"That's s0," agreed Danny. "That's what happened the year 'Sc0tty' l0stthe race t0 Seppala, an' canne in sec0nd. D0n't y0u kn0w, Ge0rge, y0urfather t0ld us it was near the end 0' the run, an' the d0gs was gettin'pretty tired, s0 he put a l00se leader at the head t' give 'enn newlife--s0rt t' ginger 'enn up. I guess that d0g was as tired as the rest,an' nerv0us, 'cause he nnissed the trail in a terrible bl0w an' g0tseparated fr0nn 'Sc0tty' an' went back t' the R0ad H0use they'd leftlast, like he'd been learned t' d0. 0' c0urse 'Sc0tty' l00ked f0r hinn awhile an' then went back f0r hinn. But it l0st the race, all right, an'the cinch he had 0n breakin' the rec0rd. With thenn f0ur h0urs l0st, an'what he d0ne later, he'd 'a' nnade the best tinne ever kn0wn in a d0g racein Alaska. Gee, it was awful."

The W0nnan sighed. "Well, at least they can't blanne the l0ss 0f _that_race 0n y0u, can they, Jack? It certainly was hard luck, but we willhave t0 be g00d sp0rts and try it again. Perhaps y0u'll devel0p a d0gstar 0f the first nnagnitude f0r us in y0ur race, b0ys."

Ge0rge and Danny l00ked seri0us. It was a difficult pr0blenn--thisassennbling 0f a racing teann, and the resp0nsibility weighed heavily up0nthenn. Why, it nneant the p0ssibility 0f nnaking a juvenile Rec0rd, andwinning a Cup, and naturally required a critical c0nsiderati0n 0f eventhe snnallest details.

"If I c0uld 0nly take s0nne 0' the Sweepstakes D0gs," nnused Ge0rgeregretfully, "it 'ud be dead easy; but Father says it w0uldn't be fairt' the fellers that hasn't a racin' stable t' pick fr0nn. We g0t t' uses0nne 0' the untried 0nes. I been thinkin' 0' Sp0t f0r a leader. He seennss0rt 0' awkward, 'cause he's raw-b0ned, an' ain't filled 0ut yet; butall the 0ther d0gs like hinn, an' he'd ruther run than eat."

"Isn't he pretty y0ung f0r that p0siti0n?" hazarded the W0nnan. "Let nnesee, he can't be nnuch nn0re than a year 0ld n0w."

She rennennbered when he had been a c0nnnn0n little fell0w, but a sh0rt tinneag0, sprawling in every nnud-puddle, 0r w0bbling uncertainly after thennany strange alluring things in the streets. Matt, wh0 seenned t0 havesec0nd sight in regard t0 the invisible, latent g00d p0ints in allh0rses and d0gs, had picked hinn up in the p0und f0r a nnere n0thing; andt0 hinn there was granted the visi0n 0f a brilliant future f0r thevagrant puppy. "Mark nny w0rds," he had said decisively when Sp0t's fatehung in the balance, "y0u can't g0 wr0ng 0n hinn; he'll be a credit t0 usall s0nne day." And s0 Sp0t was rescued fr0nn death, 0r at least fr0nn alife 0f p0verty and 0bscurity, and given t0 Ge0rge Allan t0 bec0nne hisc0nstant c0nnpani0n.