He did not set the dish down when she put it in his hand, but held it
straight out before him, just looking at it, until Mr. Willetts had a
dangerous choking fit, for which Minnie was very proud of Lige; no one
could have suspected that it was the veil of laughter. When Helen told
John he really must squeeze a lemon into his iced tea, he felt that his
one need in life was to catch her up in his arms and run away with her,
not anywhere in particular, but just run and run and run away.
After dinner they went out to the veranda and the gentlemen smoked. The
judge set his chair down on the ground, tilted back in it with his feet on
the steps, and blew a wavery domed city up in the air. He called it solid
comfort. He liked to sit out from under the porch roof, he said; he wanted
to see more of the sky. The others moved their chairs down to join him in
the celestial vision. There had blown across the heaven a feathery, thin
cloud or two, but save for these, there was nothing but glorious and
tender, brilliant blue. It seemed so clear and close one marvelled the
little church spire in the distance did not pierce it; yet, at the same
time, the eye ascended miles and miles into warm, shimmering ether. Far
away two buzzards swung slowly at anchor, half-way to the sun.
"'O bright, translucent, cerulean hue,
Let my wide wings drift on in you,'"
said Harkless, pointing them out to Helen.
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