[Illustration: Lazy Tom rubbed himself against the bucket.
“Brownie Scouts in the Circus” _(See page 21)_]
The Brownie Scouts in the Circus
by
Mildred A. Wirt
Illustrated
CUPPLES AND LEON COMPANY
Publishers New York
COPYRIGHT, 1949, BY
CUPPLES AND LEON COMPANY
_All Rights Reserved_
THE BROWNIE SCOUTS IN THE CIRCUS
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
1 Who Knows? 1
2 A Tightrope Act 15
3 The Brownie Circus 27
4 A Missing Billfold 47
5 Under the Big Top 55
6 A Little Circus Rider 65
7 The Lost Keys 77
8 Shady Hollow Camp 91
9 The Golden Coach 115
10 Rescue 127
11 Feeding the Animals 147
12 Pickpocket Joe 157
13 The Silver Whistle 173
14 Miss Gordon’s Watch 187
15 The Traveling Brownies 199
CHAPTER 1
Who Knows?
Dark hair rumpled by the breeze, Veve McGuire dashed up the curving
walk to the Gordon home.
Scaling the steps in one flying leap, she landed squarely in the midst
of six Brownie Scouts, who were having their weekly meeting on Connie
Williams’ front porch.
“Am I late, girls?” Veve asked breathlessly. A school book slipped from
her hand, landing with a thud beside the creaking porch swing.
“Are you late?” drawled Jane Tuttle, one of the older members of the
Rosedale Brownie Scout troop. “What a question! Aren’t you always late?”
Now all the Brownies liked Jane, but at times her tongue was as saucy
as the pert red ribbons on her long yellow pigtails.
“I had to stay after school,” Veve explained, scooping up the book.
“Have I missed much of the meeting?”
“All of it,” answered Connie Williams. A friendly smile took the edge
from her answer. She had deep blue eyes, curly blond hair, and was
growing so fast that her pinchecked Brownie uniform soon would be too
small for her.
Connie lived next door to Veve. Nearly always she stood up for her
friend, who was the newest and youngest member of the Brownie troop.
“Anyway, I haven’t missed the hike,” Veve sighed, sinking down on the
steps. “When do we start?”
“Miss Gordon is in the kitchen checking over the things we’re to take,”
informed Connie. “Oh, here she comes now.”
At that moment, Miss Jean Gordon, the Brownie leader, appeared on the
porch. Over her shoulder was slung a knapsack filled with ingredients
for a trail meal.
“Everybody ready?” she inquired gaily.
“Let’s go!” shouted Eileen Webber, springing up from the porch swing.
The seven Brownies and Miss Gordon had planned a late afternoon hike
to Pearson Ravine, a natural park one mile beyond the outskirts of
Rosedale.
Connie, Veve and Miss Gordon led the way down the street. Directly
behind, in orderly file, came Eileen, Jane, Rosemary Fritche and
Belinda Matthews. Sunny Davidson carried the big tin can in which the
Brownie Scouts planned to cook their outdoor meal.
“I’m so hungry I scarcely can wait until we eat,” declared Veve,
skipping along beside Miss Gordon.
“So soon?” laughed the Brownie troop leader. “It will be a long while
before we reach the ravine and start our fire.”
Tramping briskly down Kingston Drive, the girls soon reached the main
highway. Beyond the south edge of Rosedale, they selected a narrow side
road which took them directly to the park entrance.
A series of log steps built into the hillside led down to the shady
ravine. Stone fireplaces and picnic benches dotted the wooded area.
On beyond the shelter house, a picturesque log bridge arched across a
lagoon.
“First, shall we select a fireplace and start supper?” suggested Miss
Gordon. “Later, we’ll explore.”
The Brownies dashed about, examining each fireplace to find the one
best suited to their purpose. Finally, after much debate, they selected
one in a dell near a spring.
While Connie and Veve helped Miss Gordon clear dead leaves and
half-burned wood from the fireplace, Jane and Eileen brought dry wood
and sticks. Rosemary, Sunny and Belinda began to peel potatoes for the
stew.
“Our fire is about right now,” Miss Gordon said when it had burned down
to scarlet coals.
Into the big tin can went tiny pieces of bacon, a large sliced onion
and a little grease.
Soon the mixture began to sizzle and send up a tantalizing odor. The
Brownies then added cut potatoes, a can of succotash, salt, pepper, a
tiny can of tomato puree and enough water to cover.
