The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-16
THE ADVERTISERS
DAILY SHORT STORY

4
and day. cannot get rid of 1t, yet the
animal will never be found, for-Ceoffrey,
1t is the phantom dog"
"I'll find the brute and shoot it, he
| tiotoe.
! Clifford rode crafty. desperately. He
, made great circuits of the country but
there was nothing At times the baying
| would come from under the very feet Of
! the horse he rode: minute later the
sound rose like hooking echo from the
far distance. Stranger than this. the cry.
loud haunting. as it was, never came
| to the ears of any save these three.
! Jeanne, Jean and Clifford
Jeanne weakened daily. For hours at
| time the only peace she had was when
| she lay unconscious. AT every lucid In
| terval she moaned of the phantom dog.
| rolling her head from side to side as she
| spoke. her hands clenched. her teeth set.
Unless We can convince her there is
| no dog the doctor paused. shaking
his head.
Then Clifford. exasperated by previous
| failures. and sick with grief. stayed In
his saddle until he dropped senseiess
from sheer exhaustion.
The winter passed: early spring came.
Late in April and the night before East
er. clifford. terribly haggard and worn.
the influence had been strong in him that
the end of something was at hand. The
moon was warm and sweet as 1t had
been that evening just a year ago when
side by side.
A great lump choked the mans throat.
From upstairs In the room where she
| lay came the cries forced from her in
| the raving of delirium. Jean was pacing
the ground, tramping up and down. his
| face lined and old All at once the bay
| ing of dog rolled across from the
woods in tremendous wave Of sound
| 1t was followed instantly by a shrill
| sceram from upstairs.
Clifford shuddered. All his jaded senses
sprang into fierce activity. God III
| Heaven" he cried aloud. give me one
| chance. Give me one sight of that hell
hound. Let me meet 1t in fair fight, for
Jeanne's sake. For Jeannes sake
The moon rose above the shadow OF
! the forest trees AS the light grew clear
Jean uttered stified sound of horror.
| Clifford. turning his head towards the
! boy, felt his blood chill. His eyes were
| on a line with something: something
! crouched motionless and black on the
| crest of the lawn.
The man wheeled about sharply. Al
| the same minute cry burst from the
creature outlined against the green bank.
1t was the damnable Cry that for months
had driven them desperate. The sound
raised Clifford to fury. Anything was
better than this. All fear fled from him.
With bound the beast instinct to fight
was rampant in his veins. Whipping out
his revolver. he dashed straight ahead,
stopping at nothing. peering through the
moonlight to keep sight of that inhuman
something he could see tangible
thing. at least-thank God.
1t seemed to Clifford that his first step
forward was the animals signal for bait
tie. With a rush the creature came GAL
Looping forward. Man and beast met IN
| a clash that loosened Cliffords grip on
the revolver and sent II spinning across
the ground. where 1t lay out of reach
| Undaunted. he doubled his fist to the
hardness of a malet.
The animals hot. nauseating breath
poured into his face. the long fangs cut
his throat. Before he could strike one
blow. the sharp claws knived his hands
For all that. Clifford struggled madly.
blindly. terrifcally; fighting not for him
self. but for Jeanne His Jeanne!
Everything grew black before the man.
| covered their light Still some unseen
power was squirting him. biting him on
| and on. His strength was going fast; his
blows were aimless: the muscles of his
hands relaxed. The fangs sank deep into
the soft skin of his neck he gave half
| cry. Was this the end of 1t all?
A long time afterward Clifford opened
his eyes. Dawn was breaking. The pink
hues were creeping into his den. where
he lay on the great couch. Jean bending
over him The expression in the boys
eyes fascinated Geoffrev.
Jeanne" he exclaimed. and dared ask
nothing more.
she is all right. 1t is little girl.
Both-both of them are alive and WELL
| Geo1. Awe ana we'll .
| And that-that creature, Geonrey
| voice quivered.
But Jean looked at him curiously, not
| answering.
| Upstairs Clifford bent over the tiny
| form of his daughter. Jeanne was smil-
| ing at him, her face radiant, her eyes
| full of contentment.
1T has been dreary winter. dear. but
| we will make 1t all up to you-she and |.
| Do you know Godfrey, ! had terrible
| time all my sickness with a dog" She
looked into his eyes anxiously, putting a
| question she would not ask.
| imagination, sweetheart. Jeanne. |
| wonder IL the moon will set in the Easter
cross tonight" He avoided the mute APP
peal in her gaze. And he never answered
one question that she sometimes asked
him. nor did he ever allow her to see.
| lust above his shoulder. the two blue.
| black marks that Scared the skin. Marks
that looked like the indentaton of a
| wild creatures fangs.