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 frame’s a good hard-wood frame, too. I’ll look up my books and see who sent them pictures in for sale. Then I can see if they put a figger on them.”