Vevi quickly ran after Clover. When she tried to pick him up he snapped at her.
“Do be careful, Vevi,” Miss Gordon warned anxiously. “He seems to be a very lively fellow.”
“I know how to handle him. He can’t bite if I hold him right.”
Vevi pretended that she wasn’t a bit afraid of the turtle. Nevertheless, she dropped him as quickly as she could back into the pail of water.
“Isn’t Jamie the little boy who ran away from home?” remarked Miss Gordon thoughtfully. “He must have been here since his father discovered him missing.”
“Maybe he slept in the bunk last night,” suggested Connie. “And ate his sandwiches on the kitchen table.”
“The boy certainly has been here,” Miss Gordon agreed. “He may return. His father must be notified as soon as we return to Silver Beach.”
Vevi felt sorry that Jamie would get into trouble because of the turtle. She realized though, that he had made a serious mistake in running away from home.
“Let’s forget pets for awhile and clean up the cottage,” Miss Gordon proposed briskly. “After that we’ll cook lunch.”
The girls went to work with a will. Vevi and Rosemary washed the windows, polishing them until they shone like diamonds. By the time they had finished, the other Brownies had made the inside of the cottage spic and span.