“Perhaps you won’t want to part with your seal, dear,” said Lucy, who was not so greedy as some of the other girls and really pitied Polly.  “You have so many beautiful things without that, that you will be sure to realize a good bit of money.”

“No, Lucy, I owe such a lot; the seal must go.  Oh, what a worry it is!”

“And at auctions of this kind,” said Rosalind in her low voice, “even beautiful things don’t realize much.  How can they?”

“Rosalind is after that seal,” whispered Lucy to Annie Day.

“The seal would swallow you up, Rosie,” said Annie in a loud voice.  “Don’t aspire to it; you’d never come out alive.”

“The seal can be brought to know good manners,” retorted Rose angrily.  “His size can be diminished and his strength abated.  But I have not said that I want him at all.  You do so jump to conclusions, Miss Day.”

“I know what I want,” said a girl called Hetty Jones who had not yet spoken.  “I’m going in for some of Polly’s ornaments.  You won’t put too big a price upon your corals, will you, Poll?”

“I shall bid for your American rocking-chair, Polly,” exclaimed Miss Day.

“I tell you what you must do, Miss Singleton,” shouted another girl, “you must get those inventories ready as soon as possible, and send them around the college for every one to read, for you have got such nice things that there will be sure to be a great rush at your auction.”

“Don’t sell any of the college possessions by mistake, my dear,” said Lucy Marsh.  “You would get into trouble then.  Indeed, as it is, I don’t see how you are to keep out of it.”

Polly pushed her hands impatiently through her bright red hair.

“Who’s afraid?” she said, and laughed.

“When are we to see your things, Polly?” asked Miss Jones.  “If the auction is on Monday, there must be a show day, when we can all go round and inspect.  I know that’s always done at auctions, for I’ve been at several in the country.  The show day is the best fun of all.  The farmers’ wives come and pinch the feather-beds between their thumbs and forefingers and hold the blankets up to the light to see if the moths have got in.”

“Hetty, how vulgar!” interposed Miss Day.  “What has Polly’s auction of her recherche’ things to do with blankets and feather-beds?  Now the cocoa is ready.  Who will help me to carry the cups round?”

“I had some fun to-day?” said Rosalind, when each of the girls, provided with their cups of cocoa, sat round and began to sip.  “I took Miss Propriety to town with me.”

“Oh, did you, darling?  Do tell us all about it!” said Annie Day, running up to Rosalind and taking her hand.

“There isn’t much to tell.  She behaved as I expected; her manners are not graceful, but she’s a deep one.”

“Anybody can see that who looks at her,” remarked Lucy Marsh.

“We went to the Elliot-Smiths’,” continued Rosalind.