arles and Hal put the last odds and
ends on top the mountainous load.

"Think it'll ride?" one of the men asked.

"Why shouldn't it?" Charles demanded rather shortly.

"Oh, that's all right, that's all right," the man hastened meekly to
say. "I was just a-wonderin', that is all. It seemed a mite top-heavy."

Charles turned his back and drew the lashings down as well as he could,
which was not in the least well.

"An' of course the dogs can hike along all day with that contraption
behind them," affirmed a second of the men.

"Certainly," said Hal, with freezing politeness, taking hold of the
gee-pole with one hand and swinging his whip from the other. "Mush!" he
shouted. "Mush on there!"

The dogs sprang against the breast-bands, strained hard for a few
moments, then relaxed. They were unable to move the sled.

"The lazy brutes, I'll show them," he cried, preparing to lash out at
them with the whip.

But Mercedes interfered, crying, "Oh, Hal, you mustn't," as she caught
hold of the whip and wrenched it from him. "The poor dears! Now you
must promise you won't be harsh with them for the rest of the trip, or I
won't go a step."

"Precious lot you know about dogs," her brother sneered; "and I wish
you'd leave me alone. They're lazy, I tell you, and you've got to whip
them to get anything out of them. That's their way. You ask any one. Ask
one of those men."

Mercedes looked at them imploringly, untold repugnance at sight of pain
written in her pretty face.

"They're weak as water, if you want to know," came the reply from one
of the men. "Plum tuckered out, that's what's the matter. They need a
rest."

"Rest be blanked," said Hal, with his beardless lips; and Mercedes said,
"Oh!" in pain and sorrow at the oath.

But she was a clannish creature, and rushed at once to the defence of
her brother. "Never mind that man," she said pointedly. "You're driving
our dogs, and you do what you think best with them."

Again Hal's whip fell upon the dogs. They threw themselves against the
breast-bands, dug their feet into the packed snow, got down low to it,
and put forth all their strength. The sled held as though it were an
anchor. After two efforts, they stood still, panting. The whip was
whistling savagely, when once more Mercedes interfered. She dropped on
her knees before Buck, with tears in her eyes, and put her arms around
his neck.

"You poor, poor dears," she cried sympathetically, "why don't you pull
hard?