Chapter IV: Part 4

No more was said about the bulbs. Jane and Connie stayed for lunch. After the dishes had been done, Mrs. McGuire went next door to talk with Connie’s mother.

“If we are going to plant tulips we will have to do it right away,” Jane announced. “It is nearly time for me to go home now.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t plant the Golden Beauties now,” Connie suggested doubtfully. “Mrs. Gabriel might make trouble if she thinks they are her tulips.”

“They’re mine,” Vevi said. “Hanny gave them to me. Anyway, Mrs. Gabriel didn’t think so much of her precious old tulips or she wouldn’t have dumped them along the roadside.”

“Do you really think she did?” Connie asked.

“That empty bag looked exactly like one I saw in her car.”

“But your bag--the one Hanny gave you--has the same kind of markings,” Connie pointed out. “Vevi, maybe you did make a mistake and pick up the wrong one.”

“No such thing,” Vevi insisted emphatically. “Anyway, even if I did, Mrs. Gabriel got another bag of tulips better than her own. Everyone knows the Golden Beauties are the very best.”

“That’s so,” agreed Jane. “Even if there was a mix-up, she came out with good tulips. I don’t see why she’s making such a fuss.”

“Let’s plant the Brownie flower bed,” urged Connie who had wearied of the discussion. “Come on.”

Carrying the bag of bulbs and Jane’s garden tools, the girls set off for the library.

“We ought to tell Miss Mohr what we are doing,” Connie suggested. “Maybe she will tell us how to do it right.”

“Oh, anyone can plant tulip bulbs,” Vevi said carelessly. “Hanny told me how.”

Nevertheless, the three girls went into the building to find Miss Mohr. Another librarian told them that she had left twenty minutes earlier with Peter Van Der Lann.

“We don’t need anyone to tell us how to plant,” Vevi insisted. “It’s easy.”

“I guess it will be all right,” Connie agreed with a troubled frown. “Only the Brownies may not like it. They may want other flowers in the bed.”

“Tulips are the very best,” Vevi declared. “And Golden Beauties are the nicest bulbs.”

“The only thing--you aren’t sure you’re planting Golden Beauties,” Jane teased. “For all you know, they may be Mrs. Gabriel’s tulips!”

“No such thing,” Vevi insisted, opening the bag. “These are my culls.”

“What’s a cull?” Jane asked for she was unfamiliar with the word.

“That means a bulb that isn’t as good as the regular stock,” Vevi explained. “It will bloom though. Hanny said so.”

The little girl poured some of the bulbs out on the grass. All were well-shaped, fat specimens.

“Those look like good bulbs to me,” declared Jane. “Connie, don’t they seem exactly like the ones we found on the road?”

“They look the same to me.”

Vevi said nothing. She began to dig a neat hole in the well-pulverized ground.

“Tulip bulbs have to be put in deep,” directed Connie. “I know that, because I heard Mr. Van Der Lann telling Miss Gordon.”

“I am digging the hole deep,” Vevi replied. “At least six inches. That ought to be deep enough.”

She pressed the first bulb down into the spot she had prepared for it.

“Hey, I thought you said you knew how to plant bulbs!” Jane hooted. “You’re putting it in upside down!”

“The sprout end has to be up and the roots underneath,” added Connie. “Anyone knows that, Vevi.”

“Oh, I wasn’t ready to plant the bulb,” Vevi said, hastily turning it over. “I was only trying it in the hole to see if I had dug it the right size.”

“Let me dig,” Jane demanded, after the first bulb had been planted and covered with soil. “It takes you too long, Vevi.”

“I’ll hand you the bulbs,” Vevi offered, willing enough to turn the harder job over to her friend.

Jane dug a series of small holes all around the circular bed. She worked fast and spaced them evenly.

“Now hand me the bulbs one at a time,” she instructed.

Vevi dumped them all out of the bag. From the very bottom of the canvas sack out tumbled a handful of small gray, greasy appearing pellets.

“What are those?” Connie demanded curiously.

Picking up one of the hard, round pieces, she rubbed it between her fingers.

“It must be fertilizer,” Vevi declared. “Put one in with each tulip bulb.”

Jane followed instructions, carefully pressing a pellet at the base of each bulb. There were not enough of them to finish the task. The last of the bulbs had to be planted without the “fertilizer.”

“There! That’s done,” Jane said in relief when the last bulb had been firmly covered with earth. “I’m tired too! My legs feel as if they will drop off.”

“Your neck is all red,” Connie informed her. “I think you are sunburned.”

Jane gingerly rubbed her neck which smarted and felt uncomfortable.

“I hurt all over,” she complained. “Tulips are too much work.”

“I don’t think they are,” declared Vevi, who had dug only one hole. “Anyway, it is worth while. The Brownies will have one of the nicest flower beds in Rosedale.”

“I just hope the other Brownies ’preciate all the work we’ve done,” Jane muttered. “It’s late and I’m going home.”

She began to gather up the tools. Her Brownie uniform was smudged with dirt and so were her sox.

Vevi and Connie walked along with Jane, helping her carry the tools. Vevi had picked up the empty canvas bag too, not wanting to leave it on the library lawn.

Before the girls had walked three blocks, Jane noticed someone coming toward them.

“See who is heading our way!” she directed the attention of her companions.

A woman was coming down the street. As she saw the three girls, she began to walk faster.

“It’s Mrs. Gabriel,” Vevi recognized her. “She looks cross too.”

Mrs. Gabriel’s high heels were clicking like knitting needles by the time she came face to face with the trio.

“Well!” she exclaimed, glaring at Vevi. “At last I’ve found you!”

“I haven’t been anywhere,” Vevi answered innocently.

“I want my bag of tulip bulbs,” Mrs. Gabriel announced.

“_Your_ bag,” said Vevi. “Do you mean my sack of culls that Hanny gave me?”

“Don’t try to pretend. When you rode in my car, you were carrying a bag of bulbs. Either by accident, or on purpose, you left yours behind and took one of mine. I want it back--now.”

