A wind had come out of the south and driven the fog back to the bay, and the sun shone warmly down upon the land.

Two robins sang exultantly in the higher branches of the oak, where they had breakfasted satisfyingly upon the first of the little, green worms that gave early promise of being a pest until such time as they stiffened and clung inertly, waiting for the dainty, gray wings to grow and set them aflutter over the tree upon which they had fed.
One of them dropped upon Jack's arm while he stood there and crawled aimlessly from the barren buckskin to his wrist.

He flung it off mechanically.

Spring was here of a truth; in the town he had not noticed her coming.
"You're right, Dade," he declared suddenly, over his shoulder.

"This beats getting up at noon and going through the motions of living for twelve or fourteen hours in town.