently. “She’s always late. She hasn’t even weighed in her last picking.”

“That’s because she didn’t have enough cherries to turn in,” said Eileen.

“Who says I haven’t any cherries?” she demanded, offering her pail in proof. “Full to the brim!”

The Brownies were amazed. They had been so certain that Veve’s bucket was nearly empty.

“Oh, I’m a fast picker,” laughed Veve. Then, because she knew a Brownie had to be honest, she added: “Well, maybe I had some help!”

The girls plied her with questions. Finally, after she had tantalized them, Veve told about her meeting with the Mexican boy.

“One can’t blame the Mexican pickers for thinking of leaving if they are mistreated,” remarked Miss Gordon when she heard Juan’s conversation repeated. “However, I hope they don’t. If the pickers should go away from the area before the fruit is marketed, it would be most serious for all of the orchard owners.”

The Brownies now were well fed, rested, and ready to return to their work. Connie’s mother was sorry she had not worn old clothes so that she too might help.

“Perhaps I’ll come again tomorrow,” she declared. “That is, if it doesn’t rain.”

The sky had become slightly overcast. Although it did not look as if it would rain very soon, a storm appeared in the offing.

While the other Brownies returned to their trees, Veve went to the shed to have her cherries weighed.

“You did very well,” Pa Hooper praised as he marked the poundage on her card. “Guess you’re finally getting the trick of it.”

Veve flushed and decided then and there that during the afternoon she would keep her mind on her work.

“Oh, Mr. Hooper,” she said suddenly. “Is Carl Wingate any relation to you?”

The orchard owner nearly dropped the lug of fruit he was carrying out to load into a truck.

“What made you ask that?” he demanded. He did not seem very pleased by the question.

“Someone put you up to it! Carl Wingate is my cousin. Now get back to your picking and don’t be pestering me with questions.”

Pa Hooper spoke almost crossly. Veve could not understand why her question had annoyed him. She remembered though, that Juan had said something about the orchard owner disliking Carl Wingate.

She meant to learn more about it before the Brownies were through with the cherry picking. However, she would have to bide her time. Pa Hooper, she could plainly see, had no intention of revealing any secrets.

CHAPTER 5
The Brownies Lend a Hand

VEVE awoke the next morning to the sound of rain on the roof. For a moment she lay quite still, wondering if it were time to get up.

“Oh, dear!” the little girl thought. “This means there will be no cherry picking today.”

Veve was not too disappointed, however. For when she rolled over in bed, her shoulders ached and so did the muscles of her legs. She felt as if she could sleep a thousand years.

Just then, her mother called from downstairs: “Time to get up, Veve! It’s after nine o’clock!”

Nine o’clock! When Veve heard that, she rolled out of bed and began to dress. She had not dreamed it could be so late for it looked dark outside. Half the morning already was gone!

Mrs. McGuire had breakfast waiting when the64 little girl came downstairs. She had set out Veve’s favorite cereal, and had cooked tiny sausages.

“U-um, u-um,” Veve declared, smacking her lips. “I’m as hungry as a bear! Cherry picking certainly makes one hungry.”

Mrs. McGuire set a tall glass of milk in front of her daughter’s plate. “I let you sleep late because I knew you were tired,” she said. “There will be no cherry picking today. Miss Gordon called a few minutes ago, to say the Brownies are having a meeting though.”

Veve would have liked to be a little late to cut down her sewing time. She already had one demerit for tardiness, however, and could not risk another. So she decided she would be on time.

After lunch, she changed into her Brownie uniform and went to Miss Gordon’s home. All the girls were65 disappointed by the rain. But they agreed it was a fine time to finish the crazy quilt.

“If we each sew three blocks, it will be finished,” Miss Gordon declared. “Then I’ll put it on the frames and quilt it for you.”

Miss Gordon said she thought the auction and show possibly might be held within a week or ten days.

“It all depends upon when we have our quilts ready to exhibit,” she added. “Let’s have a report now. How many have arranged to have at least one quilt entered in the display?”

Connie quickly announced that she would have two exhibits, the Sawtooth quilt and a woven Washington coverlet.

Rosemary next made her report. She said she had been promised an Evening Star pattern. Eileen was sure she would have one in the Pine Tree design. Sunny’s aunt had given her a very old one, made entirely of little scraps of velvet and silk.

As for Jane and Veve, they both told Miss Gordon they surely would find quilts to enter in the show. Actually, they were a trifle worried, for the time was short.

When four o’clock came, the girls finished the last quilt block, and put away their sewing. They were very tired. But they were happy and proud too, for the crazy quilt now was ready for the frames.

“I’ll stitch in our Rosedale Brownie Troop name,” Miss Gordon promised the girls. “You’ve done quite enough as it is.”

Ice cream and cake were served. Then the girls sang a Brownie song and ended the meeting by repeating the Brownie Scout Promise:

“I promise to do my best to love God and my country, to help other people every day, especially those at home.”

The girls stood at attention as they spoke the words, saluting smartly at the end.

Arm in arm, the Brownies ambled down the street. The rain had ceased, and the clouds were drifting fast as if they might clear away.

“I hope it’s nice weather tomorrow,” Connie said. “I want to pick cherries again.”

At the next corner, the girls began to separate to go to their homes. Veve walked with Connie for67 most of the distance to their street. Then abruptly, she announced that she had to go the other way.

“Why, you don’t live down that street,” Connie protested. “What are you up to anyhow?”

“You’ll hear all about it at the next Brownie meeting,” she laughed. “That is, if I have luck.”

Now Veve had made up her mind to get busy and find a quilt for the show. She had recalled that a lady who lived on White St. had a beautiful one with dogwood flowers across its face. She meant to ask her for permission to display it in the exhibit.

Now Veve knew that the owner of the dogwood quilt was Miss Adelia Brimborough. She had never talked to her, however.

Therefore, the little girl was completely taken by surprise when a tall, prim lady answered her rap on the door.

“Well?” inquired Miss Brimborough. Her tone implied that she was in a great hurry.

Veve started to explain about the Brownie organization and the coming quilt show.

Miss Brimborough scarcely listened. When Veve asked her rather timidly if she would allow her dogwood quilt to be shown by the Brownies, her answer was firm.

“My dear, I am so sorry. I should like to help your fine organization—indeed, yes. But you may not know that my dogwood blossom quilt won second prize in the county fair last year.”

“My dear, I couldn’t risk entering such a valuable quilt in a Brownie show. It might be damaged, you see. Children are so careless.”

“Brownies aren’t,” Veve insisted. “We’re taught to be responsible and to take care of things. If you’ll let me have the quilt I’ll promise—”

“Now please don’t tease,” the lady cut her short. “I am sorry, but I can’t let you have the quilt.”

Veve was tempted to make an unkind reply. She wanted to tell Miss Brimborough that she was mean and selfish.

Just in time, though, she remembered that Miss69 Gordon had said a Brownie must always be courteous even though others might be rude.

With as much dignity as she could muster, Veve said good-bye. She felt bitterly disappointed by the refusal.

Where in the world now would she find a quilt for the show? In all Rosedale she did not know of another person who had a pretty one.

Twenty minutes later, when Veve reached home, her mother had arrived from the office.

“Mom, do you know of anyone who might have a quilt for our Brownie show?” the little girl asked.

Mrs. McGuire, who was making out the grocery list, did not give the question very much thought. “Why, no, dear,” she answered absently. “Must you have one soon?”

“We’ll try to think of someone who has a nice quilt,” her mother said. “Just now I’m so busy—”

The telephone had started to ring. Mrs. McGuire asked Veve if she would answer it.

Taking down the receiver, the little girl was surprised to hear Miss Gordon’s voice.

“Veve,” the Brownie leader said. “I’ve just received a call from Mr. Hooper. He needs our help.”

“At the cherry orchard, you mean?” gasped Veve. She knew Miss Gordon would not have telephoned if the matter were not of utmost importance.

“Yes, this rain has made the cherries ripen very rapidly. Mr. Hooper is afraid he will lose much of his crop if he doesn’t get pickers right away.”

“Not tonight. But he has asked us to report the first thing in the morning. Can we count on you, Veve?”

“Good!” Miss Gordon approved. “I’m calling all the other girls. We’re to meet at my home at six-thirty sharp.”

“Oh, yes, another thing. Mr. Hooper wants us to bring any other pickers we can find. I thought possibly we might induce some of the mothers to go with us.”

“We certainly would,” laughed Miss Gordon. “The71 important thing though is that we have a chance to help Mr. Hooper save his crop. It seems he can’t have his turn at the professional pickers for several more days. By that time he’s afraid his crop will spoil.”

Mrs. McGuire worked nearly every day at a downtown office. It so happened, however, that she was entitled to a little time off.

“I’ll be glad to accompany the Brownies to the orchard,” she assured her daughter. “Until now I’ve had little chance to help the organization. This will give me a splendid opportunity.”

So the next morning, six Brownies and six mothers gathered early at Miss Gordon’s home.

“Thirteen of us,” the Brownie leader declared, counting noses. “Dear me, I hope that’s not unlucky.”

“It will be a lucky number for our Brownie troop!” laughed Connie. “Think how many pounds of cherries we’ll pick today.”

Everyone was in high spirits. The sun shone brightly and the day gave promise of being pleasant. With the mothers going along, the cherry picking would become a real outing.

Veve spied Miss Gordon putting in another large, squarish package which did not look as if it contained anything to eat.

“Surprise,” she hinted mysteriously. “Wait until lunch time. Then you’ll see!”

CHAPTER 6
A Missing Coverlet

VEVE was happy as a lark, humming a Brownie song as she stripped cherries into her pail. Now that she had learned the trick of pulling the fruit from the trees, it was much easier for her to keep up with the other pickers.

“What makes you so chirpy this morning?” demanded Connie, who was picking in the next tree.

“Oh, I’m just feeling top-notch!” laughed Veve. “Thinking of that good lunch we’ll soon be eating!”

“That’s not entirely the reason,” insisted Connie. “You’ve been pepped up ever since we drove out here this morning. In fact—you acted as if you saw something on the way that gave you a big lift.”

“Then you couldn’t have looked where I did,” Veve teased. “I saw it right close to Pa Hooper’s farm—at the first one down the road.”

“Well, I didn’t see anything,” Connie declared. She brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “Stop teasing me, Veve! What did you notice?”

“A quilt hanging on the line!” Veve announced, her eyes sparkling. “Oh, it was a beauty, Connie! Even from the road I could see that the pattern was unusual—all stars and wheels in blue and white.”

“None of the Brownies did. It was flapping there on the clothesline as much as to say, ‘Come and get me, Veve!’ That’s what I intend to do! At lunch time, I’m going to slip over to that house and ask the lady if she’ll let me have the quilt for our show.”

In her enthusiasm, Veve did not realize that she was talking in a loud, shrill voice. Jane Tuttle, who was working in the next tree, heard the conversation. She became so interested that for a minute or two she forgot to pick cherries.

“I guess I won’t be a tail-ender after all!” Veve declared in satisfaction. “I’ll beat Jane!”

The little girl said no more about the quilt. However, when at last Miss Gordon signaled the Brownies that it was time to knock off for luncheon, she was off her ladder in a flash.

“See you later!” she called to Connie. “Save me some lunch, if I’m late.”

Miss Gordon was directing the girls and their mothers to the big oak where lunch was to be served. In counting noses, she failed to see Jane Tuttle.

“Why, I wonder where she is?” she inquired aloud. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her around for the last fifteen or twenty minutes.”

“Jane went to the shed awhile ago to weigh in her fruit,” Sunny informed. “I never saw her come back though.”

At that very moment, one of the girls sighted the missing Brownie. She came walking jauntily through the gate, pigtails swinging. Her shoes were quite dusty, an indication that she had tramped along the road.

“Oh, girls! Guess what?” she greeted the Brownies. Jane looked directly at Veve as she spoke.

Jane laughed. “Off looking for a quilt!” she informed saucily. “Found one too!”

“At the farm next to this one! Oh, it’s a dandy! Blue and white. It’s called the Ship’s Wheel pattern. The lady who owns it says she’ll be glad to let me have it for the display.”

“It wasn’t yours until you had it promised,” chuckled Jane. “The early bird catches the worm, you know! You’re a pretty late bird, Veve.”

“You heard me tell Connie about the quilt!” Veve accused. “Then you sneaked off before I had a chance and asked for it.”

“So what?” laughed Jane. “You can get another quilt. Only of course, this makes you the tail-ender!”

Miss Gordon, who had heard the girls arguing, came over to ask what was wrong. Veve told her what had happened.

“Why, Jane,” the Brownie leader said in surprise. “I didn’t think you would do a thing like that. It doesn’t seem quite honest or fair.”

“I only wanted to get ahead of Veve,” Jane said, now feeling ashamed of herself. “Oh, well! I’ll give her the old quilt.”

“No, thank you,” she said. “I will find another one—a much nicer pattern.”

The other Brownies did not tease Veve about being a ‘tail-ender.’ In fact, they very carefully avoided talking about the Ship’s Wheel quilt. Jane knew that the girls felt she had been unfair in taking Veve’s quilt. She was sorry now that she had done it, but she did not know how to make amends.

The girls and their mothers ate lunch under the oak tree. While they rested, Miss Gordon brought out the mysterious package Veve had seen her slip into the car that morning.

“Here’s the surprise,” the Brownie leader announced. “Our quilt—entirely finished!”

As the teacher carefully spread the quilted coverlet on the grass the girls exclaimed in delight.

The quilt might be “crazy” in pattern, but never had they seen such a splash of gay colors! Blue, gold, red, green, yellow and every hue of the rainbow.

Altogether, the quilt was so beautiful that the78 girls disliked the thought of selling it. Of course they would, however, for the organization needed money.

“I had many willing helpers,” Miss Gordon explained. “Last night we had a quilting bee at my home.”

“A quilting party,” Miss Gordon explained. “I invited teachers from the Rosedale School and a number of my other friends. First we tacked the quilt onto wooden frames. Then we put a backing on it and filled in a layer of cotton. Finally, we tacked it down and took it from the frames.”

“My, that must have been a lot of work!” exclaimed Rosemary. “Even more than making the quilt blocks.”

“It was,” admitted the teacher. “But finishing such a fine quilt was well worth while. Don’t you all feel that way about it?”

Miss Gordon showed the girls the lower right-hand corner of the quilt. In tiny red stitches, the79 Rosedale Brownie Troop name had been etched in.

