SALE OF LOST GOODS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16365, 2 March 1921, Page 7

SALE OF LOST GOODS.

LUBE OF THE UNKNOWN. KEEN BIDDING IN RAILWAY YARD. Battered trunks, broken chairs, hencoops, bulging kit-bags, dilapidated bi cycles, some rimless and some seattarffe. clothing of all kinds, torn and whole, clean and unclean, axeheads, violins, square hat boxes, dress even dolls’ prams and empty whisky these made up part of the live hundred lots put up for auction n.t the sale of unclaimed goods in the railway yards to-day. Business was brisk from the word "go.'* A package containing a hat, a, and a man’s coat., started at one shilling, and went at seven shillings. An old man made sure the next by offering nine shillings without quibble- He. wanted to seo what was in the pockets. “ Get your money out,” shouted the auctioneer, as tlio bidding for mixed packages of hats, coats and hags grew keener. ** I'll bet lie’s got a win there," said a bystander when a tram conductor bought a mysterious parcel. tightly bound and heavy. Two deck chairs fetched ten shillings each, and a motorcar e tyre nine shillings. The first bid for what looked a real presentation travelling rug was four shillings- The last was one pound. A suit-case broke all records. It might have contained load or gold, but- the weight proved a sure draw. A lady got it for Si*. “ It won't always be as hot as this.” said the salesman. holding up a hlac-k fur coat. Ho had to push it hard, before anyone bit. VS hew,” said everyone as a tiu cash box. regulation pattern, was displayed on the auction block. Its cheap rattle gave the show away, and the buyer had to part, with nothing more than twelve shillings. A nair of boots brought 9s; a kitbag, “all packed for final leave,'’ 26s j a fawn overcoat, and a cushion, tied together. 4s; a painted go-cart and. three books, “just the tiling the kids want/’ Rs ; a case, that, it was rumoured, held petrol, l‘ts; a pocket camera, 16s; a dispatch bag. ‘‘ State documents inside,” 10s; a khaki overcoat, “left by an absentminded soldier,” £1 ; and ladies* underclothing, white and flimsy, 4s. Handbags were in general demand. One found a purchaser at 2os, and a mao, who was said to know something, bought another at 30s. Had they been empty the bags would probably have been passed in, but people were anxious to see the contents. The sale at this stage had tlio lure of a lucky “ dip,” though several buyers at the hack of the crowd were beginning to put on the disillusioned look of the disgusted bargain-hunter. Everyone laughed when a young fellow hastily opened a promising parcel and discovered—an old fur necklet, a muff and n worn-out bonnet. You’re well bad I>ig.,” he was told. A street-hawker was astonished to find that the soles of the boots he had paid hard cash for wore tied on with wire. But good fortune was not playing a nasty trick on everyone. One man obtained a suit case that held a brand new outfit of the right size. Tt was whispered that another laid his hands on a full bottle of Scotland's best, but no proof was forthcoming. In the first hour one hundred lots were sold. At two o’clock tho crowd had swollen to nearly two hundred, and bids were coming in thick and fast.