Chapter 15 Summary

Nella and the children visit her parents on the farm Vergelegen, which, true to its name is indeed far away. Nella is sad, yet also glad to leave. So too, is Pieter. They are having marital problems and both hope that the time apart will alleviate their strife.

It is autumn and the focus, as it always does, shifts to rugby. Tante Sophie goes down to the field on Koos Slabbert's farm to watch them practice. After the game, some of the players go to the Royal Hotel for drinks where their behavior is said to be coarse and rough, but Pieter does not go with. He never does. A brief soliloquy from Pieter reveals that he does not understand why people do not tell coarse jokes in front of him.

After one such practice, he comes to supper with his family. He...