“When you want money,” remarked Mrs. Bryan, “you have to sell something, either your services, or your manufactures, or your talents.”
“In other words,” said Winona, “work for people, or make things to sell them, or have an entertainment.”
“Precisely,” said the Guardian.
“Then let’s start at the beginning,” offered Winona, “and everybody try to think what she can do best in the way of work, and whether anybody’d want them to!”
“One thing,” reminded Marie, “we can’t live by taking in each other’s washing, so to speak. We’ll have to scheme to get some of their hard-earned butter-and-egg money away from the farmers’ wives, or else prey on the summer-resorters.”
“We expect to give it right back to them for butter and eggs,” said Adelaide. “Whatever we do we might as well take it out in trade!”
After that nobody seemed to have any more ideas. Everyone sat silently and thought very hard; till Louise jumped up with a yelp of impatience that woke Puppums from his after-dinner nap, and made even Hike the Camp Cat open one green eye.
“Don’t let’s waste this gorgeous day thinking!” she said. “My head isn’t used to it, and it hurts. Come on, anybody that wants to—I’m going to walk down to the village to buy something, I don’t care what. Who’ll come?”
Winona, Helen and Nataly dropped into step beside Louise, and the four marched off singing “In the Land of the Sky-Blue Water,” which they were trying to learn.
“That song really sounds better to Opeechee’s ceremonial drum than anything else,” remarked Louise.