“Umm--Uhmm,” mumbled Veve, sniffing the delightful aroma. “How ever can
I wait?”
Miss Gordon told the girls it would take nearly half an hour for the
stew to simmer. “Meanwhile, we might explore the ravine,” she proposed.
“Shall we draw lots to see who watches the fire?”
Veve and Sunny received the short paper stubs, which meant they were to
remain.
“I hope it’s safe leaving you two alone,” Jane remarked uneasily. “If
you forget to keep water in the cooking can, our entire supper will
burn up.”
As she spoke, she looked directly at Veve, who was known to be
forgetful at times.
“I’m sure Veve and Sunny are very dependable,” said Miss Gordon. “At
any rate, we’ll not be gone long.”
“No fair sampling while we’re away,” Jane tossed over her shoulder as
the girls started off down the steep slope.
Following a marked trail, Miss Gordon and the five Brownies proceeded
to the lagoon. The still surface of the pool was covered with lily
pads. From beneath the bridge came the deep-throated croak of a big
bullfrog.
“Oh, I wish we could catch frogs!” exclaimed Connie, who liked to
collect pets. “I want to take one home in a jar!”
“May we, Miss Gordon?” asked Belinda.
“Not this afternoon, I’m afraid,” the troop leader said regretfully.
“Veve and Sunny soon will expect us for supper.”
On tramped the Brownies along a trail which wound in among the oak and
maple trees. Miss Gordon advised the girls to walk softly so that
whenever they saw an interesting bird or animal they could stop to
watch without frightening them away.
“I’m perishing of hunger,” presently announced Jane, who was worried
that the two cooks would forget to watch the stew. “When do we eat?”
“Our supper should be nearly ready by now,” Miss Gordon smiled. “We may
as well turn back.”
Upon reaching the fireplace again, the minds of the Brownies were
greatly relieved. Faithful to their duties, Veve and Sunny had kept
the fire burning. Furthermore, they had stirred the stew at intervals,
preventing it from sticking to the pan.
“How delicious that food smells!” cried Belinda. “May we eat now?”
Miss Gordon tested a potato to determine if it were done through and
through. She smiled and nodded.
The girls lined up with their paper plates, and the Brownie leader
dished out generous portions. Even so, enough was left in the cooking
pan for second helpings.
“Hikes are wonderful,” declared Connie dreamily, as she seated herself
at the long wooden bench and table. “Especially the eating part. I
wish we could have an outing every day.”
“So do I,” agreed Veve. Her freckled face was smudged and flushed
because she had hunched so close to the fire. “Camping would be fun
too!”
Now at mention of the word “camping” all the Brownies looked directly
at Miss Gordon. Recently, she had hinted that the troop might plan such
an expedition sometime during the summer. School soon would be out, and
so far the Brownie leader had given them no further information.
Accordingly, the Brownies were quite surprised when Miss Gordon said
casually: “How many of you would like to go camping this month?”
“_This month?_” Connie repeated, her fork suspended in mid-air.
All the Brownies stopped eating. Attentively, they listened.
“Yes, girls. School will be out next week. Except for the possibility
of rain and cool weather, June is a beautiful month for camping.”
“When do we start?” demanded Veve. “Where will we go and how long may
we stay?”
“One question at a time,” laughed Miss Gordon. “The trip depends upon
a number of factors. First, let’s have a report from our treasurer.”
Connie had been elected keeper of the Brownie Troop funds. Without
consulting records she was able to report that the organization had on
hand only $4.35.
“Now this is the situation,” explained Miss Gordon. “There is an
established Girl Scout camp at Shady Hollow, about sixty miles from
here. However, it is so new that to date, facilities have been provided
for only a few girls, preferably older Scouts rather than Brownies.”
“Will we go there?” demanded Jane, who could not wait to hear the news.
“That depends. I’ve written the director. The camp at this time does
not have cabins or tents for us.”
“O-oh,” moaned the Brownies, sunk in despair.
“But,” continued Miss Gordon, “if we’re willing to provide our own tent
and equipment, we’re invited to use the camp and its facilities.”
“Then we’re to go after all!” cried Jane in delight. “Hurrah!”
“Save your cheers until you hear more,” advised Miss Gordon. “Let’s
consider the problem of supplying our own equipment.”
“How much will it cost?” asked Connie soberly.
“At the very best estimate, I figure we’ll need ten dollars apiece to
cover a ten-day camping period.”
