home, a beeping was heard. The once quiet telegraph machine began to tap furiously, repeating the same thing over and over again. A paper-thin wire was tied around this machine, and was pulled each time the machine bounced. It ran up through the floor of the second story and had attached itself through a hook and onto the end of a bell. The bell was sent into a frenzied ringing and a light switch flipped on. Mr. Kode threw the covers from him and hopped into an old worn out pair of slippers. He lifted up his dog from the foot of his bed and carried him down the stairs. The ball of his nightcap dangled uselessly around his head as he batted it away multiple times. He fumbled around on the first floor until he finally found a light switch and sent streams of light flying from his hanging lamp. He grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil and began to hastily write out the letters as he said the words aloud, his dog moving in time with beeps as well.

“Nome STOP Do you copy STOP White Mountain STOP”

“White Mountain STOP I copy STOP”

“Thank the stars STOP We need your doctor immediately STOP Small girl with dog bite STOP Must know if it could be fatal STOP”

“Roger STOP B-R-B STOP” (‘Be right back’ for those not familiar with this ‘telegraph shorthand’ that he and Maurice had made up.)

Mr. Kode picked himself up from his chair and nearly ran to his coat rack, throwing on his coat hastily and almost forgetting to close his door as he rushed out of it. Within a minute he reached the front porch of Dr. Welsh’s home. He banged on the door loudly and waited anxiously until he saw the old white haired man appear in his doorway.

“A’yes?” he asked. “Ahh, Mr. Kode, a pleasure to see you, even if it’s a tad late. And I love the coat, nightcap, and slipper attire.”

Mr. Kode stared down at his feet and saw the fuzzy slippers. He quickly shook his head and looked at the doctor.

“Listen Doc, we gotta get you back to the telegraph office. We got a little one who could be dyin’ right as we speak!” Mr. Kode spoke urgently.

In an instant, Doctor Welsh was already in his heavy overcoat and black hat. “Then let us not waste a single moment.”

The two moved briskly through the dark snow-swept streets, flinging open the telegraph office door. Mr. Kode sat down in his chair while the doctor, Kurtis, took a pen and pad of paper from his coat.

“Alright Mr. Kode, first I need to get the details of the event, and any symptoms she or he may have,” he said calmly as he grabbed himself a chair from a near corner.

Mr. Kode began to furiously beat down on the small machine, wasting no time. The incoming message was already being beeped in almost right after he had finished. The telegraph operator scribbled down the letters, not even bothering to say them aloud this time. He ripped the sheet from his own pad and handed it to Kurtis. His eyes glanced over the small paper.

“Dog bite. Deep. Girl was alone at time. Says it was some kind of clown. Must be some kind of hallucination. Fever. Watery eyes. Nausea,” he mumbled. He mulled over his thoughts as he took up a pace back and forth across the floor. His pen dropped from his hand, an idea suddenly coming to his mind. “Oh I hope I’m wrong on this!”

“Wait, why? What’s happenin’ Doc?” Mr. Kode asked, standing up slowly from his chair.

“Well, normally, it could be any number of things from a dog bite, if all the symptoms are just nausea and fever, but with hallucinations, it makes me worry if it’s rabies.”

“Rabies!? That hasn’t been seen since nine years ago!”

“Yes. I regret to say, but that’s the strongest of possibilities. Ask if they have any Rabies Shots. That should do it.”

“Alright, I’ll just be a quicky.”

Mr. Kode sat at his desk and beeped the telegraph multiple times, hearing a few replies, and answering a few as well. He cleared his throat when he finished and shook his head at the doctor slowly.

Doctor Welsh laid his chin on his fist. “Darn… Alright, listen. I need you to help me start my car. I’ll come and assist you after I visit the office.”

Mr. Kode saluted and Doctor Welsh ran out the door. He pushed through blasts of bitter wind and down the empty streets. The clouds above were becoming thicker, but he had no time to notice it. He came upon the porch of a dark building, and he fumbled with his keys before finally unlocking the door. The lights flicked on as he made his way to his office. He hurriedly scanned his cabinet, his finger following along the names. He opened the glass of a small cubby and pulled out a syringe from within, smiling triumphantly. Doctor Welsh turned the glass tube in his hands delicately. Something seemed a little strange about the liquid inside. He frowned miserably when he found the reason staring at him through bold, black letters.

