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 passing 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
"passengers"; 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