auction- what happened???

[Monte Blunk]

New to the business of investing and went to my first auction to learn about how things run and see what happens. Not to bid, just to learn.   I showed up at the county court house for an auction that was listed on auction.com yesterday but there wasn't a single person there except for someone that came up with a briefcase and whispered something to the clerk and then walked away. Not sure what happened or what to make of this. There was no formal auction or buying or bidding as far as I could tell.  Nothing happened.   Is this how auctions are usually run? Sorry, probably really dumb question but was really confused.   Any thoughts??