“Is that so they’ll be easier to handle?” Connie questioned.
“Oh, no,” explained the guide. “If the cans were not cooled quickly, the contents would continue to cook for several minutes. Then the cherries would darken.”
After the cans were sealed, each one was carefully tested.
“Poorly sealed ones give off bubbles of air,” the guide told the Brownies. “Those are discarded.”
Imperfectly sealed cans or “leakers” made a hollow sound when tapped with a short steel rod, the man further explained. A properly sealed one gave off a dull, flat sound.
The Brownies saw how bright colored labels were pasted on the cans which then were ready for packing. That ended the tour.
“It took us less than an hour,” Miss Gordon declared when the girls came out into the bright sun again.
“Then we have another hour to wait for Bill Flint,” said Connie.
She looked up and down the road. Other trucks were pulling up to the cannery every few minutes. But Bill’s truck was nowhere to be seen.
The sun was uncomfortably warm. Miss Gordon suggested that they cross the roadway and wait under the shade of a large oak.