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 hungry and like two children at play over this meal. When the meal was finished, Lida gathered the dishes together. "I'll leave them here we may want them again," she said. "I'll wash them though, and you can dry them. Come on," she invited. Bennet jumped to the task with relish. Leaning over the cliff, Lida allowed the water to wash each dish then handed it to Bennet who dried each as it was handed to him.

"This is great fun," she smiled as she handed him the last glass. "Like camping out, or living as the early settlers and pioneers did. What a glorious time they must have had."

"Yes, and many a hardship," Bennet added.

"All for us, though, and the land we have," Lida observed.

When the table had been tidied Lida decided to return to the house. It was after noontime then and hurriedly sliding down the grapevine rope she looked up to give a last warning to Bennet. "Be careful now," she said. "I'll be back before sundown."

With that, after blowing a kiss to Bennet from the tips of her fingers so daintily that Bennet was almost tempted to descend and get a real one, she turned and was soon lost in the shadows of the trees. Bennet turned to his hiding place, and being drowsy, took one of the books from the shelf and started to read. He was not occupied long with this, however, before his eyelids drooped and he stretched out on the couch, sound asleep.

It was far into the afternoon before he awoke again.