"Anne, if we hurry and get the furniture, we can settle our home before
school starts," suggested Eleanor, eagerly.
"If you-all had only let me ship my stuff from Denver you wouldn't have
to buy a stick!" declared Mrs. Stewart.
They were standing on the corner waiting for an uptown car but not one
was in sight. Anne showed signs of impatience but exclaimed at her
mother's remark:
"Mother, you know very well what the crating and freight would have
cost, and you sold your stuff for more than it was worth. I think you
are most fortunate to have that little roll of money on hand, when you
consider the wear and tear your furniture has had in the last thirty
years."
"Anyway, Mrs. Stewart, I don't want Victorian period in our house. Polly
and I want to furnish and decorate our own rooms as we like. This is to
be our first experiment in real artistic work," said Eleanor,
comfortingly.
Polly nodded her head at these words; but standing with her back to the
curb, her face was opposite a large show-window in the corner building.
Now, as if by some magnet, her eyes were attracted to what that window
contained.
"Why, just see there! Right near our street is a furniture shop!" With
this exclamation, Polly ran over to inspect the objects displayed in the
window. A carved four-poster, and other rare antiques, drew the
attention of the little group.
Polly glanced around to see what furniture shop it was that was so near
their new home.
"Why! It's an auction place. Surely, it cannot be that such wonderful
things are sold in a junk room," exclaimed Mrs. Stewart.
That made the other three look also, and Eleanor added: "It doesn't
follow that just because this is an auction house, that it must be a
junk room."
"Well, I never saw anything but awful junk in the second-hand place in
Oak Creek," explained Polly.
"Even the Denver dealers sell only junk, Nolla. But it may be different
in New York. Everything seems to be different," said Anne.
"Of course it is! Why wouldn't it be when you stop to think of it. In
the first place, no one in Oak Creek ever had anything but junk to sell.
And in Denver, where everyone hangs on to every stick they have, simply
because it is so difficult to get anything worth while, the poor
second-hand dealer starves for want of trade. But here, as well as in
Chicago, folks send stuff to places like this for sale, when they can't
find a place to move into. I just bet there will be thousands of
families that will have to sell out this year just because there are not
enough homes for all of them." Eleanor's logic was sound, and Polly
ventured a suggestion.
"I'd love to go in there and see what they do with such pieces. There
are lots of well-dressed people going in--come on."
Nothing loath to see the interior of a New York second-hand shop, the
westerners went to the front door. There a colored porter stood and
bowed politely.
"Sale goin' on in third room, right, ladies; have a catalogue?"
As the uniformed attendant offered Anne a pamphlet of about twenty
pages, he waved them inside out of the doorway. Then he repeated his
directions to the next couple who followed directly after Mrs. Stewart's
party.
To say the four friends were astonished at the size and quality of the
auction-rooms is speaking mildly. Not a piece of furniture but looked
rare and expensive. It seemed improbable that it all was for sale.
A second attendant now came up and said: "Sale now going on in south
gallery, ladies."
Then Anne took her courage in her hands. "We have never visited a sale
before, so you will confer a favor by showing us where to go, or what to
do. We are about to furnish a house."
The man sensed a good customer, and gallantly showed them through
several well-stocked rooms until they reached the last, where a smiling
smooth-tongued individual sat behind a raised desk and spoke
conversationally to the crowd which sat in rows before him.
"Jake, find me four chairs, in a hurry," whispered the man who was
conducting Anne's party.
Without confusion and in a moment's time, Jake carried over four
wonderful Jacobean chairs, two in each hand, their backs to each other,
and handled as recklessly as if the fine carving was made of unbreakable
metal.
"Now, ladies, enjoy yourselves," the smiling attendant said; then he
stopped for a moment at the desk to say a word to the auctioneer who
continued his selling as if no new victims had been introduced.
One marvelous article after another was brought forth and placed for
exhibition upon the Persian rug that covered the platform in front of
the audience. And one after another, the objects of art and beauty were
sold to different buyers at a preposterously low figure.
But the wily auctioneer took notice that not a member of the newly
arrived party was bidding on anything. He decided that this must not be,
so he stood up to address the assembly.
"Friends, I know that you are here to buy and not to waste your time in
mere curiosity. If there is any particular article you need, or have
seen on the premises, speak out and I will oblige you by introducing it
in this sale."
