Steele waited until he heard the voices fade away, then slunk to the door. He opened it slowly and peaked out. There were no dogs in sight.
Steele crept through the alleys towards the edge of town. His heart pounded to the point that he felt sick. If any dog saw him, he was done for.
Steele felt slight relief as he got out of the town and into the wilderness. Everybody was probably still celebrating Balto's return with the medicine.
Steele scowled. It was all that wolf dog's fault!
His muscles tensed and a slight growl escaped his lips.
Anger quickly turned to fear as he realized he'd made a sound. What if someone heard?
No, not someone, something. He was in the wild now and a wild animal could be close by.
Steele glanced around and sniffed the air. There didn't seem to be anything around.
Steele made his way through the pine trees, fallen needles quieting his paw steps. Th scent of pine was strong. It would have been pleasant if Steele wasn't so angry and worried.
The large husky glanced around again. He couldn't see beyond the closest trees.
Feeling fairly safe, Steele's thoughts wandered back to Nome. How could he have lost so much in one night?
Steele was furious with Balto, but he was angrier with the other dogs. How fickle, to turn on him like that!
Steele had a pretty good idea of where he was going. White Mountain wasn't too far away, but it was far enough that the other dogs probably wouldn't look there.
Steele emerged into a clearing and saw the mountain trail a short distance away. The moon showed so brightly that he could see clearly. He sped up slightly, eager to get out of the open area. He didn't like the fact that he was clearly visible to other animals now.
The husky wasn't far up the trail when tiredness set in. He wanted to stop and rest, but he thought it would make him too easy to catch. Not only were there wild animals out there, but someone could have followed his scent by now. He figured the team he'd left stranded would want revenge pretty badly. He knew that's what he'd want in the same situation.
Steele made it about halfway up the trail when he had to sit down. By now, the sky had grown lighter and the sun was beginning to rise.
Steele had hoped that he would make it to White Mountain under the cover of darkness, but he could only get there so fast.
Steele's thoughts were interrupted by the sight of the sunrise. The sky had turned pink and purple and yellow. The color tinted the snow around the husky.
Even upset and exhausted, Steele had to admit it was a beautiful sight. It made him feel hopeful.
Maybe life in White Mountain wouldn't be so bad. Sure, he'd be a stray at first, but he was a handsome dog. He'd probably find a home.
After a little while, Steele got to his paws and started walking again.
It was daylight by the time he reached the town. He walked past the small buildings and homes until he found a wooden crate in an alley. He curled up inside it and went to sleep right away.
Steele woke to a scratching sound. At first, he didn't know where he was.
Then he remembered what had happened the night before. His stomach tightened as he thought the sound might be a former team member.
Suddenly, a face was looking into the crate. Steele jumped, hitting his head on then side of the crate.
It took him a moment to realize it was a cat looking in from the top of the box.
"Sorry," the cat said. "Didn't mean to scare ya, mutt."
"I'm not a mutt," Steele said, rubbing his head with one paw. "I'm a purebred!"
The cat leapt down to the ground. He was a large white cat with a light gray back, tail and top of the head.
"OK," the cat said. "Hey you want to go find some breakfast, purebred? I could use a dog with a good nose."
"I don't need help from a cat," Steele said.
"Whatever," the cat said. "See ya 'round."
The big tom cat walked away down the alley and disappeared around a corner.
Steele's stomach grumbled. He could go for some breakfast.
Steele's first thought was to find the butcher's meat cellar, but then it occurred to him this could get him some unwanted attention.
Instead, Steele followed his nose to the back of a diner. He wasn't happy to eat out of the garbage. It was below him. But he wasn't sure what else to do.
Steele knocked over the garbage can and pawed through the trash until he found some half-eaten bacon. He also found some biscuits and eggs.
Steele still felt hungry, but he did feel better.
It only now occurred to him that he didn't know what he'd do with his days. His life had been centered around racing. Now that was gone, he wasn't sure what to do.
Steele frowned and headed away from the garbage can. Then he stopped and his ears pricked up.
Of course! He'd get to finding a home!
Steele began to walk faster until he exited the alley and found himself on the main street. He looked around and spotted a post office. As good of a place as any to start.
Steele strutted up to the front of the post office and waited. Soon, a woman with a hand full of envelopes approached the building.
Steele jumped up and wagged his tail.
The woman looked nervous and hurried inside. When she came out, she was careful to keep her distance from Steele.
This surprised Steele until he thought he was a very big stray dog. It kind of made sense she'd be scared of him. Hopefully, someone less timid would come along.
All day people avoided Steele. By the time he went back to the diner to scrounge for dinner, Steele was tired and frustrated.
He found some scraps of fried chicken and half a plate of mashed potatoes.
Back in the crate, Steele considered what he'd do the next day to find a home. He decided he would be a little less eager and more calm the next time he tried.
Steele was still angry and upset, but at least he wasn't as exhausted or frightened as the night before. He went to sleep quickly.
The next day went slowly. Steele hung out by the market and wagged his tail at the people going in and out. Toward the end of the day, he started rolling over and giving belly. It was a little embarrassing, but humans seemed to like it.
A few people petted him but no one took him home.
Steele lay awake that night, worrying. What if he couldn't find a home? Would he be stuck as a stray for the rest of his life?
Steele fell asleep worried and disappointed.
The next morning, Steele went to the barbershop on Main Street. It was early afternoon when an alarmingly familiar smell hit Steele's nose. It was his old team! They must have been making a mail run.
Steele was about to take off when the team came into view. A new dog led the team, an orangish red husky.
They certainly replaced me fast, Steele thought.
He always thought the team couldn't do without him. It hurt to see they could get over his loss so quickly.
Steele's anger distracted him long enough for the team to stop in front of the post office.
He was snapped out of his thoughts by Nikki's voice.
"Well, if it ain't Steele."
Steele jumped to his paws.
"Hey, Nikki," he said, trying to sound casual.
"Where'd you go the other night?" Nikki continued. "We wanted to have a word with you. But then you ran off…"
"You're the most cowardly, the most gutless, the most spineless…" Kaltag started.
"You're chicken!" Star broke in.
Kaltag glared at Star.
"Guys, it's not what you're thinking…" Steele said, ears down and tail down.
By now the musher was inside the post office.
The three dogs slipped out of their harnesses.
Steele began to shake. Even with his size, he knew he couldn't take on all three dogs.
"What are you doing?" the lead dog asked.
The trio began to snarl and snap at Steele.
Steele took off as fast as he could. The three dogs chased after him.
"Come back!" the lead dog called. "Our musher will be back soon!"
No one listened.
Steele ran down the main street and down an alley. The trio stayed close on his tail.
They were soon at the edge of town. Steele started down the trail. The others were growing closer. Steele came to a particularly narrow part of the path just as the trio caught up with him.
They cornered him on the edge of the trail.
"Come on, Steele," Nikki said. "You're going back to Nome to face the others."
"No, no!" Steele said, backing up.
Steele glanced behind him and saw the drop. He realized he had one chance.
Steele launched himself at Star, the weakest of the three.
If he could just get past the three, he'd run somewhere farther away…
Steele's paws made contact with Star's narrow shoulders as he drove the smaller dog to the ground. Star yelped as Steele bit his front leg.
Kaltag and Nikki were on him in seconds.
Nikki shoved Steele away from Star, causing Steele to lose his footing. Steele slipped and a moment later was free falling over the side of the cliff.
Steele was in awful pain as he heard a loud crack. It was agony for a split second, then it all stopped.