"Thar hain't no call fer ye to be so dum skeery--leastways, not yit. I hain't a-hurtin' ye none--not yit--only jest a-tyin' yer han's to keep 'em out o' mischief. But I reckon as how ye'll hev to eat them words ye spoke to me at the gate yistiddy. I 'low ye done forgot the warnin' I gin ye 'bout playin' Dan Hodges fer a fool. Ye're lookin' mighty sorry ye ever tried hit." He chuckled again, as he meditated a humorous effort: "Ye know thet pore feller what ye winged yistiddy?" He shook his head reprovingly. "You-all shore hadn't orter never 'ave done no sech thing. Garry wa'n't a-bitin' on ye none. He's hurt bad, Garry is, an' he needs a nuss the worst way, Garry does. An' so I come an' got ye." He guffawed over his wit. "If ye'll behave I'll let loose o' ye a mite, an' we'll stroll along a matter of a few mile to whar Garry's waitin' awful impatient." Suddenly, unreasoning fear surged up in Plutina, brimmed over in a torrent of pleading words. She knew the uselessness of appeal to this callous wretch. But the instinct of terror in her horrible situation mastered the girl, so that she forgot pride, and besought his mercy. She was ghastly pale, and the dilated eyes were almost black, with a stricken look in their clouded depths. Her voice was shaking. "Lemme go Dan--lemme go. Ye've done got even with me now fer yistiddy. Lemme go--I ax it of ye, Dan. I done ye dirt yistiddy, 'cause I was scared o' ye. An' I'm scared o' ye now, Dan. Lemme go home, an' I won't never tell nobody how ye kotched me." She had raised her eyes beseechingly. Now, as she saw the smug mockery on her captor's face, she fell silent. The futility of any pleading was too plain. Her eyes shifted to the ground again. But the first wild fear was past, and she began to think with some clearness. At once, it occurred to her that she must guard her strength jealously. She had already wasted too much in vain physical struggling and in vainer emotional outbursts. She must save her energies henceforth both of body and of mind, that she might have wherewith to contrive, escape and wherewith to accomplish it, or wherewith to fight against a lustful brute to the very death. Hodges spoke approval. "Ye're gittin' sense. Better save yer breath to cool yer porrich, stid o' wastin' hit a-whinin' to me. But I shore admire fer to hear ye squawk. Ye hain't quite so damned uppitty as ye was yistiddy." "I 'low I must do what ye says," Plutina agreed, listlessly. She felt very weary, now that the reaction was upon her. At whatever cost, she must have an interval in which to recover from this weakness.