Mother Meldrum got up and went back to her cooking, leaving them standing, with Sylvia still knee deep in black cats.
“Look here, Mum,” said Gorbo, after an uncomfortable interval of silence, “Golithos told me you’d be kind enough to tell me----”
“Golithos?” The old woman turned round smartly. “So you saw Golithos, did you?”
“Yes, Mum, we stayed one night at his place. He said you came to see him sometimes, and he told us to wait there for you.”
“Then what made you leave him?”
“Because—well, because----” Gorbo felt that perhaps, if she was friendly to Golithos, she might not think highly of his offer to send three arrows through his head.
Mother Meldrum went to her stool and sat thinking and thinking, with her eyes wandering from Gorbo to the children. Suddenly she gave a tremendous chuckle that made them all jump. Then she jumped up briskly and patted Sylvia on the shoulder and told her to sit down.
“And sit down, all of you,” she went on. “What are you all standing for? There are stools enough. You must be hungry too, but I’ll soon have some dinner ready. I wouldn’t like you to go away saying that old Mother Meldrum didn’t feed you properly.”
Though they did not understand this very decided change of manner (who would?) it was very welcome. Gorbo put his bundle and his bow and arrows in a corner, and got a basin of water for the children to wash in. Then he washed his own piece of comb and gave it to Sylvia to put her hair in order, and when she had done this Joe had a turn at the comb. Tiger was put by Mother Meldrum’s advice in a little coarse basket and hung up on a hook in the ceiling, and there he sat moaning a little while the fierce black cats roamed to and fro and looked up at him with shining green eyes and sniffed as if he smelt good to them.