starting line. “On your marks…” he called out.

“Good luck, Kodi!” called Balto and Jenna from the starting line.

“I’m surprised your dad’s not running,” Toby whispered.

“He says he’d rather let somebody else have a turn in the spotlight,” explained Kodi. With a grin he added, “Plus, mom won’t let him since he broke his leg that time.”

“Go, Kodi!” yelled a black husky from the sideline.

“Friend of yours?” asked Toby.

Kodi seemed to think for a moment, then nodded. “You might say that.”

“Get set…!” the musher called out.

All the dogs hunched down at the starting line. “Good luck,” whispered Kodi.

“You too,” said Toby, and then emptied his mind of everything but the track ahead.

The starter’s pistol went off, and the dogs shot forward like rockets. Toby’s legs pumped madly. Kodi had taught him to pace himself, but all that mattered in this race was speed. He mentally counted down the seconds until he hit the ice and adjusted his gait. As several of the other dogs slipped, Toby just kept on running. As he passed the edge of the patch, he switched back to his normal gait and picked up speed.

He ran like mad all the way to the finish line. He wasn’t in first place, but he counted the dogs ahead of him as they crossed the finish line. Kodi was first, then Kirby, and then Toby crossed the line with a triumphant howl.

The musher read off the list of winning dogs. “Kodi, Kirby, Toby, Ralph, Rocky, Colt, and Norik.”

The crowd clapped as dogs gathered around the winners. Terry ran up and nuzzled Toby. “Good job,” she said.

Rex emerged from the crowd and nodded. “Congratulations,” he said.

Luna was all smiles. “Toby, you did it! You made the team!”

Balto and Jenna arrived too. “Good job, Kodi,” said Jenna.

“And you too, Toby,” added Balto.

For Toby, it was like the dream all over again.

Just then Kodi seemed to spot something and quickly excused himself. “Sorry to run, but I have to…be somewhere.” And with that he dashed off.

Toby noticed the same black husky who had called to Kodi right before the race. Kodi was heading right in her direction. ‘That’s funny,’ he thought to himself. ‘I thought Kodi was hooked up with Dusty. Speaking of which…’ he looked around in confusion. ‘Where is she, anyway?’

A while later, after the crowd had dissipated, Toby and Luna were strolling along talking about the race. “I can’t believe you’re on the team!” Luna kept repeating.

“And why not?” asked Toby, doing an almost perfect impression of the no-nonsense tone his father adopted when discussing police work. “You think I’m a slowpoke or something? Is that it?”

Luna laughed. “No, silly. I just mean-hey, look over there!” she pointed down the street.

Toby looked and saw Kodi talking to Dusty. Dusty looked tired, as if she hadn’t been sleeping well. “Huh,” was all he said. “I wonder what’s up?”

Luna trotted in their direction. “I don’t know, but there’s one way to find out.”

As they approached, Kodi pricked his ears in their direction and the conversation abruptly ceased. “Hi, Kodi,” said Toby.

“Hey, Toby,” greeted Kodi. “How’s my number one student?”

“He’s your only student,” Luna pointed out.

Everyone laughed, and then Dusty said, “I was just congratulating Kodi on coming in first place.”

Toby tilted his head. “How come you weren’t at the race?”

“Oh, she was there,” explained Kodi. “You saw her, as a matter of fact.” Laughing at the confused look on his pupil’s face, he asked, “Remember the black dog who shouted, “Go Kodi”? Toby nodded, not sure where this was going. “Well,” grinned Kodi, “Take a look behind those trash cans.”

Toby looked and saw a patch of snow stained black by…he sniffed. “Soot?”

“I didn’t want my owners to see me,” explained Dusty, “So I decided to use a little makeup.”

“Why would you want to hide from them?” asked Luna.

“And why weren’t you in the race?” added Toby.

Dusty and Kodi exchanged a secretive glance and smiled. “Well…” Dusty seemed to be searching her brain for the right words.

“Let’s just say she’s not in condition for running right now.” Kodi finished for her.

Luna was immediately concerned. “Are you hurt?” she asked.

Dusty shook her head and smiled secretively. “No,” was all she said.

