far.

He took me to Anchorage for some supplies before our departure. Somehow one of Academy tutors got know about Marshal’s project. When my master tied be in front of general shop on Edgar Allan Poe’s street, he were greeted by Japanese man in ordinary coat. But my owner instantly replied that welcome, recognising his tutor from old years.

“Doctor Tazaku!” said master Lucas. “It’s nice to see you again.”

Older physician looked on younger colleague and examined him for few long seconds. Then he got straight to the point.

“I heard you are going to Nome.”

“Well…” replied a bit confused Marshal. “Yes, I have such a plan. But what…”

“Leave it, boy.” Said Japanese. “Just don’t follow the trails that is most likely false.”

“Sir, I don’t understand…”

“Doctor Welch doesn’t like any strangers looking around his town. We are amazed how he managed to stop the epidemic.”

“Sir!” called amazed Marshal. “I don’t mean to search for any errors of doctor Welch. I’m interested in that case due to my bacteriological research. Nothing more.”
”Still, you can’t expect for warm welcome there.” Said Tazaku and just left us on the street without even saying goodbye.

II.

That event a bit confused my master, but preparations to trek was going in its normal routine. As we planned – we were going to run in whole, seven-pieces team, with me as a leader. I had under my charge husky triplets: Ezekiel, Nebuchadrezzar and Cyrus, two Mackenzies: Buck and Fitch and she-Alaskan husky, called Emma. Redfurred bitch was definitely the most attractive part of my team, but I liked all my charges as pros and tempered canines.

Part of our way we have done by train – the only segment to run with sled was between Nenana and Galena and then to Nome. Way between Nenana and Galena was easy and pleasant – our way was flat and wide route next to Yukon’s bed. That went smoothly, giving us just pure pleasure of ride, without any problems. Although December was frosty, in valley of river, with often stops in good conditions even lowest temperature isn’t a problem.

We spent Christmas on route. For my master it wasn’t a problem – he had no family and seemed totally indifferent towards social message of those days. We, as dogs, felt nothing strange about that, however the picture of our sled, moving thought silent and half-asleep villages could bring some uneasiness to our minds. But on the new year he stopped in Galena.

Master Lucas make two days of break. He bought necessary equipment and stocks, then set off further. There were three possible ways to Nome – one on southern coast, the longest and safest one. The second was bypassing Yu Range from north, coming next to Buckland – that made it just slightly shorter than previous. But the real shortcut was way straight west, via Eagle Pass and – not surprisingly – our master chose that route.

Fortunately – seeing the monstrous view of the range – he changed his decision and we took a circuit to Buckland. But because we went near the pass to one night we were in higher groves of Yu slope. That would be quite meaningless episode, but when I recall it now, I suspect that some harbingers of coming doom could be seen already then.

We pitched a camp on brink of forest, seeing nothing but Ice Fields of Eagle Pass on west. As experienced trapper, master Lucas quickly prepared us to sleep, then he entered his tent and fall asleep instantly. But somehow I was unable to do the same. I dug my snow-shelter and laid down, but sleep didn’t come. I was lying half-awake, with head on the surface, mindlessly gazing into the stars. It was frosty and cloudless night, so I could see all wonders of polar night. Aurora Borealis was dancing above us, singing silent song that no mortal could comprehend. I had to enter a trance, seeing that orgy of colours, because in spite of harsh frost I was still looking up, without hiding my head under the snow. About midnight I heard Emma’s scream.

In first impulse I felt irrational anger towards her, that she broke my moment of delight, as I had been watching distant skydancers. But then my rational mind ordered me to stand up and run to her lair. Before I got there, I noticed very strange thing – no one except of me seemed to hear it. But I ignored that enigma and came to Emma.

She seemed to be just awoken. When I stopped above her, she greeted me initially with another bark of fear, then with sight of relief. She stood up from her den and nestled to me with shock locked on her muzzle.

“What happened?” I asked, seriously scared.

“They are calling…” she started, but then instantly he lowered her voice and continued more easy. “Ow… it’s just a dream.”

“Thanks God.” I replied. “You really scared me with that scream.”

