the
summer noon
The butler showing his white head at the door , his master beckoned to him . `` Tomaso , bring some Sunshine ! '' said he . The readiest method of obeying this order , one might suppose , would have been to fling wide the green window-blinds , and let the glow of the summer noon into the carefully shaded room . But , at Monte Beni , with provident caution against the wintry days , when there is little sunshine , and the rainy ones , when there is none , it was the hereditary custom to keep their Sunshine stored away in the cellar . Old Tomaso quickly produced some of it in a small , straw-covered flask , out of which he extracted the cork , and inserted a little cotton wool , to absorb the olive oil that kept the precious liquid from the air . `` This is a wine , '' observed the Count , `` the secret of making which has been kept in our family for centuries upon centuries ; nor would it avail any man to steal the secret , unless he could also steal the vineyard , in which alone the Monte Beni grape can be produced .