night, besides the
paper mills have not yet been visited, you know," objected Aunt Selina.

"Girls, we'd better wait until to-morrow; that's Friday and we won't
have to go to bed so early as other evenings," suggested Ruth.

"All right, we'll meet in the den to-morrow afternoon and report how
many mothers will be here," consented Dot.

"And I'll have Mrs. Catlin here in the evening," added Mrs. Talmage.

"Mother Wings, if we use that old room of Ned's, why couldn't we call it
our Winter Nest? We can move in our cherry-tree Nest furniture when it
grows colder and make the room look real comfy," said Ruth.

The other Blue Birds approved of the suggestion and Mrs. Talmage said
she had no objection to having the Winter Nest in the den, so it was
decided then and there.

Ruth accompanied her friends to the steps and as they stood vainly
wishing there were several extra hours to add to an afternoon, Dot saw
Don jump out of the wide-open door of the Publishing House and laugh
derisively at someone inside.

"Now I wonder what that boy is up to?" she said.

"Oh, say, wouldn't it be fun to creep in back of the carriage house and
peep in at the windows to watch the boys!" suggested Edith.

"I know a better way," answered Ruth. "We will ask Ike to let us go up
in the loft from the small room and we can look down through the wide
chinks of the floor."

"Oh, do let's!" cried the Blue Birds, as they hurried back of the house
to steal noiselessly over to the garage.

Ike understood the rivalry growing between them, and decided to be
perfectly impartial, so he unlocked the door of the small room where the
stairs led to a loft over the Publishing House.

The Bobolinks were making such a noise that they never heard the
creaking of the floor overhead, or the giggles of the girls as they
glued their eyes to the crevices between the boards.

"Now it's Tuck's turn to be an advertising solicitor!" called Don, who
evidently had been discharged from some make-believe service when he was
so unexpectedly put out of the door.

"Ah, I'd never make a solicitor of any kind," grumbled Tuck Stevens.

"But you've got to play the game as we all promised," coaxed some of the
boys.

"I'll be the man you want to see," persuaded Jinks.

"Come on, Tuck. We'll have to go home pretty soon, so get busy,"
commanded Ned.

The girls began to understand that the Bobolinks were not playing, but
practicing their duty for the future, so they silent