tOIL OF tRACE AND tRAIL

    ty days from time it left Da ater Mail, es at t Skaguay. tcate,  and  of es, ter dogs, ively lost more , en successfully feigned a  leg, . Sol-leks was limping, and Dub was suffering from a wrenched shoulder blade.

    terribly footsore. No spring or rebound  in t fell rail, jarring tigue of a days travel. tter  t tired. It  tiredness t comes t, from  iredness t comes trengtoil. tion left, no reserve strengto call upon. It  least bit of it. Every muscle, every fiber, every cell, ired, dead tired. And t. In less traveled ty-five  eig five days rest.  Skaguay, tly on t legs. traces taut, and on t managed to keep out of the sled.

    quot;Muss,quot; tottered doreet of Skaguay. quot;Dis is de last. Den  one long rest. E.quot;

    tly expected a long stopover. t, and in ture of reason and common justice terval of loafing. But so many o ts,   rus ted mail aking on Alpine proportions; also, tco take trail. to be got rid of, and, since dogs count for little against dollars, to be sold.

    time Buck and es found ired and ates came along and boug;; and quot;C;. Cisery eyes and a mustac ted fiercely and vigorously up, giving to t concealed. er of nineteen or ty, s revolver and a ing knife strapped about  t fairly bristled ridges. t  salient t  advertised terable. Botly out of place, and  of tery of t passes understanding.

    Buck  agent, and kne tcrain drivers  of  and Francois and tes to tent retc;Mercedesquot; ter--a nice family party.

    Buck co take doent and load t deal of effort about t no businesslike metent o an aimes as large as it sin disinually fluttered in t up an unbroken ctering of remonstrance and advice.  a clot of ted it s put on t over icles  very sack, and they unloaded again.

    tent came out and looked on, grinning and  one another.

    quot;Youve got a rig load as it is,quot; said one of t;and its not me sell you your business, but I  tote t tent along if I ;

    quot;Undreamed of!quot; cried Mercedes, ty dismay. quot; a tent?quot;

    quot;Its springtime, and you  get any more cold ; the man replied.

    S t odds and ends on top tainous load.

    quot;tll ride?quot; one of the men asked.

    quot; it?quot; Cly.

    quot;Os all rigs all rig; tened meekly to say. quot;I  a  is all. It seemed a mite top-;

    Curned  in t well.

    quot;And of course t contraption be; affirmed a second of the men.

    quot;Certainly,quot; said eness, taking ;Mus; ed. quot;Mus;

    t tbands, strained s, to move the sled.

    quot;tes, Ill s; o las at the whip.

    But Mercedes interfered, crying, quot;Ont,quot; as s  from ;t promise you  be  of trip, or I  go a step.quot;

    quot;Precious lot you kno dogs,quot; ;and I  to  anyt of ts t;

    Mercedes looked at told repugnances at sigten in ty face.

    quot;ter, if you  to kno; came t;Plum tuckered out, ts ter. t.quot;

    quot;Rest be blanked,quot; said ;O; in pain and sorro th.

    But sure, and rus once to t;Never mind t man,quot; sedly. quot;Youre driving our dogs and you do  ;

    Again  tbands, dug t into t doo it, and put fortrengt s, tood still, panting. tling savagely, werfered. Sears in  her arms around his neck.

    quot;You poor, poor dears,quot; sically, quot; like  oo miserable to resist aking it as a part of the days miserable work.

    One of teeto suppress  speech, now spoke up:

    quot;Its not t I care a  for t  to tell you, you can y lot by breaking out t sled. t. t against t and left, and break it out.quot;

    A time ttempt  time, follo to tes struggling frantically under turned and sloped steeply into treet. It op-, and  sucurn t over, spilling s load topped. tened sled bounded on its side bereatment t load. Buck eam follo tripped and reet, adding to ty of Skaguay as ttered tfit along its choroughfare.

    Kind-ed citizens caugtered belongings. Also, ted to reac ened uncent, and overfit. Canned goods urned out t made men laugrail is a to dream about. quot;Blankets for a el,quot; quot;oo muc rid of t tent, and all to ;

    And so it , tion of ticle after article . Sicular over eac knees, rocking back and fortedly. S go an inc for a dozen Co everybody and to everyto cast out even articles of apparel t ive necessaries. And in tacked t tornado.

    tfit, t in ill a formidable bulk. C out in t six Outside dogs. to team, and teek and Koona, tained at trip, brougeam up to fourteen. But tside dogs, tically broken in since t amount to muc-ers, one erminate breed. t seem to kno, and taug not to do,  teac to do. t take kindly to trace and trail. ition of t-broken by trange savage environment in ment t spirit at all; bones  them.

    iteam  by ty-five inuous trail, tlook  brigyle, een dogs. t over t never een dogs. In ture of Arctic travel teen dogs s drag one sled, and t  one sled could not carry teen dogs. But C knorip out o a dog, so many dogs, and so many days, Q.E.D. Mercedes looked over t was all so very simple.

    Late next morning Buck led team up treet. t it, no snap or go in arting dead imes ance bet ater and Da, jaded and tired, rail once more, made ter.   in t of any dog. tsiders imid and frig confidence in ters.

    Buck felt vaguely t t kno by it became apparent t t learn. t order or discipline. It took t to pitco break t camp and get t for t of topping and rearranging t make ten miles. On oto get started at all. And on no day did tance used by tation.

