Connie and Veve gazed at each other in dismay. From the very first moment, they had disliked this man because of his rough way of speaking. And now he proved to be Mr. Wingate, the man for whom they expected to work!
“Well, what d’you want?” the owner of the orchard repeated. He fast was losing patience. “Out with it!”
“Please—” Connie swallowed twice and struggled on. “We would like a job picking cherries.”
“Not just us,” Veve amended quickly. “All of the Brownies.”
“The Brownies?” Mr. Wingate demanded. “Who are they? Fairies?”
“Oh, no!” Connie corrected. “We’re an organization. Our troop motto is: ‘Lend A Hand.’ That’s what we want to do here at your cherry orchard.”
“For pay, that is,” added Veve. She was afraid Mr. Wingate might get the wrong idea.
“I hire only experienced pickers,” the orchard owner said. “Can’t use kids.”
“But we heard you talking to a little boy,” Veve reminded him.