these machines, so I found two young men who used to do
good work for us who were pleased to come out here for a few weeks and
show you boys how to do things. They won't come until the galley proofs
arrive, but then, they will help you get out the first issue and teach
you everything there is to know about these machines. They will take
them all apart and teach you how to put them together again. A machine
is like a man's valuable animal--if you pay no attention to its welfare,
it does not last long enough to pay you for its keep."

"We'll look after our machinery all right, Uncle Ben," agreed Ned, with
the look of the workman who truly loves his tools.

"I'm sure you will, and I hope the Blue Birds will have as much pride in
turning out commendable articles for us to print," added Uncle Ben,
looking at Mrs. Talmage.

"Oh, Uncle Ben, there's one question I want to ask--may we each sign our
own name to our page or must we make up a pretend name?" asked Ruth.

"Why, sign your very own name, of course; that is one way of making you
keep up to the mark. If you only had a pretend name on your page you
might get careless and say, 'Oh, no one knows who it is, anyway, so I
don't care if this story isn't as good as it ought to be.'"

Mrs. Talmage and Aunt Selina smiled, for they could see the wisdom of
the remark.

"I guess my father will be proud to see my name in a magazine," boasted
Dot Starr.

"All depends on what you tack your name to, Dot," laughed Meredith.

"It'll be fine, all right!" exclaimed Dot, nodding her head
emphatically.

"Shall we have our names at the top or at the bottom of the pages, Ben?"
asked Mrs. Talmage.

"Oh, please, Uncle Ben, do put them at the _top_! I am afraid no one
will stop to read our names if you have them at the bottom," worried
little Betty.

Everyone laughed, but Uncle Ben assured her that the name would be
placed directly under the name of the article.

Then, while the Blue Birds watched the boys placing type in the cases,
Uncle Ben sat down beside Mrs. Talmage and had a quiet talk about
affairs in general.

In concluding he said, "Now don't you worry if the children should
neglect a page now and then, for I can turn in heaps of good stories and
articles any time we may need them."

"Oh, these children are so reliable that they would rather do without
food or sleep than neglect anything that promises funds for next
summer's farms," returned Mrs. Talmage.

"Glad to hea