The auctioneer climbed onto his platform.
“Gentlemen, here's your chance to own a piece of history!”
More laughter.
He gestured toward the tractor.
“History because this thing hasn't worked since your granddaddy was a boy!”
The crowd roared.
May stood beside her aunt.
She held paddle 47 tightly.
The auctioneer looked toward Earl Dawson.
Earl nodded.
The auctioneer smiled.
“Who'll give me twenty dollars?”
May raised her paddle immediately.
“Twenty!”
Several men turned.
The auctioneer stared.
Then he laughed.
“Well, we've got ourselves a buyer!”
A farmer called out, “Somebody warn the junkyard!”
The crowd laughed.
The auctioneer looked toward Earl.
Earl raised his hand.
“Twenty-five!”
May answered.
“Thirty!”
Earl glanced over his shoulder.
The little girl stared straight ahead.
He grinned.
“Thirty-five!”
“Forty!” May called.
The laughter became louder.
The auctioneer's smile tightened.
“Forty dollars from the little lady. Anybody got forty-five?”
Earl raised his hand.
“Fifty.”
May felt her stomach tighten.
That was almost everything.
She looked toward her aunt.
The older woman nodded.
“You're still under your limit.”
May raised the paddle.
“Fifty-five!”
The auctioneer stopped.
Earl laughed and lowered his hand.
He had been told to buy cheaply, but he was not interested in arguing with a child over a machine he believed was scrap.
The crowd continued laughing.
The auctioneer looked toward Earl, expecting another bid.
Earl shook his head.
The auctioneer's smile vanished.
He looked around.
“Anybody else?”
Nobody answered.
He glanced toward May.
Then toward the old tractor.
His expression changed.
For a moment, he seemed unable to decide whether to continue.
Then he raised his gavel.
“Fifty-five dollars,” he muttered.
He struck the podium.
“Sold to paddle forty-seven!”
The sound echoed through the barn.
May's heart leaped.
She had won.
She looked toward her aunt.
The older woman smiled.
But before either could move toward the payment desk, the auctioneer noticed the notebook in May's hand.
He recognized its worn brown cover.
His face hardened.
“Wait!”
The crowd became quiet.
The auctioneer stepped down.
“Where did you get that book?”
May looked up.
“It was my grandfather's.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Put it away.”
She shook her head.