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Show Bidding Against His Sweetheart Ey LEETE ST0XE TN THIS day of frankness and ultra-sophistication It Is difficult to believe that In many maple studded hamlets throughout the rural areas of the country there live young men who remain bashful bash-ful and awkward in women's company; com-pany; and women who retain the modest manners of their grandmothers. grand-mothers. Bashfulness was Harvey Ieach-am's Ieach-am's trouble. He adored Abigail Itoss ; but couldn't seem to tell her so. Both were born of old Yankee stock, and reared in a little town high up and way back in the Mas sachusetts Berkshire a community where folks still say prayers at night and where Lord's day services serv-ices are the weekly event. The village boys called him "Herv" at the evening gatherings round the stove In the back room of the general store. Sometimes he mustered courage sufficiently to invite her out to ride in his car for the beginning of an evening. As matters stood the attachment of the two was a sure item of village vil-lage interest. All knew Herv and Abigail would meet finally at the little church altar; but how it was to happen in the face of Herv's bashfulness and Abigail's New England Eng-land reticence was a problem for the gods to solve. One evening the boys found a poster pasted up in the back room of the store announcing that Bill Jackson, on the Sherwood road, would sell all his personal belongings, belong-ings, his stock and implements at public auction the following Saturday. Satur-day. Among the Jumble of effects listed list-ed was an item that Interested Herv Meacham. "Old-Fashioned Secretary in Fine Shape" Intrigued him because he knew that Abigail wanted one. Saturday morning Herv rose glowing with the warm anticipation. anticipa-tion. He was not close-fisted; but knowing country auctions he surmised sur-mised that ten dollars In cash would be enough to secure the secretary. Bidding on old furniture furni-ture at a back-country auction usually usu-ally commenced at a quarter. Taking Tak-ing twelve dollars, for certainty, he set out. Herv found Bill Jackson showing show-ing the early comers around the place. He went Indoors and examined ex-amined the secretary. Even his untrained eye recognized a rare old piece; so he buttonholed Bill at the barn and asked If he might set it out on the little front porch where it would be offered among the first articles. It was a sharp October morning, and Goeffrey Bean, the auctioneer, was not in the best of moods because be-cause his wife had ragged him un-mercifully-that morning for playing penny ante with his cronies until past twelve the night before. He seized a kitchen table for an auction block and shoved it on the porch with scant ceremony. Facing Fac-ing the little group gathered in front of him, he brandished a short end of rubber hose, which served him for a hammer. Geoffrey's Geof-frey's eye caught the secretary Herv had placed so prominently. "Here you are, friends," he shouted ... "a genuine antique . . . real New England secretary . . . over a hundred years old and Just beginning to live . . ." the rubber hose beat an Insistent tattoo on the table, ". . . I'm offered of-fered five dollars to start with . . . make it six . . . six I'm bid . . . make it seven . . ." "Six-fifty !" Herv called. From somewhere behind: "Seven!" "Eight!" he offered. "Nine !" from behind. "Ten! . . . Eleven! . . . Eleven-fifty." Herv began to worry. wor-ry. Terms were absolutely cash and he had brought only twelve dollars. . . . "Come friends, time Is money; this is an auction not a funeral," Goeffrey urged. "Twelve I" shouted Herv. "Twelve-fifty !" Herv hesitated and was lost. . . . "For the last time, folks ; twelve-fifty twelve-fifty I'm bid . . . twelve-fifty . . . going at twelve-fifty once . . the vociferous hose drowned out the crow of a sauntering rooster roost-er .. . "twice, and three times . . SOLD for twelve-fifty to Miss Ross. Terms are cash, Miss Ross, and take It way today. We want to clean up." Then the surprise of his life. Turning, be S".w Abigail on the fringe of the group and her eyes twinkled as they met his. He had come to get that secretary for her and she had got it for herself. A crestfallen Herv sidled over to Abigail and offered to take the secretary home for her. "You're the Inst person I'd expect ex-pect here to bid on that old piece. I'retty mean of you, 1 think." her smile softened her words; "don't you know I've always wanted one for my den?" ITorv plunged; that Is fnr him. "Why, you know, Abigail . . . your birthday's Saturday an' I . . sny Abigail ... I ... 1 was goin' to give it to you and I didn't know I was bidding against you." The girl's expression was serene j as she listened to this halting out- burst. The gods, perhaps, whispered ' to her that this was the moment I to relinquish Turitan reserve. "Herv," In a golden whisper. "I'll get a special dispensation from Granny tonight, and yon ran take me all the way to Crystal Lake ; There'll he a full moon, Herv!" |