George Neil set his fat hands on the desk, with the pencil and cigar in his right hand. “We need to find the golden collar, and we need to get the word out.”
“Wait.” Mrs. Tussle threw up her hand to stop everything. “I want this put to a vote.”
“Okay,” George stood and raised his right hand. “Everybody for the race idea raise their hand.”
Across the room hands flew up. Mrs. Tussle looked around with her arms securely folded in her lap. Everybody but her had their hands raised; even her husband. With a smack across his rib cage Mr. Tussle dropped his hand. When his wife looked away again he raised it meekly.
“Well then it’s settled.” George grinned. “The race will be four weeks from tomorrow. The Alaska 500 returns. Now we have much planning to do”
A laugh and cheer moved about the cabin so swiftly, and with such force, that from outside the cabin where the old man who hung lanterns made his way back down the street with his empty sled could hear it clearly in the frozen arctic night.
4. Kodi's Apology
Morning came to Nome much like night, in a haze of darkness. Even though the clocks in all the homes on the mantles and in the dining rooms read 6:32 A.M. the outside world might have as well been a dark cold hole in the earth from which only the distant light of the stars entered. On any other day at this time the men would be slipping from their beds and putting on their cloths for the days work, and their wives would be busy cooking breakfast for their husband and children. At the same time the children would be growling under their blankets at having to wake and do chores before school. But those days seemed long ago since the cold had fallen on the land, and this morning was far from warm enough for a day of work, chores, or school.
Even with the icy cold temperatures, drifting snows, pitch black night; one team of dogs stood in their traces, a sled full of outgoing mail with a directional lantern tied atop, ready to begin a hard day of work while braving the cold and darkness between Nome and White Mountain. Behind the sled Mr. Simpson stood uneasily on his left, then right foot, each time letting his boots crunch down into the snow noisily. His gentle movement of his feet had begun to take on the form of an angry pace.Where’s that Kodi? It’s not like him to be late. Do I need to start tying him up and taking him home with me so he won’t run off? Mr. Simpson thought as he moved back and forth, his dogs watching him to see what he would do about their missing teammate at the lead. All of them except Dusty who looked at Kodi’s empty traces in front of her disgustedly.
Meanwhile halfway across the town, a young cream and rust colored male husky sat facing the side of a snow spattered building quietly whispering to himself in the darkness. “Dusty. I really want to just say … No, no, that doesn’t sound right.” Kodi shifted his paws and cleared his throat. “Hey Dusty, it’s me Kodi … no, that’s even worse, she knows who I am … Dusty, I just want to say that, I’m truly, deeply, utterly regretting what I said about you earlier, you’re not really that bad looking – OH!” Kodi threw his body away from the building, frustrated that he couldn’t come up with a better apology. “If only she knew that I wasn’t thinking about her when I said those things. Well, I guess I was thinking of her when I said them, but I wasn’t, not in that … oh.” Kodi growled at himself and let his apology attempt stop for right now, besides, maybe Dusty still needed some cool-down time before an apology would even have the slightest of chance with her?
Kodi turned away from the building and began to swagger slowly down the back-alley through the thick snow he had been sitting in towards the post office. “I wonder how late I am.” Kodi said glancing towards the grey-black clouds that had the slight pinhole lights of stars etching through their thick covering. It didn’t help him tell how late he was. “Well.” Kodi said stopping and looking around the street at the end of the alley he had been trying to formulate his request for forgiveness in. “I’m going to suppose that I’m late.”
Kodi usually spent all his time with his teammates, and therefore never really needed to figure the time to be at the post office for himself. Today had been different though. Kodi left the boiler room early so he could have some time to himself, time to think about what he needed to say. At first Kodi thought he could put the words together in a few minutes and be back in the warmth of the boiler room before everyone woke up. Then when everyone was awake Kodi would make his public apology, and everything would be fine. As things went though, a few words, and a few minutes, quickly turned into what must have been two hours and not two kind words strung together properly.
