"Show me the woman I shall love," he said to the water, but it
hastened on, glad, tumultuous, unheeding; and he only saw the
reflection of the white jonquils or of the golden sword rush on its
banks.





V

Fruits ripen quickly in these provinces, and children become women in
a summer hour; but with Nerina, through want and suffering and
hunger, physical growth had been slow, and she remained long a child
in many things and many ways. Only in her skill and strength for work
was she older than her actual age.

She could hoe and reap and sow: she could row and steer the boat
amongst the shallows as well as any man; she could milk the cow, and
put the steers in the waggon; she could card hemp and flax, and weave
and spin either; she could carry heavy weights balanced on her head;
she was strong and healthy and never ill, and with it all she was
happy. Her large bright eyes were full of contentment, and her rosy
mouth often smiled out of the mere gladness of living. Her senses
were still asleep and her young soul wanted nothing more than life
gave her.

"You can earn your bread anywhere now, little one," said Clelia Alba
to her one day, when she had been there three years.