Mildred A. Wirt

“ Then you’re ready to be a Brownie.”
“I see,” nodded Hanny. “I am so very stupid.”
“No such thing,” cried Vevi, seizing her hand. “It always takes a while to catch on. But being a Brownie is fun. We have hikes and do lots of things out of doors. We learn to keep house, too. That part I don’t like so well.”
“That would be easy for me,” laughed Hanny. “I can sweep, iron, and cook! Peter says I am worth two girls in the house!”
The children talked a while about the Brownies and then left the cheese house. Hanny said she would show Connie and Vevi the barn and the mill. ”

“ MR. PIFF’S PLAN VEVI and Connie hastened after Hanny as fast as they could. Breathlessly, the three children reached the veranda where Peter Van Der Lann and Mr. Piff were talking.
“I want no part of it,” Mr. Van Der Lann said firmly. “My nursery is not yet profitable. I have no money to donate to your show.”
“It will be a money making proposition for you,” the promoter argued. “We’ll bring folks here to your farm—charge admission. They’ll see your fine tulips in bloom and order bulbs. Your business will boom.” ”

“ Van Der Lann had made a ‘B’ to stand for Brownie.”
“All Brownie Scouts fly up to become Girl Scouts when they’re old enough,” declared Connie. “I like our flower bed just as he made it.”
“So do I,” agreed Rosemary. “I think this is the nicest surprise our troop ever had.”
“The very best,” echoed Sunny.
“How do you suppose Mr. Van Der Lann made the tulips grow so fast?” speculated Jane. “Why, it’s almost miraculous!”
“He couldn’t have planted bulbs, that’s certain,” replied Connie. “I know! He must have brought potted plants from Windmill Farm!” ”

“ She did not know anyone in Rosedale by the name of Gabriel.
“She has been here several times,” Hanny told her friends. “Always she is nice to me and once gave me a chocolate bar. But I do not like her. Uncle Peter says she is trying to get him to do something he does not want to do.”
It was nearly time to leave now, so the children went down to the canal for their bouquets of flowers.
Sunny, Jane and Rosemary quickly gathered up their tulips and carried them back to the house. Vevi and Connie followed more slowly, stopping a moment to watch the revolving arms of the big windmill. ”

“ Hanny, Vevi and Connie moved in close to dry their damp shoes and stockings.
As the children were telling Mr. Van Der Lann about the leaky boat, the housekeeper came in bearing steaming chocolate and maastegles or sweet cakes.
While they nibbled the cakes, the grownups talked of the coming flower show. Judging of the tulips, the first event in the mammoth festival, was to come the following weekend. Mrs. Langley planned to open her estate to the public according to her usual custom. Prize flowers would be on display at her greenhouse. ”

“ The driveway was fringed with pink and white dogwood trees which had splattered their petals on the gravel. A big gray sedan stood in front of the little nursery office building.
“Mr. Van Der Lann must have a customer,” Miss Mohr remarked.
The nurseryman was talking to a well-dressed woman in a navy-blue suit and fox fur. However, when the Brownie Scouts trooped into the office, he noticed the party at once. He bowed to Miss Gordon and bestowed an especially nice smile upon Miss Mohr. ”

“ So wasn’t it a fair exchange?”
“A fair exchange?” Mrs. Gabriel cried, her voice shrill. “You planted the tulips! That bag was worth a small fortune to me. Oh, I could shake you!”
Vevi backed away, rather afraid of the irate woman.
“What did you do with the pellets that were in the bag?” she demanded.
“You mean those little pieces of fertilizer?” Vevi stammered. “We planted them with the bulbs!”
“Oh!” gasped Mrs. Gabriel. She started to scold Vevi and then abandoned the tirade. With a gesture of both anger and despair, she brushed past the girls and went rapidly away. ”

“ Rosemary asked in amazement.
Hanny nodded. “I will give you some of the culls,” she promised. “They are bulbs that are too small to sell. Each one will bear a flower, but it will not be large.”
“That wouldn’t matter,” Vevi said. “When may we have the bulbs?”
“Come to Windmill Farm when we leave here and I will give you a bag of them,” Hanny offered.
Throughout most of the day, the Brownie Scouts remained at the Langley estate. They took turns working at the flower stand. Tussie-mussie bouquets sold very well at twenty-five cents each. The girls also disposed of many tulips. ”

“ Vevi asked quickly.
“Go ahead,” Mr. Piff directed. “What’s the difference? This show is a flop and everyone knows it.”
“Maybe more people will come tomorrow,” Connie said kindly.
“Tomorrow will be worse than today,” Mr. Piff rejoined. “I only hope I won’t be here to hear the squawks of the business men when they find out how deep in the hole we’re going to be.”
“You’re not going away?” Connie asked quickly.
“No, no, certainly not.” Mr. Piff laughed, but in a hollow sort of way.
Following the girls into the auditorium, he voiced a steady stream of complaints. ”