He glanced over the crowd and finally allowed his gaze to rest upon the
four who sat in the front row. They all felt guilty of using his time
and room when they had no idea of buying any particular thing. Mrs.
Stewart was about to whisper to Anne that they had better go when
Eleanor spoke up fearlessly.
"I saw a four-poster in the show-window before I came in. Is it for
sale?"
Her three companions felt the shock that is experienced when one does an
unusual or unexpected thing. But they each felt thrilled, too, at the
courage of that one.
"I regret exceedingly, my dear young lady, that that particular set of
antique mahogany cannot be sold until day after to-morrow. In fact, only
the contents of _this_ vast room is for sale to-day. We take them in
turn, you see. To-morrow the adjoining room goes, and the day following
that everything is sold and cleared out of the third room--where the bed
is."
"But we have a four-poster in this sale, Mr. Winters," quickly said one
of the floor-men.
"Ah, indeed! Perhaps the young lady will like it as well as the other
one. Bring it forward, Joe."
Without the slightest delay, the floor-men then pulled and pushed a very
elaborately carved four-posted bed out upon the dais. It was similar to
the one in the window but it was smaller, this one being four feet wide
while the one on exhibition for Friday's sale was full sized.
The auctioneer spoke of all the points about this particular piece of
furniture, and then began to offer it for sale. The four visitors in the
front row sat as if hypnotized at his manner.
"What, no one here to appreciate this marvelous work of other days, now
to be sold for three hundred dollars?"
Not a sound encouraged him, so he sighed and said: "Well, is there
anyone who will give two hundred for it?"
Eleanor's heart thumped. She was willing to give it but she found her
tongue cleave to the roof of her mouth at the very idea of securing the
bed at such a price.
"Too bad! Then I shall have to ask if anyone will pay me one hundred
dollars? Is this bed not worth that to you, young lady--or perhaps you
need a full-sized bed?" The auctioneer looked at Eleanor but failed to
see the dazzling glint that shot into her eyes when he offered the bed
for one hundred. He really had no hope of starting it at that figure so
he over-did it that time.
"All right, friends, I am perfectly willing to have you set your own
price on this magnificent piece of carving that is no less than a
hundred and fifty years old. Now what is your pleasure? Fifty, forty,
thirty--what? did I hear a bargain-hunter say twenty-five? Oh,
impossible?"
Eleanor almost fainted at such a dreadful sacrifice, and would have
stood up to offer him the hundred, had not a man in the rear called out
"Fifty."
"Ah, that is better--thank you. Now, fifty, fifty, fifty--who says
seventy-five? I want seventy-five--fifty, fifty, fifty, fif--fif-tee,
tee, t-e-e--what, no one here willing to pay more than fifty dollars for
this bee-u--utiful bit of antique mahogany? Fif-fif-fif--Ah!"
Eleanor swallowed hard, half-stood up, and the auctioneer caught her eye
at last. He smiled, acknowledged her expression, and now called:
"Seventy-five! I now have seventy-five, seven, seven,
sev-sev-seventy--seventy-fi-ifvvve! I have seventy-five dollars for this
wonderful mahogany bed that is really worth seven hundred dollars in any
store to-day. And I only have seventy-five dollars bid. Seven-tee----"
Again Eleanor half-stood up and this time she managed to say "One
hundred, please!"
"Thank you, young lady--you certainly understand fine furniture. I am
now offered one hundred dollars by one who knows the value of this
bed--one hundred, one hundred--hundred--one, h-u-ndred dollars
offered--who will give a hundred and ten--only ten more gets it?"
Polly was so amazed when Eleanor said "One hundred dollars" that she
giggled hysterically; but not wishing to have her friend brag how "she
bid at this auction and her friends were too shy," Polly looked
anxiously at the auctioneer. He saw that look and understood.
"Don't hesitate, young lady. You know 'he who hesitates is lost'--in
this case, loses a great bargain. If you wish to bid, never fear
competing with a friend. In this business there are no friends--all men
are strangers. Shall I say one hundred and ten for you?"
Polly nodded eagerly and smiled broadly at Eleanor. The two girls were
so delighted with themselves at daring to speak out so bravely in a city
like _New York_ that they failed to realize the auctioneer had knocked
down the bed to Polly.
"This young lady in front. I _must_ say she appreciates fine furniture!"
declared the suave auctioneer to everyone in general.
"W-h-y, Pol--le-ee! Is that your bed?" gasped Mrs. Stewart.