“I took a bag of tulip bulbs. But I thought it was mine--”

“You’re carrying the empty sack now,” Mrs. Gabriel fairly screamed. “Give it to me.”

She snatched the bag from Vevi’s hand, excitedly examining the numerals.

“This is the sack!” she cried. “Now where are the contents?”

“I didn’t mean to mix up the bags,” Vevi apologized. “I thought--”

“Never mind what you thought,” Mrs. Gabriel broke in angrily. “Just tell me what you did with the tulip bulbs.”

“I don’t see why you’re so excited about it,” Jane said before Vevi could answer. “You threw all your other bulbs away.”

“In a culvert,” added Connie accusingly.

“Why, you insolent, stupid children!” Mrs. Gabriel cried. “Such arrogance! I want my tulip bulbs. Do you understand?”

The Brownies never had seen anyone more angry. Mrs. Gabriel seized Vevi by the arm, squeezing it so hard that the muscle hurt.

“What have you done with my bulbs?” she demanded.

“Let me go and I’ll tell you,” Vevi answered, trying to pull away. “I never will when you act so cross.”

Mrs. Gabriel dropped her arm. She even forced a stiff sort of smile.

“There, child, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” she said in a wheedling tone. “Just tell me what you did with the contents of the bag.”

“We planted the bulbs in the Brownie Scout bed at the library,” Vevi answered. “I didn’t mean to take your bulbs. But you got mine. So wasn’t it a fair exchange?”

“A fair exchange?” Mrs. Gabriel cried, her voice shrill. “You planted the tulips! That bag was worth a small fortune to me. Oh, I could shake you!”

Vevi backed away, rather afraid of the irate woman.

“What did you do with the pellets that were in the bag?” she demanded.

“You mean those little pieces of fertilizer?” Vevi stammered. “We planted them with the bulbs!”

“Oh!” gasped Mrs. Gabriel. She started to scold Vevi and then abandoned the tirade. With a gesture of both anger and despair, she brushed past the girls and went rapidly away.

_Chapter 17_

A LIBRARY WINDOW

Vevi, Connie and Jane watched Mrs. Gabriel until she was out of sight far down the street.

“Such a fuss about a few stupid tulip bulbs,” Vevi said. “What’s the matter with her anyhow?”

“She’s an old fussbudget,” Jane returned. “Why did that one bag of bulbs mean so much to her?”

“She spoke especially of the pellets that were with the bulbs,” Connie said reflectively. “Whoever heard of setting such store by fertilizer?”

“Anyway, the bulbs are planted now,” Vevi said with a nervous giggle. “Do you suppose she’ll try to make me pay for ’em?”

“She might,” Connie returned. “Mrs. Gabriel said the bulbs were worth a small fortune.”

“That’s silly,” Vevi declared. “Even the best tulip bulbs shouldn’t cost more than a dollar or two a dozen.”

“Some do, I think,” Connie said. “We must have planted at least four dozen.”

“That would amount to eight or ten dollars at least,” Jane computed. “Vevi, if she decides to make trouble, you’re really in for it.”

“Pooh! I’m not worried.”

However, Vevi was only trying to put up a good front. Actually she was deeply concerned. She knew Mrs. Gabriel might accuse her of taking the tulip bulbs on purpose.

The exchange had been accidental, but one that the woman couldn’t seem to understand. Vevi had less than five dollars in her savings bank at home. How could she ever pay the sum Mrs. Gabriel might ask? It made her fairly ill to think of it.

At the next corner, the girls parted to go to their separate homes. As Vevi started away alone, Connie reminded her that all the Brownie Scouts had been invited to take part in a puppet show that evening in the public library.

“Don’t forget, Vevi.”

“I’ll be there,” Vevi promised. With a nervous giggle, she added: “That is, unless Mrs. Gabriel puts me in jail!”

Miss Mohr and Miss Gordon had planned the puppet show as a special treat for the girls. The Brownies themselves had made scenery and painted the clever figures which were to be used in a dramatization of “The Brownie Story” by Juliana H. Ewing.

Using patterns provided by Miss Mohr, the girls had traced them on stiff cardboard. These they had cut out, pasted and painted. Each character had a narrow, stiff strip of cardboard at the back which could be used as a handle to make the figures move in a life-like manner on the little stage.

Besides tiny elves, the girls had created a Tailor, his aging mother, Mary and her little brother, and an Old Owl.

Vevi was assigned to speak the words of the Old Owl and to handle that particular puppet.

Her part had not been hard to learn. Mostly the owl only had to say “Who-oo,” and “Hoot! Hoot!”

“Don’t be late,” Connie warned as she and Jane bade their friend goodbye. “After the puppet show we’re to have an investiture ceremony. Hanny’s to be made a real Brownie.”

“I’ll be on time,” Vevi promised again. “Hoot! Hoot!”

By seven o’clock that night all the troop members were at the library. Vevi as usual was the last to arrive. She seemed so fidgety and nervous that Connie asked her if Mrs. Gabriel had made any more trouble.

“What makes you think she will?” Vevi asked quickly.

“I saw her walking around the library when I came in a few minutes ago,” Connie revealed. “She was looking at the Brownie flower bed too.”

“I wish you wouldn’t keep talking about Mrs. Gabriel and her silly tulip bulbs,” Vevi said, squirming uncomfortably. “I’m not worrying about her.”

“Then what is wrong with you?”

“I’m thinking about my part in the play, that’s all. I’m afraid I may forget my lines.”

“Your lines!” Connie laughed. “All you have to do is hold your owl up in a tree and make bird noises. And you’re afraid you’ll forget!”

The girls were using a large library table for a stage. In the first scene, the Tailor and his elderly wife sat by their fireside discussing Mary and Tommy, who never liked to help with work in the home.

Connie took the part of the Old Tailor, while Rosemary spoke the lines of the aged grandmother. Sunny acted the character of Mary, and Hanny that of the little boy, Tommy.

The play progressed. In the second scene, Tommy and Mary, eager to find Brownies who would do all the housework for their family, set off to the woods to seek advice of the wise old Owl.