“ Langley has offered a blue ribbon for the best tulip entered in the show.”
“Only a ribbon?” asked Rosemary. “Not a cash prize?”
“The winner of the blue ribbon will earn much money selling the prize bulbs. If the tulip catches the public fancy, the winning grower will receive large orders from all over the country.”
“I wish you’d show us the tulip to be entered in the contest,” Vevi said.
“It is a secret. No one knows except my Uncle Peter, Bruno and me!”
“Bruno is a dog!” scoffed Vevi. “How can he know?”
45 “Bruno knows many things,” laughed Hanny. “He is a very smart dog. ”

“ Even Vevi who did not know anything about flower bulbs could see that these were something very fine.
“Are these the special bulbs your uncle developed Hanny?” shrewdly guessed Connie. “Are they the blue ribbon ones?”
81 “They’re the bulbs Uncle Peter hopes will win the prize.”
“Why do you keep them locked up?” questioned Vevi.
“Because they will be worth their weight in gold if our tulip wins first prize,” Hanny explained. “There are no other bulbs like these anywhere in this country or abroad. Uncle Peter says they are the finest in the world! ”

“ Connie replied carelessly. “Maybe he is one of Mr. Piff’s friends.”
The stranger, however, did not speak to the flower festival promoter when the latter came into the greenhouse. In fact, the man did not talk to anyone.
“Maybe he is a detective,” Vevi decided. “Mrs. Langley may have hired him to watch the prize tulips.”
Convinced that this was so, she went over to ask the garden club president about it.
“No, dear,” Mrs. Langley assured her, “I do not have a detective on the grounds.”
“Then who is that man who keeps watching everyone so closely?” Vevi asked. ”

“ Van Der Lann had gone with the truck, Hanny and Vevi had a snack of cheese and crackers. Then they decided to get the bag of tulip culls.
“Are you sure your uncle will not mind?” Vevi asked.
“Oh, he will want you to have them, Vevi. The bulbs are too small to be sold. He is giving Miss Mohr some Golden Beauty tulips too. Only he will let her have choice stock.” ”

“ Vevi insisted emphatically. “Anyway, even if I did, Mrs. Gabriel got another bag of tulips better than her own. Everyone knows the Golden Beauties are the very best.”
“That’s so,” agreed Jane. “Even if there was a mix-up, she came out with good tulips. I don’t see why she’s making such a fuss.”
“Let’s plant the Brownie flower bed,” urged Connie who had wearied of the discussion. “Come on.”
Carrying the bag of bulbs and Jane’s garden tools, the girls set off for the library.
“We ought to tell Miss Mohr what we are doing,” Connie suggested. “Maybe she will tell us how to do it right.” ”

“ Hanny said soberly, “but Uncle Peter says we cannot count on it. All the growers in Rosedale are trying for the prize. Many new varieties will be shown.”
“Yours will be the very best,” Connie declared confidently. “If it is the Golden Beauty I am sure it will win.”
The children hauled the leaky boat up on the grassy bank. As they overturned it, Miss Gordon hailed them from the path.
“Come to the house, girls,” she called. “Mr. Van Der Lann has invited us to have sweet cakes.” ”

“ Miss Gordon then pinned a Brownie Scout pin on the right-hand side of her collar. She saluted Hanny and shook her hand, using the special grasp known only to troop members.
173 “Am I a real Brownie now?” Hanny asked happily.
“As real as they come,” declared Miss Mohr, giving her an affectionate hug.
“The best part of all is that I am going to stay in Rosedale,” Hanny told the other girls. “Now that my uncle has won the blue ribbon, he will make a great deal of money. Already he has had many fine offers for the Golden Beauty tulip bulbs.” ”

“ After the paper flowers had been made, the girls talked over plans for a booth at Mrs. Langley’s flower show. Miss Mohr announced that Peter Van86 Der Lann had promised the troop all the tulips they wanted, not only for decoration, but to sell. The mothers would help too, particularly in the making of tussie-mussie bouquets.
“I think the festival on Mrs. Langley’s estate will be very nice,” Miss Mohr told the girls. “The Brownies will wear Dutch costumes, and wooden shoes. All the money we make will be for our own organization.” ”

“ Mr. Van Der Lann was carrying a load of potted107 plants to the estate. The children had never seen so many beautiful tulips.
“It will be fun riding with the flowers!” cried Vevi. “I want to sit beside the Golden Beauty.”
The choice tulip, however, was not among the other potted plants in the back of the truck. Vevi was very worried about it until she discovered that the nurseryman was carrying his best tulips in a special box on the front seat.
At the Langley estate dozens of gardeners were hard at work preparing the grounds for the coming affair. ”

