"Oh, furnishing won't last long, and studying will."

"If Mr. Dalken is a conscientious executor of your estate I should think he'd forbid your wasting any time hunting up furniture and hiring decorators to do it for you, at the same time," teased Eleanor.

Mr. Dalken laughed and said: "I always said 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.'"

"Well, Jack can work for two whole weeks before he gets any play, as far as going to a sale is concerned. There will be no sale, that we know of, until the old house at Parsippany is sold in two weeks," explained Polly.

"I won't have to wait as long as that, I hope, for my apartment. I'm paying rent on it already, and am stopping with Mr. Dalken as his guest, until I get a bed and a chair."

"But I thought you wanted to furnish by going to the sales of antiques,"

ventured Polly.

"I did, but I want to go to one tomorrow. Can't you girls contract to escort me to places in the city where we can get things without waiting?"

"As far as that is concerned, we can take you right over to the Ashby Shop and find everything on earth you can use, right in his collections,"

said Polly.

"I wanted to feel that you two girls were getting this contract and the profits, and not a famous establishment," demurred Jack.

"We'll have the contract, all right, but we will only buy what we need from Mr. Ashby, at regular discount, you know," explained Eleanor in a business-like manner.

Mr. Dalken smiled indulgently on his two young friends who had developed such marvelous apt.i.tude for business since their trip abroad that summer.

And young Baxter concluded with: "All right; tomorrow, you girls get Mrs.

Fabian, and come over to my rooms to get your 'atmosphere.' Then we'll start in and shop."

So the next ten days were filled with a great many visits to the apartment to determine certain colors and styles of things, and with a great deal of important conferring between the client and the decorators.

But eventually, the apartment was almost ready for its occupant, and three young people declared that the decorating was a work of art--simply perfect! And it did not cost so _very_ much, either! Mr. Dalken reserved his opinion on costs, however, and laughed in his sleeve at Baxter, for the latter had no more need of an apartment than a cat has for two tails.

It was a whim of his to give the girls a contract, and Jack could afford whims, so his guardian said nothing about the bills.

"Well, I must say," said Polly the day after Jack held a "house-warming"

in his newly furnished domain, "I never saw ten days go by as fast as these did. Here we are almost on top of that sale in the country, and it seems like yesterday that we got the announcement."

"It shows how much we really love our profession," said Eleanor, "when we get so much pleasure out of work."

But Dodo was present at some of the conferences the two amateur decorators held with Jack and she now remarked: "Work! did you two think that going about in Jack's sporty car and lunching at swell dining-rooms, or holding up a strip of gold-gauze to watch the sheen on your hand, was hard work?"

Mrs. Fabian laughed to herself at the conversation. But Polly answered with an experienced air: "When you have had years of study in decorating, like Nolla and I have had, you will find that work is not altogether a physical effort. At present, in your apprenticeship, you do more than you saw us do in furnishing, but you'll learn, some day!"

Dodo tossed her head confidently, and remarked: "I have nothing more to learn--if your knowledge is the acme of the understanding of your trade."

As no reply was given this statement, Mrs. Fabian hurried from the room to laugh quietly to herself at the egotism of youth. Later when Mr. Ashby was told the story, he said:

"When they have been at the profession for thirty years, and have acquired all the knowledge that I have in that time, they will begin to learn that we all know very little of harmony and perfect ideals in decorating."

CHAPTER XII

THE PARSIPPANY VENDUE

It was a lovely late Fall day when Carl brought Mr. Dalken's car around to the Fabian's residence to drive the girls to the Parsippany sale. Jack Baxter was seated beside Carl and announced to the girls as they came out with Mrs. Fabian: "I'm invited to go with you."

"Who asked you?" was the rejoinder from both girls.

"Carl did. He gets tired of chauffing for hours without rest. So I offered to help him out."

Of course, Carl's uncomfortable flush showed that Jack was joking, but he was a welcome addition to the small party, so they started off, a merry quartette.

As there had been no time to drive out, so far, to inspect the household goods for sale, it had been postponed until the day of the sale. Mrs.

Fabian said that should there be nothing desirable at the old house, they could go on and have another hunt about the country.

