CHAPTER XIV
THE B. B. & B. B. MAGAZINE
By the fifteenth of October the Blue Birds and Bobolinks were deep in the work of constructing a magazine. Uncle Ben sent out the two young men he had spoken of, and they showed the children what to do and how to do it.
The Oakdale Paper Mills passed a vote to supply the paper for one year, and the B. B. & B. B. Company had agreed to give the mills advertising credit for the donation.
The two important letters which had caused such consternation in the Bobolink nest were all printed on beautiful grey paper in blue ink, and the envelopes all addressed and packed in boxes ready to be used.
All the stories, articles and lessons had been given to Uncle Ben before the tenth of the month and he had sent back the linotype by the thirteenth as he promised he would. Then work began in real earnest.
The Bobolink Boys had to make a galley proof of the printing, and the Blue Birds had to read it (or at least their mothers did) and construct the dummy. This last work was great fun.
Every evening fathers and mothers visited the Publishing House and the Winter Nest and assisted where they could, or watched progress when they were not needed; after every meeting it became the custom for one or the other of the fathers to treat the publishing company and guests to refreshments. This, Don thought, was reward enough for every aching back or arm. To keep the children from tiring of the treats, the fathers planned each morning, while going into the city, just what new kind of a surprise to furnish that night.