“I’ll tell you, then!” exclaimed Natalie. “While you and Rachel get the luncheon out, Janet and I will hurry to camp and ask Miss Mason if her girls want to do the work.”
“I’m sure they will be crazy to do it,” added Janet.
So the two friends ran down to the woodland camp where a bevy of merry Girl Scouts were just finishing their dinner. Natalie told what brought her there, and added: “We ought to be able to pick all the cherries before sundown, don’t you think so, Miss Mason?”
“Why, yes, if so many of us work. But we might break down the branches if we all climb in the trees,” said she.
“Some of us will use ladders, and some climb the trees. There are three, you know, so we can plan to be on different boughs to pick,” explained Natalie.
The Scouts donned their overalls which they generally used in outdoor work about camp, and started back with Natalie. At the house they were told that the fruit was to be gathered on shares, and each girl could sell her cherries to Mrs. James, or keep them, as she chose. Then the pickers were given baskets, or pails, and sent to the trees, where Natalie and Janet joined them after luncheon.
The step-ladder found in the attic was brought down and placed under the tree with the low boughs. One girl mounted this and began to pick from its top step. The long ladder from the barn was placed against another tree so that the topmost branches could be reached by careful work, and a short ladder was put against the lower boughs.
Natalie eagerly climbed up in the branches of one of the trees and began to pick quickly. She had a two-quart tin pail that was hung over a short branch near her hands, and as she began to pick the cherries, she sang or called to her companions. Rachel smiled approvingly as she heard her “Honey-Chile” so happy, then she turned to go back to her kitchen and start a big supper for so many Girl Scouts that night.
After a time, Janet called to Natalie: “Say, aren’t a lot of the cherries bad from the pecking the birds gave them?”
“Yes, and it’s a shame, too! I pick what seems to be a luscious cherry, and when it is in my hand, it turns out to have a great rotted spot on the other side,” added one of the Scouts.