noon
An hour had passed when he heard a sound at the door , a scraping sound , like the peculiar drag of claws over wood , and a moment later it was followed by a whine that came to him faintly . He opened the door slowly . Baree stood just outside the threshold . He had given him two fish at noon , so he knew that it was not hunger that had brought the dog to the cabin . Some mysterious instinct had told him that David was alone ; he wanted to come in ; his yearning gleamed in his eyes as he stood there stiff-legged in the moonlight . David held out a hand , on the point of enticing him through the door , when he heard the soft crunching of feet in the snow . A gray shadow , swift as the wind , Baree disappeared .