El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-25

Inree- Inree-IlILy- EOur- ElVeI Five
fifty! Six! six-fiftyl Are you all
through"
The auctiOneer paused with his ham
mer suspended in the air
All through Six-fifty--sold to the
gentleman therer
The attendants quickly took away
the and1rOns, and brought from behind
1 the red curtains a gilt and mahogany
Number s2s-Antique Mahogany
Mirror, How much to start it, Ten
dOllars2 Five then! Five 1 havet Six
Seven! Genuine old frame, and I'm Of
fered only 81 Eight Eight-fiftyI
Nine! That's your bid, sir. Nine-fiftyi
Now make IL tent
The mirror was finally knocked
down for S11, and an old Pie Crust
Table was next brought out
The auction room was well filled
Helen, VINO was IN an aisle seat about
the middle Of the ROOM was leaning
forward with tense interest The arti-
cleS she had marked were further over
in the catalog, and would not come up
until later But now she was trying
to grow accustomed to the bidding be-
fore she made a venture.
Helen Is So Confused.
She resented the way the auctiOneer
rushed" things His rapid fire meth
Cd of crying the bids confused her and
made her nervous. She wondered how
anyone could think 1t all seemed be-
Wildering, but perhaps that was the
/ psychology Of auctions-to excite and
Illustrate people so they would bid fast
only so for the pie crust table.
Twenty three- A genuine ANTIQUE
look at the claw feet! TWenty-fOuri
Sold to the gentleman on the aisle for
/ $24. Too late, madam, you should bid
/ before the lots knocked down, not af-
Helen glanced around at the woman
who had called Twenty a sec
Ond too late Evidently she. too, was
new at auctions, for she looked flushed
az q an Hnrnn n - eH~~ a
catalog.
A mahogany chest Of drawers was
next put up 1t sold for S2L50, which
to Helen seemed very cheap as she had
| been asked $40 for practically the same
chest in the antique shops. If the
low!
A sewing table. No. $50. was her first
marked item. She had penciIed sis
( in the margin as the very most she
would pay, but was secretly hoping to
get it for less.
Warren had said carelessly, IF it's
an old piece and you want it, go as high
as $50. But don't get rattledhsrdault
as $40" If only he could have come
with heri But he had scOffed at the
idea of leaving his business for an
auction sale.
IF the few things you really need
80 cheap, why buy them had been his
advice But don't get ratified, don't
lose your head and buy lot Of truck
we don't need just because it's cheap.
That's what most women do at an auc-
ton"
Helen Plans
And Helen had come determined that
she would bid only on the things she
had marked and that they needed very
much. 1t was her first auction expe-
rience and she was eager to show War
rem with what good judgment she
could buy
The a1ctioneer sold very fast and
was soon Up TO 352-
She 1nanr6 RI F,raa 11aeelvr
the attendants brought out the sewing
table How well IL looked under the
glare of the lights over the PLATFORM
On, if she could only get thisI
Number 352-Martha Washington
Sewing Table. Fluted legs, inlaid
How much TO start it, Ten2 Twelve
and half, Fifteen! FifteenI Seven
teen and a half Twenty
Helen sank back in her seat Her
heart stiu fluttered although she had
made no attempt Obid- 1t sold for
S21 and she had hoped to get il for SIS.
Why had they started so high2 And
why had they bid in "tWO-fifties" in
stead of "Ones2"
Her next marked item was the large
secretary, the desk with the bookcase
above As this was the piece they
needed most, Helen had resolved to 90
as high as sos. OF course 1t could not
be bought in a shop for that but sure
y she reasoned, one ought TO buy
. things cheaper at auction
But TO her dismay. when "S89--An-
tique Sheraton Mahogany Secretary
was rolled from behind the curtains, the
auctlOneer remarked
Now, ladies ana gentlemen, this is
one OF the finest pieces In the cOllec-
ton 1t should not bring a cent less
than 5000 Real old san Domingo ma
hogany- Open it up there John
The Secretary.
The attendant opened the desk, dis
playing pigeon holes and drawers
a rare old piecei Here's your chance
to get something exceptional What
viii YOU give to start it2 One hun
dred dollars2 Seventy-flve2 Bifty2 All
right $50. Sixty! Seventy
Again Helen leaned back with a sigh
Of despair And when it was sold for
S95 she felt unreasOnably indignant.
surely IL was not worth that at auction!
A Chippendale tea table, which Helen
nad marked was only a rev numbers
farther on. So far she had not made a
single bid, for she seemed to get panic
stricken when the moment came But
now she determined to bid on this.
1t was started at $40. Helen's hand
trembled as she held up her catalOg.
But the auctioneer did not see her. He
was looking for bids from those who
had already hidden mere nod or
wave of the catalOg was all that was
necessary for them. But the new bid
ders had to speak out, and before Helen
could bring herself to bid aloud the
table was knocked down
The next lot was fiddle back chair.
Helen had not noticed it when the
things had been on view but they could
always use chairs, and somehow now
she had a feverish desire to bid 1t was
started at 81.
With her heart in her throat. Helen
called eight" Faint as it was, the
aUctinOeer heard and glanced at her
quickly.
Eight have, NineI Make it temp
looking back at Helen.
She nodded
Ten! Make it S11 Eleven, Make
it S12!~
Almost against her will Helen
nodded. She seemed hypnOtized into
bidding now.
She Buys a Chair.
Twelve. Twelve! are you all
through"
That was her bid Oh, if some one
would only say 49, She did not want
to pay u. The chair was not worth
it, She did not want it anyway But
no one bid again Then came the omiu-
sold for s12 to the lady on the
aisle"
Instantly a man with a receipt book
and some bills folded over his fore
finger. hurried up TO Helen
Name and deposit please
Helen gave her name and her fingers
trembled as she took out a SIS bin. He
scribbled off and handed her a receipt.
She slipped il into her purse, and again
looked at the platforms, trying to seem
uncOncerned.
But she was sick at heart. Why had