“Use by: 5-13-19... Eight years overdue.”

Dr. Welsh sat down heavily and the vile clanked onto his desk. He began to rub his forehead over and over, trying the think. But he realized that it would be better to think on the way, rather than just sitting here doing nothing. He got up from his chair and switched the lights off, but not before grabbing his doctor’s bag. His boats made deep impressions in the snow as he plodded to an alley. He heard the sound of a spinning crank as he caught the glimpse of a silhouette.

“Mr. Kode!” he called out, the figure spinning around as he did so, “Most unfortunate news. The only thing that can do much good in saving the girl, is outdated by eight years. I’m going to head over there now, but while I’m gone, can you please contact other town’s outside White Mountain and see if they have a supply of Rabies shots available?” The telegraph operator shook his head, and the doctor cocked his in return. “Well, why not?” he asked.

“Doc Welsh, Maurice and I’ve been trying our darnedest to get a connection past White Mountain for almost a month now, and so far nothing.”

“And why on Earth did you not tell anyone sooner? This could be a matter of life and death!”

“Because Mr. Kurtis sir, it’s my job to keep that connection alive, not no one else’s.”

“Lawrence, you have to learn when to reach out sometimes. You’ve got to fix this, and soon, or I’m afraid I won’t be able to do much without this medicine. And worse yet, it could spread to other people and our dogs, and then to Nome. I’m counting on you.”

Lawrence Kode nodded as he bent over again and began to crank the crank. The old engine of Kurtis’ Model-T sputtered to life instantly. Doctor Welsh opened the door and threw his bag to the other side of the seat and shut the door again quickly. He put the car into gear and pushed on the accelerator gently. Lawrence stepped aside from the vehicle as it putted into the distance and waved good-bye.

“I wish ya the best of luck,” he whispered after the machine as it disappeared from his vision.

Mr. Kode pushed his door open slowly, sighing heavily. He sat down in his old, creaking, chair and his arms hung limply from either side. Morris appeared from under the table and rubbed his head in Mr. Kode’s palm, but the man was almost oblivious to this.

“Gee whiz Morris.. After all these years, I would never have suspected something like that coming back. Golly, this is gonna be a real doozy.”

He shook his head back and forth slowly, as if trying to tell himself that this wasn’t real. He hoped the kid would be okay though. If only Doctor Welsh wasn’t the only real doctor in the area, then maybe there’d be a better chance. But it wasn’t going to do him any good just thinking about things he couldn’t change, so with a small sigh, he stood up from the hard chair and made his way back to his bed, the nightcap still bouncing around on his head like it had been previously. The house once again went dark, but he hadn’t even realized that Morris hadn’t followed him up. The small chubby dog yawned quietly before he padded to the rarely-used dog-door. With much effort, Morris squeezed himself through this small opening and grunted as he almost got stuck. He padded quietly down the street until he glanced up and headed towards one house in particular. He didn’t bother to scratch on this pet flap and he simply entered through. His eyes blinked independently as they adjusted to the new lighting of this room. He heard a snoring and could see a human sleeping in a comfy armchair. A fire was burning brightly in the hearth and a dog laid in front of it, the embers casting shadows across his fur. Morris walked up to the St. Bernard and nudged him with a small paw. Doc woke immediately and found himself staring at Morris.

“M-Morris?” Doc questioned, “What are you doing here? You never leave the house.”

Morris began to speak, something that he rarely did, or had the luxury to do. “Evenin’ Doc. Stop. I got important message. Stop. Girl in White Mountain sick. Stop. Humans think rabies. Stop. Doctor gone. Stop. No medicine. Stop. No contact with towns past White Mountain. Stop.”

Doc pretended not to notice the fact that Morris clicked his claws on the floor when he spoke. He looked down at the floor and then back to Morris.

“But why do you bring me such news? I’m no longer in charge my friend.”

Morris cocked his head. “Pardon me? Stop. I’m goin’ deaf, or you just said you’re not in charge.