"Well, Henry..." Bill stopped for a moment, in order that his words might gain greater significance."As I was sayin', Henry, we've got six dogs.I took six fish out of the bag.I gave one fish to each dog, an', Henry, I was one fish short.""You counted wrong."
"We've got six dogs," the other reiterated dispassionately." took out six fish.One Ear didn't get no fish.I come back to the bag afterward an' got 'm his fish.""We've only got six dogs," Henry said.
"Henry," Bill went on, "I won't say they was all dogs, but there was seven of 'm that got fish."Henry stopped eating to glance across the fire and count the dogs.
"There's only six now," he said.
"I saw the other one run off across the snow," Bill announced with cool positiveness."I saw seven."His comrade looked at him commiseratingly, and said, "I'll be almighty glad when this trip's over.""What d'ye mean by that?" Bill demanded.
"I mean that this load of ourn is gettin' on your nerves, an' that you're beginnin' to see things.""I thought of that," Bill answered gravely."An' so, when saw it run off across the snow, I looked in the snow an' saw its tracks.Then I counted the dogs an' there was still six of 'em.The tracks is there in the snow now.D'ye want to look at 'em? I'll show 'm to you."Henry did not reply, but munched on in silence, until, the meal finished, he topped it with a final cup of coffee.He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and said:
"Then you're thinkin' as it was -- "
A long wailing cry, fiercely sad, from somewhere in the darkness, had interrupted him.He stopped to listen to it, then he finished his sentence with a wave of his hand toward the sound of the cry, " -- one of them?"Bill nodded."I'd a blame sight sooner think that than anything else.