“Oh, I like that!” Connie cried. “Now, even though someone else buys our quilt, the Brownie name always will be on it.”

While the other girls chattered excitedly about the coming quilt show, Jane Tuttle had nothing to say.

“Don’t feel bad, Jane,” Veve said to cheer her. “It’s all right about the quilt. I’ll find another.”

Then she added: “You know something? While I was at that next-door house, I learned some interesting things about Mr. Hooper.”

“His house burned down nearly three years ago, the lady said. And guess why he never rebuilt it!”

“That’s not the real reason,” replied Jane. “He didn’t rebuild the house, because he’s afraid he will lose his entire orchard.”

“Lose it? How? Doesn’t he have enough money to pay the taxes?” Veve had heard her mother say that to hold property one had to pay taxes regularly.

“Oh, it isn’t that!” Jane explained impatiently. “He’s afraid he will have to turn the place over to Mr. Wingate.”

“It’s because of a will or something,” Jane said vaguely. “The lady told me, but I didn’t pay close attention. Anyway, Pa Hooper and Mr. Wingate have had a lot of trouble. They’re cousins, but they dislike each other.”

“I can’t blame Mr. Hooper for not liking Carl Wingate,” Veve declared with feeling. “Why, it would be dreadful if he would get both orchards.”

“The quilt lady seemed to think that’s the way it will turn out. She said Pa Hooper is afraid this harvest is the last one he’ll ever get from his orchard. And he may lose most of it too!”

“Because the fruit is ripening so fast. He expected the Mexican pickers two days ago, but they’re still at the Wingate place. Mr. Hooper can’t get them until they’ve finished Wingate’s picking.”

“But you know we’re not fast pickers, Veve. A good stripper can get almost 300 pounds a day from a tree. Mr. Hooper needs two experienced pickers to every acre. At least that’s what the quilt lady told me.”

“So do I, but they have to finish their contract first. Mr. Wingate has a heavy crop, and he won’t let the pickers move on until they’re completely finished.”

As the girls talked, Miss Gordon called that it was time to return to the orchard. Before leaving, she carefully folded the quilt inside out and left it lying on the grass not far from the picnic baskets.

The work seemed much easier now. Even so, everyone began to grow a little tired about four o’clock.

Mrs. Davidson had just finished filling her bucket when, without warning, the breeze began to freshen.

Two or three strong gusts swept through the orchard, blowing papers and stirring the limbs of the trees.

“Girls, better come down from your ladders,” Miss Gordon called. “It looks as if we’re in for a wind storm.”

Scarcely had the girls descended, however, than the wind died away as quickly as it had come.

Mrs. Davidson said it was time for her to go home and start supper. She was the first to leave, taking Sunny with her.

After that, Mrs. Williams had to go and so did Eileen’s mother. They promised, however, that if the weather remained favorable, they would return the following morning.

“Mr. Hooper really needs every picker he can get,” Miss Gordon said soberly. “He tells me his entire crop must be harvested before the end of the week. Otherwise, much of the fruit will be rejected by the cannery as over-ripe.”

One by one the mothers left the orchard, taking their daughters with them. Miss Gordon was among the last to depart.

“Girls,” she said to Veve and Rosemary, who were to ride with her, “will you bring the lunch baskets, please?”

Hand in hand, they raced to the oak tree where lunch had been served. All but two of the baskets already had been loaded into other cars.

At the parked car, Miss Gordon shoved the hampers into the rear luggage compartment.

“There, I guess we have everything,” she declared. “My, but I am tired.”

“So am I,” yawned Veve. “After this picking job is over, I’ll go to bed and sleep a million years!”

The two girls curled up on the back seat, intending to relax during the ride into Rosedale.

A truck from the canning factory had blocked the entrance gate to Pa Hooper’s property. Not until it had moved on with its load of fruit, was Miss Gordon able to drive out into the main road.

The automobile had traveled perhaps a mile toward the city when the Brownie leader thought of an important matter.

“By the way, I don’t recall packing the Brownie crazy quilt,” she said. “Did either of you look after it?”

“Neither did I,” returned Veve. “I didn’t even see the quilt under the tree when we picked up the lunch baskets.”

“I should have thought about the quilt, but it slipped my mind,” she said, slowing the car. “It may have been left under the tree. I believe we should drive back there to make certain.”

The Brownie leader turned the automobile around and returned to the Hooper orchard. This time she went with Rosemary and Veve to the oak tree where they had eaten the picnic lunch.

“One of the Brownie mothers may have taken it,” Miss Gordon decided. “Oh, well, I wanted to be sure the quilt wasn’t left behind. Odd, I didn’t see anyone carry it to a car.”

En route back to Rosedale, the Brownie leader did not have a great deal to say. Veve and Rosemary could not tell whether she was uneasy about the quilt or was thinking of other matters.

Miss Gordon dropped Rosemary off at the Fritche85 home. Mrs. Fritche said she had not seen the crazy quilt either.

“Perhaps Mrs. Davidson has it,” she suggested. “As I recall, she was one of the first to leave.”

“I’ll telephone all the mothers,” the Brownie leader said. “Someone must have the coverlet.”

Before taking Veve home, Miss Gordon stopped at her own residence. From there she called Mrs. Davidson.

Sunny’s mother reported that she had not seen or taken the crazy quilt from beneath the tree.

In turn, Miss Gordon called all the mothers who had attended the picnic. Mrs. Williams was the last name on her list.

“Why, no,” replied Connie’s mother, in answer to the Brownie leader’s question. “I did not take the quilt. For that matter, I didn’t even notice that it was under the tree.”

“Veve,” she said, “how can I tell the Brownies? After all our work, the crazy quilt is gone! While we were so busy picking, I’m afraid someone took it!”

CHAPTER 7
Pa Hooper’s Trunk

NEXT morning at the orchard, the main topic of conversation was the loss of the crazy quilt.

Everyone agreed that Miss Gordon had left it lying under the oak tree. No one recalled seeing it after that.

“Pickers went to and from the orchard all day,” Miss Gordon declared. “Oh, dear, it was careless of me not to have locked it in the car. And to think how many long hours the Brownies spent on their beautiful blocks!”

“Maybe one of the Mexicans took it!” suggested Rosemary. “I saw that little boy they call Juan walking along the road about four o’clock.”

“Juan wouldn’t steal,” Veve said, going quickly to his defense. “He’s nice and I like him!”

“We mustn’t accuse anyone,” said Miss Gordon.87 “The fault was entirely my own. I’ll try somehow to make it up to the Brownies. Just at the moment, I can’t think of any way to do it. Every one of those stitches was precious.”

The Brownies felt the same way about their work. Not for anything in the world would they have sewed another quilt. They felt its loss very keenly.

“Does this mean we won’t have the quilt show or the auction?” Eileen asked.

“We can’t have the auction because we have no quilt to sell,” the teacher replied. “As for the show, I vote that we go on with it exactly as we planned.”

Veve, however, was not as enthusiastic as the others, because she was afraid she never would find a quilt to display.

“Why not have a cherry festival in connection with our quilt show?” the teacher proposed. “It might help to draw a crowd and would be fun to plan.”

Miss Gordon outlined her plans, and invited the girls to add their own suggestions. She had cut out petal patterns from which the girls could make artificial cherry blossoms to decorate booths.

“We can have paper lanterns decorated with the blossoms,” she went on. “Then you might like to select a festival queen. If so, we’ll need a throne.”

“Wouldn’t that mean a lot of work?” Eileen asked. Already she was feeling rather tired from so much cherry picking.

“The throne could be made quite easily by using a swing. The rope strands would be entwined with cherry blossoms. I think it would be nice if we had the festival out-of-doors. That is, if the weather is fair. We’ve had so much rain lately.”

One and all the Brownies liked Miss Gordon’s idea for the cherry festival. Somehow, planning for it eased the loss of their quilt.

Miss Gordon said she thought the next week-end might be the best time. Although that did not give the Brownies very long for their preparations, they89 could do it if everyone worked together. And all the mothers had promised to help.

“I’ll make the posters tonight,” Miss Gordon offered. “As soon as you can, bring the promised quilts to my house.”

With the festival and quilt show almost at hand, Veve wondered what she would do for an exhibit.

Later that morning when she carried her pail of cherries to the shed for weighing, she asked Pa Hooper if he knew of anyone who might have a quilt she could borrow.

“Bless you, no,” he answered. “If my sister, Ella, were alive, she could give you a dozen of ’em. Ella made beautiful quilts.”

“Not a one, child. All the quilts burned when the house was destroyed. That was right after my sister died. All my papers and records were burned too. Everything I owned.”

“If everything hadn’t burned,” he hinted, “I might not find myself where I am now. I’d show that upstart, Carl Wingate, a thing or two! As it is, he holds the whip hand.”

“Didn’t you save anything from the fire?” she asked. “Not a single thing?”

“Only that old trunk and bureau,” he said, pointing to two dusty, carpet-covered objects. “Neither of them contained anything of value.”

“Most carefully, Miss Veve. I’d give a lot if I could find one of Ella’s old letters—in fact, anything bearing her signature.”

“Sometimes, Mr. Hooper, trunks have secret compartments or false bottoms. I know, because I’ve read about it in stories.”

“My sister Ella wasn’t the type to hide anything.91 She was open and above board about everything she did. That’s why it seemed so queer about her will—”

The old man lapsed into deep thought without finishing what he had started to say. He seemed to forget that Veve was in the shed.

After awhile, recalling her presence, he said briskly: “Well, four more pounds of cherries to add to your total. You’re catching up with the others, Veve. Keep up the good work!”

Then, because she was deeply interested in the old trunk and the bureau, she spoke of them again.

“Would you mind if I went through ’em sometime?” she asked. “Perhaps I might find an old letter of your sister’s. Mother says I have very sharp eyes.”

“I’ve looked through the trunk a dozen times,” Pa Hooper returned. “It’s a useless task.”

Observing Veve’s disappointment, he added quickly: “But you may search if you’re a mind to.”

The little girl returned to the orchard to tell the Brownies of her plan. She found several of the girls gathered in a group around Jane.

“It’s been taken!” Jane was saying excitedly. “The Brownie pin was on my jeans and now it’s gone. It disappeared the same as the quilt did!”

Jane told her that she had worn the dancing elf pin that morning on her shirt. Only a few minutes before she had noticed that it was missing.

“You must have lost it somewhere in the orchard,” the Brownie leader declared. “But it isn’t right to suggest that someone took it.”

“That was a different matter, Jane. And I blame myself. I never should have left the coverlet under the tree.”

Jane made a great fuss over the loss of the pin. For nearly half an hour she gave up cherry picking and searched everywhere on the ground.

“It makes me fairly ill,” Jane said in a discouraged93 voice. “First our quilt—and now my pin. There must be someone dishonest in this orchard!”

“But Jane, no one could have taken the pin off your jeans without you having seen them,” Connie pointed out. “Besides, the pickers all seem very nice. I’m sure they wouldn’t steal.”

Besides the Brownies and their mothers, Pa Hooper had ten and sometimes twelve other persons picking for him. Everyone seemed friendly and pleasant.

The women pickers always spoke to the Brownies when they met them at the packing shed. Of course the girls had asked everyone about the missing quilt. No one had seen it. And now, no one knew anything about the lost pin.

After awhile the Brownies went back to their picking again. Even though Jane wanted them to keep looking for her pin, they felt they could not take any more time.

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could find some of Ella Hooper’s handwriting!” she speculated. “If I could, maybe Pa Hooper wouldn’t have to give up his orchard!”

The morning was pleasantly cool. By now the Brownies had become fairly steady if not fast pickers. Of course, they could not keep up with the others. But there were so many of them that their total kept growing and growing.

“Go camping, or maybe on a long trip!” Eileen proposed instantly. “I’d like to go to New York City or maybe Washington!”

All the Brownies laughed, for the idea seemed quite impossible. Even if they picked cherries for a week, they knew they could not earn enough for a long trip. But just the thought of it excited them.

At noon the Brownies ate their luncheon as quickly as possible. Veve went to the spring, hoping to see the little Mexican boy again. He was not there, but as she bent down for a cool drink, she saw something bright and shining lying in the mud.

“And Jane was so sure someone took it!” Veve chuckled, washing the emblem under the stream of water. “Wait until she hears about this!”

“Well, can you beat that!” the other girl exclaimed. “I remember now, I went to the spring a couple of hours ago. I guess the pin must have slipped off my jeans and I didn’t notice.”

“You see how unfair it is to accuse anyone when you aren’t sure,” added Rosemary severely.

“I didn’t accuse any one person,” Jane defended herself. “I just said it might have been someone. Anyway, our quilt still is missing!”

“What would we do there?” Connie asked quickly. She was very much interested, as were all the Brownies.

Miss Gordon explained that they would ride with Bill Flint, a truck driver, who hauled Mr. Hooper’s cherries.

“Oh! We’re going in a truck?” Veve exclaimed.96 Immediately, she decided to postpone her examination of the old trunk. “That will be gobs of fun!”

“I thought you might enjoy it,” Miss Gordon smiled. “Bring your sweaters, girls. We may be gone for an hour or so.”

The mothers of the Brownies decided they would rather remain at the orchard. All of the girls, however, wanted to go.

Off they raced for their jackets and sweaters. Already Bill Flint was loading the truck with lugs of cherries.

“I’ll take Miss Gordon and two of the Brownies with me up front,” he told them. “The rest will have to stand up in the back. It’s not far, though, to the factory.”

Connie and Rosemary sat with the Brownie leader. The other girls climbed into the rear of the truck, finding a tiny space which was not loaded with boxes.

“Whoever saw so many cherries!” Veve marveled. “And just think! We picked most of ’em!”

Bill Flint started the big truck engine. It made such a roar that, for a minute, the girls could not hear their own voices.

The truck rattled off down the road, past the97 Wingate orchard. At the first corner it turned right, onto a wide paved road.

Before the truck had gone very far, the Brownies caught sight of another cherry hauler, directly ahead. And as they neared the factory, they saw more and more trucks, all laden with fruit.

“Everyone must be going to the cannery!” Veve laughed. Her words came out in jerks, for the truck at that moment was passing over a broken patch of pavement.

Bill Flint did not need to answer the questions. By looking ahead down the road, the Brownies could see an almost endless line of trucks. Bumper to bumper, they stood, waiting their turn to move up to the factory loading and unloading dock.

“Afraid we’re stuck here for awhile,” the truck driver said, switching off the motor.

Indeed, the Brownies were traffic locked. Until the cherry-laden trucks ahead moved up, they could not budge.

