The girls were intensely interested in this bit of local gossip, but Mrs. Fabian thought they had heard enough about "Kit," so she bid the clerk good-by and started for the low one-story-and-a-half house.
The interior presented a different appearance from the home of Mrs. Tomlinson's. Every conceivable object ever used in the house was brought out and placed in the front rooms. Women and children sat about on various sorts of seats, waiting for the sale to begin. As most of the assembly were neighbors and acquainted with each other, the entrance of Mrs. Fabian and her girls caused quite a surprise.
Audible whispers of "Who air they?" and "Where did they come from?" or "What d'ye s'pose they come to bid on?" were heard on all sides as the strangers passed through the "settin' room."
The moment Mrs. Fabian's party left the clerk, outside, he hurried over to the automobile where Carl sat enjoying a quiet smoke.
Carl removed his pipe and nodded nonchalantly.
"Do you-all hail from about these parts?" asked Abner.
"I should say _not_!" declared Carl, emphatically.
"From whar abouts are you?" continued the clerk.
"New York City--and that's some town, let me tell you."
"Yeh--so I've heran say. How did yeh get to come here to this vendue?" persisted Abner.
"_I_ don't know--I'm only the chauffeur. Why don't you ask the ladies if you are so anxious to know?" Carl was growing angry.
"All right--no harm meant," replied Abner, soothingly, as he turned away.
Carl resumed his pipe, and Abner strolled over to the group of men sitting on wheel-barrows, ploughs, chicken-coops, etc. With a furtive look over his shoulder, to make sure the city driver was not listening, Abner began to explain to his interested friends who the strangers were.
But he had not quite ended his tale before an old buggy drove up and the auctioneer got out. He glanced over the assembled farmers with an appraising eye, and then carefully hitched the old nag to a tree. This done, he broke off a great chunk of tobacco from a cake kept in a blue paper, and popped it into his mouth.
Abner walked over to the white-washed fence to greet his superior. "How's the kid?" were his first words.
"All right, now. He diden' swaller the pin, after all. The doctor found it down inside his shirt, an' it cost me a dollar besides all that good mustard and eppicac, fer nuthin'!"