The Brownie Scouts
in the Circus

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

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.”

CHAPTER 2
A Tightrope Act

NOW, as might be expected, not a Brownie Scout was late at the Wednesday afternoon meeting, for all were eager to plan a means of earning camp expense money.

When Miss Gordon arrived at Eileen Webber’s home where the Brownies had gathered, she brought with her a fat stack of printed tickets. Rosemary noticed them at once.

“Oh, are we to sell tickets to a show?” she asked quickly.

“A circus, not a show,” corrected Miss Gordon. “That is, if the troop is interested.”

“Oh, we are,” insisted Connie. “Circus tickets should be easy to sell.”

Miss Gordon explained that the idea had occurred to her on the day of the Brownie hike when she had noticed the circus posters.

“I talked to the circus advance man,” she added, “and the management has agreed to pay us forty cents for each ticket we sell.”

“That’s four dollars profit for every ten tickets,” declared Connie, calculating rapidly.

“Also, for every eight sold, we are to receive a free one to the circus.”

“I say let’s do it!” cried Jane enthusiastically. “I’m sure I can sell at least ten myself.”

Miss Gordon passed out the tickets, writing down how many each girl took. “Just one thing,” she warned the Brownies. “Although we very much desire to earn money, we must not do so at the expense of dignity.”

Seeing the puzzled expression on the girls’ faces, she further explained: “I mean, in selling our circus tickets, we must not accost strangers. However, we may sell to friends, acquaintances, relatives and parents.”

“I know my parents will buy,” declared Eileen. “And my Aunt Sue.”

“I’ll ask the ladies at my mother’s bridge club,” added Sunny.

Nearly all of the Brownies were confident they could dispose of their tickets before the next meeting. Veve alone seemed uncertain. In her family there were few relatives, and she knew her mother could not take time from work to attend a circus.

“Between now and the next meeting try to think of other ways of earning money,” the troop leader urged. “Our ticket sale may not raise enough.”

The next few days the Brownies were very busy. They swarmed here, there, everywhere, selling their tickets.

By the end of the second day, Connie, Jane, and Rosemary had disposed of a total of twenty-two and had six “promised.” Eileen sold seven, Belinda five, Sunny four, and Veve only one.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sell any more either,” she told Connie one afternoon as she sat in the Williams’ yard where her friend was digging dandelions. “Everyone already has been asked by someone else.”

“How are you going to earn your camp money, Veve?”

“Maybe I won’t go.”

“Oh, Veve! If you want to help me dig dandelions—”

“I don’t,” said Veve quickly, noticing a blister on Connie’s finger. “It makes your hand sore. Can’t you think of an easier way to make money?”

“I’ve earned two dollars already,” Connie said, tossing another dandelion into the basket. “I’m not afraid of hard work.”

“Say, I know a way to make money!” Veve broke in suddenly.

“Then why not try it?” Connie demanded a trifle crossly. Tired and discouraged from having dug so many weeds, she felt that her friend at least might make an effort.

“Oh, I couldn’t do it alone. But together we could work it out and it would be fun. Let’s have a circus of our own!”

“A circus?” Connie echoed, faintly interested. “And charge money?”

“Of course. We’d make a lot.”

“Where could we give the circus, Veve?”

“Here in your back yard! The walk that circles the lily pond would make a dandy circus ring. We’ll ask the other Brownies to be in our show too!”

“We might give it tomorrow,” Connie said doubtfully. “It will mean a lot of planning though, and hard work.”

“Lets get busy right away and practice,” Veve proposed, jumping up from the grass. “What can you do, Connie?”

“Well, I learned a tap dance at class—”

“Oh, they don’t dance in a circus,” Veve replied in a superior tone. “One has to be a bareback rider, a trapeze performer or something important. I’ll be a lion tamer.”

“But you have no lion,” said Connie, rather amused.

“Not a real one,” agreed Veve. “But I know where I can get a play lion.”

“Where, Veve?”

“At Mrs. Moseley’s house. I’ll ask to borrow her Maltese cat.”

“Oh, you mean old Lazy Tom,” laughed Connie. “He’s so old and feeble he’ll not seem much like a real lion.”

“That won’t matter,” insisted Veve, pulling her to her feet. “I’ve seen old lions at circuses. Come on, Connie. Let’s ask to borrow him.”

The two Brownies hurried down the street to Mrs. Moseley’s house. The elderly lady lived alone. Of all the neighborhood children, Connie and Veve were her favorites.

“Good afternoon, girls,” she said with a smile when Veve rang the doorbell. “I am afraid my cookie jar is empty today.”

