CHAPTER III 



Half-Hours with Mercury and Vulcan 



THERE is still a chill in the air 

 this day in early June. The Great 

 Lake's breath is yet drawn deeply 

 from the far-off northern reservoirs, 

 and by that same token we shall have 

 a goodly fire again tonight. But mean- 

 time the sun is warm, and out there 

 on the lawn, protected from the wind 

 by the shaggy grove that guards us on 

 the east, an arm-chair looks inviting. 

 It's just an out-of-door sitting room 

 anyhow, this little lawn at Dumbie- 

 dykes. The hedge- rows all around 

 have grown so tall you can't see out 

 nor in. So here we are, the world all 

 barred away, shut off from all except 

 our own. 



