Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1933-01-12

New York to go to Northern Mime
sofa and get lost, absolutely and COM
pletely lost in the woods. 1t is pos
sible. Katie did it.
When Katie had walked around in
the customary circle, as lost ones do
it, for a long, long time. she had be-
come very, very tired, as lost ones
always do She sat down on handy
log, a log which she had become quite
we'll acquainted with by this time.
and was about to cry. But realizing
that this would be a waste of time
and effort, she decided not to--at
least not yet.
Katie rested bit. Then she tried
to shout. After that she tried to yell.
and did it pretty we'll. but all to no
avail Then she sat down again and
the tears were not so far away as they
had been while ago. Again she
tried to shout. Again she tried to
yell. No answer. Hopeless stiffness.
Not a single human being for hun
dreds and hundreds of miles around.
A squirrel, from his perch, looked
down with curious, inquiring eyes.
A skunk passed in some distance. A
rabbit jumped up right beside the
lost girl and almost frightened her
to death. Company, all of them.
Well, yes. Katie leaned back against
a tree and-gave up.
Saturday mornings Henrik Wood
work used to go out into the great
stiffness of the woods to be alone
with his thoughts. Some ministers
think better in their study. / suppose
most of them do. Henrik did not.
Every Saturday morning. rain or
shine, he would walk out, far. far into
the woods, and there he could think;
there he was himself. There he was
alone with his God.
There are people who think that
the only place we can meet our Gre
ator is in church. That seems queer
to me- Poems are made by fools
like me: but only God can make a
tree" said one man, by no means
fool" On the contrary, he was a
very wise man, indeed, having seen
and admitted that compared to Him
who can make trees, and does it, he
was very small.
God makes trees. Can you not, then.
meet the Omnipresent in the work of
the Omnipotent? Henrik could. He
felt very close to his Maker out there
among the big trees and little trees,
the ferns and wild flowers. The
squirrel did not disturb him. The
rabbit that jumped almost over his
feet, did not disturb him. Nothing
did-usually.
This certain Saturday morning Hen
rik had been walking around for some
time. lost in thoughts. Now he had
arrived. He had arrived at the point
where he, pehcil and notebook in
hand, usually sat down on a log, big
stone, or anything else convenient. to
write busily for a few minutes before
he turned his steps homeward.
AS he approached the log where sat
Katie, lost and fOrlOrn, elbows on
knees, chin resting in hands, Henrik
stopped abruptly. ''Ah, hOuri," he
exclaimed under his breath. Perhaps
Henrik ought not to have said that.
don't know. l only know that he
said it. He saw that the girl was
stranger, that she did not belong in
never seen her before. That ought
to be excuse enough. | think.
Henrik stepped back. cautiously,
and-stepped on dry twig. Katie
| jumped up. ''O-h-h-h-h," she said,
pressing her hands against her wildly
beating heart. Then, in less than five
seconds, she was standing beside Hen
rik, clutching at his coat-sleeve, cry
ing. crying, crying.
| OF course, Katie had seen at
glance, that Henrik was no BUSH
ranger or anything similar; had seen
that he was very nice dependable
looking man, man, who, no doubt
would help a fellow-being out of
trouble, if he could.
why, er, Ell. good morning" Hen
rik said. Katie did not answer. She
only cried.
rs. eh.-is anything wrong, Miss"
Henrik asked.
NO" she sobbed. Everything is
| is-wonder fully alright"
Henrik did not know very much
about the female of the species. In
fact, he never cared to. He did not
know that woman can stand up Won
derfully well through the most ter
rife nerve-strain, can go through ac-
tual danger, head up, and then. when
it is all over, will break down and
cry like a baby. How should he
know? So he only stood there, very
much uneasy, and did not know what
to do or say.
| Then Katy looked up with starry,
dew-sprinkled eyes. 81 was lost" she
murmured. Henrik shook his head.
To cry because one was lost-well,
he could understand that; but to cry
because one had been lost-no, that
certainly went over his head" But
something happened to Henrik i'm the
short moment he looked into those
large, brown, starry, dew-sprinkled
eyes, something very queer, something
| the like of which had never hammered