CHAPTER 8
Duck’s Foot in the Mud

AT first, the Brownies did not mind waiting in line. They sang songs and played one of their favorite games.

Connie started it by saying: “I see something green which begins with the letter ‘P.’ What is it?”

“Paint!” guessed Sunny Davidson, stretching a cramped arm. “Green paint on that truck just ahead!”

“That’s a good guess, but you aren’t right,” laughed Connie. “I’ll give you a tiny hint. The object I’m thinking about is over in that field to the right.”

All the Brownies glanced toward the truck garden where many green things were growing.

Veve looked quickly about for an object. On the opposite side of the road, a washing hung on a line. The little girl noticed a blue shirt flapping in the breeze.

“I see something which starts with the letter ‘S’—” she began, and then broke off.

She had seen another object even more interesting. Also on the line hung a red and white patterned quilt. Even from so far away Veve could see that it was a most unusual design.

“You’re not supposed to tell,” Jane chided her. “And quilt doesn’t start with ‘S.’”

“I’m not playing that game any more,” Veve announced. She was thinking hard. “I have an idea.”

“Hard to tell,” he replied. “Something seems to be holding up the trucks at the cannery. They’re not moving up very fast.”

“I can make it,” Veve declared and started to scramble over the high sideboard of the truck.

“After that quilt.” Veve pulled free and leaped lightly to the pavement. “I’m going to ask if I may have it for our Brownie show.”

“It won’t take me but a minute,” Veve insisted. “May I go, Miss Gordon?”

“Run fast then,” the Brownie leader urged. “If the trucks ahead move on, we will have to pull up too to keep our place in line.”

“I can catch up,” Veve insisted. “The trucks only move a few feet at a time.”

Before Miss Gordon could offer another objection, she darted off to the farmhouse.

Good luck was with Veve. As she entered the101 yard, she saw a stout woman in a pink checked gingham dress hanging up another basket of clothes.

“Good morning, my dear,” returned the lady, taking clothes pins from her mouth. “Have I ever seen you before?”

“I don’t think so. You see, I just jumped out of that cherry truck. I wanted to ask about your beautiful quilt.”

As she spoke, Veve glanced over her shoulder toward the road. To her dismay, she saw that the truck already had moved a few feet ahead. She would have to talk fast unless she wanted to be left behind.

“It is a lovely quilt,” said the lady. “I believe the pattern is called ‘Duck’s Foot in the Mud.’ The pieced blocks do resemble the imprint of a duck’s webbed foot.”

“Oh, yes,” agreed Veve, scarcely heeding what the woman said. “The quilt would look simply gorgeous in our Brownie quilt show. Would you—would you please let me borrow it for the display? I’d take the very best care of it.”

“Why, I’d love to let you have the quilt for a display,” she said. “Only I can’t.”

“You saw it hanging on the line and assumed I owned it? No, I merely am washing the quilt for another lady. She lives a long distance from here too.”

“Oh!” Veve’s face, which had been very bright, now became as dreary as a rainy day. “Then of course you couldn’t let me have it. Oh, dear! I’ll always be a tail-ender, I guess. You—you don’t own a single quilt of your own?”

“Mrs. Gwinn on Seventeenth St. owns the ‘Duck’s Foot in the Mud’ quilt,” she said. “I could telephone her, but I am afraid she would not want anyone to borrow her quilt. Of all the folks for whom I wash, she is my fussiest customer.”

“I guess I will just have to go without a quilt,” Veve said, deeply discouraged. “Well, thank you just the same.”

“Wait!” the lady called her back. “Come to think of it, I do have a quilt!”

“On second thought, I’m afraid you wouldn’t want it for your exhibit. You see, it’s a very old quilt—but not in the least fancy.”

She disappeared into the house. A few minutes later, she was back again with the quilt.

Even though Veve had not expected an elegant coverlet, it was hard for her not to show her disappointment. The quilt was faded and never had been made of very pretty colors. In general appearance it resembled the Brownies’ crazy quilt. However, it was not half so pretty.

“You see, it isn’t much,” the lady apologized. “It104 was given to me years ago, by a lady now dead. But if you can use it, take it along. You needn’t bother to bring it back as I never use it any more.”

“Yes, dear, if you think you can use it. I’m sorry I haven’t a nicer quilt to offer.”

From the roadway, Miss Gordon and the Brownies waved their arms and shouted for Veve to hurry.

“Never mind wrapping the quilt,” the little girl said nervously. “I’ll take it just as it is. Thanks a million!”

“You’re welcome, I’m sure,” the lady smiled. “Do come and see me again sometime when you have more time. Who knows? I might have a few spare sugar cookies in my jar.”

Starting off at a run, she called over her shoulder, “You must come to our Brownie quilt show! I’ll let you know the day later.”

The quilt tucked under her arm, the little girl raced for the road. In her haste, she ran through a mud puddle and caked both shoes. But she could not stop to clean them.

Bill Flint and the Brownies had waited for her, even though the other truck drivers did not like it very well. The trucks ahead had moved up, leaving a long gap of roadway.

Behind the Brownie truck, drivers were tooting their horns impatiently. They wanted Bill Flint to pull on ahead.

Bill Flint started ahead an instant later. The thunder of the big truck engine was so loud for several minutes that Veve could not make herself heard.

Soon, however, the truck had caught up with those ahead. Then it slowed to a standstill again.

“Veve McGuire! You nearly gave us heart failure!” Jane accused crossly. “You stayed and stayed at that house on the hill, and paid no attention when we yelled for you to come!”

Veve was careful not to answer the question. She spread the quilt out for the girls to see.

In the bright sunlight, the coverlet looked even more faded than at first sight. The right hand corner bore an ugly brown stain. One of the edges was frayed.

“It is a quilt!” Veve said, her eyes flashing. “The nice lady said so! Furthermore, she didn’t just loan me the coverlet. She gave it to me!”

“And no wonder!” went on Jane. “It’s not worth a thing! Why, I bet a dog used it for a bed!”

“That’s not so,” Veve retorted. She was becoming angry now as well as hurt. “It’s a good quilt and I like it!”

“Maybe you can find a better one before the show,” Sunny interposed. “One that’s not so faded.”

Veve started to reply, but words would not come. Instead, a salty tear trickled down her nose.

In the front seat of the truck, Miss Gordon had turned around to see what was wrong.

The little girl nodded and handed it over in a lumpy roll. She felt ashamed of the quilt now, and wished that she never had accepted it even as a gift. The girls never would get over teasing her!

Miss Gordon examined the quilt for a moment without comment. Jane and Eileen openly tittered.

“Why, Veve!” the Brownie leader said unexpectedly. “What a lovely old quilt! It’s the only one of its type we have for our show.”

The tears stopped trickling down Veve’s nose. She did not trust herself to answer. Did Miss Gordon really like the quilt or was she only trying to be kind?

“The quilt’s old enough!” giggled Jane. “It must have come over in the Ark!”

“Jane, I’m afraid you’re not a very good judge of quilts,” she said. “One can’t always judge by the brightness of the colors, you know.”

“Is the quilt really good enough to be in our exhibit?” Veve asked, taking hope.

“Indeed, it is. Girls, this is an excellent example of the autograph patch!”

The Brownie leader explained that in an autograph patch quilt, each block was made by a different person who signed her name or stitched it in.

“This quilt has dozens of names and the dates when the blocks were made,” she pointed out. “See, some are in cross-stitch. Others have been written with indelible pencil or ink.”

Carefully she folded the coverlet as if it were very precious. “You’ve found more than a quilt, Veve,” she said. “You’re now the owner of a possession which takes on historical importance!”

CHAPTER 9
Veve’s Autograph Quilt

TO hear Miss Gordon say that the quilt was historically important made Veve very proud.

Instead of having a worthless coverlet, she now was the possessor of one that was the equal of any of the others obtained for the Brownie show. Best of all, it was her very own.

The truck was moving ahead again. Soon it came to the gate of the canning factory.

“Hi there, Bill Flint!” the gateman greeted the driver. “I see you have a full load. All those kids yours?”

At the unloading dock, all the Brownies piled out of the vehicle. An inspector came over to look at the lugs of cherries.

“These are plenty ripe,” he said. From one box he removed a cherry which had turned brown and split open.

“Too much rain,” replied Bill. “And Mr. Hooper can’t get enough pickers.”

“Well, tell him we’ll reject the fruit if it comes in too ripe,” the inspector said. “He’ll be wise to round up pickers and get the job done fast.”

“Try and find ’em,” Bill rejoined. “Carl Wingate has tied up the works by hanging onto his crew too long. The Mexicans were supposed to have been at Hooper’s place yesterday.”

“I know,” the inspector agreed. “Too bad. But I have to protect the cannery.”

The snatch of overheard conversation troubled the Brownies. They liked Pa Hooper and did not want him to lose any of his fruit.

“When we get back to the orchard, we must pick faster,” Connie whispered to Veve and Rosemary.

Both girls soberly agreed. However, they knew that the amount of cherries they could pick would not count up very fast. If Mr. Hooper were to save his crop, he needed the Mexican pickers.

The truck would be unloaded quickly. Bill had111 told the Brownie leader that he would return to the orchard for another load. He expected to pick up the Brownies on the second trip, which would be in about two hours.

“We’ll be able to see the factory and have time to spare,” declared Miss Gordon.

The Brownies watched workmen unload the cherries and place them on a conveyor which took them to a large room with mechanical stemmers.

A single stemming machine had a long cylinder made up of a series of short rubber rollers.

As the rollers turned, they caught and pulled away stems and leaves. The cherries themselves were not crushed or bruised.

In the next canning operation, the fruit was thoroughly washed. Then it moved on to a grading machine.

By means of a screen, the cherries were sorted into groups of five different sizes.

The Brownies were even more interested in the machine which removed the pits from all the cherries. They stood for a long while watching the fruit fall into tiny cups. Once there, the stones were removed by cross-shaped plungers.

A man who showed the girls over the plant, told112 them that to keep the fruit from spoiling it was necessary to sterilize it at 212 degrees for twelve to twenty-five minutes.

“Cherries receive a long exhaust too,” he declared. “At least ten minutes.”

He showed them next the room where the cans were stacked after sterilization had been completed. Sprays of water passed over them to cool the tin.

“Oh, no,” explained the guide. “If the cans were not cooled quickly, the contents would continue to cook for several minutes. Then the cherries would darken.”

“Poorly sealed ones give off bubbles of air,” the guide told the Brownies. “Those are discarded.”

Imperfectly sealed cans or “leakers” made a hollow sound when tapped with a short steel rod, the man further explained. A properly sealed one gave off a dull, flat sound.

The Brownies saw how bright colored labels were113 pasted on the cans which then were ready for packing. That ended the tour.

“It took us less than an hour,” Miss Gordon declared when the girls came out into the bright sun again.

She looked up and down the road. Other trucks were pulling up to the cannery every few minutes. But Bill’s truck was nowhere to be seen.

The sun was uncomfortably warm. Miss Gordon suggested that they cross the roadway and wait under the shade of a large oak.

Once there, however, Veve had an even better idea. She had noticed that the river ran close by. A trail led from the road to a sandy beach where several persons were bathing.

Miss Gordon looked again at her watch. “We have time enough, I guess,” she decided. “Bill isn’t in sight yet and he will have to unload his truck after he reaches the cannery.”

The Brownies trooped down to the beach. Several children were there, wading in the shallow water.

The Brownie leader hesitated. Before she could say ‘no’ all the girls began to tease to go into the water.

“It will only take a jiffy,” said Veve, starting to strip off her shoes and stockings. “Oh, that water will feel good!”

Miss Gordon had to give in. All the Brownies except Rosemary decided to go wading. They rolled up their jeans and splashed into the water.

The beach was not a very nice one. On the bottom were many sticks and stones. Veve stepped on a jagged rock and hurt her toe. However, she only laughed. She knew if she made a fuss, Miss Gordon would make all the girls come out of the water.

“Stop splashing!” Connie scolded her friend. “You’re getting my jeans all wet.”

“Don’t forget, we’re supposed to pick cherries when we get back to the orchard,” added Sunny. “We can’t do it if our clothes are soaked.”

Veve moved farther away from the Brownies toward the group of strange children. Among the boys and girls, she saw someone she knew. It was Juan, the little Mexican boy.

A moment later Juan walked over to the group of Brownies, grinning from ear to ear.

“The Brownies all came to the factory to see how cherries are canned,” Veve explained. “We’re waiting now for Bill Flint to return for us.”

She could not help thinking that he was dressed oddly, even to go wading in the river. The boy wore a straw hat. His shirt was torn and two buttons were off. A patch had pulled loose from his trousers, showing an area of bare leg.

“I have never been inside the cannery,” Juan replied. “I did not pick cherries today because I did not feel like it.”

“You played hookey, didn’t you?” Jane caught him up. “Shame! When cherry pickers are so badly needed too.”

“If the orchard owners want pickers they should116 pay us more,” said Juan with a shrug. “And they should treat us better.”

The Brownies could think of no answer to that remark. They knew, of course, that Carl Wingate had struck the Mexican boy with a stick. Whether or not Juan had first caused the orchard owner trouble, they had never learned.

At first, he merely stood and watched the children as they waded in the shallow water. But after awhile he noticed Juan.

The man came quickly to the water’s edge. He was scowling and appeared very displeased.

This time the boy could not pretend that he had not heard. Very slowly he waded in toward the man.

“Que, Senor?” he mumbled, acting as if he neither spoke nor understood English.

“You heard me!” the man said angrily. “What do you mean by going in wading at this beach?”

“You know you have no right here. I won’t have117 Mexicans on my property! Now go, and don’t let me catch you sneaking back.”

Shocked by the man’s angry attack, the Brownies quickly followed the Mexican boy from the water.

“No, I didn’t mean you girls,” he said in a quieter voice. “You may stay if you like.”

Juan drew himself up proudly. “Si, Senor, I am a Mexican and proud of it,” he announced. “I have as much right here as anyone else.”

“We’ll see about that!” said the land owner, starting toward him. “You’ll leave or I’ll turn you over to the sheriff.”

“You’ll be sorry,” he warned. “So will all the orchard people! Wait and see!”

CHAPTER 10
At the Cannery

AFTER Juan had disappeared among the trees, the land owner turned to speak to the Brownies. By this time all the girls had waded out of the water.

“I didn’t mean you,” he said. “You may stay here as long as you wish.”

“But why did you send Juan away?” asked Veve. She did not like the way he had treated her little friend.

