Vansuythen was only an
ordinarily
good woman.
Kipling - Poems
"What was that you said? " asked Mrs. Boulte. "Never mind that man. What
did Ted say to you? What did he say to you? What did he say to you? "
Mrs. Vansuythen sat down helplessly on the sofa, overborne by the
trouble of her questioner.
"He said--I can't remember exactly what he said--but I understood him
to say--that is--But, really, Mrs. Boulte, isn't it rather a strange
question? "
"Will you tell me what he said? " repeated Mrs. Boulte.
Even a tiger will fly before a bear robbed of her whelps, and Mrs.
Vansuythen was only an ordinarily good woman. She began in a sort of
desperation: "Well, he said that he never cared for you at all, and,
of course, there was not the least reason why he should have,
and--and--that was all. "
"You said he swore he had not cared for me. Was that true? "
"Yes," said Mrs. Vansuythen, very softly.
Mrs. Boulte wavered for an instant where she stood, and then fell
forward fainting.
"What did I tell you? " said Boulte, as though the conversation had been
unbroken. "You can see for yourself she cares for him. " The light began
to break into his dull mind, and he went on--"And he--what was he saying
to you? "
But Mrs. Vansuythen, with no heart for explanations or impassioned
protestations, was kneeling over Mrs. Boulte.
"Oh, you brute!
