“But why, Uncle Peter?”
“Do not ask me questions,” he said kindly. “I cannot answer, Hanny. Mrs. Gabriel is not to be trusted. I have told her never to come here.”
Mr. Van Der Lann would say no more about Mrs. Gabriel. As it now was growing dusk, he told Vevi he would take her home in his car.
“When you see the other Brownies, let them know that their wooden shoes will be ready for them by tomorrow night,” he said as he dropped her off at her doorstep. “Also, unless it rains again, there will be tulips for the booth which is to be decorated.”
Now that Mrs. Langley’s flower show was close at hand, the Brownie Scouts dropped all other activities.
Miss Gordon and Miss Mohr had obtained Dutch girl costumes for the girls. A carpenter on the Langley estate helped out by making a booth for the organization to use. It was set up on the lawn not far from the greenhouse where the flowers were to be judged.
On the day before the show, the Brownies all hiked out to Windmill Farm. Their wooden shoes were ready for them, and all were a perfect fit.
Mr. Van Der Lann was too busy picking tulips to talk to the children. He left word with his housekeeper though, that they were to have all the flowers they needed. Hanny helped the Brownies choose the blooms they wanted.
“My, I wish we had a tulip bed,” Vevi remarked. “Miss Mohr, could the Brownie Scouts have a little plot of ground at the library?”
“Yes, I’ve been thinking about it, and I know just the place,” the librarian replied. “It will be too late for spring bulbs. However, once the ground is prepared, you can set out other plants.”