“He’s a Mexican, and they aren’t allowed to use the beaches hereabouts,” the man repeated. “Juan, as you call him, may be all right, but if I let him swim here, all the camp would show up. The pickers are a shiftless lot.”

“I didn’t mean to frighten you girls away,” the land owner tried to reassure them. “Wade here whenever you like.”

“I really think it is time that we leave,” she said. “Bill Flint soon will be returning in the truck.”

The girls quickly put on their shoes and stockings and started up the trail to the road. Once beyond hearing of the beach owner they were very outspoken.

“It was mean of him to send Juan away,” Veve declared. “Why, he wasn’t making any trouble or doing anything he shouldn’t.”

“The man just doesn’t like Mexican pickers!” added Connie. “I wonder why?”

“I wonder myself,” said Miss Gordon. “So many persons seem to have that attitude. As far as I’ve observed, the pickers appear to be a group of quiet, well-behaved people.”

The Brownies had reached the roadway. Bill Flint was not yet in sight with the truck.

“Did you hear that threat Juan made as he ran off?” Connie recalled. “Do you suppose he meant it?”

“He was annoyed because the land owner had ordered him off the property,” Miss Gordon said. “I’m sure Juan didn’t mean his threat seriously.”

As the Brownie leader spoke, the girls were startled to hear a yell of dismay. The cry had come from Eileen, who had walked a short distance ahead of the others down the road.

In attempting to leap a tiny ditch from the roadside to the pavement, she had slipped and fallen. Now as she slowly picked herself up, her shirt and jeans were plastered with mud. So were her hands and face.

Miss Gordon tried to comfort her. “We’ll go to a filling station rest room and clean you up,” she said brightly. “Don’t cry, Eileen.”

“But the truck is coming!” exclaimed Sunny, who had spied it far down the road. “There won’t be time.”

“It will take Bill Flint a little while to unload the cherries,” Miss Gordon said. “I’ll take Eileen to the filling station. The others go on to the factory loading dock and meet Bill.”

The Brownies followed their leader’s instructions. This time, however, Bill had driven to the factory without a full load.

In a short while all the lugs had been removed from the truck, and he was ready to start back to the orchard.

Veve ran to the filling station to tell Miss Gordon and Eileen that the driver was waiting.

In the wash room, Eileen had removed her jeans so that the Brownie leader could scrape off some of the mud.

“Dear me, I didn’t expect him to be ready so soon,” Miss Gordon said. “I’m afraid Eileen and I will have to catch him on his next trip.”

Veve took the word back to Bill Flint. “I could wait a few minutes,” he said, looking at his watch. “But it won’t be necessary. Joe Evans hauls for the Wingate Orchard. His truck is coming in now.”

The arrangement suited everyone except Eileen. She had wanted to ride back with the other girls. Of course, she realized it would be better to wait until the worst of the mud had been cleaned from her clothes.

Leaving Miss Gordon and Eileen behind, the other Brownies rode back to the Hooper orchard.

“We will have to pick fast now,” Connie urged her companions. “We’ve lost so much time.”

“But our mothers have been working while we were away,” declared Sunny cheerfully. “That will help.”

Veve picked a full bucket of cherries and took it to the shed for weighing. While she was there Connie came in with her brimming pail.

“Oh, there’s that old trunk!” Veve exclaimed as her gaze fell upon it. “I was going to look through it and forgot!”

“Why don’t we do it now?” proposed Connie. “That is, if Mr. Hooper doesn’t mind.”

“I don’t,” the orchard owner replied. “Not if you don’t take too long at the job. I want to get those cherries picked.”

“It won’t take us hardly a jiffy,” Veve declared. “Not with two of us to work.”

The trunk was an old-fashioned affair with a rounding top. An old rug had been thrown over the cover to protect it from dust.

Veve pulled off the covering and unfastened the rusty clasps which held down the lid. Cap, deeply interested, trotted over to watch.

“Oh, I was only thinking I wish you’d stumble onto some of my sister’s handwriting.”

“We may find a letter tucked away somewhere,” Connie insisted hopefully. “Would it mean a lot to you to have one?”

“I’d give a hundred dollars for a sample of my sister’s handwriting,” Mr. Hooper said. More talkative than usual, he went on: “You see, Ella made a will leaving this orchard to me. It was a typed document drawn by a lawyer.

“Ella signed it, of course, in the presence of witnesses. All well and good. I thought she had left me her entire property, including this orchard. But a short while ago, a cousin, Carl Wingate, appears with another will.”

“That’s what Carl claims. The will he produced is only three lines long, and the signature doesn’t look exactly like Ella’s. But the will is124 of later date than the one which left the orchard to me.”

“The second will gives this land to Carl Wingate?” questioned Connie, reaching down to pat Cap.

“Yes, and cuts me off with only her personal possessions.” Mr. Hooper laughed without mirth. “Her personal possessions! All that is left, is in that trunk and the bureau which was saved from the fire.”

“Because it would give us other writing of hers and another signature to compare with Carl Wingate’s will.”

“You said the writing on the second will doesn’t look the same as on the first one?” Connie pursued the subject.

“No, it looks like a copy to me. I’ve been thinking of taking the matter to court, but so far I’ve no evidence.”

She began to burrow in the top layer of the trunk. As she lifted out an old brown wool skirt, three moth balls rolled onto the floor. Cap, thinking they were meant for play, began to chase them.

Besides the skirt, other clothing had been neatly folded away. Connie and Veve found a black silk dress, two pairs of shoes, and a silly looking hat with a blue feather.

The girls wanted to try it on, but did not take the time. Instead, they carefully examined each garment for pockets. In one, Veve came upon a piece of paper.

For a moment, she thought she had made an important discovery. However, the paper proved to be only a recipe for gingerbread, torn from a newspaper.

The lower section proved even more disappointing. It was only half filled with old books, yellowed linen and a box of woolen underwear.

Veve and Connie examined the pages of the books, hoping that something had been written in them. But nothing had been. It was most discouraging.

“You’ll find it practically empty,” the orchard man told her. “But go ahead.”

The girls opened the drawers of the battered oak dresser. The top one was entirely empty. In the second they came upon a stack of old newspapers and magazines.

“It’s quite useless,” Mr. Hooper told the girls. “Ella had beautiful things, but they were all destroyed in the fire.”

“I suppose we may as well get back to our picking,” Connie said, closing the bureau drawers.

Before either she or Veve could do so, Eileen came rushing up. Only a moment before the little girl had arrived on a Wingate truck with Miss Gordon.

“Well, I see you’re back!” laughed Connie before Eileen could speak. “Your jeans don’t look so very bad now that they’re dry.”

“Listen!” she exclaimed. “I’ve got important news! What do you think I saw on the ride back from the canning factory?”

“Not the Brownie crazy quilt?” Connie asked, scarcely believing the astonishing news.

“I’m sure it was! Miss Gordon saw it too, but she wouldn’t say for certain that it was our missing quilt. She thought there might be a mistake. But I’m sure it was the same one!”

The news had caused both Veve and Connie to become rather excited. Since the disappearance of the crazy quilt they had asked many persons if they ever had seen the coverlet. No one had noticed it. So the Brownies were convinced that they never would find the quilt again.

“I’m trying to if you’ll give me time.” Eileen paused for dramatic effect, and then said impressively: “It was at the Mexican camp. Veve, I guess your little friend, Juan, isn’t so honest after all!”

CHAPTER 11
The Mexican Camp

QUESTIONED by Veve and Connie, Eileen related what had occurred on the return trip from the canning factory.

After Miss Gordon had cleaned the mud from the little girl’s clothing, she and the Brownie leader had waited quite a while for the Wingate truck.

The trucker had been very willing to give them a lift back to the Hooper farm. However, on the way to the orchard, he had chosen a shorter side road instead of taking the main highway.

Not far from the canning factory, the truck had passed a camp where the Mexican cherry pickers lived.

“Several Mexican blankets hung on a clothes line strung up between two trees,” Eileen revealed. “And guess what I saw on another?”

“Oh, no! The truck driver was in a hurry. We didn’t dare ask him to stop.”

“Oh, fairly close,” Eileen said vaguely. She never could estimate distances.

“Well, it looked like it to me. The quilt was made up of a lot of colors and pieced blocks of all sizes.”

“But all crazy quilts are like that,” argued Veve. She did not want to think that any of the Mexicans had taken the coverlet.

“That’s what Miss Gordon said,” Eileen admitted. “All the same, the quilt looked like ours. Another thing, Mexicans don’t usually have quilts. Every other coverlet on the line was a woven blanket.”

“There’s one way we could tell for certain if the quilt is ours,” said Connie thoughtfully.

“Don’t you remember? Miss Gordon stitched in the Brownie troop name in one corner.”

“That’s right!” Eileen agreed. “Let’s get the girls together now, and hike over to the camp. We’ll find out if that quilt is ours. If it is, we’ll have all the Mexicans arrested.”

“I hope you don’t have all the Mexicans arrested,” he said, speaking for the first time. “If you do, we’ll never get our fruit picked.”

“At least we’ll have the one who stole the quilt put in jail,” Ellen insisted. “I’ll bet it was Juan. I’ve seen him around here more than the others.”

“I’m sure it couldn’t have been Juan,” she declared. “He seemed very honest to me.”

“As long as I had Mexican pickers on my place, I never had anything taken,” Pa Hooper added. “This year, though, they seem more restless and dissatisfied. Can’t figure it out.”

While Eileen, Connie and Veve talked, Jane and Rosemary came into the shed with filled pails. They too heard about the quilt, and were all for taking action at once.

“Hold on,” interposed Pa Hooper. “Who’s staying here to pick cherries? This afternoon I’m not getting ’em stripped fast enough to keep the truckers busy.”

Miss Gordon arrived just then and she too was in favor of the girls continuing with their picking.

“If the quilt really is ours, it will be at the camp later on,” she advised. “We can finish our picking, and stop there on our way home.”

“That remains to be seen,” Miss Gordon answered. “The important thing is to be certain that the quilt is ours before we say any more about the matter. It would be dreadful to accuse someone and then learn that we had been mistaken.”

The Brownies were willing to be guided by the teacher’s suggestion. All returned to the orchard where they picked steadily for the next two hours.

During the afternoon, however, they could talk of little except the missing quilt.

“If we get it back, we’ll have a truly grand quilt show!” Sunny Davidson declared gaily. “Has it been decided for sure when we’re to have the display?”

“How about this Saturday night at the church? I’ve already arranged to have the parlor for the affair if we want it.”

“Oh, fine!” approved Rosemary. “Let’s make it Saturday night for sure.”

“I can,” laughed Veve. “My autograph one is right here now. It needs washing though, but that won’t take long.”

The other Brownies were fairly certain they could obtain the promised coverlets in time.

Miss Gordon urged them to busy themselves that very night on the telephone, letting all their friends know about the coming affair. She said she would make additional posters to put in store windows, advertising the quilt show.

“How much admission will we charge?” Connie asked. She wanted to make a great deal of money for the Brownie organization.

“I don’t think we should charge anything,” Miss Gordon decided. “However, we certainly will auction off the crazy quilt—if we’re lucky enough to get it.”

“Anyway, we don’t need money as badly now as we did,” Veve said. She reached on tiptoe to strip an especially heavily laden branch. “After we finish here at the orchard, the Brownies will be rich!”

Her remark made the other Brownies laugh, for they knew that even if they picked night and day, they could not earn that much.

“We’ll be lucky if we make a hundred dollars,” Connie said. “The cherries won’t last much longer.”

As the girls talked, she noticed that Miss Gordon had very little to say. The teacher was picking fruit rather slowly now.

“I forgot to wear dark glasses today,” she confessed. “The bright sun must have strained my eyes.”

As the afternoon wore on, Miss Gordon felt increasingly134 miserable. Mrs. Williams, who was helping the Brownies pick, noticed the strained expression on the teacher’s face.

“You really shouldn’t be here,” she declared. “Let me drive you home.”

“Nonsense,” said Connie’s mother firmly. “You should be in bed. I’ll drive you home now, and return for the Brownies.”

Miss Gordon allowed herself to be persuaded. “Now don’t worry about me, girls,” she said, noticing the troubled faces of the Brownies. “It’s only a headache. I’ll be on hand again early tomorrow morning.”

After Mrs. Williams and Miss Gordon had gone, the Brownies picked steadily for a long while. They kept watching the road, thinking that Connie’s mother soon would return.

The trip seemed to take a very long while. Eileen began to worry lest something had happened to the car.

“What if we shouldn’t get to the Mexican camp before dark?” she fretted. “Then we might not find our crazy quilt.”

“Shouldn’t we go there right away?” Veve proposed135 impatiently. “Miss Gordon didn’t say anything about it when she left.”

“She was feeling too ill,” Connie said. “But I’m sure she expected us to go on to the Mexican camp the way we planned.”

“Let’s ask my mother to take us there now,” she urged, climbing down from her low step ladder. “It’s late and we can’t pick many more cherries anyway.”

Seeking Eileen’s mother, who also had driven a car to the orchard, they asked her if she would take them to the Mexican camp.

“We don’t dare wait until tomorrow!” Eileen cut in. “The quilt may be gone if we do.”

“But dear, you might have been mistaken. If the quilt shouldn’t belong to the Brownies, I would feel so embarrassed.”

“Miss Gordon said she wouldn’t want us to accuse136 anyone wrongfully,” Connie recalled. “We could be real careful though! Couldn’t we sneak up on the camp and look around without letting the pickers know what we were doing?”

“Oh, please!” coaxed several of the Brownies. And Sunny added: “After all our work on the quilt we just have to get it back.”

In the end, Mrs. Webber agreed to drive the girls to the Mexican camp. She disliked to take the responsibility, however, in Miss Gordon’s absence.

Eileen sat with her mother in the front seat, pointing out the side road which the Wingate driver had taken a few hours before.

Soon the car came to a grove of trees. From the roadside the girls could see the tents of the Mexican cherry pickers.

From amid the trees came the strumming sound137 of a guitar. The girls also could hear someone singing in Spanish.

“Where’s our quilt?” Veve demanded, jumping out of the car. “I don’t see it anywhere.”

“It was hanging between the trees only a few hours ago,” Eileen insisted. “Some of the Mexicans must have taken it down.”

Mrs. Webber advised the girls not to approach the camp too boldly. She did not know how they might be received by the Mexican pickers.

“Why can’t Eileen and Connie and I go on ahead and see if we can find the quilt,” Veve proposed. “If it’s there, we’ll signal for the rest of you to come on.”