Vevi, thoroughly enjoying her role of owl, hooted and whoo’d and advised the children that they could find the “Brownies” only by going to the north side of the pond when the moon was shining.

“Say these words,” she directed in her most owlish voice: “‘Twist me, and turn me and show me the Elf; I looked into the water, and saw--’

“Then,” she further instructed, “at the moment you gaze into the water, think of a word that will rhyme with Elf, and complete the verse.”

In the next scene of the playlet, Sunny and Hanny as Tommy and Mary, were shown at the pond. Gazing down into a circular mirror which represented the water, they saw their own reflections. Sunny recited:

“‘Twist me, and turn me and show me the Elf;
I looked into the water, and saw--’”

“Myself,” Hanny completed the rhyme.

According to the story, the children then knew that they were the real Brownies. The next and final scene showed them doing cheerfully the work of the family. The playlet ended with Connie as the old grandmother, declaring that children were a blessing, not a burden.

Everyone said the show had been a great success.

“I didn’t forget my lines either,” Vevi laughed in relief. “Not a single hoot!”

The time now had come for Hanny formally to be invested as a Brownie Scout. She was sent from the room while the other girls gathered in a circle about the big library table.

At the proper moment, Miss Gordon told Hanny she might return.

In the story room, the lights had been switched off. For a minute Hanny was bewildered as she came in.

Then Vevi took her hand and led her to the big table. The circular mirror, which represented a pool of water, had been placed in the very center.

“Who comes to the fairy wood?” asked Miss Gordon. “I do,” answered the little girl. “Hanny.”

“What do you seek?”

“To be a Brownie Scout,” replied Hanny earnestly.

“Why, Hanny?” asked Miss Gordon. “Why do you wish to become a Brownie?”

Hanny drew a deep breath. For a second, she couldn’t think of anything to say. Then the words came with a rush.

“I want to be a Brownie because I love America!” she cried, her eyes shining. “I want to live here always. I like Rosedale too and all the girls.”

“That is reason enough for becoming a Brownie,” declared Miss Gordon warmly. “Now gaze into the pool.”

Hanny looked down into the mirror. Miss Gordon turned her around twice, and placed a Brownie cap on her head.

“‘Twist me, and turn me, and show me the Elf;’” recited the other Brownies in unison.

“‘I looked into the pool and saw--’”

“MYSELF,” cried Hanny.

The ceremony was completed by having the little girl repeat the Brownie Promise. She gave it word perfect.

Miss Gordon then pinned a Brownie Scout pin on the right-hand side of her collar. She saluted Hanny and shook her hand, using the special grasp known only to troop members.

“Am I a real Brownie now?” Hanny asked happily.

“As real as they come,” declared Miss Mohr, giving her an affectionate hug.

“The best part of all is that I am going to stay in Rosedale,” Hanny told the other girls. “Now that my uncle has won the blue ribbon, he will make a great deal of money. Already he has had many fine offers for the Golden Beauty tulip bulbs.”

All the girls were delighted that Hanny would be able to remain in Rosedale, and told her so.

By this time it was five minutes after eight o’clock.

“Time for the meeting to end,” said Miss Gordon noticing the clock. “School tomorrow as usual, you know. Little Brownies should be in bed early.”

The girls began to put on their jackets and coats. Vevi had left hers in another room. She went for it but did not immediately return.

Impatiently, the other Brownies waited.

“That Vevi!” Jane exclaimed. “She always keeps us waiting!”

“What do you suppose she’s doing now?” Sunny speculated.

The room where Vevi had left her jacket was dark. What, the Brownies wondered, could she be doing so long without a light?

“Hurry up Vevi!” Jane called.

There was no answer from the darkened cloak room.

“She’s holding us up on purpose!” Jane fumed. “Let’s leave without her. It would serve her right for being such a slow poke.”

Miss Gordon, however, would not allow the Brownies to depart without Vevi.

“I’ll see what is keeping her,” she offered.

However, before the Brownie Scout leader could enter the darkened room, Vevi appeared in the doorway.

“Why, you don’t have your jacket even now!” Jane exclaimed. “Vevi McGuire! You’re the limit!”

“We’ve waited an age,” added Rosemary.

Vevi had a strange expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Connie asked her quickly. “Have you lost something? Your pocketbook?”

Vevi shook her head. “I want to show you something--”

“Oh, Vevi, we’re in a hurry!” Jane exclaimed indignantly. “You’re always holding us up.”

“This is important. Someone is digging in the Brownie tulip bed.”

“WHAT?” cried the Brownies almost as one person.

“Come and see for yourselves,” invited Vevi. “You can watch from the window. All the tulip bulbs are being scattered on the ground!”

_Chapter 18_

MAGIC WAYS

Now Miss Mohr and Miss Gordon had not known that tulip bulbs were planted in the Brownie Scout flower bed. Vevi, Connie and Jane had been so busy with the show that they had neglected to mention the planting.

Therefore, everyone was surprised to hear that the bulbs were being dug up.

“What do you mean?” demanded Jane in great excitement. “Who is wrecking our flower bed?”

“A woman,” Vevi informed the group. “I can’t see her too plainly from the window. Come quick!”

The Brownie Scouts needed no further urging. With the librarian and their leader, they followed Vevi into the darkened room overlooking the lawn.

“See, down there!” the little girl declared, pointing out the window.

The Brownies jostled each other in their eagerness to learn what was going on in the yard.

A shadowy figure could be seen on hands and knees, industriously digging up the tulip bulbs. Already many of them were scattered helter-skelter over the grass.

“Well, of all the nerve!” cried Vevi indignantly.

“It looks like Mrs. Gabriel,” declared Connie. “At least she has a tall feather on her hat, just like one Mrs. Gabriel has.”

“Let’s stop her!” exclaimed Vevi, starting for the door.

Miss Gordon grasped her hand, holding her back.

“Wait, Vevi.”

“Wait? But Miss Gordon, our tulip bed is nearly ruined now! She’s wrecking everything!”

“And we worked so hard planting those bulbs,” Jane wailed. “It’s the meanest trick yet.”

