The dogs circled the room, both inhaling deep at the snakeskin. They climbed onto the platform where he’d spread his bedroll and blankets. Where they could smell him. He undressed and folded his clothes over the valise parked beside the bed, a hand reach away. Then knelt naked to blow out the lantern. And when it was out wished he’d thought beforehand to check his pockets for matches. He had some. Somewhere. He felt along in the dark and got into the bedroll, pushing his feet and legs down past the crunched-in dogs who only shifted enough to let him in. Once in, he stretched and turned and the dogs turned with him.

“Hey. Hey!” The voice low, urgent, a whisper articulated into the night so it became a thing of the night itself. The words again repeated, calling out: “Hey in there. Hey!” A woman, a girl, the voice low in her throat but quick, breath filling the words, as if she spoke from some distance direct into his ear, as if she knew him and were calling him out as he turned waking, the dogs already alert, sitting up beside him, a low-throated growl rising from Lovey. Glow barked once and stopped when he placed his hand on her back. Then both dogs quiet. As if they did not know what to make of this new place. Foster sat up in the bedroll. The girl outside was rapping on the door as she called again, then rapping on the window, then back to the door. Silent he cursed himself for not having matches, for not knowing where they were, and writhed off the plank platform with the sleeping bag held up under his arms and hopped two-footed to the door. He leaned at the door, one hand sliding up the wall to find the wood latch. He didn’t lift it but kept his hand there and bent his head close to the door and matched her own whisper.

“Who is it?”

“Who is it? You don’t know who I am. I could tell you anything and it wouldn’t make a difference to you. Open the damn door.”

“What do you want?”

“Shoot. You going to play twenty questions or you going to open the door?”

He was silent, his hand on the latch. He felt he could feel her breathing, thought she must be leaned up against the door on the other side the same as he was.

“It’s Daphne. There. Does that help?”

“I don’t know any Daphne.”

“Of course you don’t. You don’t know anything. But you opened the door, you’d know something. That’d be a start, don’t you think?”

“I don’t have any clothes on.”

He heard her laughing. She said, “I don’t recall asking you to get naked.”

“I was asleep.”

“Well, get dressed.”

“It’s dark in here. Do you have any matches?”

“To see you with?”

“So I can find my clothes.”