Baldy of Nome Part 17

After a complete rest of a week or more, the training began again; for there was yet to be held the most important event of the year--the All Alaska Sweepstakes, which takes place early in April.

The runs were much longer and harder than the preliminary dashes for the Solomon Race; and sometimes they went back even to the Mountains which rose, rugged and majestic, from the endless white wastes to a sky brilliantly blue in the dazzling Arctic sunshine, or sodden and gray in a storm.

Totally different in temperament and methods from Kid and Dubby, Baldy manifested, nevertheless, many of the fundamental qualities that had so distinguished those wonderful leaders. And in communion with "Scotty" in their long hours of exercise, he not only began to understand the speech and the touch of his hand, but also his unexpressed moods. He knew when Allan was care-free, and satisfied with the team, or was discouraged by some unexpected act of stupidity or disobedience, though no syllable was spoken.

Not long before the Big Race, several unfortunate things happened in the Kennel to make Allan believe it was, as the "Wonder Workers"

solemnly declared it, a "Hoodoo" year for the dogs. Rover wrenched his shoulder in a friendly tussle with one of the Mego pups, Tom cut his foot badly on a bit of broken gla.s.s, and Baldy developed a severe cold that made him feverish and short of breath.

It seemed at first as if they might not be able to enter a team at all, so many accidents combined against them; but the lure of the contest was too much for "Scotty." "We'll do our best. Lots of teams go in that are no stronger than ours at its weakest, and every entry that drops out makes it less interesting. Then don't forget the luck of the trail, in which you believe so thoroughly. Remember the Solomon Derby."

"I don't believe in working luck over time," she answered. "However, if you really think it would make any difference in the sport, of course we'll go in. I know you can do better," confidently, "with a poor team than most men with a good one."

But "Scotty" shook his head decidedly. "Don't think it. Our antagonists are all that they should be--men and dogs--and the most careful driving will not always overcome the weakness of the team."

Since the driver may use his own discretion as to the length and frequency of the stops to be made, he must have the ability to realize exactly how much rest he may take himself and give his dogs without the unnecessary loss of a moment. He must know what the other teams have done, and are capable of doing; he must drive his own race, and he must know how the other men are driving theirs. He must decide wisely how many dogs it is well to use--that matter also being optional with him.

For it is an important point to select enough dogs to keep up to the required standard, yet not too many for good team work, in which individual peculiarities have been merged in general harmony of action.

No precaution is neglected to insure the comfort of the contestants.

Commissary teams sent out by the Kennel Club leave supplies at all of the Road Houses and camps that are to be used as rest stations--drugs for emergencies, and all sorts of luxuries that would be too bulky to be carried in the racing sleds, but which are shared impartially at the different stops.

Each man must be certain of the best food for his dogs, and the length of time it takes to digest it. The usual diet of the Allan and Darling Racers, rolled oats, dried salmon, and the oily nutritious flesh of the white whale, with a proper amount of bone, now was changed to chopped beef and mutton, cooked with eggs. This was put up in hermetically sealed tins, with enough in each for a feeding; and every dog's allowance wrapped separately in muslin so that there might be no loss of time in dividing it into portions.

And in all of these things "Scotty" Allan was a past master. Yet in spite of his efforts and skill, they came in not first, but second; which was, according to George and Dan, "not so worse for a scrub team,"

and according to Ben, "mighty good considerin' they didn't have Baldy."

These days of ceaseless striving and untiring patience had been of great benefit to Baldy. He no longer experienced despair over such a Kennel misfortune; but cheerfully resolved that each failure must be a stepping-stone, not a stumbling-block, in the march toward success.

There was one real sorrow that came to him that spring--a sorrow shared by many--which swept away the pa.s.sing regret for the lost race. Dubby, full of years and honors, was dead, mourned by all. His obituary in the newspapers not only testified that he was generally beloved, but was one that many a man might be proud to deserve. "Alaska's Most Famous Leader Pa.s.ses Away." What untold stories of marvelous intelligence, of unfaltering allegiance, of loving service lay in those simple words.

