Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1884-05-08
A CONQUERED ENEMY,

a CONQUERED ENEMY.
"You are to have the Coopers fol
neighbors, l hear" said Mrs. Bailey
as she stopped on her way 'dowr
town" to chat for moment over the
fence with her cousin, Mrs. Sunderland
look out for squalls!''
Mrs. Sunderland paused in her work
OF shipping the withcred blossoms from
running rose to. turn an inquilina
glance toward the speaker
"What is wrong about the Coopers:
ihey are honest, sober, industrious
folks, are they not?''
"All of that, with many other virtues
beside" Mrs. Bailey replied, laughing.
'".Nevertheless, I'd rather have them
live next door to you than to me-"
Don't be SO mysterious" Mrs.
Sunderland said. her good humored
face beginning to Wear shade of anxi-
ETY.. EITHER toll me all there is to tell,
or tell me nothing"
There is nothing very dreadful to
reveal, and what there is is no secret.
You would have kaown Mrs. Cooper S
reputatlore as well as everybody else in
IreenVl ale does if you were not new
conner. She is said TO be the worst
TEN. .,ered woman in town, and has ney-
er iived neighbor a month to any fami-
- without getting up quarrel with
them; therefore, l say, beware OF
squalls"
Mrs. Sunderland did not think that
the dangers her cousin had warned her
to prepare for were of a very serious
character, but being woman 'wise in
her generation" she deemed it prudent
to pour oil upon the waves before any
signs of storm became visible. A day
or two after her new ncighbors arrived,
seeing Mrs. Cooper making some en-.
deavor to improve the condition of a
very neglected garden patch, Mrs
Sunderland stepped to the dividing
fence and begged her neighbours ac-
ceptance of a basket full of vegetables
she had Just gathered from her own
thriving garden.
cit is so late in the season that I'm
afraid you won't be able to raise much
in your garden this year, she said,
pleasantly; land as have more gar
den-truck than l car make use of, |
shall be glad to have you help me dis
pose of it.
Mrs. Cooper turned upon her face
that certainly was not very progresses
ing, for it was dark, sallow and scOwl-
ing, and when she spoke it was with
such misplncing of her aspiratcs rs at
once betrayed her 10 have been at no
very distant date a subject of Queen
Victoria.
Him much obliged to you, ma am,
and as you've hoffered the garden sass,
I'll accept it; but as a general thing me
and my man pays our hown way, and
don't care to be beholden to nobody.''
The lad Charlie she found it much
easier to make friends with; he was a
freckle-faced, black-eyed youngster of
twelve or thirteen, with head thickly
covered with closely-coiled rings of au-
burn hair. Noticing him one morning
wheeling away lot of weeds and rub
bish from his mothers garden. Mrs.
Sunderland asked him if he would like
to perform the same service for her, of
course for q remuneration. The offer
was eagerly accepted, and after that
Charley Cooper earned many dime
by little services performed for the
widow lady.
frank Sunderland and he became
quite well acquainted in the course of
these labors, and, as general thing,
the two boys got along together re-
markedly we'll; but one day some acct
dent happened to Charles wheelbar-
row, and he chose to think Frank was
the cause of the disaster. The evil
temper which had hitherto lain dor
mant sprang suddenly to life, and Char
lie gave utterance to such torrent of
profanity as utterly appalled, not only
Frank, but Franks mother, who wit
messed the scene from her kitchen win
dow. She called Frank away at once
and after a few words of rebuke to
Charlie, spoken far more in sorrow
than in anger, she sent him home,
saying that she could not allow any
boy who swore or used bad language to
be the companion of her son.
Charlie departed in tears with his
broken wheelbarrow. and probably
gave an account of the trouble from his
own point of view to his mother, for a
few moments later Mrs. Sunderland
was startled to see, coming over her
back fence, first cabbage. then a peck
or 80 OF potatoes, and finally the basket
in which she had that morning sent to
Mrs. Cooper the vegetables thus uncer-
enormously returned An explanation
Of this surprising shower followed in
Mrs. Cooper's voice:
''HTu thank you after this to keep
yourself and heverything belonging to
you to yourself Hif my boy haint fit
society for your boy, we don't none of
us want nothink to do with you
OF course to such speech as this no
civil reply was possible, SO Mrs. sun
deriand quietly withdrew from the
scene Of action, leaving her neioh bor in