“No banquet hall was ever as beautiful as this.” Jo Ann waved her hand toward the deep purple valley, the gold-tipped mountain peaks, and the rainbow-hued canopy overhead. “And listen—the music of the little mountain folk singing their farewells to the sun!”
“You surely have a good, imagination, Jo,” commented Peggy, laughing. “It is perfectly grand, but all I can hear is the croaking of bullfrogs.”
“Your appreciation of the beauties of nature seems to be sadly lacking.” She smiled condescendingly at Peggy, then turned to Mrs. Blackwell. “I don’t wonder that the doctor at the sanitarium, and your husband, too, ordered you up here to recuperate after your long illness. You couldn’t help but get well here.”
Mrs. Blackwell nodded assent. “Yes, this is a wonderful place to rest. I really begin to feel stronger already—and with three such thoughtful girls to look after me I’m sure I shall be as well as ever in a few weeks.”
“I’m so glad you’re here with us and not ’way off there at that sanitarium,” said Florence, reaching over to squeeze her mother’s hand. “We’re going to take such good care of you that you’ll just have to get well.”
Tired out from the busy, strenuous day, they lingered long over their supper, watching the ever changing colors of the slow tropical sunset. Carmine melted into rose, amber, violet, finally fading away into a soft tender green. Deep purple shadows settled over the mountains as the colors faded, and a slender crescent of a moon peeped down at them from a star-flecked sky.
Suddenly the spell was broken as Florence jumped to her feet. “Gracious! I forgot all about fixing that box down at the spring to keep our milk and butter in. Does anyone know where my flashlight is?”
“Yes, I put it on the dressing table right beside your cot. I’ll get it.” Peggy jumped up and ran inside the house. A moment later she returned with the flashlight and handed it to Florence.
“I’ll go with you and fix the box if you’ll tell me what to do,” offered Jo Ann.
“First we’d better light some candles so we can see what we’re doing,” Florence said as the three of them went into the kitchen. She dived down into the box and brought out two tallow candles and handed them to Jo Ann. “When you get those lit, Peg and I’ll put the milk and butter in jars.”