Who is he, Kid?' 'Jack Westondale. Been in going on three
years, with nothing but the name of working like a horse, and any
amount of bad luck to his credit. I never knew him, but Sitka
Charley told me about him.' 'It seems hard that a man with a
sweet young wife like his should be putting in his years in this
Godforsaken hole, where every year counts two on the outside.'
'The trouble with him is clean grit and stubbornness. He's
cleaned up twice with a stake, but lost it both times.' Here the
conversation was broken off by an uproar from Bettles, for the
effect had begun to wear away. And soon the bleak years of
monotonous grub and deadening toil were being forgotten in rough
merriment. Malemute Kid alone seemed unable to lose himself, and
cast many an anxious look at his watch. Once he put on his
mittens and beaver-skin cap, and, leaving the cabin, fell to
rummaging about in the cache.
Nor could he wait the hour designated; for he was fifteen minutes
ahead of time in rousing his guest. The young giant had stiffened
badly, and brisk rubbing was necessary to bring him to his feet.
He tottered painfully out of the cabin, to find his dogs
harnessed and everything ready for the start.
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