was a soft woof.

Toby came out of his hiding place behind the cages.  “Hey!” said the doctor.  “You’re not supposed to be in here!”

“I remember you!” said the chief.  “You’re that dog who came into my house this morning!”  He reached out a hand to grab Toby by the collar, then stopped, staring at him for a long moment.  He looked back and forth between Toby and Rex.  “Of course!” he said, slapping himself on the forehead.  “You’re one of the pups from that litter Rex and that husky had!”

Toby barked and sat down, offering his paw to shake.

The chief laughed.  “Here I’ve been thinking my brains out, and the answer walks right up to me!”

“What answer?” asked the doctor.

“I need a good nose to track down that rat,” answered the chief.  “And who else shows up but Rex’s own son.  Come on,” he said, studying Toby’s tags.  “Let’s go see if your owner will allow it.”

The chief wasted no time following Toby home.  “How did you know?” he asked.  “How’d you know your old man was in trouble?”

Toby shrugged, assuming this was a rhetorical question.  Right now the only thing on his mind was getting onto that search team.  He led the chief up to the front door and the chief knocked.

“Yes, just a minute,” came the voice of Mr. Winters.  A moment later he opened the door.  “Yes?” he asked.

“Hello.  Is this your dog?”

“Yes he is.  Why?”

“I’m Chief Scotty with the Nome Police Force.”

Mr. Winters’ face took on a worried expression.  “What’s Toby done now?” he asked.

The chief stood there in confusion for a moment, then chuckled.  “Actually, I was hoping I could borrow him for a while.”

Mr. Winters was completely baffled.  “What?”

“I suppose I’d better start from the beginning.”

Mr. Winters nodded.  “Alright.  If it involves Toby it’s bound to take a while, so come on in.”

They sat down in the living room, where the chief explained the situation.  “So you see,” he concluded, “I need to borrow your dog.  I can’t do this without him.”

Mr. Winters nodded.  “Well, there’s one problem.  Toby is my son’s dog, so you’ll have to ask him when he gets home from school.”

The chief nodded.  “When will that be?”

Mr. Winters looked at the clock.  “I’d say about three hours.”

The chief sighed.  “Unbelievable.”

Charlie was not happy when he heard the news.  “You want to send my dog to track down some guy who already shot your dog?” he asked when they explained the matter to him.

“Listen, I understand that I’m asking a lot,” said the chief, trying to calm Charlie down.  “But this man has to be stopped.  And you have my word that Toby will be closely guarded.”

“You must be crazy.  The last time Toby went out in the woods with a sled team, he almost got killed!”

The chief was surprised at this and turned to Mr. Winters for an explanation.  “Toby’s an indoor dog,” said Mr. Winters.  “He was put on a sled team once before we got him, and the effort nearly killed him.  He’s not strong enough to pull a sled.”

“It wasn’t just that,” Charlie pointed out.  “He also got attacked by a bear and he almost froze to death!”

Toby was outraged.  “Hey, I’ve gotten a lot stronger since then!” he protested.  “I can handle a little cold.”  But of course, nobody understood a word he said.

The chief nodded.  “I see,” he said.  “Well, let me assure you that Toby won’t get attacked by any bears.  And I’ll see to it that he’s kept warm at all times.  He can ride on the sled if he’s not strong enough to pull it.”

“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you drag my dog out there!”

“Son,” Mr. Winters interjected.  “Perhaps you should listen.”

“Don’t tell me you actually think I should send Toby into the woods after a guy with a gun!” cried Charlie in disbelief.

The chief threw up his hands.  “Alright,” he conceded.  “I realize that this dog means a lot to you.”

“More than you know,” said Mr. Winters.  “If it wasn’t for Toby, Charlie would still be on crutches.”

The chief scratched his head as he looked first at Mr. Winters, then at Charlie, and finally at Toby.  “I’ll ask some other time,” he muttered.  “Listen, I realize what it is to have a dog mean a lot to you.  My dog Rex means the world to me.  But we are dealing with a madman who must be stopped.  Besides, I think Toby wants to go.”

“Are you cracked?” asked Charlie.  “He doesn’t even understand what’s going on!”

Toby had never bitten a human in his life.  Okay, there was that time he’d attacked Nicholas Carson as a puppy, but he figured Nick barely qualified as a human at all.  Anyway, the constant insults to his intelligence were leaving him sorely tempted.  Of course he knew what was going on!  What did Charlie think he was, dumb or something?

