"Oh," said Patsy; "I see. So _that_ difficulty is settled."

Arthur smiled, but held his peace. Uncle John's round face was growing
merrier every minute.

"Patsy, do you think we shall make any money from this venture?" asked
Louise.

"We ought to, if we put our hearts and souls into the thing," was the
reply. "But before we divide any profits we must pay back to Uncle John
the original investment."

"We don't especially care to make any profit, do we?" inquired Beth.
"It's fun for us, you know, and a--a--great educational experience,
and--and--a fine philanthropy--and all that. We don't need the money, so
if the paper pays a profit at a cent a copy we'd better cut down the
price."

"Don't do that yet," advised Uncle John, soberly. "There will be
expenses that as yet you don't suspect, and a penny for a paper is about
as low as you can go."

"What's to be my position on the staff, Patsy?" asked Beth, turning to
her cousin.

"You're a good mathematician, Beth, so I propose you act as secretary
and treasurer, and keep the books."

"No; that's too mechanical; no bookkeeping for me. I want something
literary."