In Pawn

A light comic tale centers on young Lem Redding after his indulgent, slothful father effectively pawns him to a practical aunt, setting off domestic episodes in a small-town boardinghouse. Lem adapts to new household routines, makes secret nocturnal visits to his father's hermitage, and becomes the focus of playful attention from boarders Lorna Percy, Henrietta Bates, and Gay Loring. Interwoven elements include courtship letters, the father's earnest attempts at austerity, and a steady mix of warmth and mockery as neighbors negotiate duty, idiosyncrasy, and affection, producing gentle humor and recurring moral tensions about responsibility and care.