“I want to go too,” announced Jane. She was afraid she might be cut out of some of the excitement.

“Four would be too many,” Veve insisted. “We’d be certain to attract attention.”

Mrs. Webber said she could see no point in all of the Brownies descending upon the camp. The girls were so excited, she feared they might make remarks which would offend the Mexicans.

“Now remember, it hasn’t been proven that the quilt belongs to the Brownies. Or that it actually was stolen,” she cautioned the trio. “Don’t make any trouble. Just notice if the quilt is anywhere in camp. And if it is, signal.”

“I think a simple wave of the hand would be better,” Mrs. Webber said, smiling. “But don’t signal unless you are certain the quilt is there, and that it belongs to the Brownies.”

Veve, Connie and Eileen were very pleased with the arrangement. The other Brownies, who must wait at the car, were less happy. They did not want to miss anything.

The three girls set off through the woods. A narrow trail wound in among the trees and led directly to the camp.

In the camp, Mexican children were romping over the grass, having a happy time. Near one of the tents, a Mexican woman with a bright orange apron was cooking supper. She seemed to be making cakes from ground corn and meat.

Nearby, another woman sat at a loom, weaving a black and white woolen blanket. The pattern was very beautiful.

“We’re not having any Mexican blankets!” Eileen replied firmly. “I should say not! The pickers took our quilt!”

“I don’t see it anywhere,” Veve said, her gaze sweeping the camp. “Maybe you were wrong about it.”

Eileen shook her head. “Miss Gordon saw it too,” she insisted. “It must be somewhere in the camp.”

The three girls walked on a few steps. Coming to a clump of bushes, they halted there.

Everyone seemed to be very happy. Several of the little boys and girls were playing with a shaggy dog. Veve saw Juan sitting with his back to an oak tree. The little boy was carving a figure from a block of wood.

“It’s probably been taken inside one of those tents,” she declared. “Let’s walk into camp and look.”

“Miss Gordon warned us not to make any trouble,” Connie reminded her friend. “And so did your mother.”

“We don’t have to make any trouble or accuse anyone. Can’t we just wander in and peep around?”

Veve and Connie were not too pleased over the proposal. Nevertheless, they followed their friend as she walked on.

As the three girls stepped out from amid the trees, several of the Mexican children saw them. Juan put aside his whittling knife and sprang to his feet.

“My brothers and sisters,” Juan introduced them to the Brownies. “They are very pleased to meet you.”

Veve, Eileen and Connie scarcely could think of141 anything to say in return. The children were so friendly they knew it would be awkward to say anything about the quilt.

Connie noticed that the boys and girls were rather thin as if they did not have enough to eat. Some of them were barefoot, while others wore huaraches or straw sandals.

Nearly all of the men in the camp had sarapes thrown across their shoulders. The sarapes really were colorful blankets with a slit in the middle.

Excited to have visitors, Juan escorted them about the camp, showing them everything. He introduced the girls to his mother, to his father and to his aging grandmother.

Everyone was so friendly that the Brownies began to think they had made a serious mistake ever to believe they would find their missing quilt in the camp.

“Veve was right,” Connie whispered to Eileen. “Juan and the Mexicans are nice—just like other people. You must have been mixed up.”

“Well—maybe,” Eileen admitted unwillingly. “But I didn’t think so at the time. I was sure I saw the quilt or something that looked exactly like it.”

Juan next took the girls to see his goat, Peter, who was staked down near one of the tents. The animal142 had nibbled away so much grass that the ground was bare all around him.

“Did you make much money today picking cherries?” Veve asked her little friend.

A moment later, he added: “What do I need of money? The sun is la capa do los pobres.”

“The sun is what?” Veve demanded, for she knew Juan had spoken in his own language.

The Brownies were somewhat puzzled and did not understand Juan’s meaning. Seeing their expressions, he went on:

“If a Mexican has a sun to warm his back, he does not need fine clothing to be happy.”

Juan said no more just then. However, later, as he was showing the girls the figure he had carved, he remarked that he might not see them again.

“Why, aren’t you staying with the other pickers until the crop is harvested?” Connie asked quickly.

Again Juan shrugged. “Who knows?” he questioned. “All of the pickers may leave.”

“Is it because you don’t like to work for Carl143 Wingate?” Veve asked. She recalled how the boy had been hit with a stick.

“He has been very ugly,” Juan replied. “He cheats on weight and does not pay us all he owes.”

“The picking here is nearly finished. My people are tired of the place. So we may move farther north.”

“Surely you wouldn’t leave until Mr. Hooper’s cherries are picked!” Veve said in dismay.

“But that wouldn’t be fair,” Connie interposed. “Mr. Hooper would lose at least half of his fruit harvest if the pickers left without coming to his place.”

“He has been expecting the crew for several days,” added Eileen. “The fruit is too ripe now. We heard the canning factory man say it would have to be picked fast, or it will be rejected.”

“Then the orchard people should treat us better. If we move on, it is only themselves they have to blame.”

“Mr. Hooper wouldn’t mistreat anyone,” Veve insisted. “He isn’t a bit like his cousin, Carl Wingate.”

“You tell your people that,” Connie urged. “It just wouldn’t be fair to Mr. Hooper not to pick his cherries.”

“I will tell them,” Juan promised soberly. “We do not have anything against Mr. Hooper. But the townspeople have no liking for us. At the stores they charge us more for food. We cannot use the beaches or have any pleasures.”

The Brownies knew that the boy’s complaint was a just one. That very day, he had been driven away from the same beach where they had been permitted to wade. They hardly knew what to say.

“But you are my friends,” Juan finished warmly. “Come, I will show you some of the beautiful lacework my mother brought from Mexico.”

He led the three girls to a nearby tent. Veve was the first to peer inside as he pulled back the flap.

The little girl drew in her breath sharply. A brown Mexican baby was playing on the floor of the tent. The infant lay upon a quilt of many colors—unmistakably, the lost Brownie coverlet!

CHAPTER 12
A Quilt Show

FOR a long moment, no one said a word. Veve, Connie and Eileen merely stared at the Mexican baby and their crazy quilt.

“This is our quilt,” she said, looking hard at Juan. “It is the one we lost.”

Eileen was certain that the Mexicans had stolen the coverlet, but she was careful not to make a direct accusation.

“Juan, how did it get here?” Veve asked. She hoped that somehow he would be able to explain.

“Miss Gordon left the quilt folded up under a tree,” Connie declared. “There was a fence not far away—”

“Of course it is,” Eileen told him, pointing to the Brownie name. “That’s the name of our organization.”

“It’s a national organization,” Connie said proudly. “When we’re too old to be Brownies we’ll ‘fly up’ and be Girl Scouts.”

“We try to help others,” Veve explained. “That’s why we started picking cherries at Mr. Hooper’s orchard.”

“We pieced it, expecting to sell it at a quilt show,” Eileen answered. “Instead, we—we lost it. Miss Gordon147 left it under an oak tree on Mr. Hooper’s place, and the next thing we knew, it was gone.”

“Now we find it here!” Connie said severely. “Juan, did you really find our quilt blown against the fence?”

“Si, Senorita, I truly did,” Juan replied, becoming a bit excited. “I would not steal. Do you not believe me?”

“I do,” said Veve instantly. “Now that I think back, a strong gust of wind did come up that day. It could have blown the coverlet against the wire fence.”

“Oh, that’s all right,” Veve reassured him. “We’re just glad to get the quilt back. And to know that it wasn’t stolen.”

Now that the girls had their crazy quilt, they started to leave the camp. But Juan would not let them go. He wished to make amends for the quilt.

The little boy ran off. Three minutes later he was back again, bearing an armload of beautiful gifts.

He handed Eileen a blue apron with fancy drawn-work. For Connie he had a bowl painted with red and green and black colors. The design was very unusual.

Upon Veve, Juan bestowed the nicest gift of all. He gave her a handsome red and white hand-woven blanket which was far more expensive than the quilt.

“Oh, we can’t take all these things!” Connie protested. “All we want is our own quilt back again.”

“You are my friends,” Juan said, flashing his warm smile. “Keep the presents. They are mere trifles.”

“There’s an old saying that it’s an ill wind that blows no one good,” Connie laughed. “That old wind that carried our quilt off, certainly brought us luck.”

The girls knew that Mrs. Webber and the Brownies were waiting at the roadside. So reluctantly they bade Juan good-bye. They were sorry149 they did not have longer to stay at the Mexican camp, for everyone seemed very friendly.

The three girls promised that they would return. They really meant it too, for the camp was a most interesting place.

“We are having a quilt show and a cherry festival Friday night on the church grounds,” Veve informed the little Mexican boy. “Our crazy quilt will be sold to the highest bidder.”

“A cherry festival,” Juan said, his eyes dancing. “Will there be music?”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Veve admitted. “We will have lots of fun though and make money.” Impulsively, she added: “You must be sure to come, Juan. And bring all your friends.”

“Of course!” Veve did not notice that Connie and Eileen were sending warning signals in her direction.

He walked with the girls to the edge of the camp. From there they went on alone, bearing their gifts and the crazy quilt.

“What possessed you?” Eileen demanded. “Why did you invite Juan and his friends to our festival?”

“So do I,” admitted Eileen. “All the same, I don’t think you should have invited him. Do you, Connie?”

“Well—I’m afraid the townsfolk may not like it. They never invite the Mexicans anywhere.”

Veve tossed her head. “That’s all the more reason for asking Juan. I don’t think it’s fair to make the Mexicans stay here in their camp all the time, just because they’re pickers.”

“Well, maybe they won’t come anyhow,” Connie said. “After all, you didn’t tell Juan what time the festival starts.”

At the car once more, the girls showed Mrs. Webber and the other Brownies the fine gifts they had received.

“Oh, I’m so glad you have the quilt back again,”151 Eileen’s mother declared. “How pleased I am that no one actually stole it.”

Rosemary, Sunny and Jane also were delighted to have regained the precious quilt.

Nevertheless, they felt annoyed because the other three girls had not motioned for them to come to the camp.

“You could have waved your hand the way you promised you would!” Jane said with a toss of her head. “I guess you wanted to have all the fun yourselves!”

“That’s so,” added Connie earnestly. “Until the last minute, we didn’t think the crazy quilt was in the camp. Then we finally saw it inside a tent.”

“Juan was standing right beside us,” Eileen explained. “If we had signaled, he would have thought it strange.”

“I think the girls did very well,” Mrs. Webber ended the discussion. “Matters have been handled perfectly—much better perhaps than if we all had gone to the camp.”

Taking the quilt and the gifts with them, the152 Brownies returned to the orchard. By this time it was too late to do any more picking.

In fact, as they gathered up their belongings to leave, Mr. Hooper told them that they would not need to come the following day, which was Saturday.

“I expect the Mexican crew to move in here early tomorrow,” he explained. “They should finish up at Wingate’s place long before lunch and then pick my orchard. Otherwise, I never could save my fruit. It has been ripening so fast that the cannery soon will start rejecting.”

“Not if the Mexicans move in here on schedule tomorrow,” Mr. Hooper replied. He glanced thoughtfully at the sky. “The only thing that worries me is the weather. If it should rain—”

“Why, the sun is shining,” Eileen observed. “It doesn’t look a bit like rain.”

“Not now it doesn’t. But one never can tell at this season of year. However, I’m not borrowing trouble.”

The Brownies were rather sorry that for them the cherry picking had ended. Although the work had153 been hard, they had enjoyed it. Likewise, they had earned considerable money. They wondered if Mr. Hooper would speak of that.

“You’ll have to wait while I figure out how much I owe you girls,” he said. “Shall I make out the sum in one check or several?”

“That’s hard to say off-hand. Counting the work your mothers did, it will come to more than fifty dollars. Maybe sixty.”

“That’s the most money our organization ever made,” Connie added proudly. “And we still have our quilt to sell.”

She told Mr. Hooper about the festival which the Brownies planned to have the next day.

“If you aren’t too busy here at the orchard, we would like you to attend,” she invited him.

“It will take me a long while to figure out what154 I owe you girls,” he said, after consulting the time cards again. “Tell you what! Why don’t I mail the check to your leader, Miss Gordon? Or even better, bring it to your festival?”

The Brownies and their mothers agreed that this would be an excellent plan. Already it was growing late and they were tired from such a long day.

“We will see you at the festival!” Connie declared as the girls left the orchard. “Don’t forget, Mr. Hooper!”

Veve, Connie and Eileen rode home in Mrs. Webber’s car. As they were driving into the outskirts of the city, Veve suddenly noticed the sky.

“Oh, see!” she exclaimed, pointing. “The sun is drawing water up into the clouds! That means it will rain tomorrow!”

Mrs. Webber slowed the car and took a quick glance at the sky. The clouds had separated so that the sun shone through. The rays did appear to be drawing water from the land.

“The sun doesn’t actually pull water up into the sky,” she told the girls.

“It only appears that way, Veve. Instead, the155 sun shines upon dust and millions of water droplets already in the air. They reflect the sunshine and the rays show plainly against the cloudy sky.”

“I’ll try to make it clear by a simple illustration. Did you ever leave a shallow pan filled with water out in the yard?”

“Oh, I’ve seen that happen,” Connie declared. “Once at our house a plant dish filled with water during a rain. A few days later every drop was gone.”

“But how does the water ’vaporate?” Veve demanded. “I never saw it happen.”

“The water separates into particles which are called molecules,” Eileen’s mother explained. “Molecules are too small to be seen. However, they turn into water vapor which is light enough to be carried away.”

“Sometimes it does seem so if the vapor is heavy,” her mother replied. “Water vapor is everywhere. At times a great deal is in the air, and at other times only a small amount.”

“I just hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow,” she said. “If anything should prevent the Mexican pickers from coming to Pa Hooper’s orchard, he would be almost certain to lose the rest of his fruit.”

“A rain would ruin our festival too,” added Connie, stretching her tired feet. “I wonder how Miss Gordon is feeling? If she should be ill, we would have to postpone the quilt show.”

The next day the Brownies were very relieved to learn that their leader felt as well as usual. She assured the girls that the festival would be held exactly as planned.

Now, all the mothers had worked very hard to make the affair a success. They had made fancy paper lanterns decorated with cherries, to string in the church lawn.

The table where cherry pie was to be served had been decorated with garlands of paper cherry blossoms.

However, the Brownies thought the most interesting feature was the queen’s throne. A swing had been used. The ropes which hung from a large maple tree, had been entwined with artificial cherry blossoms.

