"
These days of ceaseless striving and untiring patience had been of great
benefit to Baldy. He no longer experienced despair over such a Kennel
misfortune; but cheerfully resolved that each failure must be a
stepping-stone, not a stumbling-block, in the march toward success.
There was one real sorrow that came to him that spring--a sorrow shared
by many--which swept away the passing regret for the lost race. Dubby,
full of years and honors, was dead, mourned by all. His obituary in the
newspapers not only testified that he was generally beloved, but was one
that many a man might be proud to deserve. "Alaska's Most Famous Leader
Passes Away." What untold stories of marvelous intelligence, of
unfaltering allegiance, of loving service lay in those simple words.
Baldy missed Dubby sorely, for there had grown a firm bond of sympathy
between them. The old huskie had learned that a character may dignify a
calling, and that a true heart often beats beneath a racing harness;
while Baldy had long since discovered that Dubby's aloofness was but the
inevitable loneliness of a Dog that has had his Day.
To divert his mind from sad memories, Baldy would go to look at Mego's
twelve, beautiful, fat new puppies, and then would dream of a
comfortable serene old age when he would be given the tutoring of such
promising youngsters, and help to make them winners of future All Alaska
Sweepstakes.
Then came the summer, and with it the play-time for the Kennel; a
summer filled with ever changing interests and pleasures.
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