Miss Gordon spoke quietly.

“Mrs. Gabriel, I think, is after something more vital than tulip bulbs.”

“I think so too,” agreed Miss Mohr quickly. “Peter has told me of his suspicions that a ring may be operating--”

Now the Brownies were quite bewildered by the talk, not understanding what the two young women meant.

“Must we let that dreadful Mrs. Gabriel ruin our flower bed?” demanded Jane.

“No, indeed,” replied Miss Mohr. “I intend to call Peter Van Der Lann and the police.”

“The police?” gasped Vevi. She had not thought of having Mrs. Gabriel arrested.

“We must hurry,” urged Miss Gordon, peering out the window again.

While the teacher and the Brownie Scouts kept watch, Miss Mohr telephoned the police station. Then she called Hanny’s uncle at Windmill Farm.

“Peter is coming as quickly as he can drive here!” the librarian told the group tensely. “He says we must hold Mrs. Gabriel whatever happens. He is certain--”

“Mrs. Gabriel has her flashlight turned on now!” Connie reported from the window. “She’s examining something she has dug up!”

“It’s not a tulip bulb either,” added Rosemary.

“Let’s go down there right now!” Vevi urged, again starting for the door.

“No, Vevi!” Miss Gordon checked her once more. “It would only frighten her away. We must wait for the police.”

“They’ll never come,” complained Sunny. “It’s been ages now.”

“Only a minute or two,” corrected Miss Mohr. “Patience.”

“The police will come,” added the Brownie Scout leader.

She was right too. In less than ten minutes, the girls heard the high pitched, whining whistle of a siren.

“There they come!” cried Vevi. “I’m going down there now!”

Without even stopping to put on her cap or jacket she darted out the door. The other Brownies followed after her, in their excitement stumbling on the stairs.

Just as the group reached the street, the police car halted at the curb.

Mrs. Gabriel straightened up and then started hastily away. But the police did not let her escape.

Quickly they overtook her, grasping her firmly by the arm.

While one officer held Mrs. Gabriel, another questioned Miss Mohr and Miss Gordon as to the nature of their complaint.

“This woman has been destroying library property,” declared Miss Mohr.

“We saw her digging up the Brownie Scout tulip bed,” added Vevi. “I think she has some of our bulbs in her pocket now.”

“Ridiculous!” snapped Mrs. Gabriel. “I suppose it does seem unusual for me to be found here digging up tulip bulbs. Nevertheless, I can explain.”

“Please do,” invited Miss Mohr.

“I bought a large order of tulips, especially valuable stock, from Mr. Mattox. Unfortunately, in driving home, I offered one of these children a ride.”

“Me,” interposed Vevi.

“She had a bag of worthless bulbs with her--”

“Not worthless,” corrected Vevi. “They may have been culls but they were Golden Beauties. Those are the best and most valuable kind on the market now that Mr. Van Der Lann has won the blue ribbon!”

“If you’ll keep quiet for a moment, I’ll explain,” said Mrs. Gabriel, glaring at Vevi. “The child either deliberately or possibly by mistake, exchanged a bag of my good bulbs for her trash. So tonight I thought to recover my stock.”

The two police officers seemed half inclined to believe the woman’s story.

“If it were only tulip bulbs you wanted, why didn’t you come to Miss Mohr or me?” questioned the Brownie Scout leader.

“I realize I should have asked permission to dig up the bed,” replied Mrs. Gabriel glibly. “I hesitated to do so because I didn’t want to cause trouble.”

“You set great store by those tulip bulbs,” remarked Miss Mohr.

As she spoke, she glanced about the ground. The bulbs had been scattered everywhere. In her haste to dig them up. Mrs. Gabriel had broken many and chopped others in two with her sharp tool.

“If you valued your tulips so much, why did you dump all the other bags of bulbs along the roadside?” Vevi demanded.

Mrs. Gabriel ignored the pointed question, so the little girl asked it again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the woman finally replied. “If you found any bulbs along the road, they must have belonged to someone else.”

The police officers had been listening to the talk. Now one of the men had a question of his own.

“Lady,” he said, “are you sure it was tulip bulbs you were after?”

“Of course! What else?”

“Sorry,” said the policeman, “but I’m afraid we’ll have to take you to the station for a complete search.”

“The idea!” Mrs. Gabriel snapped. “You may look in my purse now if you like. You’ll find nothing.”

She offered her pocketbook, which the policeman thoroughly examined. Inside were toilet articles, a billfold containing nearly two hundred dollars, a handkerchief and a set of car keys.

“I saw her put something in her outside coat pocket while she was digging,” Connie reported.

One of the officers reached into Mrs. Gabriel’s pocket. He brought out nothing but an old theater program.

In the other coat pocket was an old handkerchief. One corner had been tied into a knot to hold several small objects.

“What’s this?” commented the policeman, untying the handkerchief.

The cloth contained four dark-colored pellets.

“Our fertilizer!” exclaimed Vevi. “Well, what do you know! She was after our fertilizer, not the tulip bulbs!”

Carefully the policeman examined the pellets. He rolled them between his fingers.

“You see, they are nothing!” said Mrs. Gabriel. “Now will you let me go? I’ve had quite enough of Rosedale and Brownie Scouts. I assure you I’ll leave town promptly and not come back.”

Before the officers could decide what to do, a car pulled up at the curb.

“There’s Peter!” exclaimed Miss Mohr in relief.

The nurseryman leaped out of his car and came over to the flower bed. Miss Mohr told him what had happened before his arrival. The policeman showed him the pellets taken from Mrs. Gabriel.

“Just as I thought!” Mr. Van Der Lann exclaimed. “These pellets are uncut commercial diamonds. They were smuggled to this country from Holland in a shipment of imported tulip bulbs.”

“Then we planted diamonds, thinking it was fertilizer!” gasped Jane.

Mr. Van Der Lann’s disclosure amazed everyone except Miss Mohr. She was not surprised because the nurseryman earlier had told her of his suspicion that Mrs. Gabriel was not an honest person.

