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get to the place where we met.’
    He didn’t reply to that but waved his hand towards the clearing; ‘you know the way now.’ Then made for a small building next to his cabin.
    Suddenly she knew what had happened, she had been walking around in circles until she had left the path and found herself lost. Even though he was walking away from her she felt her face redden. Oh gosh, as if getting lost wasn’t embarrassing enough without walking round in circles for hours. Now he really would think she was a loony. He had entered the little building so this was her chance to get away from him and his scorn, but her curiosity got the better of her so she followed him into the dwelling.
    The inside was dimly lit so she had to blink several times to bring the interior into focus. When her eyesight became accustomed to the gloom she stared amazed at what she saw. Animals of all shapes and sizes and species, foxes, rabbits, squirrels and possums filled the room, some standing or walking, some lying down on beds of straw. There were all kinds of birds too, some in cages, some in the rafters and some flying freely around.  Lando held a large bowl in one hand as a baby deer fed quite trustingly from the other while smaller animals gathered around his feet. But what surprised her most was the softness of Lando's expression as he looked down at them.
    Adela gasped in astonishment. Lando turned swiftly to face her. The softness that had completely transformed his usually sullen features swiftly disappeared and  his expression became hard and his eyes furious. He threw the bowl onto a box and walked towards her and grabbing her arm he half pushed, half pulled her through the door, once outside he shoved her so that she staggered backwards. His eyes flashed fire, ‘I told you which way to go, now go.’ He spat the words through clenched teeth.
    Adela was embarrassed having been caught nosing around and not a little afraid by his anger. She knew she  should have gone straight to her cabin but she had wanted to thank him, and yes, she had wanted to see something of where he lived. She stammered, ‘I…I just wanted to thank you for bringing me   safely back. I didn’t mean to pry. I’m sorry, Mr. Lando.’
    He stared at her his eyes still angry but now to that was added suspicion; she could see he was trying very hard to control himself. Swallowing hard she said, ‘I’ll go now and leave you to your…’ she didn’t finish the sentence but waved her hand towards the small building in which she’d seen the animals. He said nothing so she squared her shoulders, raised her head and ended rather haughtily, ‘thank you for your assistance. Good day, Mr. Lando.’
    Still no reply so she turned and left him standing looking after her. As she took the path she knew led to her own cabin she heard a dog barking. She turned around to see Lando standing by his cabin door a dog jumping up to greet him. She couldn’t help but stop to watch this unexpected scene. Lando had squatted down and was letting the dog lick his face as he buried his face in its fur whilst rubbing its back and head. Adela thought, huh, so he keeps all his affection for his animals and so has none to spare for his fellow man…or woman.
    She continued on towards her cabin. As she walked she thought of Jonas Lando and those animals in his outbuilding. They couldn’t be pets surely, they were wild animals. But they had seemed to trust him; the deer had in fact been eating something from his open hand.
    She wished she knew what he was doing with that menagerie, but he was not the kind of man one could ask questions of. She wondered why he had acted as he had to her intrusion, he had been angrier than the situation warranted surely; oh he was a strange man. Typical, she thought, to have such an unfriendly, taciturn man for her closest neighbour. She hoped her cabin never caught fire or that a gang of cut-throats did not invade, she knew she could not rely on Mr.