The Day of the Dog | Page 9

seemed glad when he drew her close to him and pressed her head upon his shoulder. He heard the long sigh of relief and relaxation and she peered curiously over her wet lace handkerchief when he muttered tenderly:
"Poor little chap!"
Then she sighed again quite securely, and there was a long silence, broken regularly and rhythmically by the faint little catches that once were tearful sobs.
"Oh, dear me! It is quite dark," she cried suddenly, and he felt a shudder run through her body.
"Where could you go to-night, Mrs. Delancy, if we were to succeed in getting away from here?" he asked abruptly. She felt his figure straighten and his arm grow tense as if a sudden determination had charged through it.
"Why--why, I hadn't thought about that," she confessed, confronted by a new proposition.
"There's a late night train for Chicago," he volunteered.
"But how are we to catch it?"
"If you are willing to walk to town I think you can catch it," he said, a strange ring in his voice.
"What do you mean?" she demanded, looking up at his face quickly.
"Can you walk the two miles?" he persisted. "The train leaves Dexter at eleven o'clock and it is now nearly eight."
"Of course I can walk it," she said eagerly. "I could walk a hundred miles to get away from this place."
"You'll miss the New York train, of course."
"I've changed my mind, Mr. Crosby. I shall remain in Chicago until we have had our revenge on Austin and the others."
"That's very good of you. May I ask where you stop in Chicago?"
"My apartments are in the C--- Building. My mother lives with me."
"Will you come to see me some time?" he asked, an odd smile on his lips.
"Come to see you?" she cried in surprise. "The idea! What do you mean?"
"I may not be able to call on you for some time, but you can be very good to me by coming to see me. I'll be stopping at St. Luke's Hospital for quite a while."
"At St. Luke's Hospital? I don't understand," she cried perplexed.
"You see, my dear Mrs. Delancy, I have come to a definite conclusion in regard to our present position. You must not stay here all night. I'd be a coward and a cur to subject you to such a thing. Well, I'm going down to tackle that dog."
"To--tackle--the--dog," she gasped.
"And while I'm keeping him busy you are to cut and run for the road down there. Then you'll have easy sailing for town."
"Mr. Crosby," she said firmly, clasping his arm; "you are not to leave this beam. Do you think I'll permit you to go down there and be torn to pieces by that beast, just for the sake of letting me cut and run, as you call it? I'd be a bigger brute than the dog and--and--"
"Mrs. Delancy, my mind is made up. I'm going down!"
"That settles it! I'm coming too," she proclaimed emphatically.
"To be sure. That's the plan. You'll escape while I hold Swallow."
"I'll do nothing of the sort. You shall not sacrifice yourself for my sake. I'd stay up here with you all the rest of my life before I'd permit you to do that."
"I'll remind you of that offer later on, my dear Mrs. Delancy, when we are not so pressed for time. Just now you must be practical, however. We can't stay up here all night."
"Please, Mr. Crosby, for my sake, don't go down there. To please me, don't be disfigured. I know you are awfully brave and strong, but he is such a huge, vicious dog. Won't you please stay here?"
"Ten minutes from now it will be too dark to see the dog and he'll have an advantage over me. Listen: I'll meet you at the depot in an hour and a half. This is final, Mrs. Delancy. Will you do as I tell you? Run for the road and then to town. I'll promise to join you there."
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" she moaned, as he drew away from her and swung one foot to the ladder. "I shall die if you go down there."
"I am going just the same. Don't be afraid, little woman. My pocket knife is open and it is a trusty blade. Now, be brave and be quick. Follow me down the ladder and cut for it."
"Please, please, please!" she implored, wringing her hands.
But he was already half-way down the ladder and refused to stop.
Suddenly Crosby paused as if checked in his progress by some insurmountable obstacle. The dog was at the foot of the ladder, snarling with joy over the prospective end of his long vigil. Above, Mrs. Delancy was moaning and imploring him to come back to her side, even threatening to spring from the beam to the floor before he could reach the bottom.
"By George!" he