[Arry]

The afternoon passed in a pleasing manner for Andwise. His small, thick-fingered hands, moved easily over the cabinet facings – taking off the old paint, smoothing out rough patches, filling in dents. Each one, when done and declared ready by him, was lined up against the side of the cottage away from where the addition was going on. Ferdy, would then take them up two at a time, to the saw-horse table he’d put together for himself, and sand them even more finely, then would come the stain and finally the rubbing of each to a soft luster.

By the end of the day, they should have the cabinets all done. Tomorrow, Ferdy could begin work on the window and doorway mouldings. They were in fair repair and shouldn’t take long. Andwise, as he worked along in his methodical manner, had begun thinking already of the main door to the cottage. It was a thick oaken door – but as plain and serviceable as its former owner. It wouldn’t do, he thought, for the stablemaster and his new bride. Andwise whistled a bright little jig as his hands moved over the wood before him and his mind moved over the design that had begun to form in his mind.