Rosie, caught diphtheria.”

“What’s that?” Juneau asked.

“It’s a really bad disease that if left untreated could kill the victims.”

“That’s horrible,” said Juneau. Jenna nodded.

“I was looking in the hospital window when Balto came up behind me. He said something about a walk in the moonlight, but then he noticed I was crying.”

“He led me through this boiler room and under the hospital, to show me what was wrong with Rosie. It turned out she had diphtheria, but the doctor was out of antitoxin. I didn’t take it very well…”

* * *

“Jenna, I- Jenna! Jenna, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have taken you down there.” Jenna turned her eyes to him and smiled half-heartedly.

“No, I’m glad you did.” Just then, there came a crash from outside. Both canines turned to the doorway.

“Steele…” Jenna said, seeing the stolen links of sausage in his mouth. Steele kicked a sheet of metal off of his back and walked in.

“Well, well, what’s wrong with this picture? Jenna, join me for dinner.” He swung the links over her back and pulled her closer. “You start at one end; I’ll start at the other. When we get to the middle…heh heh, you tell me.” Balto eyed the black and white malamute angrily.

“Alright, Steele…” He snapped at the canine’s muzzle, but Jenna pushed him gently back.

“No, Balto…” She laughed softly and brushed her tail across his nose. “Gee Steele, I have to admit your offer is very tempting.” She walked slowly forward and Steele backed up in step with her. Balto looked at Jenna in surprise, but she motioned behind Steele. Balto looked and grinned, backing away slowly, feigning submission.

“It is…” Steele didn’t notice the fiery boiler behind him.

“But these days I prefer my meat…cooked.” She took a final step toward him and he stepped back into the hot metal. It took only a second for Steele to come to his senses. AAAOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! As he howled in pain, Jenna dashed for the door with Balto close behind.

“Come on, let’s get out of here!” The door swung shut behind them, but Steele, enraged at being so easily tricked, smashed through it and landed on top of the two canines. Unfortunately, the commotion had caught someone else’s attention.

“Hey, what’s all the noise?” Human voices made all three canines turn their heads.

“I think it’s over here.” A search lamp’s beam traced the ground, skimming back and forth across the street, coming ever closer...

“Jenna, come on.” Balto whispered as they crept away from Steele, still sitting with the stolen meat in his mouth. Suddenly, just before the light fell on him, Steele flung the meat after the two and acted as a guard dog, pointing their way for the humans to see. The flying links caught in Balto’s legs and he fell to the ground as the light fell on him.

“Looks like Balto found his way into your meat locker.” The voice of Rosie’s father reached Balto’s ears as he stared into the blinding light. He felt the links untangled from his legs and watched as they were handed back to Steele by the butcher, never suspecting he was rewarding the real thief.

“Good boy, Steele, you’ve earned the meat,” he said, “I can’t do anything with them anyway after that wild animal’s touched them.” As the butcher patted him on the head, Steele smirked at Balto.

“Go on, get out of here, you thief!” Rosie’s father shouted, kicking snow at the brown canine. Obediently, Balto turned and ran, disappearing through a hole in the fence. Jenna leapt after him, but Rosie’s father seized the orange bandanna around her neck, holding her back. “Come on, Jenna, we’re going home.”

* * *

“This Steele sounds like a real nice guy,” Juneau said sarcastically, “Why haven’t I seen him around here?”

“I’m getting to that,” Jenna replied, “Anyway, the next day, the townspeople held a race to see who would be on the sled team that would make the journey to Nenana, where the diphtheria was waiting. Two of my friends, Sylvie and Dixie, were already at the sideline when I got there. Sylvie had already learned of my visit to the boiler room with Balto, and openly shared what she knew with Dixie, but when I didn’t deny it like they expected, they shut up quick. When the dogs raced past us, I spotted Balto among them. Even though he got pushed off the course, Balto won, but just as the musher was leaning down to inspect him, Steele stomped on his paw, making him cry out. The musher muttered something about Balto turning on him and walked away.”

