The moon, which had been full 2 nights ago when Monty was saving his haystack from the pair of marauding wild boar, was still shining brightly in the clear country air, but had moved further down the sky toward the west. Through 9-power field glasses or rifle scope, colors could be distinguished faintly, but with normal eyesight everything appeared white or shades of gray. Where a solid object like the barn, or the huge oak tree halfway between the barn and house, blocked the moonlight the shadow was pitch black. Monty motioned for Laura to lead the way up the path toward the long, low ranch house sitting on a slight rise a hundred yards from the barn and corrals. He followed her, and Ranny brought up the rear, still cradling the M-16 since he knew it was far more useful than the snub-nosed .38 if these two tried anything.
The house was a traditional ranch style, a long one-story structure with wooden clapboard siding and a metal roof. In the remote country areas where fire was a constant threat, shingle or shake roofs were an invitation to disaster. A shaded porch ran the full length of the south side, with several comfortable wicker seats which gave a view of the river below and the mountain range beyond. The main entrance was gained from the porch, and the trio headed towards the few steps leading to the entrance. When they were still about 20 feet from the steps, a motion-sensor light came on and the faint moonlight was replaced by brilliant electric light.
When they stepped onto the porch, Monty stepped ahead of Laura and, opening the door, stood aside to let her enter.
"Hold it!" yelled Ranny. "Who's in that house?"
"Nobody. I live alone. There's no one here," replied Monty.
"Then how come you didn't have to unlock the door, if there's nobody inside?" sneered Ranny. "Do you think I'm stupid?"
"No," said Monty. "But I guess you're not familiar with the way things are in the country. Nobody locks their door out here - everybody knows and trusts their neighbors."
"Well, you yokels sure wouldn't last long in the city," opined Ranny. "Okay, go ahead in, but if there's anyone here, I'm warning you that you're going to be sorry. Now, take me through the house so I can check it out."
Laura, although she didn't say anything, was as surprised as Ranny at finding that Monty had gone to San Francisco for two days and had left his house unlocked. Surprised, but also pleased that the favorable opinion she'd been forming about this man and his way of life was proving to be an accurate one.