Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1903-08-20
HIS CARE Of
BELINDA
BY s. r. STERN
Copyright, 1907. by T. G. Mcclure

Yep. I'm goin' to court This morn
| in, you know, the will OF my poor
dear brother Abel comes up for pro-
| bate"
| Blythe Dunton shifted poor dear
brother, Ell? You know you hope he
! wasn't poor, and as long as he lived he
certainly wasn't dear. You hated him
worse'n poison. and he hated you
| worse'n that / AN on my way to
court too. Dessay amt far wrong II
| sayin' there's little surprise in store
for you, Nathan barley. Eth, Belinda r
Belinda did not answer, but trudged
| along, quietly swishing her remnant of
| tail and waving her long ears. Be
| linda, you see, was a donkey-gray, old
| and dignified-and in her Nathan at
| once recognized former possession Of
his deceased relative.
you'll be tellin' me presently" said
Nathan, with fine sarcasm, that my
| brother left his property to that lame
| ole mule
mo, won't" said Blythe senten-
tiously. you'll find 1t out soon enough
without my tellin' you. Your brother
had to leave his property to some don
key, you'll admit. Maybe he preferred
| one he loved to one he didn't"
Old Judge Smith had taken his place
when they arrived ut the courthouse.
"Will of Abel barley, formerly of
Baslow Heath called one of the
| clerks, and two lawyers stepped for
| ward to the counsel table. Nathan's
representative, James Burroughs, who
| labored under the local pseudonym of
"Screw Jim," was first He was close
| ly followed by Ged Smith, brother to
the Judge and proponent Of the docu
| ment.
The crowd leaned forward in rapt at
| tention as the clerk commenced to
read the Will. The disposition of Abel's
property had been the subject of end
less speculation throughout the district,
and half the voting population were
there to listen.
The clerk began in droning mono
tone, Il, Abel barley, being OF sound
and disposing mind, do hereby make,
publish and declare the following as
and for my last will and testament"
The next few lines Of technical com
monplace were lost In Il tumble of in
articulate speech. Then the clerk
raised his voice:
"All my estate, both real and person
al give, devise and bequeath to my
beloved friend. Blythe Dunton. as trus-
tee for the following purposes: To in
vest the same and to apply the income
and as much of the principal as may be
necessary to the care. education. main
tenance and well being of my beloved
friend and donkey, Miss Belinda. On
the death of the said Belinda the re-
mainder is bequeathed to my brother,
Nathan barley of Baslow Common"
When the clerk had finished, Screw
Jim arose TO address the court IF
your honor please, | object to the pro-
bate of this will on the ground that the
chief beneficiary is an improper person
In the eyes of the law and incompetent
to inherit The will is invalid"
Hear him. shouted Ged Smith.
Improper person! She amt person
at all. And as for her bein' incom-
petent to inherit, it isn't so. If you can
show me a statute on the books of this
great and free commonwealth that for
bids a donkey to be an heiress, l want
to see It, She amt a lunatic, is she?
She amt n corporation or n body pol
itic. She amt n married woman. She
amt alien. In fact. there isn't a
single law framed by the legislator of
this liberty lovin' state that impugns
in any way the testamentary provision
of our late friend and citizen"
The courS interrupted. "Mr. Bur
roughs, you represent the residuary
legatee, Mr.. Nathan barley. II you
can show me Il single precedent up
holding your contention, l will deny
probate. Otherwise | must admit the
will. Mr.. Dunton, you may consider
yourself guardian of Miss Belinda. A
moment, please Isis your ward in
courtY
4 litter ran around the room as Dun
ton appeared leading his four footed
charge down the center aisle of the
courtroom. There she stood, blinking
solemnly and apparently oblivlous Of
her good fortune. When the court in
CURED in n sepulchral tone whether
Miss Belinda. surname unknown,
knew any reason why Blythe Dunton
of Baslow Hill should not be appointed
her true and lawful guardian" she gave
no sign Of disapproyal. The crowd
left the courtroom. Blythe Dunton
filed his bond and removed Miss Be
linda, the donkey heiress, to her home.
From that day Belinda lived in style
She was straightway installed in the
parlor of the Dunton household. which
was converted into stable for her
benefit
Six months passed, and nothing had
been heard of the threatened appeal
Then, late one Sunday night, Blythe
was reused from his slumber by the
sound Of footsteps In Belinda's room.
Hastily donnlsg his clothes he went
below. There lay Belinda in her stall
dead.
"Poisonedr' he exclaimed. He called
john, the hired man. John" said he
don't allow any one TO enter this
room. | am goin' over TO Blackwell