why he would be the one to go. He began to shiver in pure excitement as he turned around and disappeared below the butcher’s home.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

“Alright, is everyone here?” Henry called out to the crowd. He saw no other dogs enter through the door, so he began to speak. “Let us begin then. First of all-”

“Wait, wait. I’m here.”

Kaltag walked in, swaying slightly from side to side. His headache had come close to clearing up, so now he could actually hear without so much pain. Henry eyed him distastefully before he began again.

“As I was saying before. I have gathered you all here to tell you what I have just found… While inspecting the scene of that most tragic murder, I found a most helpful clue… Unfortunately, I do not have knowledge of many of the denizens of this town, so I would appreciate help in identifying the owner of this.”

Henry dragged out a small, pale-brown fluff of fur from his collar and dropped it onto the floor. He scanned the crowd and pointed to Jenna.

“The line will start with you. Could you please walk around here and sniff it, see if you can pick up something. We’re lucky that there’s still a scent on it.”

Jenna had guessed that he would have chosen her first. She had a feeling that this dog had somewhat of a crush on her, but she really didn’t want to hurt his feelings. She nodded her head politely as she strode up to the front. She knelt down and took a sniff of the fur. Her eyes suddenly widened and her jaw dropped nearly to the floor.

“No… No. This can’t be right,” she whispered quietly.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Henry asked, leaning an ear down towards her.

Jenna’s lip quivered as she tried her best to avoid looking at Balto. But she couldn’t hold herself from doing so. Balto stared at her, head cocked, wondering what she had to say along with the others. Henry quickly realized why she was still staring back at him. Jenna turned back around to face Henry, and she looked at him pleadingly.

“Please. I know he wouldn’t have done anything like that. This is a mistake,” she practically begged.

One by one, the other dogs began to catch what was going on, and they slowly turned to stare at Balto. Most of the looks were of utter disbelief, and some were smug, like they thought he would have been behind something so heinous. It took a while, but the situation finally began to sink in for Balto.

“Listen!” Jenna suddenly shouted, catching the crowds attention, “We all know Balto! We know that he would have never done anything like this!”

“But Jenna,” Henry cut in, “how would you explain this fur that I found lodged on the victim?”

She turned to him and frowned, “I believe you took some of his fur last night. I hate to be accusative, but you could have planted it.”

The sound of murmurs resonated from the crowd. Had they made the wrong mistake in who they had chosen? Henry showed no fear though, and he stepped towards the crowd.

“Last night, I offered to take care of the fur because I was trying to be helpful. I did just as I said, and deposited the fur into the trash can near their home. You can even check if you want. And if you notice, this fur has no sign of bandages on it at all. Besides, the bodies were being watched all night and all day, so it couldn’t have been planted. I assure you that this is no mistake. Besides, why would I do this to Balto? I have no personal vendetta against him.”

“But maybe, there’s the slimmest chance that this was put there before your guards could see? He wouldn’t have done it.”

Henry sighed, “Alright. This is what we’ll do. Since there is no conclusive evidence condemning Balto, I will ask him to stay on his boat out of town. He’ll be allowed to come into town during the daylight hours, and only with the company of another dog. If something like this occurs again during this period of his ‘house arrest’, then this should prove his innocence beyond a shadow of a doubt… Moving on. Is there any other matters that need solving while we’re here?” He squinted his eyes as a paw rose meekly. “You there. What is your ailment?”

Kaltag stepped through the crowd and walked up to the new judge. He seemed hesitant to speak at first, but soon regained his courage.

“Listen. I need your help. We’re being held captive. Star, Nikki, and myself by some psycho dog. We can’t do anything by ourselves to stop him, so we need your help.”

Henry looked at him with a most interested expression upon his face. “And, who is this dog?… Give me a description of him.”

“Well, how do I put this?… He basically looks like a twisted clown, and-”

“Did you hear that!?” Henry called out, his tone suddenly changing and the features of his face hardening, “He says there’s a clown holding him and two other dogs captive!”

“But it’s true! I could show you-”

Henry leaned right down next to Kaltag and whispered. “Listen here, Boy… I know exactly what you’re trying to do, and that you‘re a friend of Balto‘s. But you are not going to derail our only lead. I’m a great dog when I’m not on duty, so please, don‘t push me.”

