CHAPTER III.
THE ESCUTCHEON CLEARED Mr.Michael Gwynne, the Mapleton storekeeper, was undoubtedly the most popular man not in the village only but in the whole township.

To begin with he was a man of high character, which was sufficiently guaranteed by the fact that he was chosen as Rector's Warden in All Saints Episcopal Church.

He was moreover the Rector's right-hand man, ready to back up any good cause with personal effort, with a purse always open but not often full, and with a tongue that was irresistible, for he had to an extraordinary degree the gift of persuasive speech.

Therefore, the Rector's first move in launching any new scheme was to secure the approval and co-operation of his Warden.
By the whole community too Mr.Gwynne was recognised as a gentleman, a gentleman not in appearance and bearing only, a type calculated to repel plain folk, but a gentleman in heart, with a charm of manner which proceeded from a real interest in and consideration for the welfare of others.

This charm of manner proved a valuable asset to him in his business, for behind his counter Mr.Gwynne had a rare gift of investing the very calicoes and muslins which he displayed before the dazzled eyes of the ladies who came to buy with a glamour that never failed to make them appear altogether desirable; and even the hard-headed farmers fell under this spell of his whether he described to them the superexcellent qualities of a newly patented cream separator or the virtues of a new patent medicine for ailing horses whose real complaint was overwork or underfeeding.