“I am sorry,” the man then announced to the crowd. “Mrs. Myles requests that the bid not be accepted. Let’s have another. How much am I offered for this handsome old clock?”
A gasp of astonishment went over the crowd. People looked at Mr. Vincent and whispered.
“Minnie won’t even allow me to bid on any of the furniture!” he said bitterly. “Oh, it’s useless to try to help her.”
No one seemed willing to bid on the clock. Connie had brought a dollar with her. Timidly she called out: “I’ll bid fifty cents.”
“A little girl offers fifty cents,” called the auctioneer. “Who will make it a dollar?”
A woman some distance away raised her hand. Then the auctioneer tried to get the bid up to a dollar and a half. But no one would offer that much.
“Sold to Mrs. Flikinger for one dollar!” called the auctioneer.
After that several other items were sold. Only one of the articles, the cookstove, brought more than four dollars.
“This sale won’t total a hundred and fifty dollars,” Miss Gordon murmured. “Of course the house will bring something—perhaps a thousand dollars.”
Only a few items now remained to be sold. Although the Brownies had watched closely, they had not seen many things on which they cared to enter a bid.