Daily Arizona silver belt., 1910-04-13
"Cherub
 DeVine" By SEWELL FORD Copyrighted 1909 by Mitchell Kennerley
By SEWELL FORD
Copyrighted 1909 by Mitchell Kennerley

 suddenly rounded little thicket of stunted frs and found himself within arms length of a slender, sallow faced person, who was holding a silk hat be- hind him and intently gazing at the crown of a straw one which showed above bush some twenty yards away.
 Even a side view from behind was enough to reveal the foreigner, for the jet black mustache and the little un- derlip tuft that curled over the chin were distinctly of alien cut and trim.
 Well. what's the gamer
 The stranger was an amazingly cool sort He merely turned quickly. meas ured Mir. Devine with one flash of keen brown eyes, lifted his brows ex- pressively and shrugged his shoulders.
 Now, perhaps you'll tell me what 1t Is all about" asked the Cherub.
 The strangers response to this was a politely impudent stare.
 'l do not quite understand" he said, with just the slightest foreign accent
 "No" drawed the Cherub mocking- ly. Then there's two of us in the dark. But perhaps we can clear mat ters up, l found you skulking in the bushes. Now. why?"
 Beg pardon. sir. but do not recog- nize your right to question me In that manner"
 "Whe-e-ewl What naughty little man 1t is!" laughed the Cherub. "Ah, come down off the stepladder! A min. ute or two ago you were dodging around as guilty as if you'd robbed fruit stand. Now, what are you up tor"
 q am attending to my own affairs. sir"
 linen I'll help you," said the Cher ub. flor Pm good deal interested in this place and what is going on here." "IDdeedp Again the stranger shrug- ged his shoulders. But don't know you. sir."
 Didn't act as if you wanted to, either. But here's where we get &C., quainted. just the same. My names Devine-Cherub Devine."
 "Eh? What?" gasped the stranger staring incredulously. "Why-er-a thousand pardons. Mir. Devine; allow me-" and he hastily brought out cardcase.
 Luigi Salvatore y Vecchi." read the Cherub. with some hesitancy iD pro nouncing the names "Vecchi, eh? Ah, | see! Some relation of the late countsr
 The stranger smiled indulgently.
 "l am known as Count Vecchi." Had the Cherub been at all emo- tional he would have gasped then. As 1t was. he nearly did, but seemed to | recover in time.
 "But-but you're not the Count vec- chi who-who married Miss Hewing- tonT The cigarette was waved toward the rim of his silk hat. T have that honor." It was the Cherub's turn to stare in- credulously.
 "See here." he said protestlngly, 'either you're dead count or live liar. and l guess the last description fits best. Come, come! You've spruh, that bluff on the wrong person. ! happen to know that the real Count | vecchi has been dead for a couple of years"
 "I can only quote the words of your own great humorist. that the reports of my death have been greatly exag- gerated.' Here l am, you sec"
 The Cherub noted that the leather cardcase which the stranger still held in his hand bore silver crest similar to the one he had noticed on the writ ing paper of the Countess Vecchi.
 "Yes, I see," he admitted without enthusiasm. "All mistake, was itf 1 And you've come over to give the countess pleasant little surprise. ehY'
 "I hardly think the countess will be black eyebrows meaningly.
 Instantly the situation cleared for the Cherub. So that was what she had meant by her mysterious protests?
 "Oh, ho! Then she knew all along that-that- Oh, come! Do you think can swallow that? Why. say, you blamed bush dodger, do you expect me to believe she would deliberately tell me-
 "Ah. but that's just the pointP 1 broke in the count. Did shew
 And when he came to think it over the Cherub could not recall that the Countess Vecchi had ever said or tm- piled that her husband was dead.
 Tt strikes me that you don't help I matters much by coming over here and playing tag around her shrub bery." suggested the Cherub. "l might add that it's apt to be a heap safer for you not to do So."
 "Merci!' murmured the count, quite undiSturbed. But there's no danger l haven't the least intention of seeing the countess, much less of speaking to her. l had much rather talk to her attorneys"
 Want to see her lawyers, eh? Well, she don't keep them out here in the