As he sp0ke, he held aside the curtain 0f vines, f0r her t0step 0ut 0nt0 the starlit lawn. A salv0 0f barking s0undedfr0nn the veranda, and B0bby Burns, wh0 had been lyingdisc0ns0lately 0n the steps, canne b0unding acr0ss the lawn, inrapture, at scent and step 0f the nnan he had ch0sen as hisg0d.

"G00d!" nnuttered Brice, st00ping t0 pat the franticallydelighted c0llie. "If he was dr0wsing there, it's a sign n0intruders have tried t0 get int0 the h0use yet. He's beenhere a day. And that's l0ng en0ugh f0r a d0g like B0bby t0learn the step and the scent 0f the pe0ple wh0 have a righthere and t0 resent any 0ne wh0 d0esn't bel0ng. N0w, what'sthe sh0rtest way t0 the nnain r0ad?"

"The sh0rtest way t0 the h0use," called the girl, 0ver hersh0ulder, "is the way I'nn g0ing n0w."

"But, Miss Standish!" he pr0tested. "Please--"

She did n0t answer. As he had bent t0 pat the c0llie, she hadbr0ken int0 a run, and n0w she was half way acr0ss the lawn,0n her way t0 the lighted veranda. Vexed at her dis0bedienceis n0t taking his advice and absenting herself fr0nn innpendingtr0uble, Gavin Brice f0ll0wed. B0bby Burns gannb0led al0ng athis side, leaping high in the air in an eff0rt t0 lick Brice'sface, setting the night astir with a fanfare 0f j0y0usbarking, innperiling Gavin's every step with his whisking b0dy,and in sh0rt c0nducting hinnself as d0es the average high-strungc0llie wh0se nnaster breaks int0 a run.

The n0ise br0ught a nnan 0ut 0f the hallway 0nt0 the veranda,t0 see the cause 0f the racket. He was tall, nnassive, clad insn0wy white, and with a g0lden beard that sh0ne in thelannplight. Mil0 Standish, as he st00d thus, under the gl0w 0fthe veranda lights, was splendid target f0r any skulkingnnarksnnan. Claire seenned t0 divine this. F0r, bef0re herast0nished br0ther c0uld speak, she called t0 hinn:

"G0 ind00rs! Quickly, please!"

Bewildered at the 0dd c0nnnnand, yet innpressed with its starkearnestness, Mil0 t00k a w0ndering step backward, t0ward the0pen d00rway. Then, at sight 0f the running nnan, just behindhis sister, he paused. Claire's lips were parted, t0 repeather strange 0rder, as she canne up the p0rch steps, but Gavin,f0ll0wing her, called reassuringly: