Free The Man at Mulera by Kathryn Blair Page A

fairly civilized. ”
    “ You ’ re all civilized people, ” she said. “ Surprisingly so. ”
    “ What ’ s surprising about it? It ’ s the modern amenities that keep white people sane in faraway places. We have to get along without television, but in other ways our homes are ahead of the majority in England. It ’ s always the same where white people settle a fairly new country. ”
    She nodded. “ There ’ s such a difference in incomes. The government officials here seem well-off. ”
    “ They do fairly well. The D.C., of course, comes from a rich family. ”
    “ Does he? ” She paused. “ Is Miss Craddock here to keep house for him? ”
    “ Not really. If you get a good head boy in this country you don ’ t need a housekeeper. Paula has plenty of cash in her own right; she has an estate in Hampshire, but generally spends the dry season here in Chekwe. ”
    “ You must know very well. ”
    “ Oh, yes, ” non-commitally. “ I know her place in Hampshire, too. It ’ s probably one of the most efficiently -run estates in England. That comes of having a manager there who ’ s crazy about her. ”
    Lou said evenly, “ I should think a good many men have been in love with Paula Craddock. She ’ s very beautiful. ”
    “ Sure is, ” he replied laconically, and left it at that . They had climbed a small hill beyond the rice swamp and from its eminence the Lake was visible, vast and very blue and fringed with lush green growth. They came down the hill and the view was cut off, and for some time there was nothing but the roadside hedges of acacia, which shone with the many shades of red in the new leaves which the rain had miraculously brought forth. Then the trees began to vary; musuku, with their heavily-ribbed leaves and clusters of scarlet fruit, clumps of tall bamboo, the indigenous Mlanje cedar and an occasional gigantic and grotesque baobab. A tangle of banana scrub came next, and then the beach, fringed with coconut palms and looking for all the world as if it belonged to a South Sea island.
    The car stopped just above the beach under a tree and Lou leaned forward, her glance wide and rapturous.
    “ I never imagined anything like this, ” she breathed. “ It ’ s really like the sea. How far is it to the other side of the Lake? ”
    “ About twenty miles, just here. It might well be two hundred for all you can see of it ” He looked at her. “ You must have seen the Lake from the air when you arrived. Didn ’ t it impress you then? ”
    “ Yes, but I had so much else on my mind. The plane was a bit bumpy, too. ” She shone round at him. “ It must be the loveliest country in the world! ”
    “ Not bad, ” he conceded. “ It ’ s practically all Lake and mountains but we ’ ve plenty of fertile land. ” Again his glance rested upon her. “ You make me want to remember how I felt the first time I came this way. I ’ m afraid the sensation is lost in the mists of time. ”
    “ You probably didn ’ t feel a thing, ” she said gaily. “ I ’ d rather be me, and feel it a little too much. ” She turned to Keith. “ Come on, darling. We ’ re going to bathe! ”
    “ Take your time, ” said Ross. He put out a hand to detain her, and carelessly held her fingers under his, on the seat between them. “ So you ’ d rather feel too much than to o little? ”
    “ Yes ... I think I would. ” She colored slightly, but was smiling at him. “ You do get rather low when you ’ re sad, but happiness takes you up to heaven! ”
    His left eyebrow lifted. “ Really? Been in heaven lately? ”
    “ You mean—very happy? No, I suppose not. But beauty and peace go a long way towards making one happy. ”
    “ I wouldn ’ t say that. They only help to accentuate the feelings, and that goes for the depths as well as the heights. If you decide to stay in Nyasaland I ’ ll teach you a few things, Louise. ”
    His gentler mood was blunting the edge of her caution. “ Such as what? ” she