“Let her go. We’ll have her. With the three of us able to explain how and when she got marked, she’s sunk.”
“How come you’ve got this stuff?”
“I was hoping for a chance to mark her myself.”
“How much will it hurt her?”
“None at all. Put some on me — anywhere you like, as long as it don’t show.”
“You’d better give me the story — why she’ll be sunk. I don’t care how long it is.”
“Not till she’s marked.” I was firm. “I will as soon as you mark her.”
He studied the label again. I watched his face, hoping he wouldn’t ask if the mark would be permanent because I didn’t know what answer would suit him, and I had to sell him.
“A woman,” he muttered. “By God, a woman!”
“Yeah,” I said sympathetically. “She sure made a monkey of you.”