The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-23
CRASH AT AN AUCTION
Maybe it Was an Accident But a
Disappointed Man Was There

A hundred people in the auction room
saw the big teakwood table loaded with
japanese china fall down with a crash
but only only two or three had any idea
that the catastrophe was due to any
thing save the sudden and unexpected
breaking of one of the legs. The auction
room was well filled with people ex-
pecting to pick up Cloisonne cases and
bits of china and enamel at plain
crockery prices. The willy auctioneer
was, however, getting rid of large guam
titles Of Satsuma and other cheap ORR
entail chinas, on which there is a profit
at almost any price.
There was one young man in the auc-
ton room who seemed to know the
value of things. Whenever a good arti-
Gle was put up (and the auctioneer oc-
casionally took a chance with some
thing worth having he got into the
bidding with a rush. The regularity
With which he was put out of the bid
ding by one of little knot of men who
stood near the auctioneer, was suspic-
ious. When it had happened q half doz-
en- times the young man looked exas-
perated. He remarked to another man
that the bidders who 50 consistently
boosted him must be cappers.
Il don't think the auction is a square
one, ne said, but I'll find out for sure
before 1 go"
He bic IS little later on a Delft tea
set. He had started it at 81 and had
been raised up to SIS by one Of the sus-
pected bidders. The tea set was cheap
at IS and the young man wanted it,
lie thought he was going to get 1t, too,
but suddenly the auctioneer glanced
down at the group before him, and a
fifty-ceht raise was the imme date re-
suit. The young man ground his teeth
and refused to make it SO. The tea
set disappeared behind the auctioneer,
but the man who had bid $3.50 for it,
didn't move to get it.
Next came pair of sofa cushions.
| They were very fine tapestry cushions
bound with heavy silk rope. They were
easily worth $40 apiece.
Bid on one and take your choice"
said the auctioneer. Now what am
offered?"
Two minutes elapsed without bid
being made. The auctioneer made an
eloquent speech, at the end of which
a small voice offered fifty cents apiece
for the cushions. The auctioneer ragged
and stcrmed, as auctioneers will. He
begged for dollar bid, then for sew
enty-five cent bid, and after five min
utes of this sort of thing said: Twill
anybody offer me So cents?"
III give you 81 a piece for these
cushions" said the young man.
The effect of this bid was miracu-
| lous. Immediately SO was offered by an
| other man and still another jumped in
with $780, The young man bid 81 and
called out as he did; I'll bet 1 dom t
| get them at that
He didn't, for $3.50 was bid by one
/ of the men who are familiar figures
about the place every day, and the
| cushions went at that
THAT proves that this auction is a
| fake" said the young man in loud
| voice.
Whats that?" demanded the auc-
tioneer.
"Oh, simply I don't think you're on
the level, said the young man calmly.
| You wasted over five minutes trying
| to get more than so cents for those
| pillows and couldn't get a five-cent
raise, but just as soon as I bid 81, a
| whole lot of people discovered
they wanted them at any price"
| The auetioneer passed the incident
over. 1t was attracting attention. He
| put up some article, and had just got
a bid on it when the crash came. The
| Lakewood table was large one, round
and fully five feet in diameter 1t must
nave had at least a hundred pieces OF
china on it. The weight it was sus-
tanning was so great that a heavy cane
| had been put under it as an extra sup
port. The young man was standing
! very close to this cane, but so were
others. Maybe he kicked the cane, OIL
maybe some one else did; at any rate
| it was removed, and almost instantly
| the big table began to rock Someone
! shouted Look out!" and everyone
jumped aside. Then the table came
down, and there was a mighty smash
up of fine china. The auctioneer lei
out mighty wall and three Japs ran
out from a rear room and wrung Their
| hands as they gazed on the ruin. Then
| they picked up the pieces and carried
| them away. An examination of the
table showed that one of the legs
| snapped off short. But the question
is, would the leg have broken if the
cane had not been kicked out? Only
two or three men entertained the the
DRY that the smash-up was not an ac-
cident. The auctioneer didn't accuse
anybody, and the three men in question
couldn't see how it was up to them
| to say anything. They noticed, how
ever that when the young man already
mentioned left the place a few minutes
later, there was a radiant smile on
his face-New York Sun.