Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1920-09-30
P v.
Cabin of the Three Gables.

For some distance back from the
river the Earthmaker scrambled the
F1atwoods. Scrambled-that's exact
ly what seems to have happened to a
strip along the north bank. A maze
of gulch and cliff, Of gully and bluff;
all bearded thick with trees and dense
%underbrush; all alive with the teasing
mystery Of growing things.
The path the girl travelled wound
itself, or rather unwound itself, right
through the heart of the hills, deep
into the mystery of the thick woods,
until it turned sharply and led up the
east bank of. Wolf run, the little
stream in which the Pe,rlhunter had
washed the elecampane roots.
A short distance above the pool, so
zeal that the Pearlhunter wondered
he had not seen it before, a three
gabled, one-story log cabin snugged
back against the bluffs just where they
left the bank of the stream and curved
to the east. A step farther, a small
plot of creek bottom had been cleared
and fenced-what the Flatwoods called
a garden patch" Back of the gar
den, a stable Rugged the bluff, but it
vas half hidden by rank weeds.
The cabin was built Of hewn logs,
notched artistically at the corners
The roof projected we'll beyond the
walls the chimneys were of red brick !;
the doors and windows of a finish
rnfhn, ,,nrn rotoptio11 than y-oc
common in the woods. There were
three wings, extending at right an
giles from a common center, making
four rooms, in all. three along the
front, with another, probably the
kitchen, extending back from the cen
trail room.
Where the path left the stream to
turn toward the door the girl paused
and held out her hand for the basket.
Slowly the Pearlhunter passed it over.
1t was an awkward moment. His
eyes Travelled past her to the tiny
garden. He noticed that the fence
around it was sagged and broken. The
garden, however, appeared to be clean
and well-kept. Aside from this-and
the flowers-the place showed a very
sad lack of care.
The underbrush along the bluffs
trembled slightly, but enough to at
tract the woodsman's eyes. Noiseless-
ly the swaying bushes parted-as
noiseless as the unfolding of a flower
and in the narrow opening, framed
by it's border of quaking leaves, there
grew a face-sad and vacant, with
pitiful eyes; Enthusiastically, though he
had eve seen it before, the gaunt,
gray. face Of the Wild Man.
Inc fearlnunler glanced quickly at
the girl, to find her eyes still fixed
on her basket, and when he looked
again at the bushes, the face was
gone.
AS his gaze searched the under
brush, a glimpse of a gray shadow
fitted along under the cliff and dis.
appeared behind the cabin. He
couldn't leave her now-and yet, by
what excuse could he stay?
you have a pretty place here" he
said, probably because he couldn't
tnlHk OIL Anything else 10 say. "A
pretty place-all so natural; the
woods are hardly disturbed a bit-but
aren't you-afraid?"
II haven't been t~ill-today." She
raised her eyes to his face. The store
Keepers story came to her mind; =
Gle grave at Fallen Rocks; the lonely
cabin to which he would have to re-
turn. And he had just rendered her
a service-the age-old service of man
to woman. won't you come up to
the h%ouse?"
The P%earlhunter little knew how
that simple Invitation honored him.
No other man had ever received 1t.
"Pd like to-"