"Well then, let"s make it somethin" worth while this time. Let"s say your claim agin mine--the Midas agin the Golconda--that the Allan an"
Darlin" dogs win the race."
A thrill of wild excitement ran through the crowd--two of the richest claims in the whole of Alaska staked on the success or failure of one dog team, and the leader of that "down and out" at Timber.
"Oh, Moose, if our team don"t come in you"ll lose a terrible lot, an"
you"ve worked so hard t" git it."
"Even losin" Golconda won"t break me now, Sonny; not by a long shot.
An" even ef it did, I got what I allers did have left; two hands t" work with, the hull country t" work in, an" a kid that likes me," with an affectionate glance at the boy, "t" work fer. With all that, an" a good dog er two, I wouldn"t call a Queen my aunt. An" ef we should win, Ben,--well, it"s porterhouse fer Baldy the rest of his life at Mart Barclay"s expense."
At Timber the time was pa.s.sing with discouraging rapidity. Nothing they could do seemed to have any beneficial effect on Baldy"s legs--the legs that had been such a matter of pride to the boy in the old Golconda days.
In the races it is the custom to carry, at intervals, any dogs who need to recuperate, but Baldy had always manifested a certain scorn of these "pa.s.sengers"; and "Scotty" knew that it would only be by force that he could be kept off his feet.
"Bill, you hold the dog; and Paul, if you"ll keep the mouth of the sleeping bag open, I"ll try to get Baldy into it."
Poor Baldy resisted, but he was in the hands of his friends, so that his resistance was of necessity less violent than he could have wished; and in spite of his opposition he was tied in the bag, and gently lifted upon the sled.
After thoughtful consideration, "Scotty" placed Irish and Rover at the head of the team. "They"re good dogs; mighty good dogs, but they"re not used to the grind like Baldy."
He took his place at the handle-bars. "I"ll try my hardest, boys, but every chance is against me now."
Before he could give the word to the new leaders, there was the sound of gnawing, and the quick rending of cloth. He turned to see Baldy"s head emerge from the bag, his eyes blazing with determination and his sharp fangs tearing the fastenings apart, and the hide to shreds.
"Baldy," he called; but Baldy threw himself from the sled with evident pain, but in a frenzy of haste.
With intense amazement they watched him drag himself, with the utmost difficulty, out of the sled, and up to the front of the team.
He paused a moment, and then by a supreme effort started off, expecting the others to follow. There was no response to his desperate appeal--for they were not used to Baldy as a loose leader. Again he came back, and again endeavored to induce his team-mates to go with him down the trail, but in vain; they waited a word from their master.
The men stood speechless; and the dog, whimpering pitifully, crept close to Allan and looking up into his face reproachfully seemed to beg to be restored to his rightful place, and tried to show him that just so long as there was life in Baldy"s body, "Scotty" would have a leader.
Paul Kegsted and Bill Allan hastily disappeared around opposite corners of the building to meet on the other side with eyes suspiciously wet.
"Bill, did you ever see anything like that," demanded Kegsted tremulously, "for grit and spirit and--"
"And brave and loving service," added Bill, swallowing hard.
While "Scotty"s" voice broke as, leaning down to stroke the dog tenderly, he said, "I know you"re game, Baldy, game to the end; but it can"t be done, and I"ll hook you up to prove it."
To his astonishment Baldy moved forward; very, very slowly at first, then slightly faster and with less and less stiffness, until in an hour or so of moderate speed he was himself once more.
The exercise had done more than the liniment, and finally he was swinging along at a rate that showed no sign of his recent incapacity.
They were off again in their usual form, and Nome waited impatiently for word of the belated team.
In the next few hours the messages that reached the expectant city were full of thrills--of hopes and fears. Groups of excited people met to discuss again all phases of the contest; the freshness of the dogs, the stamina of the men, the possibility of accidents; for a broken harness, a refractory leader, an error in judgment, may mean overwhelming defeat at the eleventh hour.
Never in the annals of the Sweepstakes had the result been so doubtful, the chances so even. The two Johnsons, Holmsen, Dalzene, Allan--all men noted for their ability and fort.i.tude--men who would be picked out of the whole North to represent the best type of trailsmen, were nearly neck and neck, less than fifty miles from Nome, ready for the final dash. And what a dash it was!
[Ill.u.s.tration: AN ALAKAN SWEEPSTAKES TEAM
Fay Dalzene, Driver]
Like phantom teams they silently sped far out over the frozen waters of Bering Sea, threading their way between huge ice hummocks that rose, grotesque and ghostly, in the misty grayness of the Arctic twilight.