Now that Mr. Van Der Lann had revealed that the pellets were uncut diamonds, the Brownie Scouts became highly excited. Vevi was especially so, for she knew that Mrs. Gabriel had not had time to dig up all of the stones.

“Almost every tulip bulb has a pellet with it,” she revealed. “Why, this old flower bed is full of diamonds!”

“I’m going to dig them up!” cried Jane, reaching for Mrs. Gabriel’s trowel.

The police, however, would not permit any of the children or the adults to touch the flower bed. They said they would assign men to sift the earth and make certain that every uncut stone was recovered.

Mrs. Gabriel realized by this time that it was useless to deny her guilt.

“All right, I did smuggle the diamonds in with a shipment of bulbs,” she acknowledged. “I wasn’t alone in the deal though. If you arrest me, how about the Mattox couple?”

“We’ll take care of them, never fear,” the policeman assured her.

Mrs. Gabriel was taken away to the police station and other men came to sift the flower bed soil. All the Brownies, Mr. Van Der Lann, the librarian and Miss Gordon stood by, watching the work. Soon a fairly large crowd gathered.

“So Mr. and Mrs. Mattox are mixed up in this smuggling affair,” remarked a businessman who paused to observe. “Well, that will finish the flower show.”

“How do you mean?” inquired Miss Gordon.

“The Mattox couple contributed heavily for the affair. If they are arrested, they will not pay their assessment. Mr. Piff may as well call it quits.”

As the digging went on, police talked at length with Mr. Van Der Lann. He was asked to relate everything he knew about Mrs. Gabriel and her smuggling activities.

“I met the woman for the first time a few weeks ago,” the nurseryman revealed. “She came to Windmill Farm and proposed that I go in with her on her crooked scheme. At the time I needed money badly, but I refused.”

“Uncle Peter ordered her to stay away from our place,” added Hanny, who stood beside the nurseryman, watching the digging work.

“That is true,” agreed Mr. Van Der Lann. “When she learned she could not do business with me, she took up with Mr. and Mrs. Mattox. As to their part in the affair, I can only guess. My suspicion is that they cooperated with Mrs. Gabriel fully in importing bulbs which they knew were only a cover for a shipment of priceless commercial stones.”

“You and Mr. Mattox have never been good friends,” commented one of the policemen.

“That is so,” agreed the nurseryman. “Always Mr. and Mrs. Mattox have considered me as a business rival. They sought to add my farm to their own. Of late they have been especially eager to get me out of the community, fearing no doubt that I would expose their association with Mrs. Gabriel.”

“They will make you no more trouble,” the policeman promised. “The sheriff has been asked to arrest the couple for questioning. Very shortly they will be taken to jail.”

The digging work went on. Within an hour every diamond had been recovered.

However, the flower bed was completely ruined. Dirt had been scattered everywhere and only a few of the tulip bulbs were worth saving.

“Vevi, whatever possessed you girls to plant tulip bulbs at this time of year?” Miss Gordon questioned. “They should be planted in the fall, you know, for spring blooms.”

“We didn’t want spring flowers though,” Vevi explained. “We wanted tulips right now.”

“While the flower show is on,” declared Jane.

Miss Gordon regretfully told the Brownies that seeds or plants would have to be used if the troop were to have a flower bed that year. Even if they went to work at once, the bed would not be in bloom for several weeks.

The information made all the Brownies unhappy, especially Vevi.

“I did so want tulips,” she said. “They are the most beautiful flower in the world. Now I’ve even lost my Golden Beauty culls.”

“Don’t worry about that,” said Mr. Van Der Lann. “Next Spring I will give you some choice stock.”

Vevi thanked the nurseryman, but continued to look unhappy. “I wanted a tulip bed so badly,” she murmured.

“So did I,” said Jane. “It was fun catching Mrs. Gabriel and saving the diamonds, but I’d rather have had a beautiful bed of flowers.”

“Do all the Brownies feel the same way about tulips?” inquired Mr. Van Der Lann. “Would they rather have them than any other flower?”

“Oh, yes!” cried Vevi. “But it is impossible. We will have to wait until next year.”

“And that is a million years away,” sighed Sunny.

“Perhaps not,” said Mr. Van Der Lann. He smiled in a most mysterious sort of way.

“What do you mean?” questioned Vevi alertly.

“Just you wait!” he advised. “Not a year either.”

Now the Brownie Scouts sensed immediately that their friend had something special in mind. They teased him to tell what it was.

Mr. Van Der Lann only smiled and shook his head.

“I can guess!” laughed Hanny.

“Tell us,” pleaded the other Brownies.

Hanny grinned and would not answer. “It’s a secret,” she chuckled. “Nurserymen sometimes have magic ways. Just you wait!”

_Chapter 19_

AN ANNOUNCEMENT

Vevi awoke late the next morning, feeling tired in every bone and muscle. Pulling herself slowly up in bed, she peered out the window. It was raining hard.

“Oh, dear,” she thought. “I did so hope for a nice day.”

Vevi dressed and went downstairs for a belated breakfast.

“Mother,” she said, seating herself at the table by the kitchen window. “Is it really true that Mrs. Gabriel was caught digging up the Brownie Scout flower bed last night? Or did I dream it?”

Mrs. McGuire handed her the morning paper.

“It was true, Vevi. See, the story of what happened is on the front page. The Brownies are mentioned too.”

Vevi read every word of the story for herself. The item told of Mrs. Gabriel’s arrest and confinement in jail. Related also, was the part the Brownies had played in the capture.

“Oh, by the way,” Mrs. McGuire said after the little girl had finished her breakfast. “Miss Mohr telephoned a few minutes ago. All the Brownies are to meet at the library directly after lunch. She said something about an extra special surprise.”

“But the Brownies had a meeting last night, Mother. Why are we meeting again so soon?”

“She didn’t say, dear.”

“Maybe it is about our flower bed,” Vevi speculated. “I think that must be it.”

The little girl helped her mother with the housework. She dusted the furniture and wiped dishes. Time seemed to pass very slowly. All the while, she kept speculating upon why Miss Mohr would call a special meeting of the Brownie troop.