Mrs. Davidson had fashioned the paper crown to be bestowed upon the girl who was chosen queen. The material was elegant, consisting of gold mat stock shaped to fit a small head. Colored cellophane had been used to fashion jewels.

The queen was to be chosen by vote. Only members of the Brownie organization were privileged to ballot.

“I hope I’m elected queen,” Veve said, trying the crown on her head. “See, it fits perfectly!”

“It fits any of the Brownies,” Jane Tuttle replied. “We’re supposed to vote for the girl who has been the most helpful to the organization. The one considered the most resourceful and kind.”

“Oh, Miss Gordon doesn’t mean things like that,” Jane retorted. “She wants us to select for our queen158 the Brownie who has been the most courteous, helpful and fair.”

“That would be Connie,” Veve said honestly. “She always is polite to everyone. And I’ve heard Miss Gordon say that she has very good judgment. I’ll vote for Connie.”

Throughout the morning and early afternoon the Brownies were kept very busy. Although their mothers took care of the hardest work, there were many errands to run.

All of the quilts were arranged for the display. On the long table stood a long row of freshly baked cherry pies.

“My, how good they look!” Veve exclaimed. “Only I wish they were chocolate or lemon or apple. After picking so many cherries, I’m a little tired of them.”

At five o’clock the Brownies went home to dress for the festival and to have an early supper. The affair was supposed to start at six-thirty.

“Be sure to wear your Brownie uniforms and to be here on time,” Miss Gordon warned the girls.

Connie and Veve both were back at the church by six-fifteen. Miss Gordon told them their assignment was to greet the visitors. After nearly everyone had arrived they were to take charge of one of the booths where quilts were displayed.

Miss Gordon said the coverlet would not be sold until nearly everyone had arrived. The queen, however, was to be chosen fairly early in the evening.

At first only the parents came, but presently others began to straggle in. The table where cherry pie was served became very popular.

“Dear me, I never dreamed so many persons would attend our festival on such short notice,” Miss Gordon whispered to Connie’s mother. “Do you suppose we will have enough cherry pies to serve everyone?”

After that, the mothers cut the pies into smaller pieces. The Brownies did not take any and neither did Miss Gordon.

“It’s Miss Adelia Brimborough,” Veve said in an undertone. “She wouldn’t lend me her quilt for the show. I think she has nerve to come here now.”

“It is my dogwood blossom quilt,” she explained to the startled Veve. “After you left that day, I thought how selfish it was of me to refuse to let you have the quilt. The Brownies, I am told, are highly responsible. So here it is, my dear.”

She and Connie took the quilt to add to the display. They spread it out very carefully, for they knew that Miss Brimborough would hate to have it soiled.

“I have three entries now!” Veve laughed. “The autograph quilt, the Mexican blanket, and now this one!”

A car had driven up to the curb. Connie saw the driver alight, and scarcely could believe her eyes.

“Why, it’s Harold McLean, president of the Rosedale Chamber of Commerce!” she whispered in awe. “He’s terribly important.”

Miss Gordon herself came forward to welcome the Chamber of Commerce president. She was as surprised as the Brownies to see him there.

“Well, well, WELL,” said Mr. McLean in a hearty voice. “A cherry festival in full swing, eh? I saw your lighted lanterns and couldn’t resist stopping. I always was a push-over for cherry pie.”

“Then do have a large piece,” invited Miss Gordon. She escorted him to the nearby table.

“We’re certain to run out if this keeps on,” Connie whispered anxiously. “And see! Someone else is coming.”

Another automobile, one which the girls were certain162 they had seen before, had driven up to the churchyard.

The driver stepped out and looked around. As the light shone on his face, both Veve and Connie recognized him.

“It’s Carl Wingate!” Veve muttered in an undertone. “Now who invited him?”

“Eileen must have done it that day she rode back on the Wingate truck from the canning factory. Oh, dear, and we’re running out of pie too. I don’t feel like being nice to him.”

The two Brownies went forward to speak to the orchard owner. He did not seem to remember them or to recall that he had refused to give them a job.

After that several women came who had donated quilts for the show. Everyone admired the fine coverlets on display. The Brownies were kept busy explaining about the different patterns, and showing their own crazy quilt.

“I wish Pa Hooper would come and bring our check,” Connie remarked as the evening wore on. “But I guess he isn’t coming.”

“Maybe it’s just as well,” Veve hinted. “With Mr. Wingate here, they might not get along together. I don’t see why he had to come.”

Presently, Miss Gordon announced that it was time for the Brownies to choose their queen. Slips of paper were passed out to the six girls.

Veve was writing Connie’s name on her sheet when she heard laughter from far down the street.

An old battered car chugged up to the churchyard. A Mexican man was driving it. In the automobile were at least a dozen children, dressed in their brightest.

However, as they started across the churchyard, Carl Wingate moved forward to meet them.

Before either Veve or Connie could greet the newcomers, he walked directly to them.

“What do you mean coming here?” he demanded. “You know you’re not wanted.”

CHAPTER 13
Trouble Afoot

AS Carl Wingate berated the Mexicans for coming to the cherry festival, Juan drew himself up proudly.

Juan’s face puckered up. For a minute he looked as if he might cry. Then he became very angry.

The other Mexican children looked unhappy. Without saying a word, they climbed back into the battered old car.

Miss Gordon, who had been discussing one of the quilts with a visitor, now hastened forward.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Miss Gordon murmured. “Not for anything in the world would I have hurt their feelings.”

“They had no business being here,” Mr. Wingate said. “They knew it too.”

“The Mexicans can’t be allowed to attend social affairs. They’re making enough trouble as it is.”

Miss Gordon disagreed with the orchard owner. However, it was too late to recall the Mexican children. So she decided to say no more about the matter just then.

The festival continued. Everyone had a good time, but the Brownies could not forget how Juan and his friends had been sent away. The thought of it made them feel rather unhappy.

Everyone brightened though when Miss Gordon announced that the festival queen had been elected.

“The votes have been counted,” she said. “I take great pleasure in announcing that the queen of our festival is—”

The Brownie leader paused and her gaze wandered166 from one eager face to another. All of the girls were hoping that they were the one elected.

“Our festival queen is Connie Williams!” she completed. “She received five out of a possible six votes!”

Connie was embarrassed. She had not expected to be chosen. In fact, she had voted for Veve. All the other girls had written her name on their slips.

Miss Gordon placed the golden crown on Connie’s head. The Brownies then escorted her to her throne where she was to remain until the end of the festival.

The Brownies were eager to make more money for the organization. Nevertheless, they had worked long hours at their sewing. To see the quilt put up for sale gave them a queer feeling.

“What am I bid for this fine Brownie quilt?” he asked the crowd. “Who will start it? Five dollars? Five dollars? Who will bid five dollars?”

Mr. Davidson dropped out of the bidding, but Mr. McLean said he would pay twenty dollars for the quilt.

“Twenty dollars!” Mr. Williams shouted, trying to get the bid even higher. “Do I hear twenty-five?”

He looked directly at the woman who had offered fifteen. But she seemed to have lost interest.

“It’s a fine quilt,” Mr. McLean laughed. “Why, where else could I get one made by a troop of Brownies? My bid of twenty-five dollars stands.”

Mr. McLean gave Miss Gordon twenty-five dollars in crisp new bills. Then he did a most surprising thing.

“I really have no use for this, although it is a handsome quilt,” he said. “The twenty-five dollars is my contribution to the organization. Keep the quilt, or if you like, put it up and auction it off again.”

“Yes, that’s just what we will do,” Miss Gordon nodded. “Our organization will treasure it always. However, it hardly seems right to accept twenty-five dollars without giving something in return.”

“But you have given me something. Two excellent pieces of cherry pie.” Mr. McLean became serious. “And you’ve also planted an idea in my mind. A very valuable idea.”

“Your cherry festival made me think that it might be worth while to have a large-scale affair—one in which the entire city takes part.”

“I feel sure the orchard owners would cooperate,” the Chamber of Commerce president went on. “We could have several bands and elect the queen.”

“For a city-wide festival it might be better to select an older girl,” Mr. McLean replied. “Not that a Brownie queen wouldn’t be fine.”

“Being queen of one festival is enough,” laughed Connie from her throne in the decorated swing.

“As a climax to the festival we might have a giant cherry pie,” Mr. McLean resumed. “One that would be as large as a small room and serve everyone! The pie would contain pounds and pounds of cherries.”

“I wouldn’t venture to bake such a pie,” laughed Miss Gordon. She was rather excited by the plan.

“Oh, a commercial bakery would take over. The pie would not be difficult. Why, our festival might gain national attention. After all, Rosedale is in the heart of the cherry country.”

“It would be worthwhile to advertise the community to the nation,” Miss Gordon agreed. “However,170 the festival would have to be held very soon for the cherry season is nearly over.”

“Yes, we would need to work fast,” Mr. McLean nodded. “Fortunately, I have a large organization of trained staff members. Now as to the cherry pie—I have another idea!”

By this time all of the Brownies had gathered near to hear what Mr. McLean proposed.

“What better way of bringing to attention the fact that Rosedale has the best cherries in the nation?”

“Oh, it’s a wonderful idea!” Miss Gordon approved. “Quite breath taking! Do you think the festival could be carried through?”

“I’m sure of it. We’ll get every organization in Rosedale to help. May I depend upon your Brownie troop?”

“How about it, girls?” Miss Gordon asked. Of course, she already knew what they would say.

And Veve, quite carried away with the thought of another festival, tossed her Brownie cap into the air and shouted:

Other persons at the churchyard affair thought that Veve was acting strangely. In a few minutes, however, word went around of Mr. McLean’s plan. Everyone became very enthusiastic and promised to help.

“We’ll need exhibits,” Mr. McLean went on outlining his plans. “This quilt show, I notice, has attracted the interest of women. We’ll want to repeat the display.”

“Most of the quilts were borrowed,” Miss Gordon explained. “I think, though, that we can arrange to have them again.”

Mr. McLean said that because the cherries were ripening so fast, it would be necessary to have the festival early in the coming week.

“My organization will look after everything,” he promised Miss Gordon. “If the Brownies take responsibility for the quilt show, that’s all they’ll be called upon to do.”

Miss Gordon assured the Chamber of Commerce president that the girls would have a much better quilt display for the next festival. Now that the organization was through picking at Pa Hooper’s172 orchard, the girls would have ample time to search for other coverlets.

After Mr. McLean had moved on, the Brownies excitedly discussed their plans. They hoped to obtain at least twenty quilts for their show.

“I wish Connie or one of the Brownies could be queen at the next festival as well as this one,” Veve remarked.

Miss Gordon did not share her view. She felt that Brownies should remain in the background at any public gathering.

“But just think of taking a cherry pie to the President of the United States,” Veve sighed enviously.

Even though the hour was early, a few persons began to leave the churchyard. Soon the Brownie festival would be over.

“It’s been a wonderful success,” Rosemary said happily. “And just think! We made twenty-five dollars for our crazy quilt.”

“What’s more, we still have the quilt,” chuckled Jane. “That’s what I call good business.”

“It’s odd Pa Hooper didn’t come,” she remarked. “He said he might bring our check for the cherry picking.”

“Probably he was detained at the orchard,” Miss173 Gordon replied. “Don’t worry about the check. It may come by mail tomorrow.”

The Brownies began to gather up paper plates and to pick up napkins that had blown from the serving table.

Since the start of the festival, the wind steadily had freshened. Dark clouds scudded across the sky.

“It looks a little like rain,” Miss Gordon observed rather anxiously. “I hope not. A storm tonight might seriously damage Mr. Hooper’s cherry harvest.”

“Several other orchards remain to be picked too,” Mr. McLean said to the Brownie leader. “On the whole, though, the fruit is at the cannery.”

Connie started to fold up some of the quilts. She wanted to put them away so that if rain began to fall, they would not be damaged.

Just as she spoke, an automobile turned down the street. As the Brownies watched, it pulled up at the churchyard.

“And every piece of cherry pie, is gone,” Veve said174 in dismay. “We haven’t anything now to serve him.”

As the orchard owner strode across the festival grounds, the girls saw that he was deeply troubled about something.

“Hello, Mr. Hooper!” Connie greeted him. “We’re glad you were able to come after all.”

“Hi, there,” the orchard owner said, but he scarcely noticed the little girl. “Is Carl Wingate here?”

The question took Connie by surprise. She could not guess why Mr. Hooper would ask about his cousin.

“At his place, they told me he had come here,” Mr. Hooper explained, his gaze sweeping the group of people on the lawn.

“Mr. Wingate was here a few minutes ago,” Connie said. “Yes, there he is now. Over by the table, talking to Mr. McLean!”

“Leaving?” Mr. Wingate demanded. “Nonsense! A bunch of ’em were here not three quarters of an hour ago.”

“So what? The Mexicans know they’re not allowed to run riot in town. They’re supposed to stay in their own camp.”

“That’s why they’re dissatisfied,” Mr. Hooper insisted. “They feel they have no social rights. For a long time they’ve been dissatisfied. Sending them away from the festival tonight was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“The pickers can’t leave,” Mr. Wingate muttered. “There’s a good two hours work at my place yet. And your orchard!”

“They’re breaking camp now. A bad storm is rolling up too! Unless we can stop the pickers and get them to pick tonight, I’ll lose most of my cherries.”

Mr. McLean seized Carl Wingate’s arm. “Come on!” he urged. “We can’t let those pickers leave. We’ve got to get out there right away and stop them!”

CHAPTER 14
Racing the Storm

Several orchard owners besides Carl Wingate were at the affair. They, too, were alarmed lest the Mexican pickers leave Rosedale and fail to return another season.

Not only Mr. McLean, Carl Wingate and Pa Hooper, but several other men said they would drive at once to the Mexican camp.

“Maybe we could help,” Veve argued. “After all, the Mexicans are leaving because they weren’t allowed at the festival. And I invited them.”

“We might be able to clear up the misunderstanding.” The Brownie leader spoke thoughtfully. “I177 certainly don’t want the Mexicans to leave the community. Nor for that matter to feel that we turned them away from our social gathering.”

The mothers and fathers of the Brownies all were interested in seeing that the cherry pickers did not leave Rosedale.

Mr. Davidson, Connie’s father, and Mr. Webber offered to drive their cars to the Mexican camp. Everyone piled into the three automobiles.

“Drive fast,” Connie urged her father. “If we don’t hurry, we will get there too late.”

The tents had been taken down and the animals and furniture loaded into several trucks.

