Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1913-05-22
CHAPTER Xxx.
v Gold Reeds.

0eVen 1OIQ n0eOS.
WATCHED her hands as they
deftly cut and fashioned some
dry reeds. The air grew warm
as the SUI climbed to the zenith
and Hezekiah flung aside her coat.
The breeze caught the ends Of her tie
and snapped them behind her. She
was wholly absorbed in her task, and
no boy could have managed a pocket
knife better. The first reed she made
a trife longer than her hand. The
succeeding one she trimmed to gradu-
ated lessening lengths, till seven in all
had been cut. and then she notched
them.
Seven" she murmured, laying them
neatly in order on her knee. Il re-
member the right number by a poem
I read the other day in an old maya
zine"
She reached down and plucked sew
eral long leaves of tough grass with
which she began to bind the reeds to-
gether, repeating:
Seven gold reeds grew tall and slim
Close by the rivers beaded brim.
!, Syrnix. the naiad. fitted past:
~ Pan. the goat hoofed. followed fast.
1T will be easier" said Hezekiah. III
you hold the pipes while 1 tie them"
found this propinquity wholly
agreeable. 1t was pleasant to sit on a
log beside Hezekiah. 1t seemed no far
cry to the stored Mediterranean and
Pan and dryads and naiads, as Heze-
kiah bound her reeds to the music Of
couplets. There was no self conscious
ness in her recitation. She seemed to
be telling of something that she had
seen herself an hour ago.
He spread his arms to clasp her there
Just as she vanished into air
And to his bosom. warm and rough.
Drew the gold reeds close enough.
II don't remember the rest" she
broke off. But there! That's a pipe
fit for any shepherd"
She put it to her lips and blew. |
shall not pretend that the result was
melodious. She whistled much better
without the reeds. but the sight of her,
sitting on the fallen tree beside the
lake. beating time with her foot. her
head thrown back. her eyes half closed
in a mockery OF rapture at the shrill,
wheezy uncertainties and in%eptitudes
she evoked. thrilled me with new and
wonderful longings. A heart. a spirit
like hers would never grow Did. She
was next of kin to all the elusive. fugi-
tive company Of the elf world. And on
such a pipe as she had strung together
beside that pond to this day Sicilian
~I,~rJ&,J l,~,,, ,,,h;,k11 :-A>
tune with Theocritus..
"Take it," she said. Il can't tell
you more than l have. and yet it is all
there, Chimneys. Read the riddle Of
the reeds if you can"
tool the pipe and turned it over
carefully in my hands. but | fear my
thoughts were rather of the hands
that had fashioned it. the fingers that
had danced nimbly upon the stops.
There are seven reeds-seven." she
affirmed.
She amused herself by skipping peb-
bles over the surface of the water
while l pondered. and l deliberated
long, for one did not like to blunder
before Hezekiah. Then l jumped up
and called to her.
"One. two. three. four. five. six
seven! Not until the seventh man Of
fers himself shall Cecilia have u hus-
'&sband. Is that the answer?'
For a moment Hezekiah watched the
widening ripples made by the casting
Of her last pebble. Then she came
back and resumed her seat.
r .Evo,, hovn dana woN C6iDonnv Mon
and 10Y I'll not make you guess any
more, though 1 found it all out for my
self. When Aunt Octavia gave that
memorandum book to Cecilia l knew it
must have something to do with the
seventh man. You know l owe all
Aunt Octavia's nonsense because it's
the kind of foolishness l like myself,
and the idea of a pretty little note
book to write down proposals in was
precisely the sort of thing that would
have occurred to my aunt. And it was
in the bargain, too. that she herself
should not in any way interfere or try
to influence the course Of events. 1t
should be the seventh sutton. willy
nilly. And l suspect she's been a little
scared too"
"She has indeed! She was almost
ready to throw the whole scheme over
last night. Your naughtinesS had got
on her nerves"
you missed the target that time.
Aunt Octavla loves my naughtiness,
and l think she has really been afraid
Sir Pumpkin Virgins would catch me,