Edward Stratemeyer

“ His nerves seemed to be strained to their utmost, and on he plunged, dragging the wagon along with bumps and jolts, which more than once threatened to land the young auctioneer out on his head.
Realizing that something must be done quickly if he would save the wagon from becoming a total wreck, Matt resolved upon a bold move. He tied the reins to the dashboard, and then, with a swift jump, cast himself upon Billy's back.
For the instant the horse, worse frightened than before, tore along over the uneven surface at a greater rate of speed than ever. ”

“ Matt did not like this manner of being addressed. He considered the corn salve doctor altogether too familiar, so he replied rather coldly:
"Not particularly. We merely struck Easton in the course of our travels."
"Oh, then you and your companion are still on the road with your wagon?"
"Yes."
Paul Barberry seemed to grow interested at once.
"Good enough! And how is business?"
"Very good," returned Matt, and not without pardonable pride.
"Then you are not ready to take me in as a partner yet?"
"Not quite; my friend and I can run the business very well without outside help." ”

“ Come right in!" shouted Andy. "The auction is now about to begin, and you don't want to miss the chance of your lives!"
"Plenty of room for everybody!" shouted Matt directly after him. His voice was a trifle unsteady through excitement. "Don't wait outside, but secure a good place, where you can hear and see all that is going on. You need not buy if you do not wish. One more tune, ladies and gentlemen, and then we will show you the best bargains ever exhibited in this city. ”

“ But the colored man would not budge, and Matt was compelled to attack him in his fight for freedom.
The young auctioneer was thoroughly aroused, and now showed what muscle he had gained during his free-and-easy life on the road. He attacked the man without hesitation, and forcing him aside, compelled him to keep away from the door by blows and kicks delivered with surprising rapidity. ”

“ Sunday was a quiet day for both, although they attended divine services, and took a long walk among the farms outside of the town proper.
"By creation! but it looks like a storm," exclaimed Andy, on Monday morning, as he jumped out of bed and aroused Matt.
"Well, if it rains we will have to make the most of it, I suppose," returned the boy philosophically. "It's a pity we haven't any umbrellas to sell!"
"There! I'll put them on the list at once!" cried Andy, with a laugh. "I declare, Matt, you are getting to be more of a business man every day." ”

“ For the moment Matt could do little more than stare at the two men that confronted him. In a dim way he realized that Isaac Marvelling's store had been entered and robbed, and that the mean-minded store-keeper fully believed that he was the guilty party.
"Are you a-holding him, Jackson?" went on Isaac Marvelling anxiously. "Look out, or he may slip away from you."
"I've got him, right enough," returned Jackson, one of the local constables. "He'll have hard work to get away." ”

“ The door of the garret room was closed, and when Matt tried the knob, he found that it was also locked. He knocked lightly upon it.
At first there was no response. Then a weak voice, which he could but faintly recognize as that of his father, asked sharply:
"Who's there? What do you want? Why don't you go away and leave me alone?"
"Father! father! come and open the door!" exclaimed Matt, his voice trembling as it had never trembled before.
"Who speaks? Go away, I say, and leave a poor old man alone!"
"Father, it is me, Matt! Don't you remember me?"
"Matt! Matt! ”

“ Less than half an hour later Andy was on his way to the depot to catch a train, and Matt hurried to the stable where Billy and the wagon were. "I'll get to High Bridge just as soon as I can," he said to himself. "I have no desire to be caught in a thunder-storm on a strange country road."
"You may get a bit wet, but that's all," remarked the stable-keeper, as he saw the boy glance at the heavy clouds scurrying across the sky. "That there storm, if it comes, which is doubtful, won't last half an hour." ”

“ Matt took the sheet of paper, and resting on the box in the back of the wagon, began to study it carefully, and so absorbed did he become that he did not notice when Newark was reached, and was only aroused when Andy drew up in front of a restaurant and asked him if he did not feel like having some dinner.
"You can just bet I do!" exclaimed Matt. "The fire and the drive have made me as hungry as a bear." ”

“ In another moment the two men stood beside Matt. As he recognized the young auctioneer, Isaac Marvelling set up a cry of surprise and triumph.
"I told you so!" he declared. "I said them auction fellows weren't no better than thieves! This is the chap that broke in my store, Jackson, I feel sure of it! I want him arrested, and you had better handcuff him so that he can't get away from you! No wonder they can sell cheap, when they steal their goods!" ”

“ Alighting, Matt ran inside and questioned the half a score of loungers concerning the auction wagon.
Every man in the place shook his head. The wagon had not been seen in the village. Nearly all of the men had just come in from work, and every one said that had the wagon been on the main road at all he would have seen it.
Matt listened with a sinking heart, and as Andy came in he grasped his parter by the shoulder. ”

“ As has been said, the door was a rickety one, and it went down with a crash, tumbling the young auctioneer upon his face just outside the cottage.
"Hullo! what on earth does this mean?" cried a voice close by, and Andy rushed up, a look of blank astonishment plainly depicted upon his face.
"Those negroes!" gasped Matt, struggling to rise from amid the wreckage of the door. "Come on, don't wait, for they are three to two, and they are just drunk enough to be as ugly as sin!" ”