“ Vevi inquired.
“Freda and Joseph Mattox,” Hanny replied. “They17 have the farm just below ours. They are not very nice and always make trouble. They will not let me tie up the boat anywhere on their land.”
“You have a much prettier farm than theirs,” said Connie. “The windmill is lovely.”
“Do you think so?” Hanny beamed with pleasure. “My uncle has spent much money fixing up the farm so it will remind him of our beautiful homeland. The Mattoxes, though, say he is wasteful of money. It is not true!” ”

“ Hanny said soberly. “I love America very, very much. I want to help people too, especially my uncle, Peter. If it had not been for him, I never could have left The Netherlands.”
The little Dutch girl then went on to tell Vevi and Connie that until recently she had lived in a little village near the city of Amsterdam. Both of her parents were dead.
“I have no one in all the world except Peter,” she said. “He is very good to me.”
Vevi felt so sorry for Hanny that she unpinned20 her Brownie Scout pin and fastened it to the other’s blouse. ”

“ Out of the barn darted a little girl in shining yellow braids, blue skirt and white apron.
“Bruno!” she yelled. Then she uttered a command in Dutch. Vevi could not understand it, but the dog did. At any rate, he stopped so suddenly that she nearly was tossed out of the cart again.
Connie grasped the dog’s harness. Vevi slid out of the cart as fast as she could.
“You bad dog, you!” she said crossly.
15 The little girl in the blue dress came running up. Her blue eyes were dancing with merriment.
“Oh, Bruno isn’t a bad dog,” she defended him. “He is a very good dog. ”

“ Hanny declared. “We will have a very large flower harvest unless rain or a heavy wind should harm the plants.”
“I haven’t seen any tulips in bloom except in the greenhouses,” Connie remarked.
“Uncle Peter’s are the first in Rosedale. The ones in this field are an especially early variety.”
“Is the prize tulip here?” Vevi teased.
“I’m not saying,” laughed Hanny. “Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. You will have to discover the answer for yourself.”
Already, though not fully in bloom, the field was50 speckled with color. Never had the girls beheld so many different types of tulips. ”

“ Connie told the little Dutch girl about the Rosedale Brownie Scout organization and asked if she would like to join the group.
“What do Brownies do?” asked Hanny.
“Loads of things,” explained Connie. “We make things and learn about nature. To be a Brownie you19 can’t be older than nine years. You’re supposed to be in second, third or fourth grade at school.”
“I am all mixed up at school,” Hanny said. “In arithmetic I am fourth grade, but in English I am only second grade. I do not know so many of your words.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Vevi declared. “Attending meetings is what counts. ”

“ Vevi asked when she did not answer Connie’s question.
Hanny shook her head and turned her face toward the wall. All the Brownies felt very sorry for her.
“Is it because you have to work hard here at the farm?” Connie asked after a moment.
“Oh, no!” Hanny denied, stirred by the question. “I do not work hard.”
“Then you must be crying because you never have any fun.”
Hanny shook her long yellow braids emphatically. She wiped away the tears and sat up on the couch.
42 “No, no!” she protested. “You do not understand. I am so very happy here. I love America. I love my so good uncle. Everyone!” ”

“ People lost all their money.”
“I hope it won’t be that way here,” remarked Rosemary anxiously. “My father says that many nurserymen have invested heavily in tulips this year.”
“People always will buy tulip bulbs,” said Hanny. “But they will not pay high prices any more except for very special bulbs.”
“Can’t your uncle raise a special bulb?” Vevi questioned. “One that’s better than any other tulip in the world?”
Hanny smiled and said she did not think the Brownies knew how difficult it was to develop a fine, new tulip.
44 “Uncle Peter has one though,” she admitted. ”

“ Reaching the outskirts of the city, the two girls struck out along the main highway. Soon they saw a car overtaking them.
“Here comes someone,” Vevi said, looking over her shoulder. “Maybe we can catch a ride to the farm.”
The children moved off the roadway and waited. When the car was fairly close they could see a woman at the wheel. There were no passengers.
“It looks like Mrs. Gabriel’s car,” said Hanny. “My uncle would not want me to ride with her.”
“Even to save the tulips?” ”

“ The children halted, proudly showing the bulbs.
“We found ’em,” one of the older boys said.
150 “Why, those look just like the Golden Beauty culls that Hanny gave me,” Vevi commented as she gazed at the fistful of bulbs.
“I’ve got some bigger ones,” announced another child in the group. He opened his hands to show the girls several large, plump bulbs.
“They do look like onions,” declared Connie. “In Holland when times were hard, the people ate bulbs for food. Miss Mohr told me so.” ”