““With a resounding bang, the door burst open. A crazed man gaped at her with piercing and anguished blue eyes. Grunting, he staggered inside and collapsed face first to the floor. Max launched into a cacophony of barking, racing around the man as if the spaniel had made a conquest. A cold wind chilled the cottage while Jane tried to steady the poker with both hands and point it at the burly form. He didn't move. Max whimpered and licked the man's face. Then the dog curled up beside him. Jane gaped. "Merciful father.””
![“That night, [Black Dog] lay beside Henry, and he stroked her sharp shoulder blades and scratched behind her ears. He did this late into the night as he listened to the low and terrible moans that swept through the hallways of the house and that were not from the lonely wind but from his lonely…” quote by Gary D. Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/372/gary-d-schmidt-7681_dog_that-night-black-dog-lay-beside-henry-an_2329646.jpg)