As the Brownies followed their parents and Miss Gordon along the dark trail leading from the road, they could hear the sound of men’s voices.

“See here!” he said angrily. “You can’t pull out and leave us in the lurch. You signed a contract to pick cherries for the season.”

“Senor, you mistreated us,” one of the Mexicans replied. “You beat my son, Juan, with a stick. Tonight178 you drove the children away from the festival after they had been invited there. We Mexicans are a proud race.”

“You’re insolent and lazy!” Wingate retorted. “You’re not breaking camp because you’ve been mistreated. Oh, no! You’ve learned that they’re paying a half cent more for pickers up north. That’s why you’re leaving.”

The elderly Mexican eyed the orchard owner for a moment. Then, wrapping his serape tightly about him, he started to climb into the cab of the truck.

“Listen, you!” he said furiously. “A storm is coming up. If we’re to save the unpicked fruit, it must be harvested tonight. We need pickers—now!”

The Mexican leader remained unmoved. “Senor should have thought of that before,” he shrugged. “It is too late now.”

“Wait!” requested Pa Hooper. “I’m sure the orchard owners want to be fair. If you will pick my179 trees tonight before the storm breaks, I will pay a half cent more. I can’t afford it, but I will do it rather than lose my fruit.”

Juan’s father hesitated, and it seemed for a moment that he might change his mind. Then he shook his head.

“It is no use, Senor,” he said. “We have made up our minds. We leave now.”

“Well, this writes finish to my plans for the cherry festival,” Mr. McLean said unhappily. “Too bad!”

Mr. Hooper also moved back from the truck. He was very discouraged. Although it was not his fault that the pickers were leaving, he would lose more than any of the other orchard owners.

At the far end of the line of trucks, Veve spied Juan sitting on a pile of canvas with some other children. She hurried over to speak to him.

“Oh, Juan!” she said. “It isn’t fair for the pickers to leave when Mr. Hooper needs them so badly.”

“Oh, that isn’t so, Juan. It was all a mistake that you were ordered away from the festival tonight.”

“That’s true,” added Connie. She had followed Veve to the truck. “Mr. Wingate had no right to order you away. After all, it wasn’t his festival.”

“The Brownies all wanted you to be there,” Veve said, noticing that Juan was listening hard to Connie’s arguments.

“And so did Miss Gordon, our leader,” Connie went on. “She said it would be a shame if the pickers left the community.”

“It is no fun being kept always near camp. The shop people do not want us in their stores. We cannot use the beaches.”

“If it could be fixed up so that the Mexicans could go places and have fun, then would you stay?” Veve asked. She spoke hurriedly for she saw that the trucks were starting to pull away.

“Perhaps we would stay,” Juan agreed. “That would be for my father to decide.”

“Then tell him to stop the trucks!” Veve said excitedly.181 “I will talk to Mr. McLean and Mr. Hooper.”

“Oh, please do it,” Veve pleaded. “It isn’t fair for Mr. Hooper to lose his cherries.”

Leaping off the back of the truck, he called to his father who was driving one of the heavily laden vehicles ahead.

However, Juan’s father not only stopped his truck, but ordered the others to wait in line.

“If you want the Mexicans to stay, tell them that they are invited to the cherry festival!” she cried.

“Why, of course we’ll be glad to have the Mexicans attend the festival,” the Chamber of Commerce president replied instantly. “It is for everyone. Tell you what! We’ll offer them a regular part in the show!”

“I’m sure they’d like it,” agreed Connie, clapping her hands. “And they have Mexican wares to display!”

“A Mexican dancing and singing act would be the ticket,” declared Mr. McLean. “It would add to the festival too.”

His eyes began to sparkle as the girls told him about Mr. McLean’s plans for including the Mexicans in the cherry festival.

Juan talked to him for a while. The girls could not understand what was said, for it was in Spanish.

But Juan’s father then spoke to other men among the pickers. Finally, after much arguing and gesturing, the Mexicans approached Mr. Hooper and Mr. McLean.

“Is it true, Senor, that my people will be welcome at the cherry fiesta?” he inquired.

Mr. McLean assured him that it was so. He promised also, that the Mexicans would receive better treatment from the orchard owners.

Grudgingly, he promised that he never again would strike any of the pickers, even if they annoyed him. He said, too, that he would allow them longer lunch hours when they returned to the orchard next season.

“Well, that’s settled,” Mr. McLean declared in relief. “We’ll get the fruit in, and hold the festival after all.”

The night was coming on very dark. Even in the glow of the camp lanterns, the sky seemed much blacker than usual.

“That storm is moving this way,” Mr. Wingate said, scanning the fast-moving clouds. “We must get the cherries into the shed. Drive your trucks direct to my orchard and let’s get at ’em. There’s no time to lose.”

“No, Senor,” he said. “First, we will finish the picking in Mr. Hooper’s orchard.”

“But you haven’t completed your work for me,” Mr. Wingate said angrily. “It will only take an hour or so.”

“It’s only fair that Mr. Hooper should have a chance at the pickers,” he said. “He’s been forced to184 wait on you several days. Also, if the storm breaks, he has more to lose.”

The Mexicans drove at once to the Hooper orchard. Soon the trees were dotted with lighted lanterns as the professional strippers went to work with a will.

“Will you save your fruit, Mr. Hooper?” Miss Gordon asked the orchard owner anxiously.

With the Brownies and their parents, she had stopped at the shed to see how the work was progressing.

“I hope so,” Mr. Hooper answered. “But it will be nip and tuck. That storm is rolling up fast, and it looks like it will be a bad one when it breaks.”

Miss Gordon had been thinking of the same thing. She had hesitated to suggest it, however, knowing that it was after eight o’clock. The Brownies, she knew, should be home in their beds.

“I could use a dozen more pickers,” Mr. Hooper said before the Brownie leader could reply. “If I had them, I might beat the storm!”

Miss Gordon replied that it was not a matter for her to decide. She thought the parents of each girl should make the decision.

“Connie may pick for a while,” her father answered at once. “Furthermore, I’ll help her!”

“And I’ll race Eileen to see who can strip the most cherries!” declared Mr. Webber.

All of the Brownies were granted permission to pick. Veve had no father, but her mother was there. Even though Mrs. McGuire had on a good dress, she wanted to help too.

Lend a hand and play the game!” warbled Veve crazily as she carried her four gallon pail into the orchard.

Soon, in another section of the orchard, the Mexican pickers also began to sing. Everyone worked feverishly.

The warm night air had turned slightly colder. Connie, who was picking as fast as she could, felt a gust of cool wind on her neck.

Pulling her sweater closer about her, she glanced up into the sky. The black clouds were fairly boiling.

“The storm certainly is coming!” Mr. Williams said. “It’s not far off either!”

In the nearby trees, everyone began to strip even faster. No one took time to go back and forth to the shed.

“Good work!” he praised the Brownies and their fathers. “We may beat the storm yet, but it will be close.”

“They’ve gone at it with a will,” the orchard owner reported. “Never saw ’em strip trees so fast. If this storm just gives us a break, we’ll make it.”

The storm, however, drew closer and closer. Suddenly, the clouds overhead parted as a flash of lightning made the orchard as bright as day.

Connie uttered a squeal of terror. She was not really frightened, but the brilliant light had startled her.

Mr. Hooper came hurrying from the shed. “This is it,” he said. “All the Brownies take your buckets to the shed.”

Connie and the other girls raced for shelter. Their fathers stayed a few minutes and then they too ran to get in out of the rain.

The Mexican pickers, however, did not seem to mind. Nearly all of them stayed in the orchard, picking until their tree was stripped clean.

Juan was laughing as he tramped into the shed, his clothing soaked. His feet were muddy too, but his pail was brimming full of cherries.

“That’s the last of them,” he told Veve. “Mr. Hooper won’t lose thirty pounds because of the storm. The orchard is nearly bare.”

The rain now was falling so fast, that the Brownies could not make a dash for the automobiles. Instead, they waited in the shed.

Mr. Hooper was very pleased to have saved his fruit. He thanked everyone for the help he had received.

“Here is the money I owe the Brownies and their helpers,” he said, giving Miss Gordon a check. “It doesn’t half express my appreciation.”

“Seventy-two dollars and forty-nine cents!” Sunny Davidson exclaimed. “Why that’s almost a hundred dollars when you count the money we made on our crazy quilt!”

“You certainly did with the help of your parents,” Mr. Hooper replied. “Next year you’ll be able to earn more—”

He checked himself and finished rather lamely: “that is, you will if you pick for me.”

“Of course, we’ll work for you!” declared Veve before she stopped to think. “You wouldn’t catch us stripping for Mr. Wingate.”

The remark embarrassed the Brownies. Too late, Connie nudged Veve as a hint to keep silent.

“I’ll certainly want the Brownies to work for me,” Mr. Hooper said in a hearty voice. “Couldn’t have a better crew! The trouble is—I won’t have an orchard.”

For a moment no one made any reply. The Brownies did not like to think of Mr. Hooper losing his place.

“If I could hold on to the orchard, I’d rebuild the house,” Mr. Hooper went on. “I’ve lived here most of my life, and I’d like to keep the place ’til the end of my days. But it can’t be.”

“Won’t Mr. Wingate consider selling, even if he does take over the orchard according to the terms of the will?” Miss Gordon inquired.

“Not a chance,” Mr. Hooper told her. “I talked with him only yesterday. Carl Wingate doesn’t want money. It’s this orchard he’s after—it’s one of the best in the valley.”

The rain had slackened. After peering out the shed windows, the Brownies decided they could make a dash for the parked cars.

“I guess we should be going,” said Miss Gordon rather reluctantly. “It is late for the children.”

In truth, they were sorry to say good-bye to Mr. Hooper. Unless they made a special trip to the orchard, they might not see him again.

They were certain it would never be as much fun to pick cherries for another orchard owner.

“How long will you be able to keep your place here?” Mrs. Davidson asked the old man.

“That’s hard to tell,” he replied. “As soon as the will is probated, I’ll probably turn over the orchard.”

“I was talking to Judge Hutchins about it,” Mr. Hooper said. “I could fight it out in the courts, but it would make an ugly mess. Besides, except for Ella’s first will, I can’t produce any of her handwriting.”

“It seems unfair to lose your beautiful orchard,” Mrs. Davidson murmured. “I wish we could do something to help.”

“It’s just one of those things, ma’am.” Mr. Hooper tried to speak cheerfully. “I’ll find another place. Not in Rosedale though. I intend to move far away.”

“Yes, I’ve done well,” Mr. Hooper agreed. “No complaint on that score. But if it hadn’t been for the Brownies, I’d have lost all my profit.”

Only a few drops of rain now fell, for the storm had passed over as quickly as it had come.

Across the roadway, the wind had severely tossed191 Mr. Wingate’s cherry trees. Fruit from those which had not been completely stripped lay on the ground.

“I’m sorry for Carl Wingate,” Mr. Hooper remarked. “He didn’t lose much of his harvest though. Next year he’ll treat the Mexican pickers more kindly.”

Juan and a half dozen other Mexican children ran over to the car to say good-bye to the Brownies. They had enjoyed picking cherries in the rain.

“Oh, no, Senorita,” Juan returned, flashing his wide smile. “We will stay in camp here until after the fiesta is over. Then we travel north to pick more cherries.”

Tired and sleepy, Veve snuggled into the comfortable cushions of Mr. Davidson’s car.

What an exciting night it had been for the Brownies! Mr. Hooper’s harvest had been saved and the Mexican pickers coaxed to remain.

CHAPTER 15
Washington Calling!

DURING the next few days the Brownies were busier than ever before in the history of their troop.

With the aid of their fathers and mothers, they built a booth which was set up on the public square.

The girls then decorated it with colored crepe paper, and put up posters so that everyone would know about the Rosedale Troop quilt display.

“Invite all your friends too,” Miss Gordon urged. “We want everyone to come and learn what Brownies can do when they work together.”

From neighbors and acquaintances, the girls obtained the promise of many beautiful quilts for the show.

Everyone, it seemed, wanted to make Rosedale’s first cherry festival a great success.

With Mr. McLean in charge, plans already were193 moving forward very smoothly. Newspapers carried front page stories about the coming festival. The Brownies were given full credit for having started the idea. That, of course, made them feel very important.

The festival was to be on such a large scale that it fairly took away the Brownies’ breath.

A wooden platform was built in the center of the park. Here, a special program would be given.

Each high school was to put on a number, and there were several professional acts.

Then, the Mexican pickers had their place on the program. Mr. McLean told Miss Gordon that he was astonished to find such talent among them. The Mexicans were providing their own guitar music, while several talented young men and women would dance in colorful costumes.

“Oh, it’s going to be perfectly grand!” Veve told Connie. “I wonder who will be chosen queen?”

Now several very pretty young women had given their names to the committee. They said they would like to have the honor of taking the cherry pie to Washington.

As yet, no one knew who the lucky person would be. A ballot box had been set up on the public square. At the proper time, those who wished to, would be given a chance to vote for their favorite.

“How wonderful it would be to go to Washington,” sighed Veve enviously. “Just think of meeting the President of the United States!”

“I would like to go when the Japanese cherry blossoms are in bloom,” chimed in Sunny. “It must be an even prettier sight than our own orchards.”

“I want to see the Washington Monument,” Rosemary declared. “It rises 555 feet straight into the sky.”

Jane said the point of interest which would draw her would be the Jefferson Memorial. She also wanted to view the Red and Green rooms of the White House and the Lincoln Memorial.

All the Brownies, in fact, had a different reason for desiring to see the great city. Of course they were only talking, for they never expected to make such a long trip.

Now it seemed to the Brownies that the day set for the cherry festival never would come. Actually,195 it was close at hand. However, every hour and minute of waiting seemed very long.

In their separate homes, the Brownies awoke with a wonderful feeling that many exciting events lay ahead. This day really was to be their lucky one, but of course, they could not know that.

At the McQuire home, Veve opened her eyes in a semi-dark bedroom. She knew it must be morning because she could hear saucy sparrows chirping on the window sill. The room, though, was shadowy.

“Oh, dear!” thought the little girl. “I hope it isn’t going to rain and ruin the cherry festival.”

For a moment she lay very still, wishing hard that the day would be a bright one.

Then she leaped out of bed and ran to the window. The Venetian blind had been pulled down and was flapping in the breeze.

Veve was afraid she already had wasted valuable time. Quickly she put on her pinchecked Brownie196 uniform, a crisp fresh tie, and brushed her hair until it shone.