“I screamed?” she asked amazed. “I thought I just screamed in the dream.”

“Some dreams are more real that we suspect.” I replied, not knowing how terrible truth I was confirming. “But none of them as much as we could initially think. I guess there is nothing to fear now.”

“Could you…” she asked uncertainly.

“I could dig my den here.” I replied, reading her intentions. “If something is wrong, just call me.”

And then we laid to sleep, just few metres from each other, that time I had no problems with falling into slumber. But what slumber it was! I dreamed about old and great mountains, ten times more ancient and ten times higher than peaks known to residents of Alaska. I dreams about monstrous caverns, where no light shone since the days when Old Ones walked the Earth. I saw creatures that no dog nor wolf could see in real world. But the most weirdest of that all was the fog.

White mass of untouchable cold was crawling out from interiors on Earth and sliding down to valleys and forest. In my dream I was there – inside of fog – and I was floating down to cover and extinguish all life I meet. That float took me through many miles and many places I had never seen, but somehow I recalled. Finally I reach some town, lifeless and cold, when dogs, humans and the other creatures greeted me not as a threat by a sweetest companion of their blasphemous existence. They didn’t fear me, because all I could take from them, was already taken. Then a shout of musher woke me up.

I suddenly shook away all clouds of that crazy dream, opened my eyes and saw I was again on brink of forest, just next to standing up Emma. In short second our sights crossed and for one second I was sure she had been dreaming about the same. On her muzzle I saw the terror and delight mixed in one expression of fearful longing. But she quickly turned her stare down and after that she refused to explain any of her nightly experiences to me. But then again master Lucas said to us.

“We must go.” He judged, looking on west. I turned my stare there and froze in place. “Look at this mist. Whole pass if filled with it. Going there would be suicide.”

I couldn’t believe what I saw. In spite of frost, the white-hoary mist was floating in Eagle Pass down to us through ice fields. It was impossible – from all I knew about the weather I understood that such a phenomena is not possible. Instantly my mind went back to dream I had, but rational part of my mind quickly cut those wonderings. However I greeted with relief next words of my master.

“Well, I see there is no use in coming through. We will take a route north.”
Then he prepared setting off. We managed to start our way in incredible time. Somehow no one – neither musher nor dogs – wanted to stay in place when mist would reach the brink of forest. We just retreated from white mass, down to the valley and came to North Route in Buckland direction. I was harnessed as lead dog and I did my best to leave that strange place quickly.

On next stop I tried to speak with Emma, but she refused to give any explanations to me. After I saw I wouldn’t get know anymore I wanted to forget about enigmatic events of last night. But when I was running on the front of my sled, I thought about strange perspective I had in my slumber – I recalled that I had been seeing valleys I had been coming down to, but those weren’t any of places I was before, or at least not any place I saw from that perspective. In spite in my dream I event wasn’t sure if it was night or day, I took assumption that my being was sliding down to west or south-west, because of well known shore I saw in the end of journey. It was part of Nome’s Shore. Recalling that I got easier – I understood that my fantasy, fuelled by weird tales just mounted a odd vision of that cursed town and presented it as a dream. Morning shock of Emma I took as ordinary shame of showing fear. After all I saw experienced sled-dog, shaking after puppyish nightmare. I cleared my mind, appeased by that version and next part of route made without any worry.

We had some minor problems, but those were caused only because of master’s Lucas bravado. He was a skilled marksmen and devoted hunter and just after we picked a trail of elk, we left our route and followed. Because blizzard burst, we got lost and for several hours were trying to find way back. But finally, on morning of fourth January we reached Buckland to have two days of rest.

Some strange dreams, somehow similar to that one from Eagle Pass were haunting me, but on morning I was unable to recall any detail of nightly wonders. Then I thought it was better for me, but now I see if I read those premonitions properly I possibly had been better prepared to face the nightmare I saw in Nome.

On sixth January we set off on south-west, to get to strange town on southern coast.

III.

We managed to get to Nome quite fast, just in four days. We have a luck – frost become less fierce, but no blizzard came. So we were running in forests of valleys on western side of Yu Range. Somehow our master lost his usual bravado and picked the easiest way to coast, to