I bet a dollar it wuz thet city feller. Abner says thet he met Appleby
on his way back to Montrose, and he told him thet he saw thet city
feller and the Deacon drive off tergether from front o' the bank. Oh!
nonsense, what would the son of a millionaire want of a grocery store in
a little country town like this?" and he went into his boarding house to
dinner.
A few moments after two o'clock Strout could restrain his impatience no
longer, and leaving his boarding house he walked over to the grocery
store. Quite a number of the Mason's Corner people were gathered in the
Square, for to them an auction sale was as good as a show. Quincy had
not arrived, and the Professor tried to quiet his nerves by walking up
and down the platform and smoking a cigar. The crowd gradually
increased, quite a number coming in teams from Montrose and from
Eastborough Centre. One of the teams from Montrose brought the
auctioneer, Mr. Beers, with whom Strout was acquainted. He gave the
auctioneer a cigar, and they walked up and down the platform smoking and
talking about everything else but the auction sale.
Pages:
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401