“All right,” answered Pa McBirney. “I wish you luck.”
One of the show women came up on the porch and looked in the door.
“We’ll take that girl off your hands now,” she said, “and thank you for your trouble.”
“No trouble at all, ma’am,” said pa politely. “A pleasure, ma’am.”
“If you’ll just tell me where she is,” Betty Bowen went on, looking into the room and seeing no one there but Jim and his father, “I’ll go for her.”
“It’s my impression,” said pa slowly, “that my wife and the girl walked on down the mountain a piece. If you’ll follow the road maybe you’ll catch up with ’em. Maybe.”
“See here!” said Mrs. Bowen angrily. “I want that there girl and I want her quick.”
“It don’t seem as if we did anything very quick up here,” said pa gently. “It’s our way to take our time about things.”
The woman looked at pa and her face turned red. Then she said some things that Jim wondered at, and after that she went for the men. They came storming back, and Sisson wedged himself in the doorway.
“Where’s that girl, McBirney?” he demanded.