“Dear me,” remarked Mrs. Williams as Connie came to the breakfast table. “Veve is so high-spirited, I wonder if Miss Gordon won’t be kept busy looking after six Brownies.”
“Five Brownies and a substitute,” corrected Connie, reaching for a tall glass of orange juice. “Veve may make more trouble than all the others, but she’s lots of fun.”
Early the next morning, all the Brownies except Belinda were taken to the railroad station by their parents. The luggage was checked straight through to Deerford, the nearest town to Snow Valley. Miss Gordon took charge of the tickets, but allowed each girl to keep her own baggage check.
“Here comes the train!” shouted Veve suddenly.
Connie began to feel shivery inside. For just a minute she wasn’t certain she cared to leave her parents and travel to Minnesota.
“Have a good time, dear,” said her mother, stooping to kiss her. “It will only be a few days until we come for you.”
Other parents were saying good-bye to Rosemary, Jane, Eileen, Veve, and Sunny. Then the train rumbled into the station.
“Hurry or we’ll be left,” urged Veve as passengers began to alight.
“We have plenty of time,” replied Miss Gordon. “Please, girls, don’t shove.”
Although the Brownie leader said “girls,” she really meant Veve, who was trying to bore a hole through the crowd.