"Ay, Gloom Achanna, for I have but to scream and Sheumais will be here, an' he would kill you like a dog if he knew you did me harm."
"Ah, but if there were no Sheumais, or any man to come between me an' my will!"
"Then there would be a woman! Ay, if you over-bore me I would strangle you with my hair, or fix my teeth in your false throat!"
"I was not for knowing you were such a wild-cat; but I'll tame you yet, my lass! Aha, wild-cat!" And as he spoke he laughed low.
"It is a true word, Gloom of the black heart. I am a wild-cat, and, like a wild-cat, I am not to be seized by a fox; and that you will be finding to your cost, by the holy St. Bridget! But now, off with you, brother of my man!"
"Your man—ha! ha!"
"Why do you laugh?"
"Sure, I am laughing at a warm, white lass like yourself having a dead man as your lover!"
"A—dead—man?"
No answer came. The girl shook with a new fear. Slowly she drew closer, till her breath fell warm against the face of the other.