He plunged away into the blackness, his boots
thumping, his spursclinking.
These things were realities, strong intheir
importunity for peace and joy of living.
Mertie, however, could not forget
herself.
She had remembered what joy a giftbrought to them,
one and all. The hunters moon lighted the last mile of the ride up to the
Denmeadeclearing.
Her victory overenvironment had come too
late.
She could see the beesswarm round Edd, apparently
without disturbing him in the least. Her arms moved instinctively upward, until
stoppedby the giant clasp that held her.
I reckonIm no better than the yellow-jackets. It
was for Mertie he held me in his arms, whispered Lucy.
Lucy crawled back through the bushes to where she
had left Clara. Dick stood like atall sapling outlined against the open sky. She
peered for the white gleam ofher canvas tent. I bought her everything she fancied
and I took hereverywhere. Theyremarried, and, Im sure, settled for
life.
After supper Ill jump ahoss an ride after it. Lucy,
dear, she said gently, youre in love with that wild-bee hunter. Only she knew just
how responsible she had been for this happyevent.
Her arms moved instinctively upward, until
stoppedby the giant clasp that held her.
Lucy was unutterably grateful for a changefar
beyond her hopes.
He broke that wheel, and either killed or scattered
most of theswarm. The forest seemed so shady andcool after the hot sunny
open.
Edd carried an axe over his shoulderand a huge
assortment of different-sized buckets on his arm. Then she bounded up and beat
ahasty retreat to a safer zone.
I bought her everything she fancied and I took
hereverywhere.
I hated to tell you before, hoping shed waittill I
could earn some. The wild-bee hunter, in his brotherly love, hadhugged away her
vanity and blindness.
But I cant capture an tame the old
swarms.
He was manifestly in the grip of a
frenziedglee.
Edd gravitated toward Lucy and Clara,
presentlyleading them unobtrusively back toward some brush. Lucy, I hate to treat a
bee tree like wedid this one.
I love it here, answered Clara swiftly, with a
flash of passion.
Reckonin it all, arent you glad you had that awful
spill an thengot stung? When I dontthink, Im full of some new kind of joy. Well have
Joes cabin done by the time snow flies. It was what hewas that had made her love
him.
Dick stood like atall sapling outlined against the
open sky. She was the beginning and the end of this great day. When had Lucy seen
such a smile on Claras face?
Claras tragic girlhood was fading into a past that
was gone.