The bell in question, however, gave no such sounds _as these_, and it was this fact which filled the missionary with a sudden, terrible dread.
Suppose a person take one of these bells in his hand, and give a steady, _uninterrupted_ motion.

The consequence must be a regular, unvarying, monotonous sound, which any ear can distinguish from the natural one caused by the animal itself.

It was a steady tink, tink, tink, that the bell in question sent forth.
The missionary stood but a moment; then dashing into the house, he took down his ever-loaded rifle and ran in the direction of the sound.
In his hurry, he forgot powder-horn and bullet, and had, as a consequence, but a single charge in his rifle.

He had gone scarcely a hundred yards, when he encountered the goat returning home.

One glance showed there was _no bell_ to its neck, while that ominous tink, tink, tink, came through the woods as uninterruptedly as before.
The father now broke into a swifter run, almost losing his presence of mind from his great, agonizing fear.