“Try and find ’em,” Bill rejoined. “Carl Wingate has tied up the works by hanging onto his crew too long. The Mexicans were supposed to have been at Hooper’s place yesterday.”
“I know,” the inspector agreed. “Too bad. But I have to protect the cannery.”
The snatch of overheard conversation troubled the Brownies. They liked Pa Hooper and did not want him to lose any of his fruit.
“When we get back to the orchard, we must pick faster,” Connie whispered to Veve and Rosemary.
Both girls soberly agreed. However, they knew that the amount of cherries they could pick would not count up very fast. If Mr. Hooper were to save his crop, he needed the Mexican pickers.
“Come along, girls,” said Miss Gordon, guiding them into the cannery.
The truck would be unloaded quickly. Bill had told the Brownie leader that he would return to the orchard for another load. He expected to pick up the Brownies on the second trip, which would be in about two hours.
“We’ll be able to see the factory and have time to spare,” declared Miss Gordon.
The Brownies watched workmen unload the cherries and place them on a conveyor which took them to a large room with mechanical stemmers.
A single stemming machine had a long cylinder made up of a series of short rubber rollers.