"Andre Norton - Star Ka'at 01 - Star Ka'at" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

of a nose and a wide mouth which shaped the words she sang.

Over one shoulder, a shoulder so thin and small it would seem any
weight would break it in two, she carried a gunny sack, which had been
patched with pieces of cloth sewn into place by big, uneven stitches. One
or two threads were hanging as if it was about to come loose and let fall
whatever that bumpy sack contained. Setting the bag down, the little girl
made a sudden dart at the pile of old boards and returned, waving two
Coke bottles in triumph.

"Lucky day, sure is a lucky day!" she announced to the world at large.
"Somebody leaves good cash money lyin' around—" She tucked the bottles
carefully into her sack and then squatted down to inspect one of the loose
patches, pulling the thread tighter and trying to tie its end fast to another
dangling one.

"No good to find 'em and lose 'em," she commented. "I got to borrow a
needle an' get busy, sew these up again—" She was frowning as she shifted
the sack, turning it around to inspect the other side. Then for the first
time she saw Jim and Tiro.

"What are you doing here, boy?" she demanded shrilly, her hands
resting on her hips, her face pinching together in a scowl. "This place—I
found it first, yesterday. It's my picking-up lot!"

Tiro slipped out of Jim's hold to trot toward the newcomer. Now he
gave a small, sharp cry. The girl backed up a step.

"That's a big old cat for sure. I ain't fightin' him."

Tiro sat down as if to assure the girl he meant no harm. With a wary
glance now and then in his direction, she looked to Jim again.

"I told you, this here's my hunting ground. I ain't gonna let nobody in,
neither."

Jim stood up. "You hunting bottles? What for?"

Her scowl changed to a surprised expression. "What for? 'Cause they're
worth cash money, boy. How come you ask me a silly thing like that? Or,"
she eyed his clothing, "you rich folks don't have to worry about no money
back on bottles? Anyway, you get off my place." She looked about her and
then seized upon a part of an old window frame which still had a rusty nail
or two on one end. She swung this warningly in his direction. "I can give
you a few whacks, boy. I ain't nobody you can push around—"

"I don't want to push you around." Jim thought she had a lot of spunk.
Why he was a lot bigger than she and she did not know that he would not
fight her back.