The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-03-25
I during your stay. There is my sis

| L cS, kuOW I'LL dDOuC tudt, anu
wouldn't for the world disturb the
sick lady. I'm just trying to be So
ciable. l want you to stay until you're
ready to leave"
| you see, Mr.. Devine, my plans for
the immediate future are very uncer-
tain
| Yes, that seems TO be the word.
| What does the countess say about it 2"
| IL never discuss matters of business
with my daughter. Women do not
understand such matters. OF course it
Is necessary to have her sign papers
now and then. The lawyers insist on
it, some of the property having been
( left to her, but l never try to explain
things which | do not fully compre-
bend myself. The sale of this place,
for instance. still perplexes me- | did
not desire it at all. / suppose, how
ever, that 1t was necessary as mat
ter of form. Probably you have q
clearer notion Of it than l, Mr. De.
vine"
"Your idea is a bit hazy," admitted
the Cherub.
Perhaps SO, but l presume that
yOur-er-pOssessiOn here is only q
temporary arrangement. Matters will
soon be adjusted, | suppose, when my
attorneys finally get around to it. My
daughter was more or less worried I'M
til l assured her that l would attend
to the affair personally"
/ ''Then she cheered up, did sheY Mr..
| Devine appeared TO find the converse
tion entertaining.
"She was relieved, Of course. But
/ have been so engrossed in preparing
pamphlet Orwell, on scientific
subject which would not be Of inter
est to yOu-that / have neglected to
| take the proper steps. However, now
| that you thoroughly understand the
situation, l trust that you will not
act hastily
"Oh, 1 shan't put you out or any
thing like that, Mr.. Hewington. Make
your mind easy on that score
ut is very considerate of you, sir.
| OF course until the affair Is settled we
shall not encrOach on your technical
right of possession more than is abSo-
lutely necessary. If the present ar.
rangement is satisfactory would sug-
! geSt that it be continued
! The Cherub favored Mr.. Hewington
with n whimsical smile. well, Wen
let the thing drift for awhile anyway.
Only you don't have to act as though
| you We're prisoners. Why don't you
and the countess come down to your
meals just as though wasn't here?
| MY dear sir Here Mr.. Hewing-
ton began an exhaustive review of the
situation. When he was through Mr.
Devine chuckled gleefully. 1t was an
amazingly simple proposition. The
| HewingtOnS were the Hewingtons, and
newell. he was Cherub Deyine. That
told the story.
1t was all done very courteously and
delicately i'm Mr. Hewingtons fine, aris-
tocratic manner, yet, nothing hut the
superlative buOyancy of Mr. Devine's
audaciOus soul saved him from being
utterly crushed.
Il wish l could have dreams like
that" soliloquiZed the Cherub when
he had been left alone.
The possibilities incident upon ac-
| quiring a quiet country house were
surprising to Mr.. Cherlb Devine.
Lets see," he reflected: I'm not ex.
actly what you'd call an unwelcome
guest, am /? | guess l must be an
unwelcome host, then, and hanged if
that isn't new one on me. But there's
worse and more of it. I'm no gentle
man, for one item. Then, if I'm to be-
lieve all i hear about myself, I'm a
deep dyed villain and an unregenerate
sinner who has butted into his own
house. Take il all around. things are
pretty badly mixed. Wonder what
program ought to follow
More or less thought did Mr.. Devine
bestow upon the Countess Necchi dur
ing the next half hour. He had 4
well defined idea, had the Cherub,
and deep. Oh. he had seen lots of
them. They had been of all kinds too.
1t was part of his philosophy that the
wise man kept out of their way, that
generally they meant mischief and
that when they didn't they were most
dangerous.
mo, thank yOu.' This was the
Cherub's attitude toward the sex. One
experience was quite enough for him.
for there had been considerable to his
affair with Kittie O'Neill, whom he
had mentioned to the countess. He
was hardly out o. his teens then, to
ie sure. a.G Kittie, having achieved
enc ard twenty and position ia the
second row of the chorus, had viewed
his awkward advances with silent
$ orn until one eventful day when
SIC had fully revealed her attitude by
IL sudden burst Of derfSive laughter.
ierub DevineS faith in wOmankind
la been destroyed.
Eut i'm the presence of the Countess
Vecchi he forgot all his suspicious. He
was quite sure that no one just like
her had ever existed before. There
fore it was amazingly unjust that she
should look upon him as an OutcaSt or
as burning brand OF s:n. He couldn't
tell her what GOOD fellow he v, Us,
and she had no chance of finding it
out for herself so long as the old gen.
tleman regarded him as socially unfit.
Il seer exclaimed the Cherub at