Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1915-10-14
LOST BOUNDARY LINES
BY r. 8. CAMP.

stood Colonel Bickford, his tine face
crimson with anger, seeing not the
slightest humor in the situation.
Half way through the strands OF
barbed wire, which caught the shout
ders Of her best lavender dimity gown,
was Miss Rebecca Dobson, his next
door neighbor. Her delicate, faded
face was quite pink with embarrass-
ment
Upon my soul, madam" ragged the
colonel testify, this is too much!"
IF you were a gentleman you'd ex-
tricate me from this wretched fence
which you have had the impudence to
erect on my property, was Rebecca's
acid retort Then, with a wrench OF
her shoulders and her imprisoned
knees, Miss Dobson fell back entirely
free from the barbed wire.
"A gentleman indeed" clustered
the colonel, when he was left alone.
How was l to know that meddling
old maid would go racing over my
property hunting for lost guinea
hen? Her land, eh I thought the
courts of Suffern county decided
where the boundary lines were!"
The colonel clustered into his lone
| ly house, where he sat down to
lonely meal in the great dining room.
He had never made woman cry in
| his life-unless his wrangle over the
boundary line had caused Rebecca to
shed tears. He never believed 1t had
she was too plucky for that.
| She had never cried, either, when
| they had uuarreled, long years before
he wouldn't believe It; their en-
| gagement had been short and sharp
| and soon ended. And now the colonel
| had come home to spend the quiet
| life OF a country gentleman, and his
| first skirmish had been a dispute over
| the boundary line between the two
estates. The colonel had conquered
and it was by his orders that the old
| meadow fence had been torn down
and replaced with one of barbed wire
| to include twelve feet of land that the
| Dobsons had always claimed.
BY this time the colonel was down
| in the dew-drenched rose garden
| which heretofore had always offered
| him repose when weary IN mind and
heart Tonight the white moon
staring down on the fragrant inclos-
ure was too much for hint re-
| minded him sorely of another moon
light night and another rose garden
when he had been younger.
IN cf bo o,.Ia
and down the yew walk to the or
chard and through the orchard and
| around the fields until he fetched up
short and sharp before the contro-
! versial barbed-wire fence.
A big black form was busy there,
muttering brokenly, while long fail
like arms moved to and fro. There
was the clink of some tool against
the whanging wire and the z-z-z-zip-
zip as it tore away from the posts.
Look here! What are you doing
there?" sharply demanded the colonel.
Sukey rolled her eyeballs at him,
but did not cease her work of de-
struction.
Mind 20 own bizness!" she
groWled hercely.
Look here woman" he began,
when she lifted a great fist and
shook it under his outraged nose
Listen to me, Kunnel Bedford"
said Sukey impressively, you jes'
gotter mind yo' own bizness,
und stand? Dis yere land belongs to
Miss Rebecca and | amt goin' to hab
no more wrangulation over it, If /
breaks all yo' bones, like de way yo'
broke her sweet heart years ago!"
"Sukey!" he cried warningly. Becky
never cared about me-you knew we.
were engaged-you knew she broke 10
off and"
"Oh, go long," muttered the dis
gusted Sukey. IF yo had de gump-
ton of a flea yo' would'a stomped
over heah and jes' made up with her.
And now, dere 20 lives all aloney.
cranky as old man Satan heself-and
here lives my Miss Becky, jesH
pinin her sweet heart out with lone.
liness-and de cure right in you two
han's White folks air de contrapt-
edesti"
Whang! went another length of
wire There remained only the.
naked posts Sukey picked UP a crow,
bar and began TO pry at a post
When the last post was out and,
the boundary fence had entirely dis
appeared. Colonel Bickford stepped
across the space and entered the little.
lane that went up to Rebecoa's cot
tage. Sukey rested on her crowbar.
and watched him
De good Lord forgive me for what
I've said to him. she prayed as she,
scuttled away to her own quarters.
Colonel Bickford found Rebecca Dob,
son sitting on the front veranda. He
stood at the foot Of the steps. a tall.
straight soldierly figure the moon
light falling on his gray, uncovered
head
Becky" he said in a broken voice.
'Sukey has torn down the boundary
line between our land. have crossed
the space tonight, and, Becky. have
come to beg YOU to cross the boundary
line Of years and to come back into
my hparff"