"Would you divide it like "Bo-Bolink"?" asked Meredith.
"Sure not! Just plain "Bobolink Boys" to offset the Blue Bird Girls,"
answered Jim, as he rose to go on toward the barns.
"Hurrah, Jim! I think you"re a life-saver," cried Ned.
"Three cheers for the G.o.d-father of the Bobolink Boys!" shouted Jinks, while the others cheered Jim.
"There"s Don and another little chap--try the name on them and see what they say," suggested Jim, pointing toward the front driveway where two boys of about ten years could be seen.
"That"s right. We"ll see what they think of it all," returned Meredith, rising to whistle through his fingers to attract the boys" attention.
Immediately upon hearing the shrill call from his brother, Don turned in the direction of the apple orchard. As the two lads ran up, Ned const.i.tuted himself chief counsel.
"Don, how old are you?" was the first question.
"Nine, goin" on ten. Why?" answered Don.
"How old is your friend?" was the next question.
"I"m ten next month," replied the little fellow.
"What"s your name?" asked Ned.
"Tuck. That is what everyone calls me, but the name they gave me when I was too little to know better, was awful--it"s Reuben Wales. Just because my great grandfather had it, they made me take it, too." And poor little Tuck felt very much abused.
"Never mind, Tuck," laughed Ned, while the other boys rolled over in the gra.s.s to smother their laughter.
"I don"t most of the time, but when someone has to know the real end of my name, I feel dreadful about it."
"Well, Tuck, we are planning a club for you boys and you can choose a new name if you join," consoled Jinks.
"What"s the game, Jinks?" asked Don, eagerly.
"We hope to form an organization for boys under twelve to be known as Bobolink Boys," explained Meredith.
"What for--to build nests and then sew doll clothes, or make paper furniture?" growled Don, who had been greatly offended to think that his twin sister Dot would leave him for the Blue Birds.
The older boys who understood his att.i.tude and its cause, laughed, but Meredith explained more fully.
"Just for the sake of having fine times and getting something going for the boys so the girls won"t run the whole town. If we start a movement called Bobolinks we can demand help from the grown-ups just as the girls have done. We can manage to do something as big as the Blue Birds ever did, besides having our outings and games at a club-room."
"That sounds fine," ventured Tuck.
"Fine! Why, there"s my hand on it, Mete!" declared Don, as he thrust a grimy little hand under his brother"s nose.
Ned and Jinks laughed as Meredith looked doubtfully at Don"s hand before accepting it as a pledge.
"What"ll we do first?" asked Don, eager to begin.
"Tuck and you must ask as many nice boys as you know if they would like to join a club, and tell them what for," replied Ned.
"How many can we ask?" questioned Tuck.
"Oh, about thirty, I guess. I can take charge of one Nest, Jinks of another, and Mete of another," said Ned.
"All right, we"re in for it," cried Don.
"We"ll report to-morrow afternoon--where?" asked Tuck.
"Better say at Jim"s cottage--up by the barn."
The two younger boys ran away to seek members and the other boys looked at each other.
"Quick work, eh? We"re in for it now, so we"d better get some plans going," laughed Meredith.
"We"d better go to your room and figure things out on paper," advised Ned.
So the three boys who started the Bobolink Boys went to the house and locked themselves in Meredith"s den to make plans for the organization.
In the meantime, the Blue Birds had joined the ladies on the Talmage veranda and their conversation turned to the work to be done that winter.
"I wonder where Ned went," said Mrs. Talmage as Ruth drew a low stool to her mother"s side.
"He went over to my house to see Mete," replied Dot Starr. "Shall I go and bring him back?"
"Oh, no, it can wait. I just wanted him to hear some of our plans so he could print it in the next paper," said Mrs. Talmage. Then she turned to the others.
"You see, Blue Birds, since Aunt Selina joined our ranks and proffered Happy Hills for next summer"s use, it gives us an entirely new incentive for work. We had rather expected to take matters easy this winter, for school does not leave much time for other work. But we have afternoons and Sat.u.r.days."
"And Wednesdays, too, Mrs. Talmage! We all get out at two o"clock Wednesdays, you know," added Norma.
"If I could skip music that day, I could have a long afternoon with you," said May, hopefully.
"Well, if anyone who has studies at home for Wednesdays, could arrange to attend to them at another time, we could have every Wednesday afternoon for a regular meeting, too," admitted Mrs. Talmage.
Miss Selina was so interested in the children that she smiled when they did, and puckered her brow into a frown when they did. Mrs. Catlin amused herself watching the old lady and almost rocked off the steps in her enjoyment.
"One thing we must discuss to-day is a suitable nest for winter. We cannot occupy the one in the cherry tree much longer, for it is growing windy and cool. Then, too, there must be some home-work planned for each one to report at our meetings," said Mrs. Talmage.
"Won"t there be any benefits or bazaars?" asked Ruth, who had visions of fun in the school-house a.s.sembly room.
"We will have to earn money in some manner to help the poor children, but that will have to be discussed later," replied Mrs. Talmage.
After an hour"s discussion, Mrs. Catlin left with the parting injunction, "Call upon me for anything--I will be on hand."
Late in the afternoon Mr. Talmage returned with his brother who was the editor of a prominent magazine in New York. The Blue Birds had gone, and Ruth welcomed her uncle whose visits were always a source of pleasure to Ned and herself.
He sat down on the steps beside her and listened to her story of the wonderful work Ned"s printing press had done that summer, and of the work required of it for the coming summer. Uncle Ben smiled as he listened.