As soon as luncheon was over, Vevi changed into her Brownie uniform. Carrying her red umbrella, she splashed along the sloppy streets toward the library. It was not raining much now, but the gutters ran deep with muddy water.

Vevi had not gone many blocks when she had to wait at an intersection for a traffic light.

As she stood there, a taxi came up very fast. The light changed and the cab halted with a screech of brakes. It stopped so suddenly beside Vevi, that she felt her legs being splashed with dirty water.

She jumped back, very much annoyed at the driver.

“Sorry,” apologized the cab man, leaning out of the taxi window. “I shouldn’t have tried to make the light, but my customer is in a big rush to catch a train.”

Vevi glanced into the back of the cab and was surprised to see that the passenger was Mr. Piff.

“Why, are you leaving Rosedale?” she asked.

“Am I?” he replied. “The flower show is washed up--finished. This rain was the last straw. I’m getting out of this hick town for good.”

“Rosedale is nice,” Vevi answered. “It’s not a hick town--”

She had no chance to say more. Just then the light changed to green again. The cab sped on, disappearing down the street.

Crossing the street, Vevi went on to the library. She glanced quickly toward the flower bed.

To her disappointment, it appeared exactly as it had the previous night. Dirt was scattered everywhere on the grass and so were the broken tulip bulbs.

“I guess Peter Van Der Lann was joking about magic,” she thought. “Nothing is changed.”

All of the Brownies except Hanny had arrived at the library ahead of Vevi. As soon as she came into the story room, Miss Gordon and Miss Mohr signaled for silence.

“Girls,” the librarian announced, “we have all been invited to Peter’s--I mean to Mr. Van Der Lann’s home for a little outing. This rain has rather spoiled our plans, but I’m sure we’ll have a fine time in any event.”

“Will we have to walk?” Rosemary asked, rather dismayed. “I didn’t bring my umbrella or a raincoat.”

Miss Mohr assured the girls that the nurseryman would come for them in his truck. He was expected at any moment.

“He’s here now,” reported Connie a moment later. She had been watching from the window. “He’s driving up in front.”

“Come girls,” urged Miss Gordon. “We mustn’t keep him waiting.”

The Brownies put on their coats and went outside.

“Why, it’s stopped raining!” cried Jane, holding up her hand to see if she could catch any drops. “The sun is trying to peek through a cloud.”

“We’ll have a fine day yet!” exclaimed Sunny. “Hurrah for Windmill Farm!”

Mr. Van Der Lann helped the children into the truck. Miss Mohr and the Brownie leader rode up front.

During the ride to the farm, the nurseryman was in very high spirits. He declared that everything had gone extremely well for him and for Hanny.

“Now that I have won first prize for the Golden Beauty tulip, nearly everyone wants to buy my stock of bulbs,” he said. “I have arranged to sell them all to one eastern dealer at a very high price.”

“I will get to stay in America,” added Hanny happily.

Mr. Van Der Lann had arranged a pleasant afternoon for the Brownies at Windmill Farm. He told the girls they might pick all the tulips they liked, ride in the dog cart and even in the boat.

“Not the boat,” laughed Vevi. “It leaks.”

“Oh, I repaired it yesterday,” the nurseryman assured her. “Mr. and Mrs. Mattox will not annoy you either, should you drift past their place. The sheriff took them to jail today for questioning.”

“Then it has been established that they aided Mrs. Gabriel?” questioned Miss Gordon.

“Yes, they worked with her in smuggling gems into this country from Holland. I long suspected it, but could prove nothing and so remained quiet.”

“I guess the Brownies were pretty smart to catch Mrs. Gabriel digging up the tulips!” Vevi chuckled.

At Windmill Farm, the Brownies found Hanny and the housekeeper busy in the spic and span kitchen. The room was fragrant with the smell of baking. Little cakes had been taken from the oven and now were being beautifully frosted.

“Why, we must be having a party!” laughed Connie.

Now the Brownies could not imagine why everyone seemed so happy at Windmill Farm. Nor could they understand the reason Mr. Van Der Lann had gone to so much trouble just for them.

“I think someone is keeping a secret from us,” guessed Connie. “Isn’t that right?”

“It could be,” admitted Miss Mohr.

“Tell us!” pleaded Rosemary.

“Later--”

“Right now!” teased the Brownies.

“Shall we tell them?” Miss Mohr asked, turning to Hanny’s uncle.

“Why keep them in suspense?” he replied. “Let the news be known.”

“I want to pass the little cakes!” cried Hanny in excitement.

She made everyone sit in the living room. Then she passed the refreshments, giving every Brownie one of the delicately frosted cakes.

Now the girls were not very hungry, having finished their lunches only a short while before. Being polite, however, they did not mention this.

Vevi was the first to break open her little cake.

“Why, there’s a piece of paper in mine!” she exclaimed.

“Read it,” urged Hanny. “I already know the good news.”

Vevi spread out the strip of paper. Two names had been printed on it. She read them aloud.

“Peter Van Der Lann and Miss Mohr!” she exclaimed, not understanding why the names had been baked into the cake.

“Peter and I are to be married in a few days,” the librarian announced. “We decided to have the wedding so soon because Peter must go to New York with his tulip bulbs. We’ll call it our honeymoon.”

Now the Brownies were delighted to hear that Miss Mohr was to wed. They were especially glad that Hanny would have someone as nice as the librarian to look after her.

“If you are to be married right away, I don’t suppose there will be a big wedding,” Vevi remarked.

“Oh, we couldn’t omit that,” smiled the librarian. “We plan a wonderful church wedding. Hanny is to be the ring bearer. I want all the Brownies to be there.”

“As bridesmaids?” Vevi asked quickly.

Miss Mohr explained that Miss Gordon and some of her older friends would act as maids. She promised though that the Brownies would have a special pew in the church.

After refreshments had been enjoyed, the Brownies went outside to play. Never had Windmill Farm looked so beautiful. The rain had made the grass fresh and green. Tulips were bent over and heavy with water, but the bright sun was reviving them.

