rope.  Toby shook his head, amazed at Luna’s eerie timing.  “How do you do that?” he asked.

Luna dropped the rope and flashed Toby a smile.  “Just one of the tricks us girls know.  Want to see another?”  She returned to the sack and pulled out some dried meat.  “Who’s up for dinner?”

The trip back to the cave of the White Wolf pack was not at all pleasant for Bryan Lawrence.  Somehow the dogs managed to tie him up, and since they had no sled and he was too heavy to lift on their backs, they had no choice but to drag him over the ground, which came in two types: rocky and muddy.  By the time they got back, he was bruised, battered, dirty, and soaked.  As for the dogs, their ears felt much the same after a barrage of language I won’t repeat here.  They were happy to see that the chief was awake now and apparently none the worse for the wear.  He was a bit unnerved at being surrounded by wolves, but evidently he understood by this time that they meant no harm.  He was glad to see the dogs back, but when he saw their captive his expression was mixed.  “So, they caught up to you after all.”  He glanced at the wolves.  “I guess by now nothing should surprise me.”

“Didn’t have the guts to come after me yourself, huh bro?” asked Bryan.  “Just send in the dogs, that was always your style.”

‘Bro?’ thought Toby.  ‘What’s he talking about?’

“I didn’t send the dogs after you, Bryan.  I hit my head and woke up here yesterday.”  The chief scratched Toby behind the ears.  “I don’t know how, but they must’ve caught you by themselves.”

“What are you doing here with these monsters anyway?” asked the hunter, jerking his head to indicate the wolves.

The chief scowled.  “You’ve got a lot of nerve, calling them monsters after you shot Rex,” he said.  “Now let’s get you onto the sled.”

“Hey, come on,” said Bryan, struggling with his bonds.  “You wouldn’t arrest your own brother, would you?”

‘Brother?’ thought Toby.  A bolt of realization struck him.  ‘So that’s why he looks so familiar!’

“Sorry, but no man is above the law.  You shot someone, broke out of prison, and topped it off by stealing from the general store before you set off.  Not to mention shooting a police dog and, if I’m not mistaken, using a knife on several more.”  The chief rolled him onto the sled and tied him down.  “So brother or no brother, you’re under arrest.”

Toby smiled.  “Well, Luna, it looks like we did it.”  He looked around, but Luna wasn’t anywhere in sight.  “Luna?” he asked.  Then he saw her, hiding among the wolves.

“Pretend you don’t know me,” she said.  “My master will want to know where I’ve been, and the chief will have a hard enough time explaining everything else without being connected to my disappearance.”

Toby nodded.

“She’s got a good mind,” said Exile.  “You two make quite a pair.”

Toby shook his head.  “What is it with you guys?” he asked.  But even a blind person couldn’t have missed his meditative glance at Luna.

The group left the following day.  The entire White Wolf pack gathered around them to see them off.  Toby thanked the wolves for their help, and Denahi and Lunau thanked the dogs for ridding them of their would-be persecutor.  “You have done us a great service,” said Denahi.  “If you ever have need of our help again, you have only to ask.”

Toby bowed.  “I hope that our paths cross again,” he said.  “But perhaps next time it can be under better circumstances.  Until then, farewell.”

The chief looked at them, scratching his head.  “I could swear you’re talking to each other,” he said.  Bending over to Toby, he said, “Tell them I appreciate the ‘hotel room.’”

Denahi looked at Toby.  “What’s a hotel room?”

Toby laughed.  “He’s just saying thanks for the use of your cave.”

Denahi nodded.  “I know you can’t speak his language, but if you ever figure out how, tell him he’s welcome.”  They watched as one of the wolf cubs ran over to the chief and playfully tugged at his pant leg.  “He’s become quite a popular chew toy,” Denahi laughed as one of the wolves picked up the cub and retreated back into the pack.

The chief laughed and stepped onto the back of the sled.  “Come on, Toby,” he called.  “Let’s go.”

Toby jumped onto the sled, landing with a thud right on Lawrence’s stomach.  “Mmph!” came the grunt.  “Watch it, you dumb mutt.”  Toby resisted the urge to wave his tail in the man’s face.

“Mush!” called the chief.  And the dogsled pulled away, followed by the chorus of the White Wolf pack.

