Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1910-04-07

he says, dropping the chain.
Prince was willing. He fetched q
kind of combination hurrah and growl
and let out for me full tilt. I don't
feed good fresh clans to dogs as a
usual thing, but that mouth had to be
filled. 1 waited till he was almost on
me, and then 1 let drive with one of
the dreeners. Prince and a couple of
pecks of clans went up in the air like
a busted bombshell. There was a little
pine tree in the lot, and l give one
jump and landed in the middle Of it. 1
went up the rest of the way like I'd
forgot something, and then l chung on
to the top of that tree and painted and
swung round in circles, while the dog
hoped up and down on his hind legs
and fairly sobbed with Disappointment.
allie was rolling on the grass. oh,
dear me- says he between spasms,
that was the funniest thing I ever
saw
"Pd seen lots funnier things myself,
but 'twa'n't worth while to argue.
Besides, 1 was busy hanging on to
that tree. Twas an awful little pine
and the bendiest one I ever climbed.
Allie rolled around awhile longer, and
then he gets up and comes over.
"'Well, Reuben says he, looking up
at me on the roost, you're a good deal
handsomer up there than you are on
the ground. 1 guess I'll let you stay
there for awhile as a lesson to you.
Watch him, Prince And away he
goes, and for an hour that had no less
than 10000 minutes in it I chung to that
tree like a green apple, with Prince
setting open mouthed underneath
waiting for me to get ripe and drop.
"Just as l was iggering that 1 was
growing fast to the limb I heard some
body calling my name. 1 unglued my
eyes from the dog and looked up, and
there, looking over the fence that I'd
tried so hard to reach, was Barbara
Saunders, Cap'n Eben Saunders girl,
who lived In the house next door to
mine.
Barbara was always a pretty girl,
and that morning she looked prettier
than ever, with her black hair blowing
every which way and her black eyes
swapping full Of laugh.
"'Why, Mr.. Nickerson!' she calls.
what are you doing up in that tree?'
"That was kind Of a puzzler to an
swer offhand, and l don't know what
I'd have said if Friend Allie hadn't
hove in sight just then and saved me
the trouble.
"'Beg pardon, I'm sure says Allie,
tossing away his cigarette. May 1
ask if that-er-deep sea gentleman in
my tree is q friend of yours?
Barbara kind of laughed and drop
ped her eyes and said why, yes, I was.
"'By Jove, he's luckier than I
thought says Allie, never taking his
eyes from her face. And what do
they call him, please, when they want
him to answer?'
"1ts Mr.. Nickerson,' says Barbara.
He lives in that house there, the one
this side of ours
"'Oh, a neighbor! That's different.
Awfully sorry, I'm sure. Prince, come
here. Er-Nickerson, for the lady's
sake We'll call it off. You mayer
vacate the perch
II waited till he'd got a Glove hitch
on to Prince. He had to give him one
or two welts over the head fore he
could do ii. The dog acted like he'd
been cheated. Then I pried myself
loose from that blessed limb and shin
ned down to solid ground. My, but I
was billing inside!
"'You see,' says Allie, talking to
Barbara, the goV'nor told me he'd
been plagued with t~respassers. so l
thought I'd give 'em a lesson. But
neighbors, when they're scarce as ours
are, ought to be friends. Don't you
think so, Miss-er- Nickerson,' says
he, introduce me to our other neigh
bor.'
$50 1 had to do it, though I didn't
want to. He turned loose some soft
soap about not realizing afore what a
beautiful place the Cape was. I Thought
twas time to go.
"'But Miss Saunders hasn't answer
ed my question yeti says Allie. Don't
you think neighbors ought to be
friends, Miss SaundersY'
Barbara blushed and laughed and
said she guessed they had. Then she
walked away. 1 started to follow, but
Allie stopped me.
"'Look here. Nickerson,' says he.
I let you off this time, but don't try
it again. Do you hear?'
"I hear says 1. You and that
hyena of yours have had all the fun
this morning. Some day maybe the
boot III be on t'other leg
Barbara was waiting for me. We
walked on together without speaking
for a minute. Then I says, to myself
like: so that's old man Davidson's
son, is it? Well, he's the prize peach
in the crate, he isl
Barbara was thinking too. He's
very nice looking, isn't hep says she.
Twas what you'd expect a girl to say,
but I hated to hear her say it. I went
home and marked a big chalk mark on
the inside Of my shanty door. signify