The day Norma discovered where her four precious seeds had gone was the day Sambo arrived at Green Hill, and just before he made his appearance, the dog, Grip, was found on the high road and brought home to the farm to live. Soon after his introduction to Mrs. James, the dog saw his rightful master coming in at the gate and welcomed him as only a lost dog can welcome a master found.
Norma spent most of her spare time that day in weeding the strip of garden alongside the old rail fence. Sam was ordered to help in this work after dinner, and Mrs. James came out to dig up roots and snags which would not come out by hand-pulling. The entire strip, running from the great oak tree near the front gate, down to the old hollyhocks that grew opposite Natalie’s corn field, was cleared of weeds and the ground was dug up and ready to be well mixed with manure.
As the girls were going in the automobile, the next day, to buy a cow, Sam was told to use the manure left near the vegetable gardens, to spade under in the soil alongside the rail fence. The cow was purchased and Janet also bought a little calf, a deed which she felt was reckless because of her meager finances since she began stock farming. But Susy, the calf, was too cute to leave behind, so she was to be brought the same time the cow was delivered at the farm.
The party got back to the house just before two o’clock, but Rachel had not expected them any sooner, so the dinner was just ready when the car drove in at the gate and stopped by the side porch.
Rachel bustled out of the side door, consumed with curiosity. “Did you-all git a cow?” she asked almost before the car had stopped.
“Not only a fine cow, Rachel, but a darling calf, too!” exclaimed Janet, the pride of proprietorship sounding in her voice.
“I jus’ finished dinneh, so you-all come right in and eat,” said Rachel, anxious over her charges because they had gone long past the usual dining hour with nothing to eat.
While the autoists washed and brushed up before sitting down at the table, Rachel stood talking to Norma about the garden. “Sam done gone and futilised dat soil so fine dat you kin grow any t’ing in it, now. When you done dinneh you just go and see how smood it looks.”
“That’s good, Rachel, because I found some lovely bushes growing down the road a bit that I want to dig up and plant along that fence line. If we begin keeping bees, we will need plenty of blossoms all summer through, and these bushes will provide flowers now, and berries later, for the birds.”
While the girls were getting ready for dinner, the girl scouts from camp could be heard laughing and talking eagerly as they approached the house. In a few moments, not only the camping scouts, but Nancy Sherman, Hester Tompkins and Dorothy Ames, with them, came up the porch steps and greeted the returned tourists.