The journey back was uneventful.  Toby occasionally insisted on switching places with one or another of the dogs pulling the sled, saying that he had been sitting back long enough and no longer needed his energy for tracking.  Despite this, he spent most of his time on the sled, which was a lot more enjoyable since Luna was there too the whole time they were moving.  Granted, the mood was somewhat spoiled by the prisoner’s presence and by the fact that Luna had to stay inside one of the empty supply sacks, hidden from the chief.  But it was still nice.

When they returned to Nome, they were met with cheers as they headed through the streets, bound for the police station.  Once there, Lawrence was once more locked up while the team of dogs was surrounded by an excited crowd.  Luna, deciding that the humans wouldn’t notice her presence in the sea of canines, came out of her sack.  As luck would have it, Phoebe saw her come out and promptly asked Toby, “So, did you and Luna have an interesting time while you were away?”  Several other gossips perked up their ears, sensing fresh dirt.

Toby smiled.  “Luna followed us and negotiated a treaty between us and a wolf pack just when we needed it most.”

Some of the dogs were clearly impressed, but Phoebe remained skeptical.  “So nothing happened between you two?”

Exile stepped forward.  “Not what you’re thinking, I can tell you that.  I can personally assure you that Toby and Luna were never alone together for even a moment.  Aside from medical treatment, they never even touched each other.”

Phoebe seemed disappointed.

“Thank you, Exile,” said Toby.  “Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s someone I need to talk to.”  And with that he hurried through the crowd, heading for the veterinary clinic.

He pushed the window open and slipped into the recovery room.  “Dad?” he asked.

“Well, well,” said Rex cheerfully.  “If it isn’t Toby, back safe and sound.  Did you catch him?”

Toby nodded.  “We got him alright.  And you’ll never believe who saved our tails.”

Rex listened with interest as Toby related the story of their journey.  When the story was over, he shook his head in amazement.  “That Luna is certainly a tough girl,” he commented.

They heard cheering from outside.  Looking out the window, Toby saw a crowd of dogs yelling his name.  He shook his head.  “Guess I’d better go out there and give them a speech or something.”

Rex smiled.  “Go ahead, son.  You deserve it.”

“Thanks, I think.”  Toby climbed out the window and stood on the woodpile.  The crowd cheered.  “Alright,” said Toby.  “I’m here.  Thank you all for your support, but I really don’t deserve the credit.  If anyone does, it’s Luna and the dogs who pulled the sled.  When I was facing Lawrence, I froze.  He would have shot me if they hadn’t come to the rescue.  And we all would have died out there if Luna hadn’t shown up in the first place and worked out an agreement between us and a wolf pack we met.”

“What sort of agreement?” asked an akita.

“And how did she negotiate with them?” added a malamute.

Toby tried to decide how much to tell.  “Well, the agreement was basically that they would take us in and look after the chief after he had hit his head, and in return we would get rid of Bryan Lawrence.”  He shrugged.  “Since he was out there hunting wolves, the pack was fairly agreeable to our offer.  As for the matter of how Luna negotiated the deal…” he saw her in the crowd, asking him with her eyes not to tell about her wolf ancestry.  “Sorry, but that’s one of her trade secrets as a diplomat.”  Over more questions, he shouted, “Now please let me through.  I am very tired and would like to go home and rest.”

Toby’s troubles were not over.  In the house he was smothered with affection from the Winters family until he could barely stand it, and every time he tried to leave the house he found himself hounded by excited dogs.  At last he agreed to speak at an assembly that was being held at the old mill that night in honor of the returning heroes.  “I can’t believe I’m actually doing it,” he confided in Luna on the way there.  “If I have to give one more speech after this I’ll scream.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Luna.  “You deserve it.”

“No I don’t,” answered Toby.  “You and the others do.  Everyone just wants me to speak because of my dad.”

Luna snorted.  “Better you than me.  Now you know why I try to keep a low profile about Balto being my grandpa.”

Toby nodded.  “Well, unfortunately it’s too late for me not to tell them who my dad is.  I’ll just have to suck it up and give the crowd what they want.”  He paused as if thinking, then grinned.  “Unless you’d consider going in my place.”

Luna’s eyes widened.  “Don’t you dare make me go up in front of a crowd!  You know how I feel about public attention!”

Toby stuck out his bottom lip and let it quiver, doing his best sad puppy face.  “Please?”

Luna laughed and bumped her shoulder against