But the sale promised to be an interesting one, for the moment the girls found out that the house they were looking for was an old Colonial two-story farm-house, with wings at each side, they felt sure of its contents being worth-while.

They parked the car out in a large carriage-house and walked over to the front door. It was a true type, with sunburst window over the door, and a wonderful old knocker on the front panel of the door. A narrow high window at each side had diamond panes in them. There was a dear little hood over the doorway that someone called a "rain-shed." And on each side of the "stoop" which was reached by three steps, was a high-backed wooden seat, with funny low arms at the outer ends.

The windows of the entire house were filled with small-paned sash, the gla.s.s being green and wavy in some panes, and as cloudy as mist in others. Then again other panes were of really clear white gla.s.s. The city visitors found later, that these old panes were the original old gla.s.s set in by the first owner.

But they did not come to admire the outside, so they all went indoors to look about. They entered upon a tiny entry.

The front parlor was a small band-box-like room with a chimney piece at one side, and a stove-pipe hole in it for winter use. Alongside the chimney was a narrow cupboard that was meant to hold books, or other things, to keep the parlor from being "cluttered up."

Directly opposite the chimney was a long, high-backed settee, with haircloth covering. The frame was old mahogany and the shape hinted at Chippendale, with its six feet having beautiful lines, and the side arms curving graciously out to invite one to be seated.

In this best room were, also, several rush-bottomed stencilled chairs, and a Boston Rocker. An inlaid Hepplewhite table stood against the wall between the two front windows, with its drop-leaf raised against the wall. A number of old pieces of bra.s.s and pewter stood on the table. Over it hung an early Georgian mirror but the reflection one got when gazing into it was terrifying.

From the parlor, the collectors went to the long living-room that occupied one wing of the house. Here was a great open fire-place with crane, and everything used in olden times for keeping a fire in good order. Over the mantel hung a wonderful old mirror with a colored picture of Washington crossing the Delaware in its upper panel.

A rare Empire table with both leaves up, stood in the middle of the room, and Polly instantly made up her mind to own that table, if nothing more that day.

As they went about admiring the antiques, Jack said: "Gee! But I'm sorry we furnished the apartment so soon. What a lot of fine things we might have had at this sale."

And Eleanor laughingly remarked: "Sell your flat out like so many New Yorkers do, and start in again on another."

In the low-ceiled, wide dining-room, they found the typical round mahogany table with twelve chairs--two arm and ten side chairs. The seats were covered with rep, but must have had haircloth on them at one time.

The backs were very low and curved away from the small of the back in a frightened manner. There was but one cross-piece in the back and that was curved also.

The side-board was nearly eight feet long, with six claw feet, and a high top. On it stood a tea-caddy of mahogany, a knife-box, and several silver boxes. All of them must have been over a hundred years old. Very old china and gla.s.sware stood on the large table, ready to be sold. The collectors saw many desirable pieces there, but they were too anxious to visit the upstairs to stop, then, and examine the plates and other pieces.

There were four large square rooms on the second floor and in each one, stood a wonderful four-poster bed--two with canopy-tops and two without.

Empire work-tables were in two rooms, and besides the high chests of mahogany drawers, and low dressing-tables with tiny front drawers to hold the comb and brush, there were also ottomans, foot-stools, and ornamental pieces. Mirrors hung over each mantel, and old-fashioned prints and paintings were on the walls.

By the time Mrs. Fabian and the girls went downstairs again, they were dumbfounded to find that a farm-house so near to Morristown and railroad stations, should have preserved such a wonderful lot of old mahogany furniture without having been discovered by collectors. But being strangers to the other people now gathering for the sale, they did not speak of their wonderment.

Mr. Van Styne was late, and as soon as he arrived he began in the kitchen, without any greeting to his followers. There seemed to be a far different type of buyer at this sale, than the girls had found at any of the little sales in Westchester; and once the auctioneer began on the antique pieces, the prices ran up alarmingly.

"That man standing over there just paid a hundred and sixty dollars for that Colonial secretary," whispered Polly, annoyance expressed in her tone for she had been bidding on the same piece.