The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1901-01-29

IL was largely attended anu at times
tn0 bidding was brisk. There were
times when it became really exciting
but the excitement was not innocent
as was afterward developed. Three
post office inspectors from distant cit
les watched the proceedings with vigil.
ant eyes and noted every sale. When
ever mild-mannered man evinced an
interest in the proceedings it was the
signal for one of the inspectors to take
part in the bidding. This is where
the keenest interest was manifested,
for the mild-mannered man kept nod
ding to the auctioneer as the latter
called for advances with a degree IF
confidence that caused suspicion to
many.
That he was determined to have
what he bid for was manifest to
every one, and several shrewd buyers,
believing the unknown bidder had I.
line on the contents of the package,
joined in the bidding. This, however,
was rare occurrence for the spec
ulatlve public does not enjoy buying
sight unseen,' and whenever the bid
ding went over the dollar mark it was
between the mild-mannered man and
one of the inspectors. The inspectors
took turns at the bidding to evade sus-
picion. It was the manifest interest
of the mild-mannered man that led the
inspectors to grow suspicious, and af-
ter little while their suspicious be-
came more and more conclusive.
When after some spirited bidding
one of the packages which the interest
ed bidder seemed especially anxious o
possess was knocked down to one of
the inspectors the case seemed com
plete. II was numbered Al on the
catalogue, described as follows:
AZ. Pair boys shoes Ct 1-2), six wO-
mems handkerchief's, pair Of scissors,
etc.
Surely there was nothing in this
description to warrant any extraordin-
airy bidding. A woman in the front
row who evidently had boy these
shoes would fit took chance and
started the bidding at % cents. There
was nothing to tell whether they were
new or not, and there was a marked
hesitation after the mild-mannered
man raised it to 50 cents.
Then the auctioneer ratified off the
description once again, and the inspec-
tor in the far corner said 40 cents"
Promptly it was bid so, and then the
two men, each in opposite corners of
the room, kept the bidding lively until
down it went to the inspector at 1885.
THAT fellow must know what's in
that package" said the woman who
started the bidding.
But the next article was up by this
time, and the auctioneer paused while
the clerk behind the counter read the
description in the catalogue. Leaving
the other inspectors to watch the sale,
the inspector who had obtained the
suspicious package quietly left the
auction room with the bundle under
his arm. The contents of this pack
age possibly meant the uncovering Of
the entire plot. For it was manifest
from the outset that no one could gain
a knowledge of the contents of these
bundles unless he had seen them as
sembled and marked, unless he had
been given a tip by some one on the
inside.
The inspector repaired to the Post
office department and went at once to
the chief inspectors room. A whisper
ed consultation was held and the
two adjourned to the private room of
the chief and began the undong of the
package. The contents of the pack
age tailed exactly with the descrip-
ton in the catalogue. There was, in
deed, the pair of boys shoes of the
size described, and there, too, were
llt lalluhclSlilC liz oClSoOlo
We're not missing, either. But what
a gold mine was sprung in the last
word of the description. 1t simply
read, etc in the catalogue, and that
is the abreviation for etcetera, which
means, 'anu so forth This covers
almost anything singly Or in bulk. In
the post Office catalogue it included
many valuable things, such as elegant
lace, diamond jewelry, gold and other
precious metals and stones.
To those who did not know the real
meaning of the ETC." it signified sim
ply a tumble of small things too UNI
important to describe. and they bid
on them accordingly. But to the init
lated, to the clerks who had put these
bundles up, certain etceteras meant
valuable goods, and they bid on them.
II WAS counted nv tho ipcpoctorc :,