Part 7 (1/2)

”The old man opened the door, and the dog disappeared in the darkness, uttering another piteous howl.

”Then the old couple sat down and talked over the matter, and Gragstein promised his wife that he would shoot the dog in the morning.

”'It is hard,' said the old woman, 'but Providence wills it, and we must.'

”The wind lulled, and there was heard a wild, pitiful howl far away in the forest.

”'What is that?' asked the old woman, starting.

”'It was Faithful.'

”'So far away!'

”'The poor dog acted strange. There it is again, farther away.'

”The morning came, but the dog did not return. He had never stayed away from the old hut before. The next day he did not come, nor the next. The old couple missed him, and the old man bitterly reproached his wife for what she had advised him to do.

”Winter came, with pitiless storms and cold, and the old man would go forth to hunt alone, wis.h.i.+ng Faithful was with him.

”'It is not safe for me to go alone,' said he. 'I wish that the dog would come back.'

”'He will never come back,' said the old woman. 'He is dead. I can hear him howl nights, far away on the hill. He haunts me. Every night, when I put out the light, I can hear him howl out in the forest. 'Tis my tender heart that troubles me. 'Tis a troubled conscience that makes ghosts.'

”The old man tottered away with his gun. It was a cold morning after a snow. The old woman watched him from the frosty window as he disappeared, and muttered:

”'It is hard to be old and poor. G.o.d pity us all!'

”Night came, but the old man did not return. The old woman was in great distress, and knew not what to do. She set the candle in the window, and went to the door and called a hundred times, and listened, but no answer came. The silent stars filled the sky, and the moon rose over the snow, but no answer came.

”The next morning she alarmed the neighbors, and a company gathered to search for Gragstein. The men followed his tracks into the forests, over a cliff, and down to a stream of running water. They came to some thin ice, which had been weakened by the rush of the current, and there the tracks were lost.

”'He attempted to cross,' said one, 'and fell in. We will find his body in the spring. I pity his poor old wife. What shall we tell her?--What was that?'

”There was heard a pitiful howl on the other side of the stream.

”'Look!' said another.

”Just across the stream a great, lean shepherd dog came out of the snow tents of firs. His voice was weak, but he howled pitifully, as though calling the men.

”'We must cross the stream!' said they all.

”The men made a bridge by pus.h.i.+ng logs and fallen trees across the ice.

The dog met them joyfully, and they followed him.

”Under the tents of firs they found Gragstein, ready to perish with cold and hunger.

”'Take me home!' said he. 'I can not last long. Take me home, and call home the dog!'

”'What has happened?' asked the men.

”'I fell in. I called for help, and--the dog came--Faithful. He rescued me, but I was numb. He lay down on me and warmed me, and kept me alive.