It was half over now . The half of it yet to be lived stretched before her , tranquil , pleasant and uneventful , like the afternoon , filled with unhurried duties and calmly interesting days , Cecily liked the prospect . When she came to her own lane she paused , folding her hands on the top of the whitewashed gate , while she basked for a moment in the warmth that seemed cupped in the little grassy hollow hedged about with young fir-trees . Before her lay sere , brooding fields sloping down to a sandy shore , where long foamy ripples were lapping with a murmur that threaded the hushed air like a faint minor melody . On the crest of the little hill to her right was her home -- hers and Lucy Ellen 's . The house was an old-fashioned , weather-gray one , low in the eaves , with gables and porches overgrown with vines that had turned to wine-reds and rich bronzes in the October frosts . On three sides it was closed in by tall old spruces , their outer sides bared and grim from long wrestling with the Atlantic winds , but their inner green and feathery . On the fourth side a trim white paling shut in the flower garden before the front door . Cecily could see the beds of purple and scarlet asters , making rich whorls of color under the parlor and sitting-room windows . Lucy Ellen 's bed was gayer and larger than Cecily 's . Lucy Ellen had always had better luck with flowers . She could see old Boxer asleep on the front porch step and Lucy Ellen 's white cat stretched out on the parlor window-sill . There was no other sign of life about the place . Cecily drew a long , leisurely breath of satisfaction . `` After tea I 'll dig up those dahlia roots , '' she said aloud . `` They 'd ought to be up . My , how blue and soft that sea is ! I never saw such a lovely day . I 've been gone longer than I expected . I wonder if Lucy Ellen 's been lonesome ? ''
When Cecily looked back from the misty ocean to the house , she was surprised to see a man coming XXXXX a jaunty step down the lane under the gnarled spruces .
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