In "The Story-Teller," the bachelor tells the children a story and uses the phrase "horribly good." The author explains "There was a wave of reaction in favor of the story."

Explanation:

Unclear question. However, here's a full excerpt from the "The Story-Teller":

"There was a wave of reaction in favor of the story; the word “horrible” in connection with goodness was a novelty that commended itself. It seemed to introduce a ring of truth that was absent from the aunt’s tales of infant life".

The implication of the term "horribly good" implies that what was said was good to the point of being awful to the listeners.

"the sandy walls seemed to collapse in on themselves"

and

"the bloodshot waters seemed to have no bottom"

for me this my answer o fortunately, they did not notice, and i could pretend not to care.​   i hope this you