Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1931-06-25

pense we went to-
Yes it is, sir. Why. that tree would
have increased the value of that prop
erty a thousand dollars"
Il know said Mr.. Brown.
DO you want it removed, sir?"
NO. Leave it there"
Mr.. Jenner rose to go.
II must owe you something for last
month. Jenner,' said Mr.. Brown.
"Oh, never mind that, sir. You're
all square with me, but l wish you'd
take care of hat tree experts bill
when he sends it in."
"Ah, yes. And how much will that
be?"
Forty dollars, sir
Cheap" said Mr.. Brown. Remark
ably cheap"
Il thought it was rather high" VEN
tured Mr.. Jenner.
mot at all, Jenner," said Mr.. Brown,
mot at all. Just think how much more
it might have cost me if he'd saved the
damn thing"
Mr.. Brown really did forget all about
his tree this time. He continued to
forget about it until Charlie Heiser
disinterred it one day at lunch.
why don't you do something about
that tree of yours, Mort?" asked
Charlie.
Its dead said Mr.. Brown.
II know it's dead" said Charlie, but
it's fallen over again."
II don't care" said Mr.. Brown
cheerfully.
But it looks terrible
1T deserves to look terrible" said
Mr.. Brown. you ought to see what it
did to my bank balance"
III make you a proposition" said
Charlie. "You give it to me and I'll
cut it up for firewood and haul it up
to my house"
How much?" inquired Mr.. Brown.
Charlie looked at him quizzically.
why, I'll do it for the wood, Of course,
Mort"
And you won't charge me anything
at all for doing it?" asked Mr.. Brown
incredulously.
Certainly not. I'll be glad to get
the wood"
Its yours" said Mr.. Brown,
He told Mrs. Brown about it that
night. I've finally gotten rid of that
COMPOUNDED tree" he said. Charlie
Heiser is going to cut it up and take
it away for firewood."
Its good radiance said Mrs
Brown. you never should have bought
II in the first place"
Mr.. Browns real estate agent called
him up a couple of weeks later.
II took a hot prospect up to see your
lot today, Mr.. Brown" he said, "but
he wasn't very much impressed. That
tree looks simply awful. I'll never be
able to make a sale until you get it
off of there"
What tree are you talking about?'
said Mr.. Brown peevishly.
THE one you put in that died"
us it still there?"
Part of it is-just the stump and a
lot of piles of small branches. Looks
like somebody cut up the trunk and
hauled it away"
Mr. Brown drove up to see for him.
self. A scene of desolation met his
eye. In the capter of his lot arose a
huge mountaih-an earthly peak at
least eight feet high. Supporting it
aloft and entwined within it were the
roots of his tree. The stump, which
was apparently too bulky for Charlie
Heiser to haul away, projected from
one side of the mountain. Beneath
the mound a huge hole gaped.
Mr.. Brown sighed, cursed Charlie
Heiser and phoned Mr.. Jenner.
"Iu get it hauled away for you, sir"
said Mr. Jenner. Erickson will do the
job for twenty dollars"
Twenty dollars! He charged twenty
dollars to haul it up there!"
"Oh, yes sir. He always charges the
same for hauling them out as he does
for hauling them in. You see, he has
to wash all the dirt off the roots be-
fore he can cut them and load them"
Tell him to go ahead" said Mr..
Brown, refusing to argue about the
matter.
The real estate agent phoned a week
later. THAT lot looks a lot better
Mr.. Brown, but we can't make a sale
since you got that stump out of there,
with that big hole right in the middle
of the property"
What hole?" MI. Brown was ire
mendously e~xasperated.
why, the hole where the tree was"
my God! Didn't they fill it up?"
Not entirely" said the real estate
agent.
MI. Brown assembled the hill YEARLY
that evening. The realtor had been
right. There was a hole there-an
enormous hole. A careful survey of
the situation indicated that Mr.. Jen-
ner and MI. Erickson had washed the
dirt-tons of dirt-from the tree roots
but neglected to wash it back into the
hole. Their little man-made river had
carried it down the hillside and, for
all Mr.. Brown knew to the contrary,
far out to sea.
He did not phone either Mr.. Erickson
or Mr.. Jenner this time. Somehow or
other he had lost confidence in these
two estimable gentlemen. He got hold
OF a teamster who, after due investi-
cation, announced he would haul in
enough dirt to fill the hole for twenty
dollars. Mr.. Brown personally super
vised the job. He also went up Sun
day morning with a rake and a box of
matches and with hic OuD hands