They can afford to be idle the
rest of the time, and they are gloriously idle."
"Do they ever gather in bands to rob wrecked ships, or for other
unlawful purposes?"
"Oh no, not in the least! Oh no, nothing of the kind! They'll steal from
a wreck, of course, if they get the chance; but on the sly, not by
violence. Their worst sin is independence and self-righteousness. You
can't teach the children anything in the schools, for instance, for the
parents won't have them punished; they are quite sure that their
children never do anything wrong. That comes of living so far out of the
world, and getting their living so easily. I can tell you, Utopia has a
bad effect on character."
Caius let the matter go for that time; he had the prospect of seeing the
clergyman often.
Another week, when the clergyman had come to the island and Caius met
him by chance, they had the opportunity of walking up a long snowy hill
together, leading their horses. Caius asked him then about Madame Le
Maitre and O'Shea, and heard a plain consecutive tale of their lives and
of their coming to the island, which denuded the subject of all unknown
elements and appeared to rob it of special interest.
Captain Le Maitre, it appeared, had a life-long lease of the property on
Cloud Island, and also some property on the mainland south of Gaspe
Basin; but the land was worth little except by tillage, and, being a
seaman, he neglected it.
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