Should a member offer more than he is able to pay, and succeed in being the last to name the highest price, he pays a forfeit of ten cents to each of the other buyers, and the article is again placed on the auctioneer’s table.
The winner is the individual who has got the best value for his money, and has the most capital in hand by the time the twenty-five articles are sold.
It is a good plan to offer prizes—a good one for the discreet and careful buyer, and a “booby” for the poor foolish spendthrift, who has nothing to show at the end of the game.
Excitement and eagerness are increased by the cry of the auctioneer, “Going, going, gone!” and the beat of his hammer.
If he is able to introduce funny narratives concerning the articles into his harangue, so much the better.
For instance, a pair of boots, fashioned from the corpse of the King of Prussia’s pet calf, and the black kid gloves which King Charles II. wore at the funeral of his great-aunt; the mouse-trap that once held prisoner a rodent of aristocratic lineage and purple blood; the ash-tray, into which the burnt cigar of Peter the Great is supposed to have fallen—all should go at a high price.
The Whistle
Another excellent game is played in the following manner.
One of the company is blindfolded, and a long ribbon, through which is threaded a whistle, is pinned to his back, and he is told that he must catch the blower and discover the whistle.
Of course, he has no idea that it is on his own person.