She knows and is deeply sorry for the evil she has done to Kashima; but Major
Vansuythen cannot understand why Mrs. Boulte does not drop in to afternoon tea
at least three times a week. "When there are only two women in one Station,
they ought to see a great deal of each other," says Major Vansuythen.
Long and long before ever Mrs. Vansuythen came out of those far-away places
where there is society and amusement, Kurrell had discovered that Mrs. Boulte
was the one woman in the world for him and--you dare not blame them. Kashima
was as out of the world as Heaven or the Other Place, and the Dosehri hills
kept their secret well. Boulte had no concern in the matter. He was in camp
for a fortnight at a time. He was a hard, heavy man, and neither Mrs. Boulte
nor Kurrell pitied him. They had all Kashima and each other for their very,
very own; and Kashima was the Garden of Eden in those days. When Boulte
returned from his wanderings he would slap Kurrell between the shoulders and
call him "old fellow," and the three would dine together. Kashima was happy
then when the judgment of God seemed almost as distant as Narkarra or the
railway that ran down to the sea. But the Government sent Major Vansuythen to
Kashima, and with him came his wife.
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