The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-08-13

grace keenly, and did not know what
would become OF them. Ben worried
over what he had heard all night long
hut he could find no way out of theii
difficulty.
The next day he took ten of his big
gest chickens to the village store. lie
had already arranged with Mr.. Basset'
to have them sent to commission
merchant at Waynesboro and sold
After he had delivered the chickens
and Mr.. Bassett had promised to get
him the money for them as quickly as
possible, the idea struck the boy OF
asking the storekeeper about sherin
sale. The thing puzzled him a bit yet
and he INDUCED a faint hope that, II
he knew just how 1t was done, he might
be able to hit upon a way out.
Mr.. Bassett," he said, how does
sheriff sell you out?"
Perhaps the storekeeper had an idea
of the trouble But il he did he gave
no sign of it, and tried to explain tc
Ben how such a sale was conducted.
And the people at the sale" he con-
cluded, offer to buy what is offered,
and the sheriff sells to the one who
makes the highest bid"
Ben asked several questions before
he left Then he walked slowly home,
and all the while in his mind he was
turning over dimly defined pro1ect
which had been suggested to him by
what he had heard.
A week later Ben received the money
for his chickens-three dollars and
eighty cents. He was proud boy, and
he would have shown his satisfaction
more if 1t had not been for the impend'
ing trouble, which made his father sc
miserable that he could not leave his
bed. Ben bought some fruit for TWEEN
ty-five cents, and took 1t home to him,
but Mr. Singer was feeling SO bad that
he ate of it only sparingly.
On Monday in the early part or the
next month the sheriff, in pursuance OF
formal notice, arrived at the house tc
make a sale to satisfy Mr.. singers
creditor. Quite a crowd had gathered
about the cottage, and there was not
one who did not sympathize with the
carpenter and his son. Ben's father
was very i'll that morning and could
not leave the bed. The sheriff mounted
a box in the yard and began descrip-
tion of the goods to be sold.
1t was a pitiful array, after all. A
of cheap furniture, kitchen stove with
some cooking utensils and china, and
some linen and blankets. But one item
in the lot-the chickens-the sheriff
counted on as his drawing card. Hall
a hundred of fine hens and marketable
chickens were cooped in a pen near by
and upon the value of these the county
officer dwelt at length. Then, when he
ho hod hn Ntr6 ~
around, he named starting figure in
default of an actual bid.
Sixty dollars for this choice lot OF
chickens and household goods" he
cried.
There was no response. He repeated
the announcement, then dropped the
figures to fifty dollars. Still no one
spoke.
The sheriff made some further re-
marks about the articles for sale and
tried again at forty dollars. But the
crowd was dumb. No one felt inclined
to buy out the crippled carpenter and
his son.
The sheriff tried again and again,
dropping the figures lower and lower,
and all the time growing more vocifer-
GUS in the explanation Of the bargain
which was offered. He did not like the
job for he had been told about the
case by some Of the village people, but
he had a duty to perform, and he knew
he must get as much out of the sale as
he could.
The figures had dropped to ten dol
lars, but silence reigned, except for a
defiant crow from one Of the roosters
in the pen. Mr.. Singers creditor evil
IDENTIFY had no representative on the
ground, and even the low price named
was not taken up with.
The sheriff dropped his offer now a
dollar at time, but apparently in
vain. 1t looked as II the sale would
come to nothing.
Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four!
Not response came from those about.
Three dollars! The sheriff was smil-
ing at the ridiculous offer, and was
just about to name two dollars and one
dollar in quick succession, hoping for
no reply, when boyish voice, close at
hand, said:
II bid three dollars!
The officer looked down on the
speaker and saw Ben. The boy held up
three one-dollar notes in his hand. The
sheriff smiled. More than one man in
tne crown Iell ike CneeTlnB the DlOQer.
But the officer knew he could not ac-
cept the offer at once.
Three dollars l am bid!" he cried.
who bids four?"
No one spoke.
Three dollars and half then?"
Every one was silent, and the sug,
gestion of three dollars and quarter
likewise went unanswered. Three dol
lars was the one bid offered, and, after
one expostulation. the sheriff took the
offer.
Ben handed the money to the sheriff,
who congratulated him on his purchase
with an earnestness he had seldom felt
on occasions of this kind, and there
was not one of the farmers who did not
come forward and speak kindly word
OF praise and encouragement to the
boy.
But Ben was listening to little of all
this he slipped away to his father, who
could only strain the boy to him while
the tears streamed down his face.
The chicken farm was saved, and II