Through the chill dusk they toiled up the steep slopes of Topkok Hill, through treacherous defiles, over perilous hidden glaciers, toward Solomon and safety.
It was any one"s race.
The telephone brought news that varied from moment to moment. John Johnson was steady as to pace, and slightly in the lead; later Holmsen had pa.s.sed him, then Dalzene. Allan had dropped behind. The excitement grew more intense each instant. Side by side drove Dalzene and Charlie Johnson, with Holmsen at their heels--dogs and men on their mettle, magnificent in endurance and spirit; but closing in upon them was "Finn John" with his Blue Eyed Leader, and Nome well knew what they could do, and had done twice.
Then, too, there was always "Scotty" to be feared; always his marvelous generalship to be reckoned with; his perfect mastery of the dogs, and their devotion to him to be considered.
"Seals on the ice ahead, Spot," had been a suggestion that had fired not only Spot, but Tom, d.i.c.k and Harry also with a new interest that almost banished fatigue.
Then at intervals there were broken bars, alternately whistled and sung, of Home Sweet Home; and the dogs knew, someway, that this strange noise always signified that their journey was nearly at an end. And once, in readjusting his harness, "Scotty" had caressed Baldy so affectionately that the dog forgot the struggle he had pa.s.sed through, remembering the happy fact that he had not failed in his trust.
All of this encouragement resulted in an increased activity that began to tell in the fast decreasing distance between their team and the others.
"On, Baldy; on, boys," and on they came out of the long reaches of utter desolation, of dreary monotony, of lifeless calm, with a rush that soon brought Johnson in view. "Gee"--they whirled to the right and by him with unexpected ease; then on and on still, till they could see the others. Baldy, spurred by that to yet stronger efforts, plunged forward with renewed vigor until he seemed, with his team-mates, to touch the drifted snows as lightly as a gull skims the crested waves.
When nearly abreast of those who had been setting so fast a pace, Allan, in a low voice, tense with the excitement of the moment, called again to the dogs. "Speed up, Baldy; speed up, boys. Don"t let the Siberian Fuzzy-Wuzzies beat you again. Show them what your long legs are good for--Alaskans to the front," and Baldy, with an almost incredible burst of speed, shot past them, and was at last in the lead in that mad, headlong drive for Nome.
There was no hint of the laggard now in Tom, d.i.c.k and Harry--no suspicion of "staleness" in their keen pride in their work; Irish and Rover, ever fleet and responsive, needed no urging; Jack McMillan gave his stupendous energy, his superb intelligence with loyal abandon; and Baldy, as well as "Scotty," felt that each dog in the entire team had proved the wisdom of his choice by a willing service now to the driver he loved.
Fort Davis! The thunderous boom of the guns heralded the approach of the first team. Nome, up the coast, was in a furor. Once more the people gathered quickly in the streets, and hurried toward the gaily illuminated stands to witness the finish of the great event.
Though it was ten o"clock at night, the full moon and the radiance of the snow made everything shimmer and glitter with wonderful brilliancy.
High above the lights of the little town, which seemed but a continuation of the stars, flamed the Way-Farer"s Cross on the spire of St. Joseph"s; huge bonfires cast a flickering crimson glow upon the frosted pinnacles of ice, and rockets rose and fell like sparkling jewels in the clear sky.
Overhead fluttered a silken purse and the Trophy Cup, suspended by the Kennel Club colors from a wire that marked the end of the longest and most picturesque course in the racing world.
The wild wailing of many wolf dogs, shrill whistles, the merry peal of bells, added to the deafening clamor--as far away over the frozen sea a dim black shadow came--a swiftly moving shadow that soon was engulfed in the swaying mob that surged to meet it.
The Woman leaned from out the Judges" Stand, waving streamers of White and Gold in joyous welcome.
Ben Edwards, thrilling with pride and happiness, slipped through the jostling crowd, and saw coming to him, down the Silver Trail, an ugly, rough-coated, faithful dog--bringing in his triumph, a justification of the boy"s unshaken faith, a reward for his unfaltering affection.
Again and again there were the stirring notes of the bugle, shouts of good will and praise, wild, incessant cheers, as the Allan and Darling Team, with every dog in harness, and "Scotty" Allan at the handle-bars, swept over the line--winners of the most hotly contested race the North has ever known, and led to victory by Baldy of Nome.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
XIV
Immortals of the Trail
[Ill.u.s.tration]