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"Little Tumbledown is a friend of the princess," I answered; "so is Luva: I saw them both, more than once, trying to feed her with grapes!" "Little Tumbledown is good! Luva is very good!" "That is why they are her friends." "Will the cat-woman I mean the woman that isn't the cat-woman, and has no claws to her toes give her grapes?" "She is more likely to give her scratches!" "Why?
People are frightened if I come on them suddenly. They call me the Cat-woman. It is not my name." I remembered what the children had told me that she was very ugly, and scratched. But her voice was gentle, and its tone a little apologetic: she could not be a bad giantess! "You shall not hear it from me," I answered, "Please tell me what I MAY call you!"
"I shall do that without fail," said Gatton, "and some time to-day I should be obliged if you could provide me with the facts concerning the little cat-images which you said you had in your possession." "Certainly," I agreed. "You are still of the opinion that the mark upon the crate and the image of the cat-woman have an important bearing upon the crime?" "I don't doubt it," was the reply.
"And beware of the giant-woman that lives in the desert," said one of the bigger girls as they were turning, "I suppose you have heard of her!" "No," I answered. "Then take care not to go near her. She is called the Cat-woman. She is awfully ugly AND SCRATCHES." As soon as the bigger ones stopped, the smaller had begun to run back.
The others now looked at me gravely for a moment, and then walked slowly away. Last to leave me, Lona held up the baby to be kissed, gazed in my eyes, whispered, "The Cat-woman will not hurt YOU," and went without another word. I stood a while, gazing after them through the moonlight, then turned and, with a heavy heart, began my solitary journey.
You say she is her friend!" "That is just why. A friend is one who gives us what we need, and the princess is sorely in need of a terrible scratching." They were silent again. "If any of you are afraid," I said, "you may go home; I shall not prevent you. But I cannot take one with me who believes the giants rather than me, or one who will call a good lady the cat-woman!"
When she saw me, a flash of anger crossed her face, and she turned her head aside. Then, with an attempted smile, she looked at me, and said, "I have met with a small accident! Happening to hear that the cat-woman was again in the city, I went down to send her away. But she had one of her horrid creatures with her: it sprang upon me, and had its claws in my neck before I could strike it!"
"You do not see her," I said; "her face is covered!" "She has no face!" they answered. "She has a very beautiful face. I saw it once. It is indeed as beautiful as Lona's!" I added with a sigh. "Then what makes her hide it?" "I think I know: anyhow, she has some good reason for it!" "I don't like the cat-woman! she is frightful!"
"I am sure she will never be unkind to you, even if she do hurt you!" They were silent for a while. "I'm not afraid of being hurt a little! a good deal!" cried Odu. "But I should not like scratches in the dark! The giants say the cat-woman has claw-feet all over her house!" "I am taking the princess to her," I said. "Why?" "Because she is her friend." "How can she be good then?"
I might be a dove for a moment and fetch it, but I see a little snake in the leaves whose bite would be worse to a dove than the bite of a tiger to me! How I hate that cat-woman!" She turned to me quickly, saying with one of her sweetest smiles, "Can you climb?" The smile vanished with the brief question, and her face changed to a look of sadness and suffering.
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