Baldy missed Dubby sorely, for there had grown a firm bond of sympathy between them. The old huskie had learned that a character may dignify a calling, and that a true heart often beats beneath a racing harness; while Baldy had long since discovered that Dubby's aloofness was but the inevitable loneliness of a Dog that has had his Day.

To divert his mind from sad memories, Baldy would go to look at Mego's twelve, beautiful, fat new puppies, and then would dream of a comfortable serene old age when he would be given the tutoring of such promising youngsters, and help to make them winners of future All Alaska Sweepstakes.

Then came the summer, and with it the play-time for the Kennel; a summer filled with ever changing interests and pleasures.

"I'll be glad, 'Scotty,'" said Moose Jones, "t' keep till fall as many dogs as you don't want in Nome. It's kinda hard t' have 'em tied up in the fine weather, an' dogs like yours can't run 'round the streets loose. Ben an' me's goin' t' be out t' Golconda, where I've got a crew o' men at work. You may 'a' heerd I bought Golconda a few weeks ago, an'

I'm goin' t' mine there this season. Sold my ground over t' Marshall t'

a New York Syndicate that was nosin' round pretty sharp before I left; and it's give me money enough t' take up this here property. Then I leased my Dime Creek holdin's on royalties, an' that'll put me on my feet even ef this Golconda claim ain't all I think. But I done a lot o'

prospectin' there once, an' it sure looks promisin'; an' besides it's right next t' the Midas, an' fer the last couple years or more Barclay has been takin' out wonderful pay there."

"I'd be glad to have you keep Baldy, Irish and Rover for us if you will," replied Allan cordially. "George and Spot are inseparable in vacation times, and McMillan," with a nod toward the Woman's house, "seems to be under the impression, now that he is not in training, that he is a lap dog, and rarely comes to the Kennel at all. Matt will take the rest of them up to his cabin on Penny River, where they will have all the exercise they want, and great fun hunting. You know I never have a moment for them in summer, as it is our busy season in the office,"

and Allan, who was Secretary in the Big Man's Company, gave a sigh as he realized that not until autumn would come again the happy Dog Days.

To Baldy it was a period of perfect joy--to be with Ben Edwards and Moose Jones in the glorious freedom of the open country in the far hills. Here the dogs did what their fancies dictated. They swam, unmolested, in the ditch; ran for miles with their chum, the dappled gray horse; gave chase to saucy, chattering squirrels, and even fished so successfully that they were the admiration of all the camps about.

Irish and Baldy would stand in the riffles of a stream, and Rover, leaping into the pools and quiet waters, would drive the fish up into the shallows, where they were seized by his two companions, taken ash.o.r.e and dropped on the bank. Then they returned for more, keeping up the sport till a bird in flight or some other fascinating moving creature lured them away in a spirited pursuit through thick willows and across green marsh-lands.

At night they slept, if they chose, in the Bunk House; and ate without restriction such mysterious delicacies as cake and pastries.

No longer was Baldy ignored by the men, nor did it now take the threats of Moose Jones to prevent the petty annoyances to which he had been subjected formerly; for in winning the Solomon Derby he had proved his worth and they were glad to give him well-earned praise.

Occasionally there would be a dissenter from the general admiration of the dog. Black Mart, who sometimes came over from the Midas, never failed to belittle the record he had made. "It's no test, that short mush t' Solomon, an' it don't prove nothin'. Why, I've seen teams that could do wonders in that there run that couldn't git as fur as Council in the Big Race without goin' t' pieces. It takes somethin' more'n a slinkin' half-breed like him t' lead a winnin' team in the Sweepstakes."

And Moose would retort sarcastically, "Mart, ef you was as good a judge o' dogs as dogs is o' you--stop growlin' at him, Baldy--you'd have a winnin' team in yourself, instead o' just jawin' about it."

