The English Tutor Read Online Free Page A

elder sister left an old maid. Perhaps it was just as well as things had turned out. He could not have bo rn e Kate keeping house for him .
    “ It ’ ll be pleasant to have another man in the house, ” he said, frowning at Aunt Bea. “ If he ’ s the right sort we can have a bit of fishing and one thing and another when he ’ s not knocking knowledge into you two children ’ s addle-pates. ”
    “ Conn says he ’ s bound to be old and dried up, taking a job like this—you won ’ t want him, Kilmallin, ” said Clancy. “ There ’ s Micky-the-post! Come on! ”
    At the long blast of the postman ’ s whistle she and Brian had leapt to their feet and were out of the room, Brian still holding his egg spoon, before their aunt could protest. At the gate Clancy inspected the mail.
    “ Two for Aunt Bea, six for Kilmallin—two look like bills. That one for Aunt Bea is from that frightful Miss Foley—did you know, Micky, that she wears her sister ’ s false teeth—the one that died of the fits? ”
    “ Is that so? ” The postman was much interested. “ She always was the mean wan, waiting, no doubt for the poor soul to die so she might get a loan of her teeth. Did you hear, Miss Clancy, that old Mr. Grady turned his only daughter out of the house after giving her a great skelpin ’ , an ’ she with no place to lay her head this night? ” Micky-the-post had long been their main source of information as to what went on in the neighbourhood, and many were the highly coloured and probably untrue tales they had taken with delight back to Kilmallin, but today Clancy was not interested. There were two other letters for Kevin, both with English stamps, one typewritten with the name and address of a London firm of solicitors stamped on the back, and the other a square tidy envelope bearing neat, precise handwriting.
    “ Sure, I thought I ’ d brought the right wans this time—two of them, ” the postman said, winking at Brian. He knew all about the new tutor, and the fact that he was English pleased him. The English were foolish with their money, and Micky had other sidelines besides being Micky-the-post.
    “ This must be from those London lawyers Kilmallin wrote to, ” said Clancy, turning the letters over. “ And this is from him. Ah, he ’ s an old man for sure—look at the neatness of it. A professor, no less, as Conn said. Let ’ s get Kilmallin to open them at once. Hide the papers, Brian, or he ’ ll want to read the headlines first. ”
    They raced back to the house and Aunt Bea said disapprovingly:
    “ You ’ ll get overheated, Brian, if you race about like that. Sit down now and finish your breakfast. ”
    Brian obliged her, sitting on the newspapers at the same time. Clancy flung the letters down in front of her father and requested him to open them immediately.
    “ What ’ s all the fuss? ” he said. “ Where are the papers? ”
    “ We have them, but please open these first—just these two, ” begged Clancy.
    Kevin was in a good humour. He obediently took up the solicitor ’ s letter and slit open the envelope.
    “ For a girl who made such a scene at the very idea of an E n glish tutor, you seem mighty anxious to hear all about him, ” he remarked.
    “ We want to know the worst, ” Clancy said, and watched in silence while her father read the letter. He read it to the end, then lay back in hi s chair and shouted with laughter. He then read the second letter w hich seemed to afford him nearly as much amusement, and, still chuckling to himself, folded both letters up and put them back in their envelopes.
    “ What is it, Kilmallin? What ’ s so funny about it? ” asked Clancy in a fever of curiosity.
    “ It ’ s funny all right, ” said Kevin, glancing at the rest of his mail, and tossing it aside to be dealt with later. “ It tickles my sense of humour, though I doubt if it will yours. ”
    “ Why, isn ’ t it all right? Are his references queer? ”
    “ His references seem to