And lulled in the light of evening, and hushed in gentle grain
And unimperiled lilies impearled with quiet rain.
A world of woven lightning, incredible, unguessed,
Where we saw an Easter lily, and Raphael saw the rest.
—The Ballad of Ryerson.
WHITE LIGHTNING
Chapter 1. Hydrogen
An auburn-haired boy of twelve stood looking in at the door of a blacksmith shop and wondering why the smith sprinkled water on the fire. He stood with two girls and had an arm around each, but for the moment he had forgotten them both.
There have always been smithies, and children coming home from school have loved to look in at the open door, and doubtless there has been many a lad of whom the girls were so fond that they were willing to stand like tame fillies while he gazed into the shop like a wondering colt.