Daily Arizona silver belt., 1910-03-31
G-s| Cherub ! - Devine E. M@M By
 IS SEW. ILL FORD < Copynsh eoo by Kennerley <
By SEW ILL
~ Sopynsn ooo. by Mitchell Kenneriey |s

Hewington and myself have welcomed
 many distinguished personages. Then,
 as you know, my daughter is the Count.
 ess Necchi, allied by marriage to one
 of the noblest families of Lombardy." "Seems to be l heard something about that"
 Possibly, possibly" Mir. Hewington
 waved his eyeglasses impatiently. q
 am telling you these things, MT. De
 vine, that you may have a better un- derstanding of our attitude. Since the
 death of the count she has lived in
 seclusion. She has almost entirely
 withdrawn from society,""
 Mir. Devine looked keenly at the old
 gentleman. q sec" he observed.
 "Kind of flocks by herself. Well, I've
 no objection. I didn't come up here
 especially to get acquainted with you
 folks, you know. In fact, you and the
 countess were rather sprung on me as a surprise"
 MT. Hewington might have been seen to shudder. "My dear MT. De vine," he protested, q fear that you still fail to realize our position. Cir cumstances compel us to remain here during your stay. There is my sis ter'-
 "Yes, l know all about that, and I wouldn't for the world disturb tho sick lady. I'm just trying to be so- ciable. l want you to stay until you're ready to leave"
 You see, Mir. 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?"
 "l 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 1t, some of the property having been left to her, but I never try to explain things which I do not fully compre- hend myself. The sale of this place, for instance, still perplexes me. did not desire it. at all. I suppose, how ever, that 1t was necessary as mat ter of form. Probably you have a clearer notion of it than I, Mir. De vine''
 ''Your idea is bit hazy," admitted the Cherub.
 Perhaps so, but I presume that your-er-possession here is only temporary arrangement. Matters will soon be adjusted, suppose, when my attorneys finally get around to it. My daughter was more or less worried un- til l assured her that I would attend to the affair personally"
 "Then she cheered up, did she?" Mir. Devine appeared to find the conversa- ton entertaining.
 "She was relieved, of course. But l have been so engrossed in preparing pamphlet orwell, on a scientific subject which would not be of inter- est to you-that l have neglected to take the proper steps. However, now that you thoroughly understand the situation, trust that you will not act hastily"
 "Oh, shan't put you out or any thing like that, Mir. Hewington. Make | your mind easy on that score''
 Tt Is very considerate of you, sir. l 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 engagement is satisfactory I would sug- gest that 1t be continued"
 The Cherub favored Mir. Hewington with a whimsical smile "Well, we'll let the thing drift for awhile anyway. Only you don't have to act as though you were prisonersN Why don't you and the countess come down to your meals just as though I wasn't hereW
 My dear sir"- Here Mir. Hewing- ton began an exhaustive review of the situation. When he was through Mir Devine chuckled gleefully. It was an simple proposition. The were the Hewingtons, and newell, he was Cherub Devine. That told the story.
 It was all done very courteously and lelicately in Mir. Hewington's fine, aris- tocratic manner, yet nothing but the superlative buOyancy of Mir. Devine's ludacious soul saved him from being utterly crushed.
 '1 wish I could have dreams like that" soliloquized the Cherub when he had been left alone.
 The possibilities incident upon ac- luiring a quiet country house were to Mir Cherub Devine.
 "Let's see," he reflected; "I'm not eX- actly what you'd call an unwelcome guest, am I? l 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 1t. Pm no gentle man, for one item. Then, if Pm to be- lieve all hear about myself, I'm a 1eep dyed villain and an unregenerate sinner who has butted into his own house. Take it all around, things are pretty badly mixed. Wonder what program I ought to follow"
 More or less thought did Mir. Devine bestow upon the Countess Vecchi dur ing the next half hour. He had a