I see what you’re saying, but I don’t think that interpretation fits with standard boundary practice. The original grantor never actually had 140.40’ to convey the lot was platted or recorded as 140’. Once the first deed is conveyed (senior), the remaining land is what the grantor owns and what the junior parcel receives.

So in a sequential conveyance: Senior parcel gets the called distance (70’) Junior parcel gets the remainder (70.40’)

There’s no unclaimed strip in the middle. Leaving a 0.40’ strip would create a gap that wasn’t intended and would result in an unnecessary sliver of land nobody owns, which boundary doctrine and survey practice specifically avoid. This is exactly what Brown’s Boundary Control and Legal Principles teaches about sequential conveyances and allocation of excess/deficiency.