"The law of the Garden has been broken."
"By whom?"
"David has unbarred the gate."
"Yes, to one man."
"It is enough."
"Peace, Abraham. You are old and look awry. This one man is no danger. I could break him in my hands—so!"
"A strong man may be hopeless against words," said the oracular old man. "With a word he may set you on fire."
"Do you think me a tinder and dry grass? Set me on fire with a word?"
"An old man who looks awry had done it with a word. And see—again!"
There was a silence filled only by the sound of David's breathing and the slow curling of the ripples on the beach.