Earlier in the morning, I had been to see Pepper.  He was mending, rapidly; and bade fair to be on his legs, in earnest, in another day or two.  Before leaving the breakfast table, I made some reference to his improvement.  In the short discussion that followed, I was surprised to gather, from my sister’s remarks, that she was still under the impression that his wound had been given by the wildcat, of my invention.  It made me feel almost ashamed of myself for deceiving her.  Yet, the lie had been told to prevent her from being frightened.  And then, I had been sure that she must have known the truth, later, when those brutes had attacked the house.

During the day, I kept on the alert; spending much of my time, as on the previous day, in the tower; but not a sign could I see of the Swine-creatures, nor hear any sound.  Several times, the thought had come to me, that the Things had, at last, left us; but, up to this time, I had refused to entertain the idea, seriously; now, however, I began to feel that there was reason for hope.  It would soon be three days since I had seen any of the Things; but still, I intended to use the utmost caution.  For all that I could tell, this protracted silence might be a ruse to tempt me from the house—­perhaps right into their arms.  The thought of such a contingency, was, alone, sufficient to make me circumspect.

So it was, that the fourth, fifth and sixth days went by, quietly, without my making any attempt to leave the house.

On the sixth day, I had the pleasure of seeing Pepper, once more, upon his feet; and, though still very weak, he managed to keep me company during the whole of that day.

XI

THE SEARCHING OF THE GARDENS

How slowly the time went; and never a thing to indicate that any of the brutes still infested the gardens.

It was on the ninth day that, finally, I decided to run the risk, if any there were, and sally out.  With this purpose in view, I loaded one of the shotguns, carefully—­choosing it, as being more deadly than a rifle, at close quarters; and then, after a final scrutiny of the grounds, from the tower, I called Pepper to follow me, and made my way down to the basement.

At the door, I must confess to hesitating a moment.  The thought of what might be awaiting me among the dark shrubberies, was by no means calculated to encourage my resolution.  It was but a second, though, and then I had drawn the bolts, and was standing on the path outside the door.

Pepper followed, stopping at the doorstep to sniff, suspiciously; and carrying his nose up and down the jambs, as though following a scent.  Then, suddenly, he turned, sharply, and started to run here and there, in semicircles and circles, all around the door; finally returning to the threshold.  Here, he began again to nose about.