The Blue Birds' Winter Nest Part 21

"Aunt Selina, you didn't tell us what became of Imp and Rebecca that day she rode up to the house," reminded Ned.

"Rebecca laughed at the servants' fear and rode Imp over to the steps of the piazza. We stood watching her as she jumped off and led Imp right up to the rail. 'Lady,' said she to me, 'this horse just told me that he was going North on a little visit. As there is no one here but you who can take him there, I believe he intends taking you home.' Although Rebecca's eyes filled with tears and her voice trembled, we all laughed and made a great fuss over Imp.

"Later, she confided to me that she had entrusted Vernon with the request to secure a pa.s.sport for Selina Talmage and her horse, Imp, going home to Happy Hills, Pennsylvania. The pa.s.sport came that day in a letter for Rebecca explaining how I was to go and to whom I was to entrust myself. A note for me was inclosed in the letter, and I read it with a smile. Vernon said he would demand payment for the favor given me as soon as he reached Happy Hills. Rebecca teased me about that note and said that she knew what the favor would be, for Vernon was in love with me. I pooh-poohed the suggestion but felt very glad to pack my clothes for home. In a few days word came that I was to ride to a certain town where an escort would meet me and conduct me to the nearest railroad.

And so Imp and I went home."

"And now tell us, Aunt Selina, did Vernon come home and ask that favor?"

wondered Norma, interested in a love-story.

"Oh, yes! He had leave of absence for several months to fully recover from the wound that had partially punctured a lung. He used to ride over to Happy Hills every day, and I tell you we missed him when he returned to his regiment."

"Where is he now, Aunt Selina?" asked Ruth.

"Gone--his name is carved on the monument at Was.h.i.+ngton for bravery in the Battle of Bull Run," whispered Aunt Selina.

"Oh, oh, Aunt Selina! Is _he_ the same one you told me about last spring?" gasped Ruth.

Aunt Selina dabbed her tear-moistened eyes and tried to smile as she said, "The same, Honey."

"What's that--tell us, Aunt Selina; we never heard about it," cried several children.

"Well, Vernon came back North about a year after his leave of absence expired with important letters for a general in Philadelphia. After delivering the letters he was to have two days' leave in which to go home and see his folks. He rode over to our house one evening and asked my father and mother if he might pay court to me when the war was over.

My parents were delighted, for they knew him and liked him. Vernon and I walked out to the very summer house that Ruth was in when she thought of the farm plan, and there he told me what he had said to my parents. He would not bind me, for he said he might never come back. But I said it would make no difference to me--if he never returned I would wait just the same. We exchanged rings--one which had been given me for my birthday and one he had received on his twenty-first birthday. When he left that night mother gave him a paper, but I never knew what was in it until later. When news of his bravery and death came home, the letter contained a ring and a small daguerreotype picture of me. Then mother said he had asked for it the night he went away."

"Oh, Aunt Selina, how lovely of you!" cried several little girls as they crowded about the old lady and hugged her.

"Rebecca did not return to school again, but as soon as the war was over we wrote and invited Mr. and Mrs. Crudup to bring Rebecca North to visit us. The elders were too heart-sore to come to a country they blamed for all their losses, but Rebecca came and stayed a long time."

CHAPTER X

BEGINNING TO SPELL SUCCESS

Another nest of Blue Birds had been formed under Mrs. Catlin's supervision, and these little girls were chosen to act as agents to secure subscriptions for the forthcoming magazine. They were also permitted to donate short stories or pictures to the magazine and, being so young a branch of the first Nest, felt this was a special privilege.

Aunt Selina had written her interesting Civil War story and had it ready for Uncle Ben, but Mrs. Catlin was still busy trying to arrange her chapters so they would make a good serial.

The Blue Birds had written their pages over and over, and finally Mrs.

Talmage said they would lose all sense in the telling if they kept on rewriting. So the pages were taken as they were and corrected by Uncle Ben.

As the various short articles came in to the Publis.h.i.+ng House, Mrs.

Talmage took charge of them. Many a pleased surprise she had as she read the different articles submitted by the boys, and the suggestions and hints sent in by the girls.

