No More Learning

Boulte began to breathe through her
nose before breaking out into tears, he laughed and stared straight in
front of him at the Dosehri hills.

"Is that all? " he said. "Thanks, I only wanted to know, you know. "

"What are you going to do? " said the woman, between her sobs.

"Do! Nothing. What should I do? Kill Kurrell or send you Home, or
apply for leave to get a divorce? It's two days' dak into Narkarra. " He
laughed again and went on: "I'll tell you what you can do. You can ask
Kurrell to dinner tomorrow--no, on Thursday, that will allow you time to
pack--and you can bolt with him. I give you my word I won't follow. "

He took up his helmet and went out of the room, and Mrs.
Boulte sat till
the moonlight streaked the floor, thinking and thinking and thinking.
She had done her best upon the spur of the moment to pull the house
down; but it would not fall. Moreover, she could not understand her
husband, and she was afraid. Then the folly of her useless truthfulness
struck her, and she was ashamed to write to Kurrell, saying: "I have
gone mad and told everything. My husband says that I am free to elope
with you. Get a dak for Thursday, and we will fly after dinner. " There
was a cold-bloodedness about that procedure which did not appeal to her.
So she sat still in her own house and thought.

At dinner-time Boulte came back from his walk, white and worn and
haggard, and the woman was touched at his distress. As the evening wore
on, she muttered some expression of sorrow, something approaching to
contrition. Boulte came out of a brown study and said, "Oh, that! I
wasn't thinking about that. By the way, what does Kurrell say to the
elopement? "

"I haven't seen him," said Mrs. Boulte. "Good God!