it seemed to the gunslinger that , if he closed his eyes he would be able to hear the croaking of the first spring peepers , smell the green and almost-summer smell of the court lawns after their first cutting ( and hear , perhaps , the indolent click of croquet balls as the ladies of the east wing , attired only in their shifts as dusk glimmered toward dark , played at points ) , could almost see aileen as she came through the break in the hedges - it was not like him to think so much of the past .