San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1881-10-06
THE BOARD FENCE.


THE BOARD FENCE.
~Shoo, shoe, get home you plaguey
cr;tters!" cried Mr.. Babcock, waving
HI. arms as he chased q dozen sheep
and lambs through q gap in the fence.
II was q wooden fence, and when ne
had succeeded in driving the animals to
tbe other side of it he lifted it from the
fallen position and propped it up with
stakes. This was an operation he found
he had to repeat many times in the
season, and not only of that season, but
Of several previous seasons.
The truth was that this fence formed
the boundary line between his estate
and that of Mr.. Small, and three gene.
rations Of men who owned these estates
had been unable to decide to whom 1t
belonced to rebuild and keep it in re-
Again and again had they consulted
their respective lawyers on the subject,
and dragged from their hiding places
musty old deeds and records, but al
ways with the same result. ~
81 say ii belongs to you to keep 1t IN
repair that's as plain as plke-stan'
Mr. Babcock would say.
aAnd / say it belongs to you-any
fool might see that" Mr.. Small would
ranlv. and then high words would fol-
low. and they would part in anger
more determined and obstinate than
ever. =,
The lawyers fees and the loss by
damage from each others cattle nad
already amounted to sum suflolent 70
hove hnilt fence around their entire
estates. But what was that compared
70 the satifaction of having their own
way? 49,. o.u :
At last, one day, Miss Letitia dlli' a
woman much respected in the village,
and Of some weight as a landowner ana
taxpayer, sent for Mr.. Babcock to come
and see her on BUSINESS summons
which he made haste to obey, as now
conld it be otherwise where lady was
concerned?
Miss Letitia sat at her window sewing
seam, but she dropped her work ana
took off her spectacles when Mr.. Bah
cock made his appearance.
$50 you got my message; thank you
,for coming. I'm sure. Sit down, do. l
suppose my man Isaac told you wanted |.
to consult you on business "a matter OF
eouitv. I may say. 1t can't be expected
that we women folks should be the best
;ndoes about such things, you know.
There's Isaac, to be sure, but then ne
lives on the place; maybe he wouldn't
be exactly impartial in his Judgment
about our affairs
aJes' So" said Mr.. Babcock.
sWell the state of the case IS this;
When Isaac came up from the long
meadow to dinner-they're moving the
meadow to-day, and an uncommonly
good yield there is--when he came up to
dinner he found that stray cows had
broken into the vegetable garden
@He did, hey?"
"You fancy the riot made. ldeclare'
Isaac was almost ready to use profane
language. I am not sure he didn't and,
after all, 1 couldn't feel to reproach him
very severely. for the pains he has taken
with that garden is something amazing;
working and digging, and watering, and
now to see it all torn and trampled SO
that Won wouldn't know which was beets
and which was cucumbers. Itsenough
to raise anybody's temper
at is So" said Mr.. Babcock.
aAnd that isn't all, for. by the looks
of things, they must have been rampag-
ing in the orchard and clover field De
fore they got into the garden. just
YOU come and see" and, putting on her
sun-bounet, Miss Letitia showed Mr..
Babcock over the damaged precincts
@You don't happen to know whose
animals did the mischief?' said Mr..
Babcock-
well, 1 didn't observe them in par