TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: —Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected. —A Table of Contents was not in the original work; one has been produced and added by Transcriber. TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER [Illustration: In the one spring-time when David Whitcomb loved her (_Page 74_)] TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER By FLORENCE MORSE KINGSLEY Author of “The Singular Miss Smith,” “The Glass House,” etc. ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN RAE [Illustration: LOGO] NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1911 COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY Published, January, 1911 COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY THE CHRISTIAN HERALD TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. PAGE 1 ” II. ” 15 ” III. ” 29 ” IV. ” 47 ” V. ” 58 ” VI. ” 69 ” VII. ” 78 ” VIII. ” 89 ” IX. ” 106 ” X. ” 117 ” XI. ” 129 ” XII. ” 142 ” XIII. ” 150 ” XIV. ” 162 ” XV. ” 175 ” XVI. ” 188 ” XVII. ” 203 ” XVIII. ” 218 ” XIX. ” 235 ” XX. ” 246 ” XXI. ” 259 ” XXII. ” 269 ” XXIII. ” 291 TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER THE HIGHEST BIDDER I ABRAM HEWETT and his son “Al” were distributing the mail in the narrow space behind the high tier of numbered glass boxes which occupied the left-hand corner of the general store known as “Hewett’s grocery.” There were not many letters and papers in the old leathern bag whose marred outer surface bore evidence to its many hurried departures and ignominious arrivals. Only the “locals” stopped at Barford; the expresses whizzed disdainfully past, discharging the mailbag on the platform of the ugly little station like a well-aimed bullet.