The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-09-11
MIR. S7ESLERS DIVERSION
By CT ARA NORTON.

MY dear sir, what may your name
be, If i may aski" Mr. Stesler ques
TONED, after few moments silence.
my namef my name? All, yes, yes
"A very good joke I've heard il be
fore, though. William, tell Molly
want the coffee Immediately, anC
plenty Of cream. And, William, shov,
the table nearer my chair. / find this
very comfortable; / believe / would
rather not be disturbed Thank you
Now the footstool William. Yes. there
thank you, I'm quite comfortable"
| Mr.. Stcsler, heartily ashamed Of him.
self, nevertheless obeyed
| well, by JOvew he mentally OK.
claimed as he slapped his thigh and
gazed thoughtfuly at his guest, "wcll,
| by Jovew
| You want 10 swear, no doubt, viii
liam. ! somehow feel that you want
| 10 swear But defer il for the present.
| Just few mild comments are all
permit I'm very sorry, too, for some
thing in your attitude tells me that
you can scarcely control yourself Oh,
! nearly forgot / want my shoes
brushed. They're rather disreputabIc
Clean them, Villas"
Mr.. Steslcr betrayed his reluctance
and disgust as the man held up pair
however, and very delicately placed
them just outside the door. Thc man
| resumed his paper, but soon added
with some impsticncc:
William, you are In my light Move
aside, please"
fore he broke out with great gur-
| faw.
"WcllY demanded Mr. Stcslcr
II was merely smiling over q patent
medicine. They say here that il will
cure rheumatism and consumption.
used il on n mule once. 1t cured him
of baking, but he died within few
hours. ] afterward used IL 10 kill off
all the rats on the premises Oh, here
you are, Molly, at last. The rcpast u.s.
indeed, welcome. But more butter
please. l like lots of butter. Only
"
Molly Always remember that in fu-
ture. And white cups? prefer blue,
or, at any rate, some little decoration
on my china. The coffee is very good,
but ] like ii little stronger and Il
little earlier, too. In fact. William. |
shall expect You TO bring il to my
bedroom before | rise"
Man and wife exchanged worried
looks and glances. and were immedi-
ately startled by another loud, vocifcr-
Gus roar
Pm always having the most delight
ful dreams. | dreamed last night that
you wanted me to rob you. And dis
tinctly remember giving you patent
medicine. You liked the flavor. and
| gave You more. And Molly took
the rest Oh, shall | ever. ever forget
what jolly, dancing corpscs you made"
and he pushed back from the table n
moment to give them the full benefit
Of his mcrriment
Mr.. Steslcr was by this time really
alarmed and unequal 10 the occasion.
He motioned vainly for his wife TO call
the neighbors. But she was SO con
frantic appeal
After eating grccdily. the visitor sat
back and nonchalnntly waved his
hand.
william, n shave, please. III re-
main here. You can manage. think"
hr hn u,
and razor.
Now, william. not too close il you
please. Put on plenty OF lather. Molly.
hold the mug. also the mirror in front
of me. SO | can see what William is
doing All, yes. that's comfortable.
Continue. William"
With a shaking hand and pallid coun-
tenance. Mr.. Stesler proceeded to shave
his guest. possessing only enough pres
ence OF mind To hope the razor would
slip and relieve the gentleman OF his
head. The impromptu barber had
barely finished when the stranger ner-
vously motioned away the mug. the
mirror and Molly.
William, the lawn is hopelessly dis
reputable. Indeed. I'm surprised at
the evident carelessness about the
place. Get out the lawn mower, asd
I'll superintend. Great land o. Goshen.
don't stand there like that. Go TO
work, sayr'
Mrs. Stesier was somewhat amused
at her husbands predicament. Her
guest had no sooner caught sight Of her
surreptitious smile than he quickly
added:
my slipper dropped of. Molly. pick
IL up."
Both man and wife burst into n
hearty laugh at their own chagrin.
The guest glared very haughtily.
mo levity. please. No levity," said
he. curtly.
He walked about the lawn n few
moments studIously examining the
shrubbery. Now. Molly. the garden.
rake; aud see that you gather the
leaves and bramblcs into little piles"
He struttcd about the yard. pointing
sternly. frowning. ordering. loud in his
imprecations as the work OF cleaning
up proceeded but slowly. In the midst
OF their despair the sound OF wheels
arrested Mr.. Stesler's attention. and.
pulling his wife frantically by the
arm. he madn an heroic dash toward a
vehicle that Just then tore into the