Toby laid his ears back, thinking. “Are you sick?”

Dusty’s smile broadened and she shook her head again. “Nope.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

Kodi laid his paw gently on top of Dusty’s and smiled. “If you must know, Dusty’s taking a break for family reasons.”

Toby and Luna leaned their ears forward, their interest piqued by the flush that was creeping into Dusty’s cheeks. “What kind of ‘family reasons’ are we talking about here?” Toby asked, curious as all get-out.

Kodi grinned. “Well, don’t tell Boris, but his worst nightmare is about to happen all over again.”

“What’s that?” asked Toby.

Kodi grinned, clearly enjoying the suspense. “Well, here’s a hint: what scares Boris more than anything?”

Luna considered. “Well, he hates being used as a chew toy,” she recalled. “I remember that from when I was a…” she trailed off and stared blankly for a moment at Kodi and Dusty. “You’re kidding.”

Dusty laughed. “You could put it that way,” she joked.

Luna squealed. “Congratulations! When are they due?” she asked.

Kodi was all smiles. “About seven weeks from now,” he said.

Toby was confused. “What are you talking about?”

Luna shoved him. “Puppies, genius!”

“Oh.” Toby tilted his head uncertainly. “But what about the team?” he asked.

“Well, I won’t be running for a while, obviously,” answered Dusty. She smiled and rubbed her nose against Kodi’s. “But we decided it was time. And some things are bigger than pulling a sled all day. Anyway, I’ll be back on the job once the pups grow up.”

“In the meantime,” said Kodi with a laugh, “It’ll probably double my speed on the return trips to Nome.”

“What?” asked Dusty, pretending to be deeply hurt. “Only double? I would have hoped for at least triple.”

Everyone laughed except for Toby, who was shaking his head and trying to figure out how anything could be more important than pulling a sled. “If I ever get lovey-dovey like that, just throw me off a roof,” he muttered to Luna.

Luna scowled and made a mental note to bite Toby later when nobody was looking.

“Dusty!” came a voice. All eyes turned to see one of Dusty’s humans coming up the road. The expression on the woman’s face made it clear that she was not amused. She came up and took Dusty by the collar. “Dusty!” she scolded, her tone containing a hint of worry. “Where have you been? You know you’re not supposed to be running around right now.”

Dusty looked at the others. “Sorry, guys,” she said. “I guess I’d better go home now. I’ll try to slip out and see you tomorrow before you leave, Kodi.”

Kodi nodded goodbye to Toby and Luna. Then he ran after Dusty and her owner, intent on walking his mate home.

That night Toby heard a howl in the distance. There was a wolf out there, calling to the night and the stars. As Toby listened, it began to sing in a clear tenor voice. It was a dry voice, if you can understand what I mean, somewhat like a medieval court minstrel, and the song had a melody like that of an old ballad.

"The greatest adventure

Is what lies ahead

Today and tomorrow

Are yet to be said

The chances, the changes

Are all yours to make

The mold of your life

Is in your hands to break.”

“The greatest adventure

Is there in your home.

Let go of the mold

That life makes you hold

To measure the meaning

Can make you delay

It’s time you stop thinking

And wasting the day.”

The wolf’s voice grew louder and clearer as he soared into what might have been the chorus if there had been more than one singer.

"The man who's a dreamer,

And never takes leave,

Who thinks of a world

That is just make believe,

Will never know passion,

Will never know pain,

Who sits by the window

Will one day see rain.”

His voice grew quieter again as he entered what sounded like the beginning of a new verse.

“The greatest adventure

Is what lies ahead

Today and tomorrow

Are yet to be said

The chances, the changes,

Are all yours to make

The mold of your life

Is in your hands to break.”

“The greatest adventure…is what…lies aheaaaddd…”

Toby smiled, feeling as if the song were meant especially for him. ‘Yes indeed,’ he thought, ‘Tomorrow begins my greatest adventure.’

As his eyelids closed, Toby had no idea just how true that was.

Toby was up bright and early the next morning to start his new job. He ran around to each mail dog’s house and barked outside like a maniac. At each destination he succeeded in awakening the dog in