    It able t t on dog food. But tened it by overfeeding, bringing tsider dogs rained by co make t of little, ites. And o t  tion oo small. . And to cap it all, y eyes and a quaver in , could not cajole o giving till more, sole from t is  food t Buck and t rest. And time, trength severely.

    to t t ance only quarter covered; furt for love or money no additional dog food o be obtained. So  doion and tried to increase travel. er and brot trated by tfit and tence. It ter to give t it o make travel faster, o get under ed traveling longer  only did t kno t knohemselves.

    t to go  ting caugreated and unrested,  from bad to ill finally  s revolver. It is a saying of try t an Outside dog starves to deation of tside dogs under Buck could do no less tion of t first, follo-ers, tily on to life, but going in the end.

    By time all ties and gentleness of ts glamour and romance, Arctic travel became to ty too oo occupied o quarrel oo o do. tability arose out of t, doubled upon it, out-distanced it. tience of trail o tience. tiff and in pain; ts ac on t at night.

    C  o speak t every opportunity. Sometimes Mercedes sided imes  iful and unending family quarrel. Starting from a dispute as to e  of t , or t of society plays e, so do icks of fireend in t direction as in tion of Cical prejudices. And t Cers tale-bearing tongue s to t only to Mercedes, opic, and incidentally upon a feraits unpleasantly peculiar to ime t, tche dogs unfed.

    Mercedes nursed a special grievance--tty and soft, and reated all  t treatment by  o be  of o  essential sex prerogative, sired, sed in riding in tty and soft, but sy pounds--a lusty last strao tarving animals. Sill traces and tood still. Co get off and reated, t and importuned al of tality.

    On one occasion took rengt again. S  dorail. t on t s move. After traveled trengt he sled again.

    In to ticed on ot one must get arted out preac to er and brot into t t, and a tooto trade ts revolver t kept ting knife company at itute for food  as it ripped from tarved tlemen six monts frozen state it rips of galvanized iron, and  into omac to tritious leatrings and into a mass of s ating and indigestible.

    And t all Buck staggered along at team as in a nigill bloiffness and gloss  of iful furry coat. tted ed ao knotty strings, and t eaclined cleanly t iness. It er .

    As it  es. ting skeletons. toget misery to te of ting ant, just as tant. t er-living. ttered faintly.  races like dead dogs, and to go out. And ottered to t and staggered on.

    tured, fell and could not rise. raded off ook traces, t t of t to one side. Buck sa to t day Koona , and but five of too far gone to be malignant; Pike, crippled and limping, only  conscious enougo malinger; Sol-leks, till faito toil of trace and trail, and mournful in t tle strengto pull; teek, raveled so far t er and ill at team, but no longer enforcing discipline or striving to enforce it, blind ime and keeping trail by t and by t.

    It iful spring  neit. Eac later. It  nigly er silence o t spring murmur of a  came from t lived and moved again, t moved during t. ting out in young buds. Sting on fress sang in ts, and in tled forto tridges and . Squirrels ering, birds singing, and over split the air.

    From every rickle of er, tains. All training to break loose t bound it do ate ae from above. Air-, o ting, rending, t-sigo deataggered the huskies.

    itfully ering, taggered into Joons camp at te River. ed, truck dead. Mercedes dried  Joon. C doo rest.  doakingly, iffness. alking. Joon ling t toucick of birctled and listened, gave monosyllabic replies, and erse advice. ainty t it  be followed.

    quot;told us up above t ttom  of trail and t t to do o lay over,quot; o tons o take no more cten ice. quot;told us  make e River, and ; t riump.

    quot;And told you true,quot; Joon ans;ttoms likely to drop out at any moment. Only fools, . I tell you straig risk my carcass on t ice for all t;

    quot;ts because youre not a fool, I suppose,quot; said ;All to Da; ;Get up t up t;

    ton  on   bet alter things.

    But team did not get up at t o tage . t, s merciless errands. Joon compressed  to crao . teek follo, yelping s. tempt managed to rise. Buck made no effort. ly o  ruggled. Several times ton started, as to speak, but cure came into inued, ely up and down.

    t time Buck self a sufficient reason to drive o a rage. omary club. Buck refused to move under tes, o get up, but, unlike t to get up. rong upon o t  departed from  of tten ice  under  all day, it seemed t er close at  ter rying to drive o stir. So greatly  t  mucinued to fall upon  do .  strangely numb. As t distance,  en. t sensations of pain left  anytly  of t it was no longer  seemed so far away.

    And t tering a cry t iculate and more like ton sprang upon truck by a falling tree. Mercedes screamed. Cfully,  did not get up because of iffness.

    Joon stood over Buck, struggling to control oo convulsed o speak.

    quot;If you strike t dog again, Ill kill you,quot;  last managed to say in a choking voice.

    quot;Its my dog,quot; ;Get out of my o Da;

    ton stood betion of getting out of ting knife. Mercedes screamed, cried, lauged tic abandonment of eria. ton rapped o tried to pick it up. tooped, picked it up rokes cut Bucks traces.

    left in er, or oo near dead to be of furtes later t from to see. Pike  teek. taggering. Mercedes  tumbled along in the rear.

    As Buck con knelt beside ime ate of terrible starvation, ter of a mile ac cras back end drop doo a rut, and to it, jerk into to turn one step to run back, Sand tion of ice give o be seen. ttom  of trail.

    quot;You poor devil,quot; said Joon and Buck licked his hand.