THE PAYMENT I It was one of those golden evenings that sometimes follows a hot clear day--one of those rare evenings which linger in the memory when summer has slipped away and which come back into the mind like a smile, an endearment or a broad sweet melody, renewing optimism and replenishing faith.

The sun had gone, but its warm glow lingered in a sky that was utterly unspotted.

The quiet unruffled trees in all the rich green of early maturity stood out against it almost as though they were painted on canvas.

The light was so true that distances were brought up to the eye.

Far-away sounds came closely to the ear.