The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-04-17

'Je5' so.' says Jim. I'm mighty bac5- ward about speakin' O worldly things when they air grief an trlbulation in body's soul, but l wish to remark that l got leetle over three thousan dollars, myself. It's out at interest an drawin me night onto a hundred an thirty dol- lars year. Now that amount air mighty comfortable to have comin in every quar- ter, but a body cant cut much of a splurge on 1t. But eff two people had six thousan odd dollaars out at interest that away, 1t would bring in over twenty dol lars a month, good an safe, cold cash Then with two lots like yourn an mlna am two houses tn two people could live in one house, an rent the other one. guess, them two would be about in tn front ranks O society in this town. eh9 l mention this Mary Ann, because you're a lone orphant an had ort to be took care of
 It soun's dretful nice sighed Mary Ann but hain't goin' to make up my mind too quick.
 !" Take yore time, take yore tmer said Jim. Death is a terrible thing but it must come to all of us. I'm a going to tinker up your fence there in front. II 5 scandalous th' way Sam Collopy has wore that path right acrost your front garden, from his side door out through your front gate!
 It's real kind of you. said Mary Ann.
 "The minute sam Collopy saw Jim Fox fixing up the Collopy side of Mary Ann's fence he turned black as ink, went in fsr his tools and closed up the gap in the fence on Jim Fox's side of her lot. Jim used that gap to strike across to his own back lot, and he had a path a foot wide through Mary Ann's kitchen garden.
 Naturally all diplomatic relations be- tween the two men were broken, from then on. and as soon as Grassville found out how the land lay they issued war bulletins about every hour of the day. Contrary to custom and precedent. the disputed territory was benefited by the philanthropic and protective warfare. Jim built her a new wood shed and Sam re- painted the smoke house. Jim shingled over the leaks in her summer kitchen and Sam built fancy boxes around her trees. Jim put new bricks on her chimney and Sam built her a fine board sidewalk. Jim moved down the weeds and Sam trimmel her trees. From being the most tumble down place in Grassville, Mary Ann's property came to be the best cared for.
 Mary Ann was in her glory. She grew younger and more kittenish every day. She bought gay dresses and learned to play Jim and Sam against cath other like a girl of seventeen The two men were devoting themselves to deeds of charity now in earnest, all for the love of human ity in general, orphans in particular. and Mary Ann's three thousand dollars es- pecialy, but they never got any further than a state of armed neutrality until one day in the following spring when they both came out at the same moment to spade up Mary Ann's garden.
 They only exchanged about dozen words on the subject of orphans and and trespassing, and then the circus broke loose. In place of spad- ing up the soil they tore if up with their boots and 1t took four men to separate them, Jim had Sam's finger in his mouth and Sam had his teeth sunk in Jim's ear. The war was on, the first bloody battle had been fought and Grass- vile was in spasm of delight, that ID