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Show 83 terror as Gast reached the animal and let it sniff his fingers, then knelt in front of it to stroke its thick black head, putting his face almost up against the dog's eyes. The mastiff stopped barking, began to whimper, and rolled on its back, lying still as Gast rubbed its belly. Without turning toward me he said, "Go into the barn, Geist, quickly, and wait for me there. Stay in back of me and walk gently - do not make any sudden motions." He continued to stroke the dog while I followed his directions, creeping on tiptoe to the open side of the bam and entering it. The door had fallen off long before, if there had been one. It was dark inside the bam, but not too dark to see because light came through the doorway, through the many chinks in the timbers and through a hole in the roof where some thatch had fallen in. Very soon Gast came to stand beside me. There was no sound from the dog outside. "Is he dead?" I asked. "The dog? Of course not. He knows that we will not hurt him, so he is silent. But he will bark if anyone else comes hear, so we will have warning. It is good that he's there." "Here is the grain bin," I told him. "Hardly more than a few bushels of rye inside." "That will be enough," Gast said. "Give me a handful of the grain. Good. Now wait for a moment until I have gone outside to see it in better light." |
