CHAPTER XIX

RE-CREATION

Were you ever wakened in the early morning by the clear whistle of a meadow-lark over your head, with the rich scent of the mountain pines coming to you on the pure light air of a new day, with the sun wrapping the earth in misty blue, and staining the mountains with rose?  To David, lying on his cot in the open air, every dawning morning was a new creation, a brand new promise of hope.  To be sure, the enchantment was like to be broken in a moment, still the call of the morning had fired his blood, and given him a new impetus,—­impetus, not for work, not for ambition, not for activity, just an impetus to lie quietly on his cot and be happy.

The birds were shortly rivaled by the sweeter, dearer, not less heavenly voice of little Julia, calling an imaginary dog, counting her mother’s eyes, or singing to herself an original improvise upon the exalted subject of two brown bugs.  And a moment later, came the sound of rapturous kissing, and Carol was awake.  And before the smile of content left his face, she stood in the doorway, her face flushed with sleep, her hair tumbling about her face, a warm bath robe drawn about her.  Always her greeting was the same.

“Good morning, David.  Another glorious day, isn’t it?”

Then Julia came splashing out in Aunt Connie’s new rose-colored boudoir slippers, with Connie in hot barefooted pursuit.  And the new day had begun, the riotous, delirious day, with Julia at the helm.

Connie had amusing merry tales to tell of her work, and her friends, and the family back home.  And time had to be crowded a little to make room for long drives in the Harmer Six.  Carol promptly learned to drive it herself, and David, tentatively at first, talked of trying his own hand on it.  And finally he did, and took a boyish satisfaction in his ability to manipulate the gears.  Oh, perhaps it made him a little more short of breath, and he found that his nerves were more highly keyed than in the old time days,—­anyhow he came home tired, hungry, ready to sleep.

Even the occasional windy or cloudy days, when the Harmer Six was left wickedly wasting in the garage, had their attractions.  How the girls did talk!  Sometimes, when they had finished the dishes, Carol, intent on Connie’s story, stood patiently rubbing the dish pan a hundred, a thousand times, until David would call pleadingly, “Girls, come out here and talk.”  Then, recalled in a flash, they rushed out to him, afraid the endless chatter would tire him, but happy that he liked to hear it.