Both girls stripped as fast as they could. But try as they would, they could not make the fruit fall into the pail as fast as Mr. Hooper had done.
When Connie’s bucket was half filled, she began to feel a little tired.
“It’s getting late,” she remarked uneasily. “I wish Mr. Hooper would come back.”
The girls had seen one Rosedale bus pass the orchard, and they knew another soon would be due.
Unless they started for home very shortly they were afraid their parents would worry.
“Oh, here comes Mr. Hooper now,” Veve announced a little later. She felt very much relieved.
“We’ve picked a lot of cherries,” Connie said proudly. “Do you suppose he’ll think we have done all right?”
Veve nodded and stretched her cramped arms.
For a moment she stood quite still on the fifth step of the ladder. From her perch, she could gaze directly across the roadway into the Wingate orchard.