“I have no one in all the world except Peter,” she said. “He is very good to me.” Vevi felt so sorry for Hanny that she unpinned her Brownie Scout pin and fastened it to the other’s blouse. “Now you can pretend you’re a Brownie,” she declared. “When you get a pin of your own, you can return mine.” “After you have been a Brownie for a year, you may wear a flower pendant with it,” Connie explained. “Both Vevi and I have pendants.” Indeed, the two girls were charter members of the Rosedale Troop. With Rosemary, Sunny and Jane they had made a wonderful trip to the seashore. On another occasion they had gone with Miss Gordon to Snow Valley. One of their most exciting adventures has been told in the book called “The Brownie Scouts in the Cherry Festival.” Now Connie and Vevi never missed a Brownie meeting if they could help it. In Rosedale they lived next door to each other, and attended the same school. They enjoyed doing the same things too. “Tell me more about the Brownie Scouts,” Hanny said, fingering the pin Vevi had given her. “First you have to be invested,” Connie declared. The word troubled Hanny. “But I do not have very much money to invest,” she said. “My uncle cannot afford to give me much, for his nursery does not yet pay well.” “Oh, that isn’t what investment means!” laughed Vevi. “It means joining the organization--being initiated.” “It’s a ceremony and it is called in-ves-ti-ture,” Connie said, spelling out the word. “You learn the Promise, the Salute, and the Handshake and attend enough meetings to know all the girls. Then you’re ready to be a Brownie.” “I see,” nodded Hanny. “I am so very stupid.” “No such thing,” cried Vevi, seizing her hand. “It always takes a while to catch on. But being a Brownie is fun. We have hikes and do lots of things out of doors. We learn to keep house, too. That part I don’t like so well.” “That would be easy for me,” laughed Hanny. “I can sweep, iron, and cook! Peter says I am worth two girls in the house!” The children talked a while about the Brownies and then left the cheese house. Hanny said she would show Connie and Vevi the barn and the mill. “And what’s in that little house over there?” Vevi asked curiously. The shack she had noticed stood between the mill and the barn. It had no windows. The door was closed and fastened with a padlock. “I cannot show you that place,” said Hanny. “Do you keep animals inside?” asked Vevi. She was more curious than ever now. “Not animals,” Hanny corrected. “Our cows stay in the barn.” “But what _do_ you keep in there, Hanny?” Vevi persisted. “Vevi!” reproved Connie. She did not consider it good manners to ask so many questions. “I cannot tell you about the little house,” Hanny soberly replied to Vevi’s question. “Please--the secret is not mine to relate.”