“ Matt did not wait to encounter the rival auctioneers, but walked away and entered the door of his own store. Andy was busy, dusting up, and to his partner he told what he had heard.
"Phew!" whistled Andy. "That will make matters rather interesting. Is that their wagon out there?"
"I suppose it is. Those are the same two men, I am certain."
"Yes, they are. Well, if they are the swindlers folks in Bethlehem said they were we ought not to fear them. People are not fools, and they soon learn if a man is honest or not."
"They may take away a good bit of trade, nevertheless, Andy. ”

“ At the latter place they stopped over night, and then pushed on to Lehighton, sometimes along the river, and then by way of a road through and around the mountains.
"This scenery is just grand!" cried Matt, as they were driving on about ten o'clock in the forenoon. "Just look at that mountain over yonder! And see how the river winds along through the valley below here!"
"It is very fine, indeed!" returned Andy. "But I'll tell you what: I would rather be on horseback than in the wagon. It seems to me that some of the bends around the mountain side are positively dangerous." ”

“ I can tell stories and sing and sell more goods than any one has any idea of. Besides that, I've got a new corn salve I put up myself which goes like hot cakes. Barberry's Lightning Salve, I call it—my name is Paul Barberry, you know—Dr. Barberry, most of 'em call me. Say the word, and I'll go with you and put up my salve against your outfit, and we'll share and share alike."
"As I said before, we have no room for an outsider," returned Matt, while Andy nodded approvingly. "The wagon seat only holds two, and besides, our plans are all completed for our trip." ”

“ And in a few brief words he told how he happened to be at the bridge and what he had seen. The constable listened with deep interest, but Isaac Marvelling pooh-poohed the whole story.
"He's a good one at telling 'em," said the storekeeper. "I don't place no credit in what he says."
"Well, it won't do any harm to investigate," replied Jackson. "You hold him, while I light my lantern and take a look under the bridge."
"He may try to get away from me," said Marvelling, as he surveyed Matt's tall and well-built form with some trepidation. "He would most likely do anything to keep out of jail." ”

“ You young fellows think you know it all, but you may get tripped up badly before long," and picking up an ancient and decidedly rusty traveling-bag which he possessed, the corn salve doctor trudged away up the street.
"What a forward man!" exclaimed Matt, as they moved off. "Why, he actually wanted to force himself on us!"
"There are a good many such fellows on the road," returned Andy. "The moment they see some one who appears to be prospering, they try their best to get in with him. ”

“ Inside of the City Hall they were compelled to wait near half an hour before they could procure their license. Then they were asked for how long a term they desired it.
"For today only," returned Andy, and so it was made out and as quickly paid for.
"Oh, but I'm glad we are out of that scrape so easily!" murmured Matt, as the two walked back to their wagon. "I was afraid they would lock us up for ten days or a month."
"They would have their hands full locking up all the peddlers who try to sell goods without a license," laughed Andy. "All they care for is the money." ”

“ Matt could do nothing but stare at the freight agent. A man had come there and driven off with the horse and wagon and taken the cases of goods with him. It seemed too bold-faced to be true.
"Our man?" he stammered. "We have no man." ”

“ There may be more there or in the water."
"This young rascal threw them there!" cried the store-keeper, shaking Matt's arm savagely. "You imp! tell me where the other things are at once, or I'll skin you alive!"
"Look here, Mr. Marvelling; I want you to let go of me and be reasonable," returned Matt, as calmly as he could. "I am not a thief. If I was, would I tell the story I did, or send down your companion to find those things? My story about that object under the bridge is true, and, to my way of thinking, it was the thief you saw jump the fence and run in this direction. ”

“ We might make more than what was lost here."
"Certainly, go on with the sales," howled Caleb Gulligan. "I will take care of this young rascal, and find out what has become of that young woman."
"And that man," began the assistant.
"Never mind the man; the young woman shall pay for the damage done, and she can fix it up with the man afterward, if she wishes. I am not going to stand the loss."
"It seems to me you are making an awful row over a fifteen-cent piece of plaster-of-paris," said Matt to Gulligan, as Andrew Dilks turned toward the auctioneer's stand. ”

“ Andrew Dilks brought out a sheet of paper and a pencil and began to do some figuring.
"We will put down our combined capital at two hundred and fifty dollars," he said. "Now, what can we get a good horse for?"
"Two hundred dollars!" laughed Matt.
"You are right, but we must get one cheaper."
"Supposing we look around for a bargain at one hundred dollars, then?"
"That is nearer the figure. We do not want a fancy animal nor a particularly fast one. A horse that can pull our wagon ten to twenty miles a day once or twice a week will answer." ”

“ He is a very mean man—I am finding that out more and more every day. I myself intend to leave just as soon as I can find another place. I have been there three months, and can hardly bear it longer."
"The last stenographer only stayed two months, and the one before that, a man, didn't stay the week out," grinned Matt. "They soon find out what kind of a man he is."
"I would leave to-morrow, only I cannot afford to be out of work, and times are somewhat dull. But, about your proposed venture. You will need sixty dollars more to hold an equal share if you go in, won't you?" ”

“ THE YOUNG AUCTIONEER.
CHAPTER I.
MATT ATTENDS A SALE.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, what am I offered for this elegant vase, imported direct from Italy, a most marvelous piece of workmanship, worth every cent of twenty-five dollars? Who will start it at five dollars? Start it at four? Start it at three? At two? At one dollar? What is that—fifty cents? Rather low, lady, but as I said before, these goods must be sold, regardless of the prices obtained. Fifty cents, it is! Fifty—fifty! Who will make it one dollar?" ”