"What in tunket do you want?"
"Hello, Harold," Melinda trilled.
She was dressed in the boy's trousers she always wore except when she went to school, a boy's shirt which immediately gave the lie to the theory that girls can't wear boys' clothing and look like girls, and a denim jacket. Her feet were encased in an old pair of shoes, and a boy's hat was pushed back on her saucy black curls. Without a second glance for Harky, she walked past him into the kitchen.
"Pa's been mule-kicked and can't come," she announced. "I brought Glory."
"Right kind of ya," said Mun. "We'll take good care of her an' see that she gits back."
"Oh, I'll take her back myself," Melinda said. "Pa will expect it."
"Nice of ya to offer," said Mun. "But Harky an' me, we sort of batch it here. The house ain't rightly fixed fer a girl to stay in an' we may be gone all night."
"Don't you worry about that, Mr. Mundee," Melinda reassured him. "I'm going hunting with you."
Harky gagged. Melinda turned to face him.