It didn’t take long for Violet and Jessie to measure and cut the material. By the time they finished, Benny had filled two small bags with peppermint drops, and Henry had chosen a blue dog collar for Watch.
The children and Aunt Jane walked over to the counter and put their things on it. Nancy and her customer came over at the same time. Nancy looked very happy when she saw the curtain material all measured and cut. “Oh, thank you,” she said. “That was a big help. I’ll be with you in just a minute.”
Nancy wrapped up the customer’s gardening gloves and tools. Then she stared at the cash register and bit her lip.
“What’s the matter, Nancy?” Jessie asked.
“It’s silly,” Nancy said, “but I keep forgetting how to work this cash register. The others stores I’ve worked in had more modern ones.”
“The hardware store where I worked had this kind,” Henry said. “I’ll be glad to show you again.”
Henry rang up the sale, took the money from the customer, and made change. Nancy watched him closely. While they were doing that, Violet helped Benny weigh the candy on the scale, and Jessie and Aunt Jane figured out how much money the curtain material would cost. Henry took the money for everything, and made change again.
“Thank you,” Nancy said. “I’m sure I won’t forget next time.”
“What other kinds of stores have you worked in?” Henry asked Nancy as she was putting their things in a bag.
“What do you mean?” Nancy looked confused.
Henry and Jessie looked at each other. They both remembered that Nancy had just talked about working in other stores with more modern cash registers.
Nancy noticed them looking at her and laughed nervously. She said quickly, “This is my first full-time job. I’m nineteen and I just finished high school a year ago.”
“Oh, then the others must have been after-school jobs,” Henry said.
“That’s right, they were!” Nancy replied.
“What kinds of jobs?” Benny asked.
“Oh, gosh, there were so many, it’s hard to remember them all.” Nancy was twisting the bag holding the Aldens’ things. Suddenly, she dropped it. As she bent to pick it up, Henry and Jessie looked at each other again. Nancy seemed very nervous. Why didn’t she want to talk about the other jobs she’d had?
When Nancy put the bag on the counter, Benny said, “You must like to work if you’ve had so many jobs.”
“Maybe Nancy worked to help out with expenses,” Aunt Jane suggested.
“That’s right,” Nancy said, looking relieved. “My family doesn’t have a lot of money, and I always took jobs to help out.”
“Do you still live at home?” Jessie said.
Nancy shook her head. “No, I’m on my own now,” she answered.
“We were on our own once, too,” Henry said. He told Nancy about their parents and described the boxcar they had lived in. “The boxcar was fun,” he said, “but I’m glad we live with Grandfather now.”
“He moved the boxcar to his backyard for us,” Violet said. “We still have picnics in it sometimes.”
“Does your family live near Elmford, Nancy?” Jessie asked.
Nancy looked nervous again. “They live far away, in another state.”
“Gosh, you must miss them,” Benny said.
Nancy blushed and looked down at the counter. “I do,” she said softly. Then she looked up and smiled. “But being on my own is fun, like you said, Henry.”
“Where do you live?” Violet asked.
“In one of Mr. Taylor’s cabins,” Nancy told her. “Even though it’s small, it’s very comfortable.”
Just then, Jerry Taylor came out of his office. He looked worried again.
“Oh dear,” said Aunt Jane. “It looks like Jerry still hasn’t found anyone else to work here.”
“What happened, Mr. Taylor?” Nancy asked as he came over to the counter.
“Well, the woman who called wanted the job,” Mr. Taylor said. “But she only wanted to work for a month or so.” He sighed. “I need someone who’s willing to stay on.”
“I’m sure you’ll find somebody soon,” Aunt Jane said.
“I hope so,” Jerry said. “This isn’t a big store, but it still takes a lot of work. Nancy can’t do it all by herself, and I don’t always have time to help out.”
“Do you have more people coming about the job?” Jessie asked.
“Yes, I do, thank goodness,” Jerry said. “I put an ad in the newspaper and people will be coming to see me all week.” He smiled at Jessie. “Why did you ask?”
“I’ll bet I know why!” Violet said excitedly. “Jessie thinks we could work here until you find someone. Isn’t that right, Jessie?”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Jessie said. “You must be a mind reader, Violet.”
Mr. Taylor looked too surprised to say anything. But Nancy was excited. “It’s a wonderful idea, Mr. Taylor,” she said. “They’ve already helped out. Henry took care of a customer when I was too busy, and Jessie cut the material, and—”
“And Violet showed me how to use the scale,” Benny interrupted. “Now I can do it myself.”
“We can do other things for you, too,” Henry said to Mr. Taylor. “Sweep out the store, and put prices on things.”
“I could make signs if you need them,” Violet said, smiling shyly at Mr. Taylor. “I like to do that.”
“And she’s good at it, too,” Jessie said.
“Violet’s the best,” Benny added admiringly.
Mr. Taylor scratched his head. “It’s nice of you to offer. I’m very grateful. But I just don’t know,” he said doubtfully. He looked at Aunt Jane. “What do you think about this?”
Aunt Jane smiled. “I think you couldn’t find four better helpers anywhere,” she said.
“Well . . . ” Mr. Taylor scratched his head again. “It sure would take a big worry off my mind,” he said. “Of course, you can’t go back and forth to Elmford every day. That would take too much time.”
“We could stay in one of your cabins, just like Nancy does,” Jessie said.
Mr. Taylor laughed. “That’s just what I was going to suggest, Jessie. You can stay in the cabin next to mine, that way I can keep an eye on you. Your aunt can come by from time to time to make sure everything’s all right.”
“Then you’ll let us work here?” Benny asked.
Mr. Taylor laughed again. “You’re hired, Benny,” he said. “All four of you.”
“You won’t regret it,” Aunt Jane said. She picked up the bag of curtain fabric and turned to the Aldens. “We’d better drive back to Elmford now so you can pack some things.”
“And call Grandfather,” Violet said.
“Right,” Henry agreed. “Wait until he hears we’re going to be working at a general store and living in a cabin!”
“Your grandfather won’t mind, will he?” Mr. Taylor asked anxiously.
“Oh, no,” Jessie told him. “He’s used to us doing things like this.”
“Like what?” Nancy asked.
“Having adventures,” Benny said as they walked toward the front door. “You’ll see, Nancy. The four of us are always having great adventures!”
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