“I want to ride in the boat!” declared Connie quickly.

“I’m going to pick tulips,” announced Rosemary. “A bouquet of nothing but bright pink ones.”

“I want to pick flowers too,” declared Jane. “My bouquet will be purple.”

Sunny announced that she intended to watch the windmill for awhile and then ride with Connie in the boat.

“What will you do, Vevi?” asked Hanny.

Vevi had been thinking over her choice very carefully.

“I will ride in the dog cart,” she announced. “I want that old Bruno to know who is boss!”

While the others went toward the tulip fields, Hanny and Vevi ran to the barn to find the dog. They hitched him to the cart. Vevi climbed in and picked up the reins.

“Now start him easy,” Hanny instructed. “If he tries to run away again, I will punish him.”

The big dog however, seemed to know that with Hanny there, he could not play tricks. When Vevi said “Giddap!” he moved off at a very slow walk.

After a minute or two, the little girl wished that he would go faster. Bruno though, did not feel like trotting or running. He ambled lazily toward the cheese house and then on past the little house where Mr. Van Der Lann had stored his Golden Beauty tulip bulbs.

Vevi noticed that the door no longer was locked.

“I guess your uncle has moved his bulbs somewhere else,” she remarked to Hanny who was walking along beside the cart.

“What?” inquired Hanny, not understanding.

Vevi repeated what she had said, and pointed to the open door.

Hanny stopped short, staring at it.

“That door shouldn’t be open!” she cried. “I’m sure Uncle Peter hasn’t moved the bulbs. We have always kept them there.”

Hanny ran over to the little house. Vevi dropped the reins and scrambled out of the dog cart. Thus released, Bruno trotted off toward the canal. Neither of the girls noticed.

Hanny had reached the open door. She pushed it back so she could look at the padlock.

“It has been broken!” she exclaimed. “Oh, Vevi!”

Hanny darted into the room where the precious Golden Beauty tulip bulbs had been stored. Vevi kept close behind.

It was dark inside though, and she could see nothing.

Hanny groped for the light switch and finally found it. As she switched it on, the room was fully illuminated.

Both girls looked quickly at the wall shelves. All of the tulip bulbs were gone!

“Someone has taken them!” gasped Hanny. “A wicked thief has broken in here and stolen Uncle Peter’s Golden Beauty stock!”

_Chapter 20_

SURPRISE!

Thoroughly alarmed, Vevi and Hanny ran as fast as they could to the house to relate what had happened.

“Uncle Peter! Uncle Peter!” Hanny shouted, bursting into the house. “Come quick!”

“Why, what is wrong?” he inquired. Startled, he rose quickly to his feet, fearing that one of the Brownies had been hurt.

“Our tulip bulbs!” Hanny cried. “Did you move them from the little house?”

“No, Hanny, I did not.”

“Then they have been stolen!” Hanny was so excited that she began to speak in Dutch, telling her uncle of the discovery she and Vevi had made.

Mr. Van Der Lann ran to the storehouse to see for himself.

“Gone!” he groaned as he too beheld the empty shelves.

“Maybe it was Mr. Evans who took the bulbs,” guessed Vevi, remembering that she had seen the man examining the padlock a few days earlier.

“No! No! It could not have been he,” insisted the nurseryman. “Mr. Evans is a federal agent. He was sent here to try to catch the smugglers. I talked to him only last night and he now has left Rosedale.”

“Mr. Piff is going away too,” remarked Vevi.

“Mr. Piff!” exclaimed the nurseryman. “When did you last see him?”

“Only a minute or two before we came out here in your truck. He was in a taxi cab.”

“What made you think he was leaving Rosedale, Vevi?”

“He said so. He said the show had failed, and he was going away. The taxi was taking him to a train.”

“The show was a failure all right,” declared Mr. Van Der Lann. “But Mr. Piff has no call to go away without making a full accounting to the townspeople who contributed to his flower fund. He has run up many debts. Besides, I suspect he may be the one who took my bulbs!”

“Not Mr. Piff?” echoed Miss Gordon. “How could he do such a thing?”

“He has been here several times during the last few days,” the nurseryman revealed. “When he saw that his show would fail, he sought a means of making quick money. He wanted to sell my bulbs for me, but I turned him down.”

“Did he know where you kept them, Peter?” asked Miss Mohr.

“Yes, and he was here this morning while I was at the library. The housekeeper told me so.”

“Can’t we stop him from leaving Rosedale?” Miss Gordon asked. She looked at her wristwatch, and added:

“His train may have gone by this time. There is a chance, though, that we can intercept him.”

“I will try,” said Mr. Van Der Lann grimly.

He ran to get his truck. By this time, Connie and Sunny had run up from the canal. Jane and Rosemary, their arms laden with tulips, raced in from the fields to see what was happening.

“Everyone into the truck!” ordered Mr. Van Der Lann.

The Brownies scrambled in, fairly tumbling over one another in their haste.

“Those bulbs represent my entire fortune,” Mr. Van Der Lann declared, starting off very fast. “I must get them back.”

Rosedale had only one union station. The nurseryman drove directly there. Passengers could be seen waiting on the platform. Luggage had been piled up on a dolly-truck ready to be hauled to the train when it came in.

Even as the Brownies leaped from Mr. Van Der Lann’s truck, they heard the whistle of the approaching engine.

“Hurry! Hurry!” urged Vevi. “It’s coming now.”

Passengers were gathering up their hand luggage. The children did not see Mr. Piff anywhere.

“He must have taken an earlier train,” declared Miss Gordon anxiously. “I’m afraid we have missed him.”

“I’ll look in the depot,” offered Vevi.

“You don’t need to!” cried Connie excitedly. “There he comes now!”

Mr. Piff had left the building and was walking directly toward the group.

Suddenly he saw the Brownies with Mr. Van Der Lann, and stopped short. He turned as if to move in the opposite direction.

“Wait!” called the nurseryman.

Mr. Piff reluctantly obeyed the command.

“Well?” he demanded. “What do you want?”

The train now was very close. Mr. Van Der Lann knew he would have to talk fast.

