His father told him, the first day of his service, that this bird would flap its wings and scream three times when the last paper was run off.

This would be the signal for Terry Stamper, the devil, to go across to Vielhaber's and fetch a pail of beer.

Wilbur had waited for this phenomenon, only to believe, after repeated disappointments, that it was one of his father's jokes, though it was true that Terry Stamper brought the beer, which was drunk by Dave and Terry and Sam Pickering.

Sam had been folding the printed papers, while Terry Stamper operated a machine that left upon each the name of a subscriber, dropping them into a clothes basket, which he later conveyed to the post office.

Wilbur enjoyed this work, running the long roller across the forms after each impression, spotting himself and his clothes with ink.