"Humph!" was the only reply Don granted his sister.
"Folks said this summer that we Blue Birds were little hustlers, but I never paid much attention to them then; but _now_ I think we are hustlers when I see the way you Bobolinks poke away for two weeks and nothing to show for it," teased May.
Mr. Wells was called over to join the conference of the Bobolinks before an answer was given the Blue Birds.
"We will set this type and run off a proof by to-morrow evening; will that do?" said Ned, coming forward with the letter.
The Blue Birds thought it would take the boys about three days to set type and give a proof, so it was their turn to be surprised. Mrs.
Talmage seemed to understand, however, and replied in a very condescending voice:
"Oh, yes, to-morrow will be Sat.u.r.day, and Uncle Ben will be here at noon. That will be fine, for, of course, he will show you what to do; and I am sure he knows just what he would like for the purpose."
The looks exchanged between the Bobolinks and Mr. Wells were sufficient proof that Mrs. Talmage was right in her surmise, but the Blue Birds were too polite to say anything more.
The men said it was long past closing hours, so the lights were extinguished, and the whole party went out into the cool night air.
Early Sat.u.r.day morning the Blue Birds met again in their pretty Winter Nest, and Mrs. Talmage told them what she had thought over since the night before.
"Since Uncle Ben will be here all afternoon to supervise the work, I think it would be as well for us to form the letter for the philanthropists, too; then he can help the Bobolinks set the type."
The Blue Birds agreed that this was a wise plan, and so the letter was discussed and composed. This done, they went to the Publishing House with the copy, and told the boys what they wanted. The Bobolinks were hunting for the right style of type and fussing about the machines so as to have them in readiness for the afternoon.
Uncle Ben arrived at noon, and the boys placed their work under his supervision. From the expression on his face when he read the letters, it appeared that he understood the plans the Blue Birds were keeping so quiet.
"What are you smiling at, Uncle Ben?" asked Ned, keen to find out what the Blue Birds were planning.
"At the remarkable progress the Blue Birds have made since I last visited you," returned Uncle Ben.
"Why, they haven"t done anything--much," grumbled Don.
"Only fixed up these two letters for us to print," added Meredith.
"They haven"t done their usual sewing and playing in the cherry-tree nest, either," said Jinks.
"Is that so? Well, how do you know _what_ they have been doing without your knowledge?" asked Uncle Ben laughingly.
The boys looked at him, and their eyes asked the question, "What?"
"As an old magazine man, I can see signs in these two letters that tell me of two tremendous pieces of work being started--and being very nicely handled, too. Why, I would not be surprised to have the Blue Birds fly down upon this Publishing House some day and settle here long enough to say that they had a paid-up subscription list of ten thousand! At any rate, you boys had better prepare to print about fifty thousand sample copies of the first magazine."
The faces of the Bobolinks looked as if their owners must sit down or collapse. Uncle Ben laughed heartily at them.
"Ah, you"re only fooling us, as usual," ventured Ned.
"No, siree! I am not. Wait and see," returned Uncle Ben.
Without further discussion, Uncle Ben showed the boys the proper style of type to use for a letter, then helped them run off a proof of both letters.
"This will show the Blue Birds that we are not so slow but that we can turn out samples in up-to-date style," said Ned, as he admired the printing.
"Now, run off a few letters on this paper," ordered Uncle Ben, producing some beautiful bond paper.
"My, but it"s pretty! Where"d you get it, Uncle Ben?" asked Ned.
"I brought it out for the Blue Birds" inspection, but I shouldn"t doubt but that they have already attended to that detail, so we will present our proof all finished on my paper."
"Now, tell us, Uncle Ben, why you think the Blue Birds have a big plan of their own," entreated Ned.
Uncle Ben smiled and reminded the boys to keep his words from becoming public property.
"I should say that the fact that the Blue Birds have not been near their old Nest all week, when the weather is so glorious, proves that they have a deeper interest elsewhere. Now, what can that be? Here you have a hint of part of the interest," and Uncle Ben waved the letters at the boys. "How do I know?
"Take these two letters--either one of them would startle a slow circulation manager in the city if he thought a compet.i.tor suddenly produced it! Why, in some way the Blue Birds have found a way to reach book stores, stationers, and similar business places. Then, too, the mention of needing thousands shows me they have found a mine of addresses that is worth a large price to a publisher."
"Ah, Uncle Ben, you"re wrong there! The Blue Birds haven"t gone anywhere, and no one has been here to tell them how to get such names,"
said Ned.
Without replying to Ned"s words, Uncle Ben continued:
"Then, too, they must have the inst.i.tution work well under consideration or they would not have ordered the form letter--and hinted at the size of the order."
The boys shook their heads, unwilling to admit that Uncle Ben"s surmises sounded practical.
"Lastly, they have their paper selected, because they told you the size this sheet of printing is to be; and therefore they must know how deep a margin they will need. To get the size of their printing correct, they would have to know how many sheets will cut out of a large sheet of paper, and order it cut accordingly."
"If they have done all those things that you say they have, they are "way ahead of us Bobolinks," grumbled Don.
Uncle Ben laughed and advised:
"Boys, work _with_ these Blue Birds, not against them or ahead of them.
Do not think that just because they are girls, and you are boys, that they are going to remain in the shade and let you boys come out and shine in the light. If you boys ever do business in the city, you will find that a woman will contest your right at every step, for to-day"s women are equal in every way to the men--I rather think a number of them are superior to the men. These Blue Birds are but a proof of what I say.
They will not permit the Bobolinks to walk off with the honors that are due them." And Uncle Ben chuckled at the idea.
"Well, Uncle Ben, you"ll help us in every way until we are even with the girls, won"t you?" asked Ned.
"And you won"t help the Blue Birds any more, will you?" asked Don.
"I am absolutely neutral," replied Uncle Ben, holding both hands up over his head. "I won"t take sides, but I will help the work along in every way, for I want it to succeed. I"ll help you when you need it, and I"ll help these little Blue Birds. But do as I said: Work together, not in a spirit of rivalry, for that will only sow seeds of strife and discontent."
"Come on, boys, let"s take Uncle Ben to the house and show our letter proofs to the Blue Birds," said Ned.
So the Bobolinks were taught their lesson in trying to win a race by running for a time and then resting.
CHAPTER XII
THE STORY OF AN ALASKAN TRIP