BY EUNICE PONCE AND PAUL BRINKLEY-ROGERS

 As both sides in the Elian Gonzalez controversy waited for word from a federal appeals
 court Saturday, hundreds demonstrated in support of the boy's Miami relatives in an
 animated, upbeat atmosphere outside the family's Little Havana home.

 By late Saturday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta had not ruled on the
 family's request for an injunction that would prevent Elian's removal from the United
 States until their appeal is concluded.

 The U.S. government has asked the court to reject the family's motion and to order
 Elian's great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez to surrender the boy so he may be turned over
 to his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, who is waiting for him in Washington, D.C.

 President Clinton, speaking during a visit to Sequoia National Forest Saturday, urged
 everyone to support the rule of law in the case. ''When this thing finally plays out, in the
 end, the law has to be obeyed,'' said Clinton, who supports the reunion of the boy
 with his father.

 The Miami family is seeking an asylum hearing for Elian, but the government argues
 that only Elian's father can speak for him -- and he says he wants to take him back
 to Cuba.

 The Gonzalezes invited a Herald reporter into their home Saturday to observe
 Elian's reaction when his father called from Washington.

 They had earlier rejected a request from the CBS television show 60 Minutes to
 tape Elian talking to his father on the phone while CBS anchor Dan Rather was
 with Juan Miguel. The relatives said they were advised against the 60 Minutes
 request by their priest and a psychologist.

 Elian spent the day playing with his cousins, inside the house and in the yard.
 The family expected the call at 2 p.m., but at that time, someone from the Cuban
 Interests Section in Washington telephoned to say the call would come at 4 p.m.

 TALK WITH FATHER

 It actually came at 5:40 p.m. Elian made a facial expression that seemed to
 indicate reluctance, with his eyebrows raised and mouth curled.

 His cousin and caregiver Marisleysis said, ''It's your daddy,'' and he made the
 same expression. Then he took the cordless phone, and talked to his father for
 about 20 minutes. He spoke softly, and could be heard saying ''yes'' repeatedly in
 Spanish.

 During the call, he paced, walked around in circles, and fidgeted, then at one
 point climbed into a baby stroller.

 At the end of the call, he blew kisses into the phone. Then he went into his room.
 His relatives told the reporter he was crying.

 Lazaro Gonzalez told the reporter, ''I'm doing this because I want you to see we're
 not liars.''

 Juan Miguel Gonzalez, in his interview with CBS, denied allegations by the Miami
 relatives that he was abusive to Elian and his ex-wife. ''They are lies, totally,'' he
 said in the interview to be aired today. ''They have tried in every way to set me as
 a bad father, as a bad husband.''

 The comments came in response to the relatives' release of a sworn affidavit from
 Orlando Rodriguez, who described himself as a friend of Elian's parents in Cuba.
 Rodriguez said Juan Miguel Gonzalez abused Elisabeth Brotons, who perished
 bringing Elian to Florida on a raft.

 Although the Gonzalez family is waiting for a crucially important court ruling, the
 mood outside their home in Little Havana was positive Saturday, as hundreds of
 all ages gathered in a rally that seemed at times like a state fair.
 Several circles of about 50 people each prayed continuously. Up against police
 barricades, demonstrators chanted, ''Elian stays here!'' and ''Down with Fidel!''
 Other groups sang the American and Cuban national anthems.

 People flew flags of many nationalities: Nicaraguan, Dominican, Paraguayan and
 Israeli, as well as Cuban and American.

 A man named Leonard Peikoff, who said he was from a newly formed organization
 called Americans to Keep Elian Free, presented a petition with more than 4,000
 signatures from across the United States in support of the Miami family.

 Herald wire services contributed to this report.