Rockingham post-dispatch., 1922-11-09
KWASIND
By RUBY il. MARTIN
q by Mcclure Newspaper syndlcsts.I

hld come by man; the stout little Oox
and tissue paper wrappings had en-
folded shining new, nickeled key.
Lest anyone should ask silly questions
about 1t, she dropped the key into her
pocket and the papers on blazing
stick in the kitchen range. And she
was angry all over again with Ben
Baker.
"What an old stick-in-the-mud." she
scorned. u suppose he's up to some
stunt with this key and thinks he's
being funny! Well, what he gets is 4
freeze tight"
Illness and lean purse had driven
Rosemary to vacation at her uncle's
farm on the Rockdale road. At the
end Of previous summeriDg there
she had vowed never again to set
foot in the remote vicinity Of Ben
Baker, whose folks owned farm out
Bald Pate mountainway, and with
whom she had found cause for quarrel
after a true-sweethearting season.
Now time and physical weakness
and hunger for the real outdoors had
modified Rosemary's former decision
to deny herself the hospitality of her
uncle's home. BY cross cuts It was
fully two miles from here to the
Baker place and more than twice that
distance over the tortuous, sidehili
roads. si
AS her strength returned Rosemary
r0amed farther and farther from the
farmhouse. When the chance item In
local paper informed her that Ben
Baker was away on business, she de.
termined to venture day in the
woods beyond the pasture. q
AS Rosemary went along the wood
path that sunny morning she found
the woods amazingly transformed. The
trees around the farmhouse had been
SO we'll trimmed that she had not cor
rectly estimated what damage the
sleet and ice storm of the previous
winter had wrought. Even here in the
woods verdure covered its raw naked
ness, and the fresh sap color Of the
broken limbs had wcathered.
But every tree gave its own mute
signal of devastation. Rosemary
roamed on and on, marvelling at the
ruins. She remembered what Ben
used to tell her about the winter
storms and knew that q giant among
them must have been this way. He
quoted Hiawatha
And whenever through the forest
Ragged and roared the wintry tempest
And the branches, tossed and troubled
Creaked and groaned and split asunder.
Kwasind!' cried they, that Is Kwasind!
He is gathering in his firewood!'
And for fancy she had remem-
bered her "Hiawatha" and called him
"Kwasind." For his strength allied
to goodness"
Curiosity drew Rosemary on toward
the oak knoll where they had often
kept tryst together. And when the
path opened ahead she stopped in
amazement. The oaks Lad been saved
off, chopplng-hlock h'@n only one had
been trimmed and left to cast its
shade on the red roof of boarded
cabin. The foundation was of native
stones and trail of stepping stones
wound from her feet to the beautifully
grained oak door. 1t was the material
ization of what Ben and she had
imagined for themselves right here.
For the first time some special sig
nificance Of the key in her nocket
dawned uron Rosemary. Did It. fit
this door? She skipped along the step
ping stones and turned It in the lock.
A staunch work bench occupied one
end of the Interior. and half-finished
piece OF furniture stood beside II. The
other end had wide stone hearth.
flanked by settles of the same beauti-
fully grained plank that had fashioned
the door. Wrought iron dogs, piled
with kindling, stood below the yawr-
ing mouth Of the chimney.
And because, IN the midst of her
spirit of mischief, Rosemary felt
sweet possession of the place, she
touched a lighted match to the
kindling' and watched 1t burn. And
the corner of the settle where she
curled herself was so comfortable
that she hadn't moved when ashes be-
gan to gray over the smoldering en-
bers A quick step on the threshold
startled her to her feet.
Il saw the smoke, Rosemary, and
twas to me the sign that you'd comet
You can't guess how Tve watched for
smoke from that chimney. Sure and
certain, built the cabin for y0u-snd
me! Sure and certain, I'm an old
stiek-ln-the-mud that doesn't want any
girl but your said Ben Baker.
Rosemary gripped the settle back,
How splendid he wasl And full of
purpose! He must never know how
silly she had beenl
Il was just thinking this place was
ready for the touches of a woman'd
hand" she admitted.
"Your hand" corrected Ben Baker
specializing her generality,
my hand, then, Kwasind!" agreed
Rosemary. ~
a. Z. -