The lips under the shadowing arm curved in a strained smile.
“’Tain’t much,” she deprecated. “I got a gouge when I tumbled. Guess you kilt Mister Catamount, or scairt him off anyway. They take a mighty lot of killin’ sometimes. Now can you git me down to where I can walk? My ankle’s hurt.”
A quiet laugh of admiration came from the invisible man.
“You’re a plucky little lady,” he informed her. “Most girls in your place would be fainting or going all to pieces. As for walking, I don’t know. This is a tough hole to navigate in after dark. But we’ll see.”
The light moved toward her. As it advanced the man added in a chiding tone: “You shouldn’t have dropped like that. No wonder your ankle’s hurt.”
“Is that so! What was I goin’ to do, Mister Smarty—let that critter claw me? And I hurt my leg an hour ago, not jest now. And I wish you’d look and see if the catamount’s alive yet. He’s been pesterin’ round here ’most a month, and you better kill him good and dead.”
“Oh, he’s dead enough——”
“You go and look!”
Again the quiet laugh sounded.
“Just as you say, my lady. I think I heard him fall over back there.”