The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1895-05-07
A FEUD.

point Wnere something must De dOne,
said Mrs. Burnett, and al she spoke she
raped at the small knuckles that were
moving toward the sugar bowl. Nor
ton, aged 8, jerked his hand out of the
way and laughed at his mother, who
pursed up her lips to conceal q smile.
Don't do that, Norton" said Mr..
Burnett. Then, turning to his wife, he
asked, What have they been doing
now?'
"That boy and some more of his crowd
put tin a n along the top of the fence
and then threw at them to knock them
of. About every other stone went over
the top of the fence and went sailing
across our back yard. If M Of them
had struck anybody, he wouldn't have
known what hurt him."
what did you do?"
"What did l do? went nj and told
them if they didn't stop I'd send for a
policeman. l said to that Deakin boy,
It's q shame your mother can't teach
you to be a little better than a savage"
Maybe she didn't know they were
doing it,"
II do believe she puts 'em up to it.
That boys enough to try the patience
Of a saint
Next time he comes into our yard
I'll bet l throw something at him."
put in Morton, whose chin was dripping
with a mild mixture of milk and coffee.
"You leave him alone" said the
male parent. "You get into enough
fights already
well, Frank, these boys are forever
picking on him." said Mrs. Burnett.
Boys are a good deal alike" re-
sponded her husband. "I'll bet when he
gets out he's the same as the rest of
them"
Morton grinned and said nothing.
The only member of the Burnett fam
lily who had not joined in the arraign-
ment of the %neighbors was Alice, 6 years
of age. She knew all about the feud and
shared in the suspicious of her mother,
but at present she was too busy with
her supper.
The Deakins lived next door, and al
though there was a dividing fence it had
not kept the two families apart.
In the year during which the two
households had dwelt side by side there
had been a growing enmity. Yet Mrs.
Burnett had never spoken O word to
Mrs. Deakin, and her husband knew
nothing of Mr.. Deakin, except that he
worked with his hands for a living and
spent a great many evenings at home.
1t would have been rather difficult for
nst1ar Tho ppr,,tto -. Tho Da,r, -
explain how the feud started, but it was
operated from the first through the chill
dren.
There were two Deakin children
Lawrence, or Larry, aged 10, and little
Willie, who, at the tender age Of 8, had
learned to regard the Burnett tribe with
scorn and hatred and suffer to some de-
gree under the indignities heaped upon
his family by that arch fiend Of juvenil-
ity, Morton Burnett.
For when the Deakins sat around the
supper table and cast up the accounts of
the day it was Larry who posed as the
prosecuted and abused child, while
Morton Burnett was pictured as an in
FAINT of dark ~intents, headed straight for
the bridewell.
IF l was a man, Tom Deakin," said
the wife, ''Ill warrant you I'd 60 over
to that house and give notice that things
are simply going too far. Today that
boy got up On the fence and called Law
renee all kinds of names"
HE said that his mother had said
that ma didn't have clothes fit to wear, -
suggested Lawrence, who had begun to
breathe hard during the recital of his
grievances.
Anyway, / don't try to make my.
self look like q peacock every time ]
start to church." said Mrs. Deakin.
This comparison of Mrs. Burnett to
a peacock tickled the children, and they
laughed immoderately. Tom Deakin re.
strained them with a quiet "Tut, tutr'
and said that the proper way to get
along was to pay no attention to the
neighbors.
I'D like to know how you can helr
it." said his wife. THAT boy is up te
some mischief every hour Of the day
and his mother seems to encourage him
in everything he does. He throws thing.
over into our yard, leases Willie ant
makes faces at him."
Next time l see him pick ON Willie
I'll give him another licking" suggest
ed Larry.
You'll do nothing of the kind" ex
claimed his mother. "Don't you re
member the talking to I gave you tn
other time you had that fight will
him.
Lawrence remembered the mild re
buke, and his inward resolution wa
not changed. Tom Deakin went for hi
pipe. oppressed with the thought tina
be had been very unlucky in his selec
ton Of neighbors.
These complaints had come to hin
day after day from the downtreddel
members OF his family.
The feud had grown from q thousan
ag~gravating circumstances.
Suppose Morton Burnett to be on tn
fence. His mother would open the bac
door and say loudly enough to max
herself heard through the open window
q the Deakin house: "Morty, get dow
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