The mass of dogs before him had become silent, their breathing barely audible. They looked on with straight faces as Henry began to speak directly to them again.

“Alright everyone. I realize that he is probably just trying to cause trouble. I order all of you to not listen to a word this dog has to say if it sounds fishy, or follow him if he tries to lead you off. This is for your own safety I assure you. Anyone seen doing what I have just advised against will be brought in for questioning, and may face a sentence. And also, travel in groups from now on, unless you absolutely have to go alone. That is all.”

“But-” Kaltag protested.

“Please now Kaltag,” Henry whispered again, “don’t get yourself in more trouble than you’re already in. Just go home, get some rest, and after this whole mess cleans up, then you can start telling your stories again… This is not a good time.”

Kaltag was left speechless. He glanced over his shoulder and already he saw most of the town leaving the boiler room. How could they not believe him?.. Actually. How could they not even let him finish what he had to say?

“Well, go on now. It’s getting late. And I would hate to have anything… happen to you,” Henry smiled, patting Kaltag on the back as he walked him out.

A thought suddenly came to Kaltag’s mind. What if… What if Hal had heard him just try to give away everything? No. The odds of him actually being able to hear that were next to none. Kaltag smiled back at Henry as he began to walk down the darkening streets. He walked alongside the butcher’s and saw a stack of crates. He stepped through an opening and frowned when he was suddenly surrounded by a pitch blackness. But what if…?

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Mr. Kode pulled his overcoat closer to his body and brought the collar up, even though this did little to keep the cold wind from nipping at the older man. He stepped up and opened a door, and waved hello to the man behind the desk as a small bell rang over his head.

“Hey there Mr. Conner. You got any mail for an old man?”

The postmaster’s mustache twitched as he sorted through the mail bag. After a few stacks, he finally pulled out something.

“Ah, here ya go there. Have a good evenin’!” he called after Mr. Kode as the telegraph operator exited.

After a few minutes, he finally reached his home. He quickly shut the door behind him as a blast of bitter air tried to force its way through. He lifted his heavy coat from his shoulders, kicked off his boots and sat down in his chair. Mr. Kode ripped open the envelope addressed to him and began to read the letter inside carefully. The envelope accidentally dropped from his grasp and feel from the floor. He leaned down, hearing his old bones crack noisily. He noticed a few small photos that he had missed previously, so he took them out and looked them over. Mr. Kode slammed everything onto the table and quickly dragged the small telegraph machine towards him.

“Maurice STOP You there STOP”

The telegraph began to beep in response, and Mr. Kode began his normal routine of writing down the returning message and reading it aloud.

“Nome STOP Yes I am STOP”

“You sitting STOP I have some bad news and it may hurt STOP”

“Yes STOP”

Mr. Kode paused for a moment as he tried to think of how to put this. He hated to be the bearer of bad news, but it seemed that that responsibility always fell onto his shoulders. He gave a heavy sigh and his small dog looked up at him.

“I received the photos STOP One of the dogs from a photo looks like one we found dead a day or two ago STOP And from what I read in letter you sent STOP It is more than possible that it is your dog STOP”

There was a long silence. A very long silence indeed. Mr. Kode began to worry if Maurice was still on the other end of the line.

“Was there photo of the deceased dog STOP”

“Yes STOP I expect that you wish for me to send them STOP”

“Please do STOP I will be waiting STOP”

The line went silent again and Mr. Kode drummed his fingers across the table. He leaned back in his chair and looked up the ceiling, bringing a hand to his face and rubbing his temples. He could only imagine how horrible Maurice had to be feeling right now. The light above the table began to flash momentarily before Mr. Kode stood up. He picked up his dog and carried him up the stairs after he had shut of the light.

“C’mon boy. We’re gonna turn in early tonight.”

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

The moon hung lazily in the sky as Kodi limped down the street, being careful to step as gingerly as he could to avoid any stinging. He was still in a state of shock from the earlier meeting. His dad? How could he, or why would he have murdered anyone? Sure, he had killed Steele and that other dog, but that was purely by accident and self-defense. Right? Of course. He couldn’t lose faith in his

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