He was always driven "loose" on the rare and gala occasions when, at his
own plainly expressed desire, he was placed again in temporary service.
With that liberty he made it his business to see that no dog was
shirking. A glance at a slack strap was enough to betray the idler; and
an admonishing nip on the culprit's ear or flank was the cause of a
reformation that was sudden and abject for a while at least.
The only punishment that had ever been meted out to Dubby for some
indiscretion, or an act of insubordination, was to hitch him up with the
rest of the team. There were no depths of humiliation greater, no shame
more poignant, and for days after such an ordeal he would show a
brooding melancholy that almost made the Woman weep in sympathy.
Now, pensioned and retired, with a record of over thirty thousand miles
in harness to his credit, he lived a delightful and exclusive existence
in his own apartments over the barn.
As he had taken Baldy into his favor, so too he included Ben in his
rather limited list of favorites; and the boy never wearied of hearing
from "Scotty" and the Woman their many tales of the huskie's remarkable
achievements.
"Even if he ain't a Racer," was the child's admiring assertion,
"everybody in the whole North knows Dub, and what he's done. I hope,"
wistfully, "that some day people'll speak o' Baldy jest like that."
"You can hardly expect that, Ben! Think of the hundreds and hundreds of
good dogs that are never known outside of their own kennels.
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