Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1910-03-18

ed cheerfully, Here we are. SIT AT
the last curve of the driveway the
trees seemed suddenly to open. and
there sprany into View the low rooted
many Widowed. much awninged scot
! tage," with It's porte-"oChere. servants
annex. glass rooted ronservatoriesa nG
deep verandas.
"Show ynu through the house frs,
sir" suggested Timmins.
Might as we'll
Mr. Deyine was lighting a black CT
gar This accomplished. he followed
iinmins into the darkened vista OF
hall und thr ugh the large rooms.s A
Bulkins had assured him, the plac
was fully furnished. There wer.
chairs. tables. rugs, books. pictures
even freshly cat flowers in the vases
"UpstarS pow. SIR 49,.
"Dh g1lrSs the upstairs II keep
Let's have !".'k at TIN. table"
/ Inside Of half al hour the CherIh
was smoking luueSnmely on the trent
veranda IT,. iu% to summon a sense Of
ownership which it seemed to him i'm
possible that he cnrld ever achieve.
Usually man luu b given to 81
lellre. even among his intimates. MIR
! Ipevine now felt that he wanted t.
ElIk The stiffness WAS oppressive. So
This was what il WAS like to own q
country PA -. WAS it:
"Finr thing the country" solilo
uuizrl Mr. npvine 81 could sped
! just about n week hern-and then die
of it"
He walked int" the library AS he
did SO he hrnv, !; mulf.ed eXcla mation
and caught glimpse of a skirt whisk-
ing through :; door An easy chair
pulled up before an open bookcase
caught his eye.
"Iicllo. | wonder who that VASE"
! He found a push button on the jamb
He put his thumb on it and waited.
Did you ring. SIR asked Sc
pulchrul voice behind him.
MI Devinc jumped and turned to
see solemn faced butler.
who else would ring If l didn't?"
demanded the Cherub. &1
mo one, sir"
"Sure about that. are you"
"Quitp sure. sir
J. "WrlI, I'm not Some one just skip
ped out of this room as l came in
Who was it" a.
"LikcIy one of the maids. SIR
"Do the maids have the run of the
bookcase, Ell: She was sitting here"
Might have been the 'ousekeeper,
sir-Mrs. Tmmins, sir"
shes reader. is she? Well, tell
| her not to be SO Skittish next time.
1t gives me the tidgets."
The man had retreated as silently
and abruptly us he had come.
wonder If they're all that kind
commented the Cherub. Guess FL
have to hang sleighbells on 'em if l
want to dodge case Of nerves."
| Dropping into the easy chair he be-
gan reading the titles on the backs Of
the volumes before him. So all these
! books We're his. were they? Well, that
was odd. Some day he might want to
do little reading He had always
meant to, but @
Something white on the floor be-
| tween the chair and the wall caught
his eye. He stopped and picked up a
handkerchief. 1t was a dainty affair.
mostly lace, and there was an initial
In the corner, an embroidered V with
some sort of a little pointed crown
above it.
"H-m-mw said the Cherub. ''V can't
stand for Timmins."
Having made this subtle deduction
he pocketed the handkerchief and
started to look for the factotum who
was caretaker and superintendent and
whose wife was the housekeeper.
'"Timmins," said Mr.. Devine, "whnt
sized force are we carrying?"
'Beg pardon. sir, but Timmirs
caught himself abruptly. "Oh, you
mean how many in help? Only five
now, sir. outside of me and Mrs. Tim
mins'' ~
give, eh-and two are seven? Let's
see the payroll, will your
Timmins produced an account booh
in which We're entered names, dates
hastily through the list.
4 None of 'em seem to have v ii
their Names" suggested the Cherub.
4 "a ", sir?" Timmins' blank lool
was wholly convincing.
Maybe you never heard of any one
whose name began with v, Tim
minis p
4 oh, yes, sir. There was the vena
bles. sIr, as used to visit here, ant
j Volkenberg, who was one Of the gar
4 deners.'
That all ~
There might be others. sir. If I
a could lay my tongue to -
Don't strain your memory Tim
Minis. 1t doesn't matter" "a
Yet when he had returned to the We
randa to resume his contempla 0.
the wildly green lawn, over whicl
the tree shadows We're now iengthen
ing, be couid not rid himself OF th,
d notion that somewh here about this bi,
i hnIryk, nf which hn yv,s. trying tn cor,