He nodded, once, as if I had given an answer, and we sat watching the sun change the colour of the sea and sky until the wind came up. Holmes knocked his pipe out against the sole of his shoe, stood up, and reached down to help me rise.
'Let me know when you're ready for a game of chess, Russell.'
Twenty minutes later we came to his hives, and he went down the row to check them while I stood and watched the last workers come home with their loads of pollen. Holmes came back and we turned toward the cottage.
'I'll even spot you a piece, Russell.'
'But not a queen?'
'Oh, no, never again. You're far too good a player for that.'
'We'll start equal, then.'
'I shall beat you if we do.'
'I don't think so, Holmes. I really don't think you will.'
The cottage was warm and filled with light, and smelt of tobacco and sulphur and the food that awaited us.
