“My, how delicious everything smells!” Veve declared, sniffing the air. “I scarcely can wait until breakfast.”
The girls looked about for work to do. Connie stirred the mush, taking care not to burn herself.
Then Veve noticed that the woodbox was nearly empty.
“May we bring in more wood, Mrs. Gordon?” she suggested.
“Why, yes, if you care to,” replied Grandmother Gordon. “Grandpa usually keeps the box filled, but this time he failed me.”
Veve and Connie put on their snowsuits, mittens and galoshes and went outside.
On the porch they paused for a moment to look at the frozen lake, the white-clad hills, and the ghostlike evergreens. All the world seemed white with snow.
Following the shoveled path, the girls came to the woodpile near the barn. A brown squirrel, disturbed by their approach, scampered off leaving a trail of dainty tracks.
Veve and Connie filled their arms with chopped wood and carried it back to the house. After they had made a second trip, the woodbox was filled to overflowing.
By this time, all of the Brownies except Jane were up and dressed. Veve and Connie helped pull her out of bed, and then it was time for breakfast.
“Girls,” said Miss Gordon, when the dishes had been done and morning work was out of the way, “how would you like to take a hike into the woods?”
“Now?” asked Eileen eagerly. She always liked hikes and nature study.
“It’s quite cold so early in the day. Suppose we start at ten o’clock after the sun is higher.”
To this, the Brownies enthusiastically agreed. They straightened their rooms, made the beds, and then found time on their hands.
“I know what let’s do,” proposed Connie. “Let’s hunt for Grandma Gordon’s gold locket!”
“The kitchen!” proposed Eileen. “That’s the most likely place.”
Mrs. Gordon said she did not mind if the girls looked through all the cupboards. Connie brought in a stepladder from the barn and climbed up to the uppermost shelf. The dishes there were quite dusty, for the shelf was too high for convenient use.
“Dear me, I haven’t cleaned up there for goodness knows how long,” Mrs. Gordon laughed. “Anything may come to light.”
While Connie handed down the dishes, the other girls washed them. She found a milk-white glass plate, which Miss Gordon said was an antique and should be kept where it could be seen and appreciated.