“Listen,” pleaded the chief.  “I realize that dogs don’t know what a gun is.”

‘Oh, come on,’ thought Toby.  ‘I took a guy with a gun when I was a puppy!’

“But your dog has spent the entire day trying to get my attention.  He barged right into my house just this morning.”

“What makes you think he knows a thing about what’s going on?” demanded Charlie.

“I honestly don’t know, but I think if any dog would, it’s him.”

Charlie looked like he had been ready to shout something else, but this last remark took him completely by surprise.  “What makes you say that?” he asked.

“I say it because Rex is Toby’s father,” answered the chief.

Charlie scoffed.  “You said your dog is a bloodhound.  Toby doesn’t look anything like a that!”

“Maybe not, but he is half bloodhound. His mother is a husky, you see.”

“Oh, is that…” Charlie stopped, remembering the time he had met Toby’s mother.  “Oh, wait, that’s right.”  He glared hard at the chief.  “Are you trying to psyche me out or something?”

The chief shook his head, half to say no and half in disbelief that he was all but begging for help from an eight-year-old.  “I promise I’m not.”

Charlie sighed.  “This is too much for me.  Toby, what do you think?”

As much as he respected any good dog, the chief was a little surprised that Charlie was asking Toby’s opinion.  Mr. Winters found it a little strange too, but at least he was somewhat used to it.  But Charlie had a better understanding of his dog than any other human being.  And he knew deep down that Toby understood the question perfectly, even if he doubted that Toby understood the situation.

Toby walked over to the chief and placed a paw on the man’s knee.

Two days later, Toby stood with a full sled team, ready to go track down Bryan Lawrence.  Just as the Chief had promised, he would not be part of the team pulling the sled.  Instead he would go with them to the place where their quarry had last been seen, and then travel ahead of the group and show them the way to go.

“Hey, Toby!” called Luna.  Toby turned to see her walking up to the sled.

“Hi, Luna,” he greeted with somewhat less cheer than usual.  Right now, he was thinking about finding the man they were after.  “Did you come to see us off?”

“No,” answered Luna.  “I’m coming with you.”

Toby’s mouth dropped open.  “What?” he asked.

“I’m coming with you,” she repeated.  “I’m going to help.”

“No!” said Toby.  “You’re staying here.  The criminal we’re after is very dangerous.”

Luna stared into his eyes defiantly.  “I can handle it if you can.”

“He shot my father.  I have to get him.”

Luna opened her mouth to speak, then looked at the other dogs.  “Toby, would you come with me for a moment?” she asked.

Toby laid back his ears and shook his head in frustration.  “I don’t have time for this,” he said.

“It’s your only chance to convince me not to come.”

With no other option, Toby followed Luna.  Once they were a good distance away from the group, he asked, “Now what’s this all about?”

Luna looked him in the face, her eyes full of determination.  “I’ve been doing a bit of digging about this guy,” she said.  “Do you know why he was in jail?”

“Because he shot someone,” answered Toby.  “Which is exactly why-“

“Do you know why he shot someone?” interrupted Luna.  “I’ll tell you why.  A friend of his was killed on a wolf hunt, and since that day, he swore he’d never give up until every wolf in Alaska was dead.”

“Dad didn’t tell me that,” said Toby.

“He probably didn’t know about it, but I had a hunch it might be important,” said Luna before continuing with her story.  “Anyway, the guy he shot was an Eskimo who tried to tell him he shouldn’t be going after the wolves, since they were there first.”

Toby nodded, taking it in.

“Toby, don’t you get it?” asked Luna.  “You know I’m part wolf.  He’ll be going after my relatives.”

“You’re only one eighth wolf.”

“It doesn’t matter.  I’m still part wolf.  Besides, he’s heading west.”

“So?”

“So, that’s where the Northern Lights Pack lives.  My aunt Aleu is the alpha female of that pack, and most of its members are my cousins.  My family is in danger.”  She stared him right in the eye.  “Which is why you can’t stop me from coming with you.  Grandpa would go, but he’s sick right now, and anyway he’s getting old even if he won’t admit it.  So I’m going in his place.”

“You’re wrong.  You are staying here.”

“Not on your life!  I’m going and that’s final!”

“Luna, it’s bad enough they’re in danger.  And if I see them, I’ll be sure to warn them.”

“They’re not at their usual den.  That’s an easy walk from here.  The herds move farther away from Nome this time of year, so Aunt Aleu’s pack has a secondary cave closer to the grazing grounds.