the kitchen, there
would have been a mad rush for it. But most of them were waiting for the
blankets and comfortables found in the two small bed-rooms annexed to the
parlor. So but few were in the kitchen when the old candle-wicking spread
was bid on by Polly, and knocked down to her for a dollar-ninety.

Eleanor got the blue and white woven coverlet for a dollar and a half,
and Mrs. Fabian bought the linen towels "in a lot" for two dollars. The
old brasses that were also listed as an "A" lot were knocked down as
follows: Polly bought the ancient foot-warmer for sixty cents; Eleanor
secured the warming-pan for a dollar, and Dodo, the set of fire-irons
with acorn tops, for three dollars. These undreamed-of bargains elated
the girls so that they lost all discretion for a time.

"Now that we've cleared them things out of our way, we'll sell the
table," said Lemuel, and forthwith he gave the table to a farmer for
fifty cents.

"What 'che got next, Ab?" asked he.

"Some kitchen dishes," replied Abner, as he opened the cupboard and
displayed several samples of blue ware.

Eleanor saw the familiar pattern of the pagodas and willows that are
found on old willow-ware, and instantly decided that these must be rare
antiques because they were found in the same house as the ancient objects
just acquired by her and her friends. So she raised the first bid of ten
cents for eight odd pieces, to a dollar.

The auctioneer gasped. He gazed at Eleanor and said faintly: "Did you bid
a dollar?"

"Of course!"

"All right, Miss, you kin have them, but pay me now fer them, and don't
come back naggin' me to say I stuck you wid cracked plates, and nicked
saucers. You saw'd them afore you bid!"

Eleanor laughed, and handed over a dollar bill, but Mrs. Fabian tried to
catch her eye to warn her not to bid recklessly on other things. Polly
stood up on the table wondering why Eleanor got the old kitchen dishes.

The moment Lemuel had the dollar safely in his pocket, he remarked: "Gee!
I'm goin' out of this second-hand sellin' and lay in a stock of ten-cent
blue dishes to sell!"

One of the farmers haw-hawed and said: "That's how Coolworth made so much
money! Gettin' so much cheap stuff and findin' a pack of silly women to
buy 'em."

Eleanor tossed her head, but had she kept quiet she would not have been
the object of pity she found herself, afterward. In self-justification of
her purchase, she called out: "You people don't know genuine