The Winds of Inspiration blow,
Yet pass me ever by;
And songs God taught me long ago,
Unuttered burn and—die.
He read the verse over, and with an impatient motion altered ‘burn’ into ‘fade.’ Then he shook his head and continued:
From all the far blue hills of heaven
The dews of beauty rain;
Yet unto me no drops are given
To quench the ancient pain.
He scratched out ‘ancient’ and wrote over the top ‘undying.’ Then he scratched out ‘undying’ and put ‘ancient’ back in its place. This time Smoke stretched out a long black paw with a velvet end to it and gave the pencil a deliberate dab. Paul either ignored, or did not notice it; but Smoke left the paw thrust forward upon the paper so as to be ready for the next dab.