Adventure and adventurers -- Juvenile fiction; Girls -- Juvenile fiction; New York (N.Y.) -- Juvenile fiction
"Where will you two girls find customers?" asked Mr. Dalken, admiring the
way they accepted the news that their gold mine seemed wiped out for all
time.
"Oh, Polly'll find a way, never fear!" declared Eleanor with fervent
faith in her friend's ability to accomplish things.
"Yes, I'll get Mr. Ashby, first of all, to permit us to exhibit our goods
in his 'odd room' and we'll pay him a commission for sales, just as other
folks do who wish to exchange, or sell, their antiques," explained Polly.
"Well, if you girls manage to find such valuable things as that famous
missing picture that the Museum made such a time over, I should say you
had found a big gold mine in New York instead of losing a little one in
the Rockies," said Mr. Dalken.
So, shortly after the girls learned that they had to economise on
expenses that year, Polly carried her old coverlets to Mr. Ashby's shop
and left them with him to sell. The fine little mirror had been restored
and was perfectly beautiful. This was placed on exhibition in the Empire
Room of the Ashby Shop, but scarcely had it had time to be friendly with
other rare objects in that room, before it was purchased at a high price.
Thus Polly cleared several hundred dollars on the first sale, and felt
encouraged to invest that money in new purchases.
Mr. Dalken gladly sent Carl with the car, to drive the girls whenever
they heard of a place to visit, but Ruth and Nancy seldom accompanied
them these days. Ruth had school to attend daily, and Nancy was painting
a portrait for a famous stage beauty who had offered her an attractive
price for the work.
The girls, with Mrs. Fabian, had gone again to New Jersey, after their
great investment that day in Van Styne's place; but they drove on to
Baskingridge that day, and stopped at several ancient farm-houses to
ferret for old things. At one of the places, they secured some very old
glassware, also odd pieces of Staffordshire, and a well-nigh complete set
of old Wedgewood dishes.
At another house they got a set of old brass fire-irons and a crane with
all the hangers and pots complete, just as it had been removed from the
brick fire-place and thrown up in the attic.
At the third house, Polly became enamored of a wonderful sampler, and
several very old silhouettes--the latter, very different from the kind we
are familiar with. As these old relics were in the attic and were
considered valueless, she got them for a very small sum.
While Polly was bargaining for these trifles, Eleanor was in the
grandmother's room looking at several marvelous patch-work quilts. The
old dame told Eleanor the story connected with each quilt; and one, the
unusual one of silk pieces, as well as worsteds, patched in with calico,
velvet and other odd materials, was said to be made of a collection of
famous bits from gowns worn by the ladies of Revolutionary Days.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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