“You cannot leave Rosedale without making an accounting of the flower show funds!” he told the promoter. “Debts are not paid and you have all the money.”

“Try to stop me,” said Mr. Piff unpleasantly. “I’m fed up with this town. I’m leaving.”

“Oh, no, you are not,” corrected the nurseryman. He spoke quietly but with firmness.

By this time the train had pulled into the station. Most of the passengers already had boarded their cars.

“Get out of my way!” Mr. Piff said furiously.

He tried to push past the nurseryman. Mr. Van Der Lann grasped him by the arm, making the promoter drop one of the bags he carried.

Vevi snatched it up. Before anyone could stop her, she had opened it.

Inside were two sacks of tulip bulbs. Vevi knew at once that they were the Golden Beauties.

“So!” exclaimed Mr. Van Der Lann. “I thought as much.”

“Now see here,” said Mr. Piff, still trying to pull away. “I can explain. It’s true I intended to sell the bulbs to a dealer I know. But you would have received the full amount, minus a small commission. I can get you a much better price than you can arrange for yourself.”

Mr. Van Der Lann paid no attention. He went through the promoter’s luggage, taking all the bulbs that were his.

Then he made Mr. Piff turn over all the money he had collected for his flower show from Rosedale townspeople.

“Now get on that train and never come back here!” the nurseryman said, shoving him toward his car.

“You’re not having me arrested?” Mr. Piff muttered.

“Get on your train,” the nurseryman ordered again. “And let this be a lesson to you.”

Mr. Piff grabbed up his luggage, including the empty handbag, and ran for the train. He swung aboard. The cars began to move, slowly at first and then faster and faster.

“Goodbye, Mr. Piff!” laughed Sunny.

Mr. Van Der Lann pocketed the money he had taken from the promoter. He told Miss Mohr and the Brownie Scout leader that he doubted it would be enough to pay all of the flower show debts.

“It will cover most of the expense though,” he assured the women. “I will turn all of this money over to Mrs. Langley or the Chamber of Commerce president.”

Now the Brownies were happy indeed that the nurseryman had recovered the Golden Beauty tulip bulbs. Mr. Van Der Lann assured them that he would ship the bulbs east that very day so that there would be no risk of having them stolen again.

For the troop members, the day had been a thrilling one. During the next week they had many wonderful times too, going often to Windmill Farm.

Miss Mohr especially, was kept very busy, planning her approaching wedding. Often the Brownies went with her to the stores to help her buy finery. Time was very short, and it seemed there were a million things to do.

Then finally, the important day was at hand.

All the Brownies, dressed in fresh Scout uniforms, arrived early at the church. An usher escorted them to their seats, a special roped-off pew at the front.

“I hope everything goes off well,” Vevi whispered nervously to Connie. “Wouldn’t it be awful if Hanny should drop the ring?”

“Sh!” Connie warned severely. “The ceremony is starting.”

An expectant hush had fallen upon the church throng. The organist began to play a solemn wedding march.

“Here they come!” whispered Rosemary, twisting around to see. “Oh, how lovely!”

Hanny led the stately procession down the carpeted aisle. She was dressed in white, and carried a basket of flower petals which she dropped one by one ahead of the bride.

Miss Mohr wore a white satin gown with long train and a veil. Her flowers were Golden Beauty tulips. She had never been more lovely.

“Doesn’t Miss Gordon look nice too?” murmured Connie.

The Brownie Scout leader was dressed in pink, with a large picture hat. She and the other bridesmaids carried bouquets of tulips also.

At the proper moment in the ceremony, the ring was produced. Then the minister spoke the words which made Miss Mohr and Mr. Van Der Lann man and wife.

“There! It’s over!” Vevi whispered. “Now we can throw our rice!”

As soon as the procession had passed out of the church, the Brownie Scouts hastened to the exit.

They were in time to see the bridal party getting into cars.

“Now for the rice!” chuckled Vevi.

Each Brownie Scout had brought a small bag filled with rice grains. Laughing and shouting, they hurled it at the bridal couple.

Miss Mohr leaned out of the car to speak to the girls.

“Peter and I will soon return from our honeymoon,” she said. “When we do, we want you all to come often to visit us at Windmill Farm.”

“We will,” promised Connie, speaking for all the Brownies.

“One more thing,” said Miss Mohr. “I have a special request.”

“What is it, Miss Mohr--I mean Mrs. Van Der Lann?” inquired Vevi politely.

“I want all the Brownies to walk past the library when they leave the church.”

Now Vevi thought this a most strange request indeed.

“Past the library?” she repeated, thinking that possibly the librarian had made a slip of tongue.

“Yes, dear, it’s a surprise. From Peter.”

Vevi and the other Brownies were more mystified than ever. Before they could ask a single question, the cars began to move away.

Mr. Van Der Lann opened a paper sack. He began to toss cellophane-wrapped candies to the children.

“_Suikers_,” he explained with a smile. “Sugar plums. It’s an old Dutch custom to throw them at every wedding.”

The Brownies caught most of the sugar plums. Jane, who was agile, picked up four, and Vevi captured three. The other girls had at least one or two apiece.

The bridal cars rounded a corner and were gone. For just a minute, the Brownie Scouts felt lonesome.

“What shall we do now?” asked Sunny. “Go home?”

“We must walk past the library,” Connie said, recalling Miss Mohr’s final instructions. “I wonder why she asked us to do it?”

“It is out of my way to go that direction,” declared Rosemary. “Do you think it would matter if I walk past some other time?”

“No, we must all go now--together,” Vevi insisted. “Miss Mohr said it was important.”

“That’s right,” agreed Connie. “She spoke of a surprise. One from Peter.”

The girls started off, walking in pairs. Vevi and Connie were ahead, followed by the others.

“What surprise could Peter have left for us?” Vevi speculated.

“A package of books perhaps,” Rosemary guessed.

“He may have given the troop a piece of his fine Delft ware,” Sunny declared. “I would like that for a gift.”

Thinking of various possibilities, the girls began to walk faster. Soon they came within view of the library.