.

The Venture.
From the moment Joan gave the name of Daddy Dan, the wolf-dog kept to the trail with arrowy straightness.

Whatever the limitations of Bart's rather uncanny intelligence, upon one point he was usually letter-perfect, and even when a stranger mentioned Dan in the hearing of the dog it usually brought a whine or at least an anxious look.

He hewed to his line now with that animal sense of direction which men can never wholly understand.

Boulders and trees slipped away on either side of Joan; now on a descent of the mountain-side he broke into a lope that set the flowers fluttering on her bonnet; now he prowled up the ravine beyond, utterly tireless.
He was strictly business.