306 HAPPY HOLLOW FARM 



sing of all this glory." But in the next minute 

 I had to laugh. "No," I told myself, "it's bet- 

 ter just to live in it than to sing of it. There's 

 that mocker. He quit his singing to feed his 

 babies. I'll bet he's a far happier chap than 

 he was last week. This is the better part!" 



The full tide of the dusk was upon us. Lit- 

 tle Betty left her play and came to my knee, 

 coaxing to be taken in for her night's drink of 

 new milk. Dorothy called to us from the 

 house, summoning us to the late summertime 

 supper. So we went into the cheerful dining- 

 room and sat down together. 



We had a couple of guests at the table not 

 "company" folks, but good friends who have 

 learned to be at home here. There was some 

 gay talk over the meal; not frivolous nor 

 smart; serious enough at moments, but light- 

 hearted for all that, carefree, with a laugh al- 

 ways ready to follow close upon the heels of 

 the spoken word. We were feeling pretty 

 good. 



After supper, when the youngsters were in 

 bed, somebody hinted at a rubber of whist; 

 but somehow we drifted out to the lawn, with 

 rugs spread upon the grass in the soft twi- 

 light, and there we went on with our talk. 



