thatâll shave five or six miles off the run,â he told her.
âYouâd better stay on the river trail,â she cautioned. âItâs still snowing pretty hard. The side trails might be drifted in.â
âOh, no, this oneâs fine. Trust me. I use it all the time.â Moments later he geeâd Merlin up over the riverbank. A few miles later, winding their way at a quick trot through the spruce woods, John Campbellâs abandoned cabin loomed beside the trail. Merlin, seeing that the door was ajar, made the sudden decision to take the team inside. Before Mac had time to shout a proper curse or step on the sled brake, half of the dogs had scaled the cabin steps and disappeared within.
âDamn you, Merlin!â he growled, hobbling stiffly off the runners and working his way up the snow-covered cabin steps. The floor of the cabin was rotten and his feet broke through twice, banging his shins hard both times. It took all his remaining strengthâcombined with Rebeccaâs helpâto haul the dogs out of the cabin and get Merlin pointed in the proper direction. He waited for some sarcastic comment from Rebecca, but she remained silent, though once they were moving down the trail again, he could have sworn he heard her laughing softly.
Forty minutes later Merlin led the team up to Samâs hangar. The house was lit up like a palace, the big Wisconsin generator was roaring, and there were several vehicles parked in the cabin yard. Mac barely had time to open the hangar door and drive the team inside before Ellin and Sam confronted him.
âMac!â Ellin cried out. âHave you seen Rebecca? The police calledâthey found her truck parked beside the river with the engine running and Tuffy inside⦠Rebecca! Is that you! Oh, thank God, thank God, youâre safe! We were worried to death!â Ellinâs hug was so vigorous that she knocked Rebecca back into the sled.
âMac!â another voice cried, and he froze in the act of unsnapping the dogsâ tug lines. âMac!â Sadie Hedda rushed toward him like a freight train, her face a mask of concern. âWhat happened to you? Your face! All that blood!â
âIâm fine,â he said. âI fell on the ice, thatâs all. Sadie, please, I need to get the dogs unhooked and fed.â
âSon, youâd better sit down,â Sam said, taking him by the arm. âLet Sadie have a look at you. Your face is cut up pretty bad.â
The warmth inside the hangar had caused the blood to flow. He could feel a warm trickle running down his neck. âItâs just a cut, thatâs all, head wounds bleed a lot. Iâve got to get the dogs fed. Theyâve had a long day.â
âIâll feed your dogs, Mac,â Rebecca said. âYou better let Sadie look at you.â She began walking past him, and he reached out and caught her arm.
âI can take care of my own dogs!â he said, and she turned to look at him, startled.
âI know that,â she said. âBut the least you can do is let me help you, after you fixed my truck and fed my dogs.â
âMac, your face is a mess,â Sadie said. âA couple of those cuts are definitely going to need stitches, and you could have a concussion!â
âNow look!â he said, releasing Rebeccaâs arm and glaring at Sadie. âRight now, Iâm going to take care of my dogs. When Iâm done, if you feel itâs absolutely necessary, you can examine my cuts, gashes, and lacerations to your heartâs content.â
Rebecca busied herself unharnessing the dogs and picketing them with the others on the far wall. Mac stepped out, grateful for the cold and darkness, and madehis way to the little cabin where he lived, hoping that the big pot of water atop the stove would still be hot enough to mix the dogsâ food. He lit the oil lamp, fed some firewood onto the bed of coals that still glowed
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