“Say, what's the matter in there?” he asked persuasively.

A moment's silence, and then a gruff voice slowly answered:

“They ain't nobody at home!”

“The hell they ain't!” Jim laughed.

“No!”

“Who are you?”

She hesitated and then growled back:

“None o' your business. Who are you?”

“We're strangers up here—lost our way. It's cold—we got to stop for the night.”

“Ye can't—they's nobody home, I tell ye!” she repeated with sullen emphasis.