The Bobolinks spent every afternoon at their Publis.h.i.+ng House, setting type, trying to run machines, and find out various things about business. The two young men promised by Uncle Ben were not expected until actual work on the magazine began.

So much talk had been heard at various dinner-tables in Oakdale, that fathers manifested enough curiosity in the work to ask for an invitation to the Publis.h.i.+ng House. The habit of "dropping in to watch the boys"

grew to be regular meetings, and the men enjoyed the social evenings as much as the boys did. Naturally, the work did not lose any of its value by the suggestions and ideas given by the older, experienced business men, but the Blue Birds grew envious over the evident interest shown in the Bobolinks while they were never about.

One afternoon the Blue Birds gathered about Mrs. Talmage with a complaint.

"Mother Wings, those Bobolinks will be 'way ahead of us in this fun, unless you get the mothers to meet once in a while to suggest things for us to do," said Ruth, dolefully.

"And from something I heard Don tell Mete, those fathers have promised to help the Bobolinks do the _work_, too!" broke in Dot Starr.

"Since Ned has moved his printing stuff to the carriage house his den is vacant--we might use that for our Winter Nest, until we find something better," suggested Mrs. Starr, after thinking seriously of what had just been said.

"That will be all right, but it won't boost our work like the boys are being boosted," fretted Norma.

"I shall have to think of it," replied Mrs. Talmage, deeply concerned over the discontent of the Blue Birds; but Aunt Selina, who had been a silent listener of the complaint, spoke.

"Are those Bobolinks and the men actually helping the success of the magazine?"

"No, not that we can see; they just use paper and fool away every evening running those machines," snapped Dot, who generally heard all the doings from her brothers.

"Then they are not getting ahead so fast with success as you seem to think," replied Aunt Selina, calmly. "The princ.i.p.al things in making a magazine pay are its circulation and the advertising contracts. If these are not being thought of and tried, the Bobolinks are wasting their precious time."

"But they are so well acquainted with the machines that they say they can print anything!" said Dot.

"All right, suppose we take them at their word and ask them to give us proof of some circulars," laughed Mrs. Talmage.

"I suppose they would, but where would we use them?" asked Norma.

"This is what I would suggest--we'll play the game of the 'Tortoise and the Hare,' and they'll be left asleep at their work while we win the race," declared Aunt Selina.

The Blue Birds gathered closer to Aunt Selina's chair, and she continued her instruction.

"We'll have Mother Wings write a letter and ask Mr. Wells to bring down that Inst.i.tution Book he promised us, as we wish to use it at once. Then we'll count up the number of inst.i.tutions where we could send a magazine and circular. Some of these will subscribe most likely, while the circular letter will reach the hands of some of the wealthy patrons of the Homes. We'll compose a letter and order those Bobolinks to print ten thousand for us. I guess that will keep them busy for a time and at the same time make them wonder what _we_ are doing without their knowledge or consent."

"Shall we mail the letters when they are printed?" asked Betty.

"No, I thought we could address large-sized envelopes with the names of the inst.i.tutions and as soon as the magazines are printed we can place a letter and a magazine in each envelope. Of course, we inclose a subscription blank, too; this work of folding and sealing the letters and magazines is where we will invite the mothers to help. After that we can send out some samples to other folks, but we will make the Bobolinks wonder why the mothers are here so often."

The Blue Birds laughed and thought the plan very good, and Dot Starr added, "We're surely glad you're here, Aunt Selina."

"And we will keep all of our papers and work in the den and no one will see what is being done," added Mrs. Talmage.

"You must keep the key, Mother Wings," advised Ruth.

The letter for Mr. Wells was written without delay, for Norma was to hand it to her father that evening. After this was finished the important work of composing a letter for folks who would receive the magazine was started.

This letter provoked many suggestions and criticisms, but finally was concluded and read aloud to the children, who declared it just right.

"But we haven't a bit of paper for the printing," exclaimed Ruth.

"Maybe Aunt Selina and I can go to the paper mills in the morning and see if they have any small lot that will do," suggested Mrs. Talmage.