Had Baldy been a French Poodle, with little tufts of hair cut in
circles round his ankles, and a kinky lock tied with a splashing bow
over his eyes, he would probably, with delicate disdain, have thought of
her as lacking in "esprit de corps." As it was, being but a blunt
Alaskan, he growled rather sullenly when she came too near, and
considered that she had no more dog-pride than an Eskimo; and Baldy's
contempt for her could suggest no more scathing comparison.
There was no jealousy in his objections, for he now fairly gloried in
the sensation that Kid, Irish or McMillan created when they were in the
lead; and as the two latter at least were dogs that were coldly
indifferent to him, this was surely a test of his unselfishness.
He was perfectly willing, also, to welcome "classy" dogs, as George and
Dan called them, like Stefansson, Lipton, or dainty Margaret Winston,
from Kentucky. He even understood there were dogs, neither Workers nor
Racers, who had gained a kind of popular distinction that was recognized
by both the human and canine population of the City; and while it was
impossible for him to comprehend the _reason_, he accepted the _fact_
philosophically.
There was, for instance, Oolik Lomen, who was born on Amundsen's ship
the "Gjoa" when on the voyage that resulted in the discovery of the
Northwest Passage. Possibly on account of his celebrated birthplace, or
because of his unusual appearance, Oolik was haughty to the verge of
insolence; and to Baldy he represented the culmination of all the
charming but useless graces of the idle rich.
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