An' the bark is gettin' kind o' blue upon the ven'son-
tree."
Rain had begun falling and daylight was on the window-panes.
The dethroned Emperor continued to sing fragments of old songs so familiar to all who knew him.
"It was in the summer-time when I sailed, when I
sailed,"
he sang. Socky stood by the bed of his uncle with a sad face.
"Th-thumbs down," Strong demanded, faintly. Master went out on the little veranda and looked down the road. He could hear the voice of his friend singing:
"The green groves are gone from the hills, Maggie."
"It is true," thought the young man as he looked off at the smouldering woods. "They are gone and so are the green hearts."