The girls explained that they had not come for cookies.

“We want to borrow Lazy Tom,” Veve explained. “We need a lion for our Brownie circus.”

“A lion!” repeated Mrs. Moseley, surprised by such a strange request.

Connie and Veve explained their plan for giving a play circus as a means of raising camp expense money.

“Oh, I see,” replied Mrs. Moseley. “Well, perhaps a little wild animal life will do Tom good. Take him along.”

The girls thanked the lady and Veve promptly gathered up the big cat in her arms. Lazy Tom disliked being disturbed because he had been enjoying a snooze on the window sill in the warm sun.

When the girls reached the Williams’ yard again, they dropped the cat on the grass. Veve then ran to the garage for a large wooden bucket which Mr. Williams used when he washed the car. Turned upside down it made a fine pedestal.

“Now get up there, old lion!” she ordered the dozing cat. “Up, I tell you!”

Lazy Tom paid no attention. He merely said “Meow!” in a very bored voice.

“Don’t you roar at me!” cried Veve. “I’m your trainer. Now do exactly as I say. Climb up there!”

Lazy Tom rubbed himself against the bucket, his long fluffy tail waving back and forth.

“Why not pick him up and set him on the pail?” suggested Connie. She thought Veve was wasting valuable time.

“Trainers never do that,” replied the little girl. “An old lion would just bite off your hand.”

“But Lazy Tom is no lion,” giggled Connie.

Before Veve could tell her not to, she picked up the cat and placed him on the bucket. Lazy Tom was so comfortable he curled into a round ball and closed his eyes as if he were asleep.

“Oh, say, he’s no good,” cried Veve in disgust. “He’s too tame. Tell you what, Connie. You be the lion.”

Connie was quite certain she did not care to be a lion. However, her friend coaxed so hard that finally she consented.

“Get down on your hands and knees,” ordered Veve. “When I say, ‘Up King of Beasts,’ you’re to put your front paws—I mean your hands—on the bucket. Then move your head from side to side and roar.”

“But I can’t do that, Veve. Lazy Tom is asleep on the bucket.”

“I’ll chase him off.”

“Then he might run away,” protested Connie. “You know we promised Mrs. Moseley to take good care of him.”

“Well, I can’t be bothered taking him home now,” said Veve. “I know where I can keep him safe.”

Gathering up the drowsy cat, she carried him into her own house. Carefully she laid him on the tufted spread of her bed.

“There Tom,” she said, stroking his fur, “isn’t that better than sleeping on a hard bucket?”

Eager to get on with the circus practice, Veve ran back to the Williams’ yard where Connie awaited her.

“Up King of Beasts!” she shouted. “Up on the pedestal!”

When she touched Connie with a stick, the little girl placed first one hand and then the other on the bucket.

“You’re forgetting to roar, Connie,” Veve reminded her. “Go ahead! You can do it.”

The sound Connie made was most unlike a roar. She tried again. This time it was loud enough to bring Mrs. Williams to the kitchen door.

“Connie, are you hurt?” she called, fearful that something serious had happened to her daughter.

Connie explained that she and Veve were only “practicing” circus, pretending to be lion and lion tamer.

“Well, you gave me a bad fright,” said Mrs. Williams. “I do wish you would find a quiet game. Those wild roars are certain to disturb the neighbors.”

“I don’t like being a lion anyway,” Connie declared, as she carried the wooden bucket back to the garage.

Veve was sorry that she couldn’t keep on being an animal trainer. But almost at once she thought of another act even more exciting than taming lions. She would try walking a tightrope!

Gathering up a stout clothes-line, Veve strung it tightly between two trees on either side of the lily pond.

“I’ll pretend the pond is Niagara Falls and walk the tightrope across it,” she announced confidently.

“You may fall in and get wet, Veve.”

“Not I,” boasted the little girl. “Why, I’ve walked rail fences dozens of times.”

“A clothes-line isn’t as easy as a fence.”

“Oh, I can do it easily. Only I should have an umbrella to balance myself properly. Tightrope walkers always carry one.”

“I’ll bring one from the house,” Connie offered.

She returned a moment later with a red and green umbrella her father had given her at Christmas time.

“I’ll need something to stand on,” Veve said next.

Running to the garage, she found an orange crate which she placed against a tree trunk under one end of the clothes-line.

“Now I’m ready to start my daring act,” she announced. “Hold my hand until I get balanced, Connie.”

Veve climbed up on the box. She stood a moment with one foot on the rope, the other on the orange crate. Holding the umbrella in her right hand, she swayed back and forth.