"I'm sure I don't know. Is it, Nolla?" laughed Polly.
Just then a brusque voice said: "Name and address please--and
twenty-five per cent deposit money." The girls looked up in
bewilderment. Who was the man?
He seemed to read their thoughts, for he smiled. "I am the cashier.
Everyone has to pay down a cash deposit on their bids. Everything you
buy has to be removed by Saturday, or we are not responsible for it
after that."
"Oh!" Polly and Eleanor looked at each other. They were trying to figure
out how much money he wanted.
"Here--I'll pay the deposit. About thirty dollars, isn't it?" said Anne,
in a business-like tone.
"Yes, thank you. Now name and address, please?"
"What's the number of our stable, Anne?" laughed Eleanor.
When Anne gave the address the cashier looked surprised. "Oh, have you
rented the Studio down the street?"
The girls bowed wonderingly, and he added: "The artist who lived there
for a number of years, used to drop in here every week just for the
entertainment of picking up curios. In fact, I saw him here a few
minutes ago. He told me he would give fifty percent advance to the
tenant who leased that place. Here's a chance for you to make money if
you want to give up the Studio."
"We want a home more than money, mister!" declared Polly.
"You've said it, Poll! If we give up this studio we may have to go back
and live in our gold mine, because New York hasn't any homes left, this
year," laughed Eleanor.
The cashier had not missed the mention of "our gold mine" and determined
to do his utmost to please these ladies. Hence he whispered: "I'll look
after everything you buy here, and don't worry about moving it away on
Saturday. Next week will do, if you are not ready to get things out this
week."
"Polly, Polly! There goes a high-boy that matches the bed you got!"
cried Eleanor, at this moment.
"They are pieces of the same set. Strange to say, they came from the
very place you rented. The artist has to sell out because he cannot find
an apartment, and there is no storage room for his furniture," explained
the cashier.
So Polly secured the high-boy for sixty dollars and felt very proud of
her purchases. Eleanor bought a pair of brass fire-dogs and irons, and
Anne bid on a large etching. When it was knocked down to her, she turned
to her mother and said: "I really do not want it. What under the sun did
I get it for?"
And Mrs. Stewart laughed. "It's always the way at these vendues. One
gets all kinds of things one never needs."
"Then let's get out. Girls, I'm going now," whispered Anne, rising to
leave.
The cashier hurried over when he saw the four new customers about to go,
and said, "The artist would like very much to meet his successors to the
Studio."
At the same moment, a grey-haired gentleman bowed and smiled, and the
group waited expectantly. Anne and Polly smiled also.
"You are the kind friend who advised us, yesterday, when we had to leave
the car," Anne said, pleasantly.
"Yes, but I never dreamed I was directing you right to my front door,"
rejoined the artist.
"Well, Mr. Fabian, as long as you've met before, I'll go about my
business," and the cashier hurried away, leaving the five people in the
adjoining room.
Anne proceeded to introduce her friends and then added: "It was
providential that we went through that street. Now we have a home to our
liking."
"I am delighted that my successors will appreciate the place, but I am
still seeking for quarters. Had I choked my anger and swallowed my
pride, when the owner refused to keep his word about the stable-doors, I
would still be enjoying my cozy Studio."
Mr. Fabian then told the ladies how he had taken the stable in its raw
state and turned it into the lovely dwelling it now was. He had paid for
all the hardwood floors, for the partitions on the ground-floor, and for
the kitchen plumbing.
"Why, it must have cost you a small fortune," ventured Anne. "And now it
seems too bad that you can't enjoy it."
"But I did enjoy it, my dear young lady--for five years. And I only paid
sixty dollars a month, during that time, too. When the owner raised me,
this year, to ninety I rebelled, because I had spent so much money on
beautifying the rooms. I thought he would really relent and say I could
have it for about seventy-five a month. I was mistaken."
"We're paying a hundred and fifty a month and make all repairs,
ourselves," Anne ventured.
"He took advantage of the unusual conditions. But you have a better
bargain, even so, than if you had rented a seven-room apartment, uptown,
for two or three thousand a year."
By this time they were standing on the corner once more, and Mr. Fabian
seemed ready to leave them. Then Polly remembered that the cashier had
said the bed and high-boy she just bought had come from the Studio.
"Oh, Mr. Fabian, excuse me for speaking of it, but did you really own
the four-poster I got at the sale just now?"
