Bart was instantly at his side. He
patted the shaggy head lightly, and pointed towards the door.
"Guard!" he whispered.
Then he lay down and was immediately asleep. Bart crouched at his feet
with his head pointed directly at the door.
In other rooms there was the sound of the Daniels family going to
bed--noises distinctly heard throughout the flimsy frame of the house.
After that a deep silence fell which lasted many hours, but in that
darkest moment which just precedes the dawn, a light creaking came up
the hall. It was very faint and it occurred only at long intervals,
but at the first sound Black Bart raised his head from his paws and
stared at the door with those glowing eyes which see in the dark.
Now another sound came, still soft, regular. There was a movement of
the door. In the pitch dark a man could never have noticed it, but it
was plainly visible to the wolf. Still more visible, when the door
finally stood wide, was the form of the man who stood in the opening.
In one hand he carried a lantern thoroughly hooded, but not so well
wrapped that it kept back a single ray which flashed on a revolver.
The intruder made a step forward, a step as light as the fall of
feathers, but it was not half so stealthy as the movement of Black
Bart as he slunk towards the door.
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