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And again, Independence Night, thought Father Peregrine, tres, the sky blowing apart, breaking into powdery stars and burning sound, the concussions jingling house s like the ice on a thousand thin ponds The aunts, uncles, cousins crying, as to some celestial physician The surandfather, steadied in his massively tender hands Oh, the hted, war like folded wasps in boxes and, last of all, after the day of riot and fury, at long last from their boxes, delicately unfolded, blue, red, white, patriotic--the Fire Balloons! He saw the di dead and mantled with moss as Grandfather lit the tiny candle and let the warm air breathe up to for vision which they held, reluctant to let it go; for, once released, it was yet another year gone from life, another Fourth, another bit of Beauty vanished And then up, up, still up through the warht constellations, the Fire Balloons had drifted, while red-white-and-blue eyes followed them, wordless, froht rivers and sleeping one

Father Peregrine felt tears in his eyes Above hi Fire Balloons, it see-dead and blessed grandfather at his elbow, staring up at Beauty

But it was Father Stone

"Let's go, please, Father!"

"I rine rustled forward, not knohat to say, for what had he ever said to the Fire Balloons of time past except with his mind:you are beautiful, you are beautiful, and that was not enough now He could only lift his heavy arms and call upward, as he had often wished to call after the enchanted Fire Balloons, "Hello!"

But the fiery spheres only burned like iaseous, miraculous, forever

"We corine to the sky

"Silly, silly, silly" Father Stone chewed the back of his hand "In the narine, stop!"

But now the phosphorescent spheres bleay into the hills In a one

Father Peregrine called again, and the echo of his last cry shook the hills above Turning, he saw an avalanche shake out dust, pause, and then, with a thunder of stone wheels, crash down the mountain upon them

"Look what you've done!" cried Father Stone

Father Peregrine was al they could run only a few feet before the rocks crushed them into ruins He had time to whisper,Oh, Lord! and the rocks fell!

"Father!"

They were separated like chaff frolobes, a shift of cold stars, a roar, and then they stood upon a ledge two hundred feet aatching the spot where their bodies should have been buried under tons of stone

The blue light evaporated