out a competent filing clerk; in a few days
a nice young girl of about eighteen arrived and took charge of all the
mail, and Mrs. Talmage heaved a deep sigh of relief.

Uncle Ben had made it a custom to visit his brother's family every
week-end since the inception of the magazine, and one Saturday he
arrived unusually early--in time for lunch.

"Ned, can you call a meeting of the B. B. & B. B.'s at the Publishing
House for two o'clock?" asked Uncle Ben.

"The Bobolinks will be there anyway, but I am not so sure about the
Blue Birds," said Ned, looking at Ruth.

"We had something to talk over in the Winter Nest, but we can postpone
it until afterward," said Ruth.

So at two o'clock all of the children were gathered about Uncle Ben to
hear the news he had to tell them.

Uncle Ben made a great fuss clearing his throat as if in preparation for
an oration, then took a packet of letters from his pocket.

"The sample issue of your magazine made such a stir in various
publishing circles, that one of the officers of the Publishers'
Association asked me Thursday night who was back of all this business
that a lot of youngsters had started down at Oakdale.

"I didn't reply right away, and a man sitting near me said, 'Oh, some
folks, probably, who have a smattering of how to do printing!'

"Some of my friends laughed hilariously, for they thought it a good joke
on me, but the President of the association was not satisfied.

"'This is no amateurish work, Mackensie,' he said; 'here is a copy of
the magazine and I tell you it can compete with any juvenile publication
in the country. Why, man, the names of some of the contributors are
familiar to me, for I know of offers made to induce these same writers
to throw us morsels of their wisdom.'

"Then a friend of mine spoke.

"'This whole affair sounds very much like the pet hobby of a friend--he
told me about it years ago.'

"The other men laughed at the explanation, but my friend looked at me
and said, 'Talmage, what do _you_ know about it?'

"Then I said, 'My niece and nephew belong to the Blue Birds and
Bobolinks that started the poor children's outing at Oakdale, last
summer. They have become so interested in the work that they propose
raising enough money this winter to take over a farm of a few thousand
acres and send out hundreds of children for all of next summer.'

"'They what?' exclaimed every man present.

"'Say that again!' commanded the President, so I gla