"'Let him go out,' said the old woman. 'What possesses him to go out to-night into the storm? But let him go, and then I can talk easier about the matter. Did you see his eyes—as if he knew? He haunts me! Let him go out.'
"The old man opened the door, and the dog disappeared in the darkness, uttering another piteous howl.
"Then the old couple sat down and talked over the matter, and Gragstein promised his wife that he would shoot the dog in the morning.
"'It is hard,' said the old woman, 'but Providence wills it, and we must.'
"The wind lulled, and there was heard a wild, pitiful howl far away in the forest.
"'What is that?' asked the old woman, starting.
"'It was Faithful.'
"'So far away!'
"'The poor dog acted strange. There it is again, farther away.'
"The morning came, but the dog did not return. He had never stayed away from the old hut before. The next day he did not come, nor the next. The old couple missed him, and the old man bitterly reproached his wife for what she had advised him to do.