Virginia took the letters and money. She walked slowly to the door. At the threshold she halted, turning to her father.
"May I take the cats with me?" she called back to him.
She started to explain, but he cut her words off with a fierce ejaculation.
"Hell, yes!" he snapped. "Damn the cats! Get out!"
Once in the hall, Virginia stood and looked back upon the closed door.
"I guess he don't need me to teach him swear words," she told herself in a whisper.
Then she went down to the kitchen, where Matty sat dreaming over a wood fire.