so. The girl, with her
hand resting on the gunnel of the boat, stood like a housekeeper trying
to explain to a mere male creature the use of some household implement.

"We will want a fire and an axe will chop wood," said she.

"Ay, and where are you to get the wood?" asked La Touche. "There's not a
tree on this blasted place, nor the sign of one."

"Well, we'll have to look--there may be trees inland--there's sure to be
bushes of some sort--anyhow we will take these things up to the cave,
they will be safer there."

The baling tin of the boat caught her eye, she included it amongst her
prizes.

This baling tin, like a psychological instrument, exhibited the mind of
Bompard as though that said mind had been scooped out and placed in it.

To him it was a baling tin; here there were no boats to be baled
out--where was the use of it?

To the woman it was a possible pot to boil things in if they could get a
fire and things to boil.

She explained and Bompard saw the light. La Touche saw it, too, but
promptly pointed out that they had no fire and nothing to boil. He
seemed to find an odious satisfaction in the fact, a satisfaction which
Bompard faintly reflected, and for a moment the girl seemed to glimpse
in the two men a lethargy of mind almost unthinkable. A lethargy and
laziness, mulish, and kicking at anything that disturbed it, that
actually fought against betterment because betterment meant exercise of
intellect and action.

She felt angry with them, just as a grown person feels angry with lazy
children, and putting the belt with the knife round her waist and
picking up some of her treasures she ordered the others to follow with
the rest.

When they had been placed in the cave with the provisions, Bompard,
after his great labours, cut himself some tobacco and La Touche lit his
pipe. Then they sat down at their cave opening to smoke and rest
themselves whilst the girl, who could not keep still, went back to the
boat to explore the other lockers and see if by chance anything else of
a useful nature might be found. The two men seated smoking at the cave
mouth watched her as she went. She felt their eyes upon her and guessed
that they were discussing her, but she did not mind.

The ceaseless activity of old Madame de Warens seemed to have descended
on her through the air of Kerguelen. The will that Prince Selm had
divined in her had been aroused; the surroundings seemed to call her to
action from every side;