“Why are you doing that?” asked Connie, puzzled.

“I have to balance myself. Now if you want to see a real tightrope walker, just watch!”

Veve’s round, freckled face became very serious. Swinging her foot from the box to the rope, she started forward. The clothes-line sagged beneath her weight.

“Be careful!” cried Connie.

Her words ended in a loud shriek, for the little girl had lost her balance. Wildly, the red and green umbrella waved in the air. Then with a great splash, Veve pitched sideways into the lily pond.

CHAPTER 3
The Brownie Circus

THE lily pond was quite shallow. Connie knew Veve would not drown. However, she was annoyed that her friend had fallen into the water, taking the red and green umbrella with her.

“Oh, Veve!” she exclaimed. “You were so sure you could walk across.”

Veve did not hear because she was trying to untangle herself from the mass of roots and plants. Standing up, she tore off a big green lily pad which had plastered itself across her face.

“Just look at yourself,” chided Connie. “You’re dripping wet. And my pretty umbrella!”

“Oh, it will dry out,” mumbled Veve. She waded to the side of the pool.

“Veve!” called a voice from across the yard. “Veve McGuire!”

The girls turned to see Mrs. McGuire coming toward them. She had returned from work and her face was quite stern.

“Veve, come into the house!” she exclaimed. “You’ve fallen into the lily pond and ruined your clothes.”

“I couldn’t help it, Mother,” mumbled Veve, wringing water from her limp skirt. “The rope broke. And I hurt myself too. On a rock.”

Mrs. McGuire glanced carefully at the bruised place on Veve’s knee. She saw that the skin had not been broken.

“What were you trying to do this time, Veve?” she asked with a sigh.

“We were practicing for our Brownie circus,” explained Veve. “We’re having it tomorrow.”

“There will be no circus tomorrow or any other day unless you mend your careless ways,” replied the little girl’s mother. “Now, into the house and change your clothes.”

“What about Lazy Tom?” asked Veve. “Who will take him home?”

“Lazy Tom?”

“Our lion,” explained Veve. “That is, I mean Mrs. Moseley’s cat. He’s upstairs resting on my bed.”

“Oh dear,” sighed Mrs. McGuire. “Veve, what won’t you think of next?”

Now Mrs. McGuire loved her daughter very much, but Veve caused her considerable worry.

On one occasion the little girl had hooked her sled to an automobile bumper and was carried far out into the country. The story of this adventure and of the good time the Brownies had in Minnesota, is told in the volume: “The Brownie Scouts at Snow Valley.”

Since joining the Brownies, Veve was a fairly responsible little girl, for she took very seriously the Brownie rule of being courteous, kind, helpful and fair.

Nevertheless, at times her high spirits carried her away and then she was likely to find herself in difficulties.

“I’ll be glad to take Lazy Tom home,” Connie offered.

Getting the cat from Veve’s room, she carried him to Mrs. Moseley’s house and then returned home for her own supper.

“You’re rather late, Connie,” her mother chided her. “Too busy a day?”

“Planning a circus is such hard work,” Connie replied. “But it’s a lot of fun and we may make money for the Brownies. Only we’ll have to get busy right away!”

At school the next day she told the other Brownies about plans for the circus. All the girls were eager to help. In fact, they became so interested in making plans that it was difficult to keep their minds on their school work.

Eileen, who was clever with a pen, made posters to tack up in the classroom. Then each girl listed the things she could do or the animals she would furnish for the menagerie.

“I know what we can use for a bear!” cried Sunny. “My mother has a big bearskin rug I can wear!”

“Barney Adams has a pet goat and a cart,” contributed Jane. “I think maybe I can borrow it if I work him right.”

“I have some pet snails, a toad and a beautiful garter snake,” Eileen added. “I’ll bring them. Then we can make paper collars for our dogs and cats.”

“And decorate the wheels of our bicycles for the grand parade,” said Belinda. “Oh, I hope we make loads of money.”

Because Veve had thought up the idea of having the circus, everyone agreed it was proper that she should be the master of ceremonies.

“I have a clown suit she can wear,” offered Rosemary. “By the way, where is Veve?”

Although the little girl had attended school that day, she had seemed unusually quiet. Now that the Brownies thought about it, she hadn’t talked very much about the circus plans. And the moment that classes were dismissed for the day, she had disappeared.

“Veve probably went home to get ready for the circus,” Connie said. “We all must hurry.”

“I’ll have to see Barney Adams about his goat,” Jane declared. “Why don’t you come with me, Connie?”

