No man could say what went through the mind of Dan Barry as
he stood there watching the house of his building burn, but now he turned
and threw his arms over the neck and back of Satan, and dropped his
forehead against the withers of the black. It troubled the stallion. He
turned his head, and nosed the shoulder of the master gently, and Black
Bart, in an agony of anxiety, reared up beside Dan and brought his head
almost up to the head of the man; there he whined pleadingly for never
before had he seen the master hide his face.
A deep, short report made the master stand away from Satan. The fire had
reached a small stock of powder, and the shock of the explosion was
followed by a great crashing and rending as an inner wall went down. That
fall washed a solid mass of yellow flame across the front door, but the
fire fell back, and then Dan saw the doll which he himself had made for
Joan; it had been thrown by the smashing of the wall squarely in front of
the door, and now the fire reached after it--long arms across the floor. It
was an odd contrivance, singularly made of carved wood and with arms and
legs fastened on by means of bits of strong sinew, and Joan prized it above
all the rosy faced dolls which Kate had bought for her.
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