The disputed boundary

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

The surveyor stretched his chain across the meadow while two brothers watched from opposite sides of the ditch. Their father had left each half the land, but the will referred to an elm that had fallen years before. George said the stump beside the road marked the division. Arthur pointed to a hollow nearer the stream. Between the two places lay the only dry ground suitable for a barn.

The surveyor measured both distances and entered them in his book. George asked which measurement proved his account. Neither, the surveyor replied; a chain could establish a distance without deciding which starting point was intended. Arthur laughed at his brother, then stopped when the same answer was given to him. The bright links lay straight across a dispute they could not straighten.

They searched the old estate plans. One showed an elm, but its position was drawn roughly. Another marked a footbridge that no longer existed. A tenant remembered crossing the meadow as a child and described two trees where the brothers had insisted there was only one. Each new piece of information made their confident accounts harder to maintain.

The surveyor left the barn ground unassigned pending further evidence. Both brothers complained about the expense of delay. On the way back, they carried opposite ends of the measuring chain, keeping it clear of the mud. For a few minutes they worked together without agreeing. The land beneath their feet had not changed, though neither could describe its division as simply as he had that morning.

“The writer successfully shows that precise measurements cannot by themselves settle an uncertain dispute.”

Evaluate how successfully the writer presents this idea. Support your judgement with detailed references to the passage.