"Yes, my dear. It was in the room my little daughter occupied when she
was home. She is now in Paris taking an art course." The girls were
deeply interested in this intimate information. "That box-spring with
the mattress on the bed was made to order of the best material I could
buy. You'll find the silk-floss in that mattress is so soft you'll never
care to get up, once you rest upon it."
"But I didn't know the spring and mattress went with the bed," Polly
said, amazed.
"Oh, yes. That is the way they generally sell other folks' goods. But I
wish to say, that Nancy only used the bed a few weeks, as she had a
splendid opportunity to enter a class in a friend's school in Paris, so
we started her across without delay. My wife went, too, to look after
her; that is one reason I refused to pay the increased rent; I thought
it was too much for one lone man to pay."
"It almost makes me feel as if we ought to take you in to live with us,"
said Mrs. Stewart, sympathetically. "If there only was one extra
bedroom, now, we could make you a member of our family just as well as
not."
"But we haven't that extra room!" laughed Anne, wondering what this
stranger would think of her mother's free western hospitality.
What he thought was soon expressed. "I certainly appreciate such unusual
kindness and I see it is genuine. So I will dare to do this: I shall
love to drop in, now and then, and see how you all are doing. Perhaps I
can be of some assistance to you, in various ways."
"I know you can!" declared Eleanor, eagerly. "Polly and I are taking up
art and interior decorating and we need lots of ideas from grown-ups who
have had experience. You can advise us that way."
"Begin your regular home visits a week from Sunday, Mr. Fabian. We will
be settled then and ready to welcome you to our house," added Anne.
Then they parted and Mr. Fabian went downtown, while the four companions
walked northwards to the hotel. As they walked, Anne said: "It certainly
was queer how that gentleman sent us past his own home and we saw it.
Now, he turns out to be just the kind of a friend Polly and Eleanor will
need to advise them about art school."
"Anne, what shall we do with the rest of the afternoon? We still have
two hours before dinner-time," said Eleanor, glancing at her wristwatch.
"We can go over to the nearest shop and get Polly an everyday hat. I
can't bear to see this lovely one hacked out at auction rooms. She needs
complete outfits of underwear, too, but we may be too late at the shops,
for that."
"Anne, I saw in the paper this morning, when you were looking for
apartments, that a fine Fifth avenue shop is having a sale of early fall
models. Let's go up and get Polly's hat there," advised Eleanor,
eagerly.
Anne laughed. "You are willing to get one for yourself, too, eh?"
So both girls were supplied with chic hats before they returned to the
hotel. There they found an invitation from the Latimers to come,
informally, and dine with them that night. Dr. and Mrs. Evans would try
to come in later.
"It's now five-thirty. Can we get dressed and make it, in time?" asked
Eleanor, anxiously.
"Oh, yes; we haven't far to go, you know. A taxi will take us there in
ten minutes," replied Anne.
All was hurry and bustle, then, and when the two girls emerged from
their rooms dressed in their new gowns, Anne felt that they did her
credit. She could not but remark at the great improvement that clothes,
well-fitting and of fine material, made in Polly's appearance. Now the
girl looked positively beautiful.
A pleasant evening ensued, Jim and Ken insisting upon the right to
escort the ladies home after everyone had said good-night.
"You know, girls, Ken and I are going to Yale next week?" said Jim, as
they started down Broadway.
"So your father said, to-night. We will miss you, Jim," returned Anne.
"But we'll be home every chance we get--Thanksgiving, Christmas and
other times," Kenneth said, hopefully.
"Nolla and I will be awfully busy in school, and in trying to get
started in the art classes," added Polly.
"I hope you have the stable settled before we leave the city. We want to
give you-all a house-warming," said Kenneth.
"That will be great! Let's have it, anyway, even if everything is not in
apple-pie order in the house," exclaimed Polly.
So before they parted, that night, it was all arranged that the
house-warming should take place the next Tuesday evening. The boys were
leaving for college on Thursday, and the last few days before starting
in the new school, would be busy ones for the girls.
"All right, we'll tell the folks the fun is on for next Tuesday, then,"
said Jim, as they shook hands.
"And it must be a regular surprise, you know--we bring our own
refreshments and everything," laughed Kenneth.
"Oh, no! That is the least we can do in return for all you folks have
done for us. We will furnish your refreshments!" declared Eleanor,
positively.
"As long as you furnish plenty, all right. But remember, girls, that Ken
and I still have our Rocky Mountain appetites!"