He looked casually down on her. So she crept a few inches
further, proceeding on her way to the back door, crouching in a
wonderful, soft, self-obliterating manner, and moving like a shadow.
He, going statelily on his slim legs, walked after her, then suddenly,
for pure excess, he gave her a light cuff with his paw on the side of
her face. She ran off a few steps, like a blown leaf along the ground,
then crouched unobtrusively, in submissive, wild patience. The Mino
pretended to take no notice of her. He blinked his eyes superbly at the
landscape. In a minute she drew herself together and moved softly, a
fleecy brown-grey shadow, a few paces forward. She began to quicken her
pace, in a moment she would be gone like a dream, when the young grey
lord sprang before her, and gave her a light handsome cuff. She
subsided at once, submissively.
'She is a wild cat,' said Birkin. 'She has come in from the woods.'
The eyes of the stray cat flared round for a moment, like great green
fires staring at Birkin.
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