“Why’d he do that?” Juneau said, “I mean, why’d he think Balto here would bite him? He seems nice to me.”

“He’s part wolf.”

“I gather they didn’t give him much of a chance?” Jenna shook her head.

“Not many ever did.”

“So, uh, you were saying?”

“Oh right, the story. Well, a few days later, long after the team had left, word came that they were lost, and the blizzard was getting worse by the minute.”

“So Balto went out after them?” Juneau interrupted. Jenna nodded.

“Along the way, he ran into a bear.”

“Jeez, how’d he kill it?”

“He didn’t. In fact, Balto would have been that bears supper…if I hadn’t stepped in.”

“You fought that bear?”

“I just got him away from Balto, that’s all. After being thrown to the ground a few times, I was a little less eager to rejoin the fight, but by that time, Balto had lured the bear down onto a frozen lake. Before long, its weight broke the ice and it disappeared. Unfortunately, the break sent cracks across the ice and the piece Balto was on flipped, sealing him under. Just in the nick of time, two polar bear friends jumped in and saved him. He looked more dead than alive to me.” Jenna paused for a moment and decided to skip the tender conversation she’d had with Balto. She’d keep that part just for herself. “Anyway, when we turned to keep going, my injuries caught up with me. So Balto had his friends carry me back to town while he went on alone. But before we left I gave him my bandanna. He promised me that he’d return with the medicine and dashed off into the forest.”

“Jeez, all alone?” Juneau said. I guess wolves aren’t so bad after all.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to leave him, but he insisted. So after we made it back, he was all I could think about. When Steele came back and said that he had died, I just about fell apart. I felt like crying, but I knew I had to be strong for Rosie; she always seemed to know what I was thinking, and I couldn’t let her see me that way. So I stayed by her beside in the hospital and waited and prayed. Not a day later, my vigil was rewarded. I woke to a wolf’s howl and knew instantly who it was. The whole town came out to greet the team, lead by Balto, as it raced down the street to stop at the hospital door. Soon, all the patients, including Rosie, had gotten the medicine and were already getting better. That night all the dogs had a big celebration, and Balto was named our town hero. Of course he was still quite modest about the whole thing; he asked that we commend the rest of the team as well, so we did. Later that night, everyone Balto passed patted him on the head and said, ‘Good boy, Balto.’ He was really glad to finally be accepted. For the town, it was over, but we dogs had one more thing to deal with.”

“Steele,” said Juneau. Jenna nodded again.

“A day or so earlier, he’d come back alone, claiming the rest of the team had frozen to death. When Doc asked about the medicine, Steele said Balto had appeared and had demanded that Steele let him take the medicine, but fell off a cliff in the process, and everyone believed him except yours truly. Some how I knew he couldn’t be dead. Now that Balto had returned with the medicine and the team, everyone found out what a liar he was. So we banished him.

“Oh,” Juneau, “I bet he wasn’t too happy about that.” Jenna nodded.

“For a long time, Steele had his eyes on me, he even approached me for a date once, but now that I’m running with Balto, he’s probably after us, or rather me. I don’t think he ever gave up on me.”

As she said these words, cold eyes peered in through a window high up near the rafters, watching her. Jenna, my love, you don’t know how right you are… The stranger left his perch on a pile of boxes outside and disappeared into the night.

Inside the boiler room, Kaltag and Juneau rose to their paws.

“We’d better go,” said Kaltag, “Our humans will be waiting for us.” Juneau nodded and said,

“When could I meet this Balto?”

“How ‘bout now?” a new voice said from outside. All three huskies turned in surprise. There in the doorway stood Balto. Jenna smiled at him.

“What changed your mind?”

“You,” Balto replied, “but I think I’m a little late.”

“Oh, it was boring anyway,” Jenna said. She noticed Juneau waiting patiently and continued, “Balto, this is Juneau, he’s new here.” Balto looked at Juneau, then at Kaltag, and back to Juneau.