eans
calculated to encourage my resolution. It was but a second, though, and
then I had drawn the bolts, and was standing on the path outside
the door.

Pepper followed, stopping at the doorstep to sniff, suspiciously; and
carrying his nose up and down the jambs, as though following a scent.
Then, suddenly, he turned, sharply, and started to run here and there,
in semicircles and circles, all around the door; finally returning to
the threshold. Here, he began again to nose about.

Hitherto, I had stood, watching the dog; yet, all the time, with half
my gaze on the wild tangle of gardens, stretching 'round me. Now, I went
toward him, and, bending down, examined the surface of the door, where
he was smelling. I found that the wood was covered with a network of
scratches, crossing and recrossing one another, in inextricable
confusion. In addition to this, I noticed that the doorposts,
themselves, were gnawed in places. Beyond these, I could find nothing;
and so, standing up, I began to make the tour of the house wall.

Pepper, as soon as I walked away, left the door, and ran ahead, still
nosing and sniffing as he went along. At times, he stopped to
investigate. Here, it would be a bullet-hole in the pathway, or,
perhaps, a powder stained wad. Anon, it might be a piece of torn sod, or
a disturbed patch of weedy path; but, save for such trifles, he found
nothing. I observed him, critically, as he went along, and could
discover nothing of uneasiness, in his demeanor, to indicate that he
felt the nearness of any of the creatures. By this, I was assured that
the gardens were empty, at least for the present, of those hateful
Things. Pepper could not be easily deceived, and it was a relief to feel
that he would know, and give me timely warning, if there were
any danger.

Reaching the place where I had shot that first creature, I stopped, and
made a careful scrutiny; but could see nothing. From there, I went on to
where the great copingstone had fallen. It lay on its side, apparently
just as it had been left when I shot the brute that was moving it. A
couple of feet to the right of the nearer end, was a great dent in the
ground; showing where it had struck. The other end was still within the
indentation--half in, and half out. Going nearer, I looked at the stone,
more closely. What a huge piece of masonry it was! And that creature had
moved it, single-handed, in its attempt to reach what lay below.

I went 'round to the furt