the
salesman and I the buyer. You should state a price."

"Um--ah!" yawned Mr. Van Styne at this, and stretched his arms out over
his head. "I s'pose that ends my nap, eh?"

He shuffled out of the office after Mrs. Fabian and went into the
store-house. When he saw the girls poking about amongst the old chairs,
bureaus, and motley collection of furniture, he laughed, and said:
"That's right! Find all the old bargains you can. I'm your man to sell
them cheap to you."

Had he but known what he was about to do!

Mrs. Fabian led him down to the corner where the pile of four pictures
were waiting on the dresser, and said: "These are the four I want a price
on. The frames are all in good order and the glasses are not cracked at
all."

Mr. Van Styne took a pair of old steel-rimmed specs from the vest-pocket
over his heart, and pushed them upon his thin nose. He picked up the top
oval frame, blew off the dust and laughed at the homely face that stared
out at him. He turned to Mrs. Fabian with a twinkle in his eyes and said,
jokingly:

"Now, if that gal was your relation and you wanted her ugly photograph
that bad, I'd say the hull thing was wuth a dollar to you. But seein'
it's fifty year old, and you ain't near that, yet, I will sell her fer a
quarter. The glass is wuth that, I reckon."

He placed it face down beside the other three pictures. "Now this one,"
taking up the rare old print with the newspaper packed in the back,
"Ain't wuth a darn, so why do you pick it out?"

"But the glass is the right size and will cost me more to order, than I
can get it for of you," remarked Mrs. Fabian, anxiously, while the girls
held their breath.

The old auctioneer heard the note of anxiety in her tone and peered over
his specs to study her guileless expression. She instantly guarded
herself, when she saw his look, and so he saw only a nice lady who was
now picking up the fish-picture.

"And this dining-room picture; how much will you take for _it_. Why not
give me a job-lot price and I'll see. I may as well pack four as two in
the automobile."

But Mr. Van Styne had not known there was an automobile; and he was
wondering now, why people with a car should come in and pick out a few
picture glasses to save money. He glanced over the last picture which was
the large engraving, and then turned it over to look at its back.

"That's a mighty big sheet of glass in that one. That glass alone, cost
about a dollar-forty. Then the f