rth the girl directed the pursuit. Simon,
reassured by Isabel's letter, allowed Dolores to lead the way and
twenty times over had occasion to remark her perspicacity and the
accuracy of her judgment or intuition.

Then, less anxious, feeling that she understood, he became more
talkative and abandoned himself, as on the previous day, to the burst
of enthusiasm which the miracle of this new world awakened in him. The
still unsettled coast-line, the irresolute river, the changing hues of
the water, the ever-varying forms of the heights and valleys, the
contours of the landscape, hardly more definite as yet than those of
an infant's face: all of this, for an hour or two, was to him a
source of wonder and exaltation.

"Look, look!" he cried. "It is as though the landscape were amazed at
showing itself in the light of day! Crushed until now beneath the
weight of the waters, buried in darkness, it seems embarrassed by the
light. Each detail has to learn how to hold itself, to win a place for
itself, to adapt itself to new conditions of existence, to obey other
laws, to shape itself in accordance with other purposes, in short, to
live its life as a thing of earth. It will grow acquainted with the
wind, the rain, the frost; with winter and spring; with the sun, the
beautiful, glorious sun, which will fertilize it and draw from it all
the appearance, colour, service, pleasure and beauty which it is
capable of yielding. A world is being created before our eyes."

Dolores listened with a charmed expression that spoke of the delight
which she felt when Simon spoke for her benefit. And he, all unawares,
meanwhile became kindlier and more attentive. The companion with whom
chance had associated him was assuming more and more the semblance of
a woman. Sometimes he reflected upon the love which she had revealed
to him and asked himself whether, in professing her readiness to
devote herself, she was not seeking above all to remain by his side
and to profit by the circumstances which brought them together. But he
was so sure of his own strength and so well protected by Isabel that
he took little pains to fathom the secrets of this mysterious soul.

Three times they witnessed murderous conflicts among the swarm of
vagabonds who were checked by the barrier of the river. Two men and a
woman fell, but Simon made no attempt to defend them or to punish the
criminals:

"It is the law of the strongest," he said. "No police! No judges! No
ex