d the girls
down and out, and pushed them inside the garage before any of the boys
could persuade Ike that someone was upstairs. Finally he allowed them to
drag him to the small carriage room and ascend the steps.

The Blue Birds lay hidden in the bottom of the automobile and almost
suffocated trying to keep from laughing outright at the way the
Bobolinks were hoodwinked.

Every one of the boys trudged up the steps, but found the loft empty. As
soon as they were out of sight in the small room, the girls jumped out
of the car and ran madly for the shrubbery which sheltered the kitchen
gardens from the lawns. Here, they could creep toward home without being
seen from the barns.

Ike looked carefully about the loft but hid a smile when his back was
turned.

"There, I told you no one was here!" he said.

"Well, I don't care, I _heard_ them!" retorted Ned.

"Maybe it was rats!" ventured Ike.

"No, sir, you said that you were never pestered with rats; besides, this
noise was just like walking would sound," insisted Ned.

Ike kept the boys upstairs arguing for a sufficient time to permit the
Blue Birds to get out of the way, then he started down.

"Well, I'll keep the door locked and the key in my room," promised Ike,
as the boys waited for him to lock up.

"If it was a tramp, Ned, he couldn't move our machinery, so what's the
use bothering?" said Don.

"He could steal our type and other things, and sell them," grumbled Ned,
still unassured.

Ruth was walking slowly up from the main gates when Ned reached the
veranda. She was stooping over a chrysanthemum blossom to note its
beautiful coloring when Ned whistled to attract her attention.

"Better hurry in and wash up for dinner--it's almost seven, and mother
doesn't like dinner delayed, you know," Ned said, as Ruth skipped up
smilingly.

Not a word was said, and the Bobolinks never found out how the Blue
Birds watched them practice their future business tactics.

The next morning Mrs. Talmage and Aunt Selina had Ike drive them to the
paper mills.

Mrs. Talmage explained her errand and selected some samples of
stationery paper. The manager then showed them over the mills and Aunt
Selina whispered aside to Mrs. Talmage: "What an interesting article
this work would make."

"Indeed, yes!" replied Mrs. Talmage, turning to the manager to tell him
of the new venture of the Blue Birds and ask him to write up a story
about the manufacture of paper.

"That I will