“Oh, Mr. Hooper,” she said suddenly. “Is Carl Wingate any relation to you?”
The orchard owner nearly dropped the lug of fruit he was carrying out to load into a truck.
“What made you ask that?” he demanded. He did not seem very pleased by the question.
“I just wondered.”
“Someone put you up to it! Carl Wingate is my cousin. Now get back to your picking and don’t be pestering me with questions.”
Pa Hooper spoke almost crossly. Veve could not understand why her question had annoyed him. She remembered though, that Juan had said something about the orchard owner disliking Carl Wingate.
She meant to learn more about it before the Brownies were through with the cherry picking. However, she would have to bide her time. Pa Hooper, she could plainly see, had no intention of revealing any secrets.
CHAPTER 5
The Brownies Lend a Hand
VEVE awoke the next morning to the sound of rain on the roof. For a moment she lay quite still, wondering if it were time to get up.