Kodi turned down the street towards the post office. The streets seemed stark of life. Not a single lantern was lit in any of the homes and the ones that hung on the poles were dark and frost covered. Snowdrifts reached out into the streets from the alleyways like white fingers reaching to choke the life from the town, and Kodi if he treaded wrong. Kodi peeked in a shop window as he passed and saw the toys that the human pups played with stacked on each other and bathed in darkness. Kodi pushed on painfully, never had he not wanted to go and run the mail. Since he could stand he had always wanted to pull the mail sled and feel important to the welfare of the town. Now Kodi felt that pulling the mail was a privilege he didn’t deserve.
I wonder if they would leave without me. Kodi thought to himself while slowing his pace even more. That would be nice. At least then I wouldn’t have to look Dusty in the eyes when I showed up, and maybe then I could get what I want to say right. Kodi dared to let a smile grace his face and his feet slow down to a crawl.
Even with Kodi’s slow walk, and his special care to step far around the snowdrifts in the street, he still seemed to move to fast. In what seemed just a minute he stood in front of the post office. Just around the back he knew his teammates stood waiting for him. Or maybe they had left without him? There was only one way to tell.
Kodi moved along the side of the building towards the back shed where the old mail sled and harnesses were kept. He let his feet slowly pull him towards the back, the thinking part of his mind slunk away from himself until he was only a body moving towards the rear.
Stepping into the open Kodi found himself face to face with Dusty’s scowling acid eyes silhouetted by the directional lantern that half blinded Kodi. Kirby stood by with a reserved look.
Kodi stepped towards Dusty “Um … uh … Dusty, I … well … it was.”
“There you are!” Mr. Simpson bolted to the front of the team in what seemed one step. He grabbed Kodi by the collar and spun him around in one flash to the front of the team. “Where have you been? We’re running late and we need to go.” Mr. Simpson grabbed the loose harness from the snow and threw it around Kodi’s shoulders. Then in another quick moment he fastened Kodi’s collar to the gangling. With that Mr. Simpson ran back to the sled.
Kodi knew Dusty was still glaring at him. He could just feel her eyes stabbing him in the back. He needed to speak even if he didn’t know what he was going to say. Turning in his harness, he faced Dusty full on. “Dusty, I just want to say to you that I am regretting everything I said. I wasn’t talking about you, well, I guess I was, but it was taken out of what I meant, and you don’t know what Kirby and Ralph were saying. So why don’t you just throw some mean words at me for the rest of the day, and we’ll call it good? Okay?”
Dusty remained stern in Kodi’s face and against his words. With a casual turn of her head she leaned in closer to Kirby. “Did he say something?”
Kirby’s eyes bolted from Kodi to Dusty and back, panicked as to what to say. “Um, I think he might have been trying to apologize for what he said about you the other day.”
Dusty growled. “Then tell him I do not acknowledge his attempt to take back everything he said about me.”
“Huh?” Kodi cocked his right ear sideways.
Kirby looked at Kodi. “I think she means she won’t accept your apology.”
Mr. Simpson jumped on the sled and grabbed the handlebar with both his hands. “Okay, let’s get this mail train under way.” He then clicked his cheek against his teeth. The sound was muffled under his bearskin hood.
“Dusty.” Kodi looked at her eyes. Dusty refused to meet his eyes “Stop this. I’m truly sorry I hurt you, but I’m trying to make things better now. So come on just talk to me. Tell me you will let this go.”
“Come on, let’s go. Hike!” Mr. Simpson yelled and threw his right arm into the air.
“So what did he say this time Kirby?” Dusty said.
“He wants to make peace Dusty.” Kirby said flatly
“Kirby,” Dusty turned to him. “Tell Kodi that nothing he says will change my mind.”
Kirby looked at Kodi. “I think she says she still won’t accept your apology.”
Kodi growled angrily, he hated being treated like an object. “I know what she said! I’m standing right here!”
“Hey, what’s the holdup?” Mr. Simpson stepped off the sled and began to crunch his boots towards Kodi. What is up with that dog? He thought.
“Well I’m just doing what I was asked to do.” Kirby threw in for his defense. “I was just forced into this. I didn’t ask to be the relater of everything Dusty says or hears.”
Kodi growled and looked at Dusty with a quiet to
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