“How nice you look, Veve,” she said. “Oh, by the way, Miss Gordon telephoned before you were up.”

“I want to be there early, Mother,” Veve said, eating her breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast as rapidly as she could. “Is my quilt ready?”

“Yes, dear, and I must say it looks very nice now that I’ve washed it. I’ve rolled it into a tight bundle. I think you can manage it.”

As soon as she had finished breakfast and attended to several errands, the little girl was ready to leave.

As she skipped out of the house with her large197 bundle, she saw Connie Williams also coming out of her residence with a similar looking package.

“Hi!” shouted Connie. “Want to ride down town? My mother will take both of us in her car.”

Veve was glad to get a ride. A little farther on, Mrs. Williams picked up Eileen and Jane also.

At the public square, the girls found Miss Gordon already there. Rosemary arrived only a few minutes later.

Each quilt was spread out attractively and the name of the pattern pinned to it.

In addition to the Album quilt donated by Rosemary’s mother, there were many others—Eileen’s Pine Tree pattern—Jane’s Ship’s Wheel and the velvet and silk one brought by Sunny.

Grandmother’s Flower Garden also attracted much attention with its array of delicate colors.

Of course, the Brownies liked best of all their own crazy quilt which occupied the central position in the fine display.

Veve’s favorite quilt was her own—the autograph. Now that the coverlet had been washed, the writing on each block stood out quite plainly.

The names, however, meant nothing to the little girl. She was certain the persons to whom they once had belonged, could not have lived in Rosedale for a long while.

Toward noon, the crowd began to gather for the festival. Becoming hungry, the Brownies wandered about to sample food sold at other booths, and to view the huge cherry pie on display.

“What a giant pie!” Veve observed, pausing with the other Brownies before it. “It must contain several hundred pounds of cherries!”

“I’m hungry now,” Connie declared. “I wish they would cut the pie right away.”

The girls obtained hot sandwiches at another booth. After that they listened to the bands and199 watched several acts of entertainment in the center of the square.

When the Mexican pickers came on in their festive costumes to play music and dance, the Brownies clapped hard. So did nearly everyone in the audience.

“The pickers had the very best number,” Veve declared proudly. “I guess Mr. McLean and the others are glad now that they invited them to be in the festival.”

After the number was over, Juan came through the crowd searching for the Brownies.

Veve opened the package. Inside was the figure the little boy had carved from wood. Very cleverly, he had fashioned a saint in long robes.

Veve was pleased with the gift and told Juan so. She was sorry she had nothing to offer him in return.

“You have given me much,” he assured her warmly. “After the fiesta, my people leave for the north.”

“I will return next year when the cherries are ripe,” he assured her. “Until then, adios.” The little boy bowed politely, and the next moment had melted into the crowd.

After a while, Veve, Connie and Eileen went back to the quilt booth to relieve the other Brownies who were working there.

A steady stream of visitors, largely women, came by to look at the quilts and examine them.

Veve was rather disappointed because so many persons appeared more interested in the bright colored ones than in her autograph quilt.

“Don’t you mind,” Connie said to cheer her. “It really is a fine quilt. The very oldest one in our collection.”

Presently, Mrs. Evans, a lady who lived only six doors from the Williams’ home, came to the booth.

She seemed interested in the quilts and spent a long time examining each one. However, she barely glanced at the autograph patch.

“Dear me, it has the appearance of a very old201 quilt,” remarked Mrs. Evans. “I wonder if the names of any of my friends are embroidered or written on it? I knew many of Rosedale’s old settlers, you know.”

“‘Flora Winequist,’” she repeated aloud. “Why, I remember her. She died two years ago, rest her soul.”

“Here’s another old sounding name!” Connie exclaimed. “‘Hannah Goodhue.’ Her name is written in ink, but it’s still legible.”

Very much excited, she was staring at the quilt block as if unable to believe her own eyesight.

“Why, Veve, what is the matter?” Connie inquired. Her little friend had such a peculiar expression on her face, she was afraid she might be ill.

“‘Ella Cooper,’” Connie read aloud. She could202 not understand the reason for Veve’s strange behavior.

“No! No! It isn’t Ella Cooper,” the other insisted impatiently. “Look again!”

The girls were delighted by their discovery. Leaving Miss Gordon and Sunny Davidson in charge of the booth, they dashed off to see if they could find Mr. Hooper anywhere in the crowd.

Finally, they located him at one of the stands, eating a ham sandwich, and drinking coffee.

Mr. Hooper put down his cup of coffee. “What’s this?” he asked in surprise.

“Now you know I’m no judge of quilts,” Mr. Hooper protested, holding back.

“Oh, we don’t want you to judge one,” Connie interposed. “We want you just to see a name on it.”

“A name?” The orchard owner was deeply puzzled. “Let me finish this cup of coffee first and then I’ll come.”

Mr. Hooper completely forgot his coffee then. He gave the two girls his undivided attention.

“Let’s get this straight,” he said. “You have a quilt with my sister’s signature on it?”

“We aren’t sure,” Connie admitted. “But the name is the same as hers—Ella Hooper.”

“We’ll look at that quilt right now,” Mr. Hooper declared. “It’s barely possible the name may be Ella’s, because she liked to make coverlets and fancy work.”

During their absence, Miss Gordon and the other girls had been examining the autograph quilt carefully. The date upon which the coverlet had been completed was stitched in the lower right-hand corner.

“My sister was alive at that time,” Mr. Hooper204 said, noticing the date. “And it seems to me she was working on an autograph quilt to give to a friend.”

“Here is the signature,” Miss Gordon said, spreading the quilt over the counter.

“Why, it’s a dead-ringer for the way she signed her name on the document that left me the orchard,” Mr. Hooper replied. “But it doesn’t much resemble the handwriting on that later will which Carl Wingate claims is genuine.”

Mr. Hooper smiled and kept staring at the quilt block. He was thinking very hard.

“I’ve always been certain Carl Wingate’s will was a forgery,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, this provides positive proof. But the courts might decide differently.”

“Then finding your sister’s name on the block won’t be any help in saving your orchard?” Connie asked. She was deeply disappointed.

“I don’t know,” Mr. Hooper admitted. “It might be—it all depends on how hard a fight Wingate is inclined to put up.”

Mr. Wingate was walking away from the Brownie quilt booth. However, he turned around when Pa Hooper called his name.

Rather reluctantly, Carl Wingate walked over to the booth. He could not understand why his cousin had called him.

“Yes, we want you to see a quilt in this display,” said Mr. Hooper. “An autograph quilt. You will note that the blocks bear the names and signatures of their makers.”

Carl Wingate gazed at the faded coverlet206 without understanding what the older man meant.

“I never was much interested in quilts,” he began. “Now if my wife were here—”

“Look at this one,” he suggested. “I think you’ll find it interesting.”

Mr. Wingate stared at the block a moment. Then he became somewhat flustered. But he would not admit that he was worried.

“You’ll observe that this is a sample of my sister’s writing,” Pa Hooper told him. “Also, that it does not look much like the signature on the will you claim was the last one she signed.”

“What does this prove?” he blustered. “Not a thing! A person’s signature never appears exactly the same.”

“True,” agreed Mr. Hooper. “But in this case, the handwriting on the quilt only confirms what I long suspected—that the will you produced was a fraud.”

“That’s not so,” Mr. Wingate denied.207 “You knew all my sister’s possessions were destroyed in the fire. So you thought you could claim to have discovered the new will, and no one could prove otherwise.”

The men began to argue about the matter. At first their voices were fairly quiet, but gradually they spoke in louder and louder tones. Miss Gordon and the Brownies were quite distressed. Other persons were glancing curiously at the two men.

Drawn by the argument, an elderly gentleman sauntered over to the booth. Connie recognized him as Judge Hutchins of Probate Court.

The judge stood for a while listening to the two men talk. Then he picked up the autograph quilt and studied the signature of Ella Hooper.

“Wingate,” he said, “if I were you, I’d withdraw that will which gives you title to the Hooper orchard.”

“And be cheated out of my rightful inheritance?” Wingate demanded furiously.

The judge shrugged. “It’s up to you to decide what you want to do,” he replied. “But if I were in your place, I’d forget the matter. This appears to be the authentic signature of Ella Hooper. Offhand, without comparing it with the name which is signed208 to the two wills, I would say it more closely resembles the signature on the document already filed in our court.”

“Do as you please,” the judge said. “Take the matter into court if you like. However, if it should be proven that the signature on your will is a forgery, your cousin then could bring action against you.”

“You have the best of me,” he said angrily. “Thanks to this quilt! Keep your stupid orchard! I have enough trouble looking after my own!”

“I’ll drop it, because I don’t want to have a long court fight,” Mr. Wingate snapped. “But I’m not admitting that the will isn’t a genuine one.”

Glaring at the judge and his cousin, the orchard owner strode off into the crowd.

Mr. Hooper then turned to the Brownies, thanking them for finding the quilt and saving his orchard.

“Oh, it was Veve who did it,” Connie said, giving full credit to her friend. “The autograph quilt is all hers.”

“But I might never have noticed the name on the block if it hadn’t been for the quilt show,” Veve replied. “I think all the Brownies deserve credit.”

“You don’t know what this means to me,” he said. “I hated the thought of giving up that orchard as I’ve worked hard for many years to make it productive. Now I’ll be able to remain there.”

“Indeed, I will. When it is finished, we’ll have a house warming party. The Brownies are invited!”

Not only did Mr. Hooper thank the Brownies, but afterwards, he told his friends how the girls had saved his orchard.

In turn, they told other persons, until it seemed that almost everyone at the cherry festival heard about the affair.

The Brownies were asked so many questions they were glad when it came time to select the queen210 of the fiesta. Everyone gathered near the platform where the election was to be held.

“I wonder why folks keep looking at us and whispering?” Rosemary remarked uneasily. “I don’t like it!”

Mr. McLean now read off the names of several girls who hoped to be chosen queen. These candidates had entered their names with the committee.

“If you wish, you may write in additional candidates,” Mr. McLean instructed. “The queen—” he paused for emphasis—“or queens, we feel, should be truly representative of Rosedale. The festival committee wishes to send to Washington the person or persons who have done the most to make this affair a success.”

The Brownies were somewhat puzzled by the Chamber of Commerce president’s remarks.

Persons who cast their votes seemed to know, for they smiled in a most peculiar way as one after another, they dropped their folded ballots into the box.

The Mexican pickers were allowed to vote too. In a group they marched to the box and dropped in their slips.

“You’ll be surprised when you learn who is queen of the fiesta,” Juan told Veve.

Veve wondered then if some of the people might be voting for Connie, even though her name had not been on the list. But Connie, she thought, would be too young to take a cherry pie to Washington by herself.

The Brownies became very curious indeed, and scarcely could wait until the votes were counted.

Finally, the task was completed. Again Mr. McLean mounted the platform. He was smiling broadly.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, clapping his hands for attention. “I shall now give you the results of the balloting.”

The Brownies moved closer so that they would not miss the important announcement.

Mr. McLean read off the names of five leading candidates. “Miss Marana Jones, 43 votes. Miss Eva212 Parkhurst, 51 votes. Miss Esther Illman, 64 votes. Miss Geraldine Gainsworth, 75 votes. Miss Martha Fellows, 79 votes—”

A few persons in the audience began to clap, for Miss Fellows was the leading candidate. Only the five girls had given their names to the committee. Even the Brownies thought that she had been elected as the festival queen.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he boomed. “We also have write-in candidates. I now give you The Winner with 1,398 votes—”

Everyone began to whistle and clap and shout. The Brownies were so taken by surprise, they scarcely knew what to think.

“But we can’t all be queen,” Jane whispered uneasily. “There must be some mistake.”

“Mr. McLean announced that several persons213 could be chosen,” Connie recalled. “Only we didn’t even enter our names!”

The girls crowded about Miss Gordon, who, oddly enough, seemed very little surprised that the organization had been selected instead of a single queen.

“Mr. McLean talked to me about it earlier today,” the Brownie leader confessed. “He convinced me that inasmuch as the idea for a cherry festival originated with the organization, it would be suitable for the troop to take the cherry pie to Washington.”

“At first it seemed very uncertain that the Brownies could be elected on a write-in basis,” the teacher explained. “But I underestimated Mr. McLean. I think he must have told everyone to vote for the Brownies.”

“And so did Mr. Hooper,” added a bystander. “Also, the Mexican pickers voted solidly for the troop.”

“Just think of going to Washington!” Connie exclaimed,214 her eyes star-bright at the thought. “Is it really true, Miss Gordon?”

“Yes, I’ve given my consent,” the Brownie leader nodded. “And so have your parents.”

“Yes, that is the plan. All expenses will be paid and we’re to stay nearly a week.”

“I want to visit the Red Room!” shouted Sunny. “And see the swimming pool!”

Miss Gordon lined up the girls and had them march single file onto the platform. In their pinchecked uniforms, each with a jaunty little brown beanie, they looked very nice indeed.

Mr. McLean then made a speech, telling the girls215 how grateful Rosedale was for their efforts in making the cherry festival a success.

The Brownies wanted to tell him that it had not been work at all—only good fun. However, with so many persons looking at them, they were a trifle embarrassed.

“Accept this plaque as a token of the city’s appreciation,” the Chamber of Commerce president resumed. He held up a large bronze badge in the shape of a cherry blossom. “The name of the Rosedale Brownie Troop will be engraved upon it.”

Mr. McLean waited for one of the girls to step forward. No one wanted to do it. Eileen nudged Jane and Jane nudged Veve who gave Connie a little push. So she had to take the plaque.

“Thank you so much, Mr. McLean,” she said, speaking as well as if she had planned her speech. “In behalf of the Brownie organization, may I say that we deeply appreciate the honor? We’ll do our best to bring credit to Rosedale!”

“You’ll do it too!” approved Mr. McLean. “We couldn’t have chosen a better set of queens if we had scoured three counties! On to Washington!”

You may be certain that the Chamber of Commerce216 president’s words made the Brownies very happy and proud.

At a signal from Miss Gordon, they all raised their hands in the Brownie salute and stood for a moment at attention.

The President! Even the thought of meeting such a great person made the chills run up and down the spines of the Brownies.

Their organization had won the highest honor any troop ever could achieve. Not only would they see and talk to the President, but they would have a full week at the nation’s Capital.

With a vision of wonderful times ahead, they were ready, you see, to start at any moment.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BROWNIE SCOUTS IN THE CHERRY FESTIVAL ***

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