The amount seemed rather large to the Brownies. Seated around the fire,
they waited hopefully. From Miss Gordon’s manner, they were quite
certain she had a plan in mind.
“We could ask your parents for the money, but I’m not in favor of it,”
said the Brownie leader. “Each girl, I think, should try to earn five
dollars as her individual share. Then the troop as a unit must scrape
together the remaining thirty-five dollars.”
“Our last bake sale wasn’t very successful,” sighed Rosemary. “We made
less than four dollars.”
“A bake sale isn’t the answer to our problem,” replied Miss Gordon.
“Time is short and this money must be raised quickly. At the moment I
have no definite plan, but by the next meeting I hope to have something
to present.”
“I know how I’ll earn my five dollars,” volunteered Connie. “My father
promised to pay ten cents a hundred for all the dandelions I dig. Our
yard is filled with them!”
“I can make money by wiping dishes,” added Rosemary promptly.
“I’m good at washing cars,” announced Jane. “My five dollars is the
same as in the till right now.”
One by one the Brownies told how they would earn their camping
expenses--all, that is, except Veve. She remained silent because she
could not think of any way.
“Another thing,” spoke up Jane before she stopped to think. “If we’re
going to camp, I think every girl should have a Brownie uniform.”
Now as all the girls knew, Veve was the only troop member who did not
have one. She had joined the organization at Christmas time while the
girls were on a wonderful outing at Snow Valley in Minnesota. Since
then, nearly six months had elapsed and still she had not purchased her
uniform.
Veve had pretended she didn’t want to bother wearing one. However, the
truth was, she had been unable to buy the uniform.
The little girl’s father had been dead several years, and her mother,
who worked part-time in a downtown office, seldom had money for extras.
Now Miss Gordon had been careful never to speak of the fact that Veve
had no uniform. For that reason, she was sorry Jane thoughtlessly had
brought up the subject.
“I’m not sure I want to go to camp,” announced Veve. Her cheeks were
stained with color even though she had moved away from the fire.
“Why, Veve!” exclaimed Jane indignantly. “Only a moment ago you said--”
“Girls,” interrupted Miss Gordon, “it really is growing late. Let’s
gather up our scraps now and put out the fire. We’ll discuss the
camping trip later on.”
Connie brought water from the spring to throw on the coals. Eileen
and Rosemary gathered up the paper plates and disposed of them in the
garbage can provided by the park. The blackened cooking can also was
discarded.
“Our camp now is as tidy as when we came,” said Miss Gordon. “Best of
all, we have very little to carry home.”
“Except ourselves,” sighed Rosemary, who had eaten entirely too much.
Hiking back toward Rosedale, Connie fell into step with Veve. She
noticed that her friend seemed very downcast.
“What’s wrong, Veve?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
“You didn’t really mean it when you said you didn’t care about going to
camp?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Veve said, a trifle crossly. “I don’t have to
decide now, do I?”
Actually, the little girl was afraid she never could earn five dollars
as her share of the camp money. Though she had tried hard, she never
had been able to save enough to buy her own Brownie uniform.
“Hey, Brownies! Do you see what I see?” suddenly demanded Sunny
Davidson. At the head of the troop, she abruptly paused to stare at a
sign-board along the roadside.
The Brownies saw that a man in white overalls was pasting up a new
advertising sign. Two of the long paper strips already were in place.
His long-handled brush moved very fast, smoothing out the wrinkles.
“He’s putting up animals!” shouted Sunny in high excitement. “Tigers,
lions and a giraffe!”
“A circus must be coming to town!” cried Veve, cheering up at once.
Deeply interested, the Brownie Scouts paused at the roadside to watch
the sheets being slapped skillfully into place. One revealed a pretty
girl in a spangled costume, riding a snow-white horse.
“Oh, it _is_ a circus!” laughed Connie.
“And it’s coming here a week from Saturday,” added Eileen as another
sheet spread out before their fascinated eyes. “Oh, I hope I get to go!”
“I wish we all might see it,” declared Miss Gordon gaily. “You
know--seeing this billboard has given me an idea as to how the Brownies
possibly might make their camp money.”
“How?” cried the Brownies.
But Miss Gordon only smiled in a most mysterious way.
“I can’t tell you now,” she said, “for as yet it’s only an idea. Just
be sure to come to the Brownie meeting next Wednesday. Who knows? I may
have something interesting to report.”