gone and followed his tracks. He found Dingo staring at the musher with a dismayed look on his face.

 

“Is something wrong?” Sam whispered to Dingo.

 

“I’m not sure,” Dingo said. “But I’m starting to think it was a bad idea to keep going in that snowstorm. We had no idea where we’re going…and now…”

 

Sam scratched his head. “What?”

 

“Sam…we’re lost…”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 11

 

It didn’t take very long for all of the dogs on the team to realize that they were lost. Most of the dogs remained calm, but Dingo could tell that Sam was about to have a breakdown. The dog was shaking violently and stammering as he talked. “Dingo…I’m scared…” he said weakly. “What if we never see Nome, or Anchorage, or any other city ever again?”

 

Dingo put a foreleg around Sam’s shoulders and tried to comfort his friend. “Everything’s going to be okay, Sam,” he said. “We’ll make it back to Nome. Trust me. Everything will be all right.”

 

This seemed to calm Sam down a little bit, but he still continued to shake and stammer. “I’m sorry, Dingo,” he said. “It’s just that…well…I’ve never even run on a sled team before, and now that I finally get the chance…we get lost…”

 

Dingo was going to say something in reply, but then Matteo appeared right next to him. “I need to talk to you about something,” he said coldly.

 

Dingo quietly followed as Matteo led him away from the other dogs and the musher. Dingo had been puzzled about his friend for the whole race. Matteo had been giving him the cold shoulder and almost completely refusing to say a single word to him. The husky was obviously upset about something…but what?

 

Matt finally halted and turned around. He glared at Dingo for a few seconds, but finally looked away and sighed. “I’m sorry I’ve been treating you so badly lately…” he began. “It’s just…well…I heard some news and I didn’t react to it very well. In fact, I don’t remember ever being so upset as I was when I heard it.”

 

Dingo bit his lip. “What news was it?”

 

Matt turned his head and looked straight into Dingo’s eyes. Dingo felt a chill go down his spine. The look was haunting. “Liko told me everything, Dingo,” Matt finally said.

 

Dingo squirmed under Matt’s unyielding gaze and stared at the ground. “Matt…I’m so sorry…I didn’t know that you would be so upset…”

 

Matteo shook his head. “Dingo, it’s not your fault,” he said. “I realize that now. But I didn’t at first. I was just so upset…and because Liko had admitted that she was in love with you instead of me…well, I guess I just took my anger out on you because of it. But now I really understand that it’s not your fault…and it’s not Liko’s fault, either. I mean…she can’t help being in love. I can’t blame her for it. So…I’m not going to. And I’m not going to blame you, either.” He stared at the ground, looking ashamed of himself.

 

Dingo looked up and gazed at Matt. “It’s okay, Matt,” he said. “I don’t blame you for getting upset. I probably would have, too. But now…let’s just put this whole thing behind us and be best friends again…that is, if you want to…”

 

Matt nodded. “If you would ever let me be your friend again after how I acted, then I’d be the happiest dog alive.”

 

Dingo walked up to his friend and embraced him. “Of course I want to be your friend again,” he said. “I’ll always be by your side no matter what. That’s what friends are for.”

 

So Dingo and Matteo were best friends once again. But they and the rest of the sled team still faced a huge problem: they were hopelessly lost. Would they ever see their friends and family again?

 

-----

 

Back in Nome, Kodi and Josh were still tracking Saba. After checking almost every possible spot in Nome more than once, they were almost ready to give up. “Let’s just forget about it,” Kodi finally said. “She’ll probably show up somewhere later tonight or tomorrow. We can talk to her then.”

 

Kodi was about to walk off when Josh grabbed his leg. “Hold on, Kodi,” he said. “There’s one more spot we haven’t looked in yet.” He quickly led Kodi outside the city limits and into a nearby forest.

 

Kodi panted as he tried to keep up with Josh. “Slow down, man,” he said. “Sheesh, I run for miles every day, and I’m still having trouble keeping up with you!”

 

Josh didn’t slow down, but soon he came to a stop near an old, huge tree. “This is it,” he said.

 

Kodi was puzzled. “It’s just a tree…”

 

“That’s what it looks like from this side.” Josh led Kodi around the other side of the tree, where there was an opening big enough for the dogs to fit through. “This is Saba’s favorite spot to go when she wants to be alone. She showed it to me a few days ago.”

 

“Wow,” Kodi said. “You know more about my sister than I do. She never told me about this place…”

 

Josh smirked. “Maybe she’s still a little bitter about when you pushed her into the water over her head that one time and almost drowned her.”

 

Kodi blushed. “She told you about that?” he asked. Josh nodded. Kodi stuttered as he tried to come up with an explanation. “Well…uh…it was an accident! I was only a pup back then!”

 

Josh rolled his eyes and laughed. “I was just kidding, Kodi,” he said. “I’m not trying to give you a hard time about it.”

 

There was silence for a few seconds. Then Josh spoke. “I’ll go in first,” he said. “Wait here for a few minutes. Then come inside. Got it?” Kodi nodded. Josh squeezed through the hole and entered the hollow tree.

 

“Saba?” he whispered. “Are you in here?”

 

“Yeah,” came a weak reply. “Is that you, Josh?”

 

Josh spotted his mate in the darkness and walked up to her. “Yes, I’m here,” he said. He lay down next to her. “How are you doing?”

 

“I’m okay…I guess…” Saba sighed. “I’m just upset about that whole scene that happened back in Nome. I don’t understand why the dogs are like that…they can’t accept someone just because they’re from somewhere else…they’re so immature! Why can’t they just get along with each other?”

 

“Well…that’s just what I came to talk to you about,” Josh said. “In fact, I brought someone with me I think you’ll be happy to see…”

 

It was right at that moment that Kodi entered the inside of the tree. He saw the dark figures of Saba and Josh in the corner. “Hi, Saba,” he said sheepishly.

 

Saba struggled to keep herself from growling. “You!” she said angrily. “You’re one of the immature dogs who can’t get along with someone else because they’re different. I can’t believe that you’re really my brother Kodi. What happened to you?” She got up and started advancing on her brother.

 

Josh quickly stood up and blocked Saba’s way. “Whoa, hold on a minute, Saba,” he said. “Kodi’s on our side now. You should have seen him after you left. He told those dogs to grow up and get along…just like you did.”

 

Saba calmed down. “Is this true, Kodi?” she said, looking at him, bewildered.

 

Kodi nodded. “I’m sorry about how I acted before, Saba,” he said. “It was stupid of me. Just give me another chance. I promise I’ll never do anything that dumb again.”

 

Saba’s jaw dropped. “Wow…I’m speechless…”

 

Josh put a foreleg around both of them. “I’m sure Dingo would be proud of you two.”

 

Saba looked at her mate and smiled. He was right…Dingo would’ve been proud if he had been there. But the question was…where was he? And when would he be back?

Chapter 12

 

It had been a dramatic week or so for Dingo and the rest of the team, but now they were stuck with no apparent way to go. Since the Nome dogs had started to accept Sam, the husky hadn’t been talking to Dingo as much. This gave Dingo a lot of time to think.

 

Dingo thought about his friends and family back in Nome. How were Saba, Josh, and the rest handling the situation? Was Kodi still acting weird? Had anything happened to his parents? And most of all, would he ever see their faces again?

 

Dingo also thought about the other dogs on the team. Most of them seemed to be handling their situation

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