Down the road, whistling blithely, comes a slip of a boy, with fishing rod, cut from the adjacent thicket, over his shoulder and a can of bait tucked securely under his arm, happy as a king in anticipation of the fish he may never catch.  At his heels trots contentedly a yellow dog.  True companions of the highway are they, for no country road would be complete without its boy and dog, and as I pass them I call back, “Good luck, my doughty fisherman,” and the road answers—­or was it an echo?—­“Good luck, good luck.”

But at last the shadows creep down canon and hillside, the soft light of evening touches the tops of tree and shrub with a rosy splendor, shading from green to gold, from gold to purple; and through the gathering dusk the road sinks into the surrounding gloom, toiling on in silence with only the stars for company, and the lights from firefly lanterns to guide it on its lonely way.

[Illustration]