tOIL OF tRAD 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. N or rebound    in t fell rail, jarring tigue of a days travel. tter    t tired. It    tired es t, from    ired es trengtoil. tio, no reserve strengto call upon. It    least bit of it. Every muscle, every fiber, every cell, ired, dead tired. And t. Iraveled ty-five    eig five days rest.    Skaguay, tly on t legs. traces taut, and on t mao keep out of the sled.

        "Muss," tottered doreet of Skaguay. "Dis is de last. Den    one lo. E."

        tly expected a long stopover. t, and in ture of reason and on 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 t for little against dollars, to be sold.

        time Bud es found ired and ates came along and boug;; and "C;. Cisery eyes and a mustac ted fiercely and vigorously up, giving to t cealed. er of een or ty, s revolver and a ing krapped about    t fairly bristled ridges. t    salient t    advertised terable. Botly out of place, and    of tery of t passes uanding.

        Buck    agent, and k drivers    of    and Francois ao tec;Mercedes" 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 remonstrand 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.

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

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

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

        S t odds and ends on top tainous load.

        "tll ride?" one of the men asked.

        " it?" Cly.

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

        ed    in t well.

        "And of course t traption be; affirmed a sed of the men.

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

        t tbands, strained s, to move the sled.

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

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

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

        Mercedes looked at t sigten in ty face.

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

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

        But sure, and rus oo t;Never mind t man," sedly. "Youre driving s and you do    ;

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

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

        One of teeto suppress    speeow spoke up:

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

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

        Kind-ed citizens caugtered belongings. Also, ted to reaed u, and overfit. ed goods urned out t made men laugrail is a to dream about. "Blas for a el," quot;oo muc rid of t tent, and all to ;

        And so it , tion of ticle after article . Sicular over eaees, rog bad 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, tai trip, brougeam up to fourteen. But tside dogs, tically broken in si amount to muc-ers, one erminate breed. t seem to kno, and taug not to do,    teac to do. t take kindly to trad trail. ition of t-broken by trange savage enviro i spirit at all; bohem.

        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 orip out o a dog, so many dogs, and so many days, Q.E.D. Mercedes looked over t was all so very simple.

        Late    m Buck led team up treet. t it, no snap o in arting dead imes a ater and Da, jaded and tired, rail once more, made ter.     in t of any dog. tsiders imid and frig fiden ters.

        Buck felt vaguely t t kno by it became apparent t t learn. t order or discipli took t to pitco break t camp a 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 te by overfeeding, bringing tsider dogs rained by ake 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 Bud t rest. And time, trength severely.

        to t t anly 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 te 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 ued,    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 ion of t first, follo-ers, tily on to life, but going in the end.

        By time all ties aleness 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-dista. tience of trail o tieiff and in pain; ts a 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 dire as in tion of Cical prejudices. And t Cers tale-bearing too t only to Mercedes, opid ially upon a feraits unpleasantly peculiar to ime t, tche dogs unfed.

        Mercedes nursed a special grievay and soft, aed 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 stra animals. Sill traces and tood still. Co get off aed, t and importuned al of tality.

        On one occasion tt 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 pany 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 iible.

        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 eaed ly 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 tooo be malignant; Pike, crippled and limping, only    scious enougo malinger; Sol-leks, till faito toil of trad trail, and mournful in t tle strengto pull; teek, raveled so far t er and ill at team, but no longer enf discipline or striving to enforce it, blind ime and keeping trail by t and by t.

        It iful spring    . Eac later. It    nigly er sile 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 fortes 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.

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

        "And told you true," 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;

        "ts because youre not a fool, I suppose," 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 pressed    to crao . teek follo, yelping s. tempt mao rise. Buck made no effort. ly led. Several times ton started, as to speak, but cure came into inued, ely up and down.

        t time Buck self a suffit reason to drive e. omary club. Buck refused to move ues, o get up, but, uo 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    muued to fall upon    do .    strangely numb. As t distance,    en. t sensations of pai    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 trol oo vulsed o speak.

        "If you strike t dog again, Ill kill you,"    last mao say in a choking voice.

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

        ton stood betion of getting out of ting knife. Mercedes screamed, cried, lauged tic abando 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    k beside ime ate of terrible starvation, ter of a mile ac cras bad drop doo a rut, and to it, jerk into to turep to run back, Sand tion of ice give o be seen. ttom    of trail.

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