At times a subdued light has filled the
broad arch of heaven, and, later, a fringe of rain has moved gently
across the low hills and fallow fields, rippling like a wave from that
upper sea which hangs invisible in golden weather, but becomes
portentous and vast as the nether seas when the clouds gather and the
celestial watercourses are unlocked. One day I thought I saw signs of
a falling out between the conspirators, and I set myself to watch for
some disclosure which might escape from one side or the other in the
frankness of anger. The earth was sullen and overcast, the sky dark
and forbidding, the clouds rolled together and grew black, and the
shadows deepened upon the grass. At last there was a vivid flash of
lightning, a crash of thunder, and the sudden roar of rain. "Now," I
said to myself, "I shall learn what all this secrecy has been about."
But I was doomed to disappointment; after a few minutes of angry
expostulation the sky suddenly uncovered itself, the clouds piled
themselves against the horizon and disclosed their silver linings, and
over the whole earth there spread a broad smile, as if the hypocritical
performance had been part of the original deception. I am confident
now that it was, for that brief drenching of trees and sward was almost
the last noticeable preparation before the curtain rose.
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