“Oh, all right,” the other agreed. “But we haven’t much time.”

The girls found Barney at his home. But when they told him about the Brownie circus and their need for a goat and cart, a speculative look came into his eye.

“What’ll you give me?” he bargained.

“Why, Barney Adams!” Jane said indignantly. “This is supposed to be a charity circus.”

“Not for me, it isn’t,” insisted Barney. “My goat takes a lot of care, and I can’t let you have him without something in swap. Anyway, you might damage him.”

“Whoever heard of damaging an old goat?” Connie demanded. “Why, he eats old tin cans!”

“He does not!” Barney denied.

“And he’s frightfully dirty,” said Jane. “Maybe we don’t want such a dirty animal in our circus.”

She acted as if she were about to walk away.

“Wait!” Barney called her back. “I’ll let you have the goat if you’ll give me your jacks set.”

“Not my new one!” Jane said indignantly. “Your old goat isn’t worth it.”

“How would you like a free ticket to the circus instead?” coaxed Connie. “Your goat will have one of the leading parts.”

Barney thought this proposition over. “Oh, all right,” he suddenly said. “But take good care of him.”

The boy hitched the goat to the little cart and the girls led him off down the street.

By the time they reached the Williams’ back yard, many of the other Brownies were there, hard at work preparing for the circus. They had brought their bicycles, pets, and a great many odds and ends.

Before five o’clock, the hour set for the show, everyone was on hand except Veve McGuire.

“What’s keeping her?” Jane demanded impatiently. “She thought up the circus, and since she’s to be master of ceremonies she should be here right now.”

Connie was worried about Veve’s absence, for she knew her next-door playmate would not miss the circus deliberately.

Just as Jane spoke, she chanced to glance up toward Veve’s bedroom window. She was startled to see her friend there, dressed in pajamas.

“Why, Veve isn’t even dressed!” she exclaimed.

Seeing Connie gazing up at her, Veve raised the sash and leaned far out. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

“Why, Veve,” Connie said, moving directly under the window. “Can’t you be in the Brownie circus?”

Veve shook her head. She told Connie she had to stay in her room until six o’clock as punishment for falling into the lily pond.

“Oh, Veve! The circus will be ruined without you! We need everyone.”

“I want to be in it too.”

“Can’t you ask your mother—”

“I have already,” Veve said gloomily. “About a dozen times. It’s no use.”

So that the girls would not see her cry, she pulled down the window and moved back out of sight.

“Well, there goes our Brownie circus,” Belinda said when Connie relayed the bad news to the waiting Brownies. “We can’t have it without Veve.”

“Perhaps if we all went to Mrs. McGuire and explained how important it is to have the Brownie circus, she’ll excuse Veve,” Connie suggested hopefully.

“Let’s do it,” urged Belinda. “We can’t give up the circus after we’ve told everyone we’re having it.”

The other girls liked the proposal, so together they went to the McGuire home.

Mrs. McGuire, who had arrived from her office only a few minutes earlier, opened the door. Even before Connie explained why they were there, she seemed to understand.

“I do believe Veve has been punished enough for her misdeed,” she said. “And I certainly wouldn’t want to see the Brownie circus postponed.”

“Then you’ll let Veve out of the house?” Sunny asked quickly.

“I’ll call her now,” promised Mrs. McGuire.

Veve had been listening to the conversation from the head of the stairs. In a flash she was dressed and downstairs. Another five minutes and she had scrambled into the clown suit and was ready to direct the circus.

“Everyone get ready for the big parade!” she shouted. “The spectators are arriving.”

Several boys and girls from Rosedale School already had gathered on the back fence with their nickel admission price ready. Within a few minutes, other children began to arrive, and a few of the parents.

Connie collected the admission fees. Then at last the circus was ready to start.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Veve called in a loud voice. She swept off the pointed clown cap and made a low bow. “Your attention please! We present—the great Brownie Scout circus!”

Having made the announcement, she darted back to take her place at the head of the parade.

Three times the procession went around the lily pool ring. Behind Veve came Connie riding in the goat cart. After her were the other Brownies who rode their bicycles or pulled coaster wagons bearing pets. All the spectators cheered and clapped.

After the parade, Veve announced that the first act would be a headstand “by one of the limber-est acrobats in the whole world—Miss Sunny Davidson.”

That young showlady, dressed in her gym suit, promptly stepped into the center of the ring. Her first attempt at a headstand was a failure. Legs waved uncertainly in the air a moment. Then she lost her balance and fell flat on the ground.