One man's enmity mattered but little, however, in the general friendliness Baldy experienced; and there were so many glorious things to offset those infrequent encounters with the one person he instinctively regarded with aversion.

Encouraging news had come from Dime Creek, and Golconda was proving rich beyond the highest expectations of Jones; and many happy hours did he and Ben spend in plans for the boy's future; a future that now seemed near and bright.

"Even without Golconda, Ben," Moose would exclaim confidently, "I've got enough salted away from them other deals to put you through all the book learnin' you'll need t' make a reg'lar spell-bindin' lawyer o' you like Fink, er a way up Judge, mebbe in Washington. An' with Golconda,--well, Sonny, that there Arabian Nights chap that she was tellin' you about wouldn't have nothin' on us fer adventure, an' doin' good turns to folks unbeknownst, an' all that kind o' stuff," and Moose Jones would pat the boy's shoulder affectionately.

Every week or so Baldy, with Irish and Rover and some of the Wild Goose dogs from the Grand Central Ditch House near, would be hitched to a flat car belonging to the place, and would have a trip into town with Moose to take the gold dust from the "clean-ups" to the bank.

The car coasted down all the hills, for there was a strong brake to keep it safe. And the dogs were either invited to ride with Jones, or were permitted to get to the bottom as best pleased them with Ben, which meant a scamper through fields of blue forget-me-nots and purple lupine, over damp and mossy dells, and along the slopes where tiny birds were hidden in cozy nests about which the frightened parents fluttered divertingly.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CAR COASTED DOWN ALL THE HILLS]

It was indeed a treat; for always at the end of the jaunt there was an interview with "Scotty" Allan, who was sure to look Baldy over carefully and say fondly, "Well, how's my Derby hero to-day?" and give the expected hearty greetings to Irish and Rover. Or possibly there would be a brief visit to the Woman, who, whatever her faults, never failed to produce a tid-bit of some sort for her canine callers.

She and Ben would dwell with keen delight upon his prospects of attaining his ambitions. "And besides all Moose will do for you," she announced one day, "Mr. Daly tells me he will be only too glad to be of any a.s.sistance possible. He thinks a boy with your ideal--Lincoln--should have all the help it is in his power to give."

Of course, surfeited at last with luxury and idleness, the dogs would finally be eager to return to the duties of the winter; glad of the season that brings the cheery sound of bells, the joyous barks of recognition from pa.s.sing friends, the snarl of challenge from pa.s.sing enemies, and all of the wholesome pleasures that belong to a busy, useful life. But now they were quite care-free, and content, and the responsibilities of the winter seemed far away indeed.

But the most treasured moments of all to Baldy were those spent with Ben when, waiting for Moose to finish his evening's tasks, he and the boy wandered along the winding banks of the ditch. Far away across the sedgy tundra lay the sea, a line of molten gold in the last rays of the belated June sunset. Behind them rose the snow-crested peaks of the Sawtooth Mountains, like frosted spires against an amber sky. Soon the amber would change to amethyst and deepen to purple--fading at last to a shadowy gray; and all the world seemed steeped in the mystic calm of those twilight hours before the early Northern dawn.

And in those hours the brooding stillness of nature was broken only by the voice of man; for it was then, in that vast solitude, that from the lips of Ben Edwards came ringing words, sonorous sentences, impa.s.sioned appeals.

Baldy did not know it, but he was at such times a learned Judge moved strangely by unexpected eloquence; a jury melted to tears by a touching plea for clemency; a Populace swayed to great deeds by a silver-tongued Orator. Even, on rare occasions, he was the Loyal Throng that stood, silent and uncovered, before the White House steps, thrilled by the fiery patriotism of Mr. Edwards, the President of the United States of America.

Then, he was just Baldy, a faithful loving dog that trotted happily at the heels of the ragged little boy whose unselfishness had given him the great chance of his life.

There was no faltering in the devotion of boy or dog. They believed in each other.

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XII

The Great Race

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