At the sound of my voice she wagged her tail and looked round, then
stepped between the curtains. Just her head. She drew back; her lips
drawn from her teeth, snarling. She was rigid, alert, vitalised. Somehow
it made me cold. She was a brave dog; she feared nothing. The detective
stepped forward and pulled the curtains apart. The room was empty. We
looked into each other's faces. What is there to instinct? What is its
range? We could see nothing.
But not to the dog. Her eyes glowed. Hate, fear, terror, her whole body
rigid.
“I wonder,” I said. I stepped into the room. But I hadn't counted on the
dog. With a yelp she was upon me, had me by the calf of the leg and was
drawing me back. She stepped in front of me; a low, guttural growl of
warning. But there was nothing in that room; of that we were certain.
“Beats me,” said the detective. “How does she know? Wonder if she would
stop me?” He stepped forward. It was merely a repetition. She caught
him by the trouser-leg and drew him back. She crowded us away from the
curtain. It was almost magnetic. We could see nothing, neither could we
feel; was it possible that the dog could see beyond us? The detective
spoke first:
“Take her out of the room. Put her in the hall; tie her up.”
“What's the idea?”
“Merely this; I am going to examine the room. No, I am not afraid. I'll
be mighty glad if it does catch me. Anything so long as I get results.”
But it did us no good. We examined the room many times that night; both
of us. In the end there was nothing, only the weirdness and uncertainty
and the magnetic undercurrent which we could feel, but could not fathom.
When we called in the dog she stepped to the portieres and commenced her
vigil. She crouched slightly behind the curtains, alert, ready, waiting,
at her post of honour. From that moment she never left the spot except
under compulsion. We could hear her at all times of the night; the low
growl, the snarl, the defiance.
But there was a great deal more that we were to learn from the dog. It
was Jerome who first called my attention. A small fact at the beginning;
but of a strange sequence. This time it was the ring. Queen had the
habit that is common to most dogs; she would lick my hand to show her
affection. It was nothing in itself; but for one fact--she always chose
the left hand. It was the detective who first noticed it. Always and
every opportunity she would lick the jewel. We made a little test to try
her. I would remove the ring from one hand to the other; then hold it
behind me. She would follow.
It was a strange fact; but of course not inexplicable. A scent or the
attraction of taste might account for it. However, these little tests
led to a rather remarkable discovery.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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