Nome
Balto awoke to hear Boris blabbering something in Russian at Muk and Luk as they walked away from the boat.
"Aurgh! Boris, what's going on?"
"Those two balls of fluff came here at daybreak wanting to play a new game they've invented: 'Wild Goose Chase,' better known as 'Terrorize Uncle Boris.' When will those idiot bears grow up? They should at least know how to swim by now!" Boris complained. "Balto, are you alright? You were talking, more like screaming, in your sleep. 'Aaaahhh!' and 'Noooooo!' you yelled. What's wrong, kiddo?"
"I had a dream about my family . . . a memory from my past," Balto explained. "About when my mother and brother were killed, and all us pups got separated. I wonder what happened to them all?" he asked himself.
"Who knows? Look down there, on Main Street, what's going on?" Boris asked.
"A race . . ." Balto trailed off. He jumped from the side of the boat and ran into town. Today he could prove himself to Jenna . . .
"Oh, no . . . here we go again!" Boris sighed.
Anchorage
Nicole was awakened by the loud, shrill whistle of the train. As she stood up, the train lurched forward, knocking her backwards into a large crate. She went to the door of the car, but found it bolted shut from the outside. She turned towards the back of the car to look at the crate she had bumped into. It was marked "FRAGILE", and tied down so it wouldn't slide around in the car. Nicole got up to take a closer look at this box. A piece of paper on top read "ANCHORAGE TO NENANA. TO BE DELIVERED BY DOGSLED TO NOME. URGENT."
"Great," she thought, "Nenana is at least 500 miles from here. Well, I said I wanted to start over, so I guess now's my chance." She walked carefully to the side of the car, and peered out a small opening as she watched the endless expanses of snowy tundra zoom past. She thought of Jack. It was hard not to after all that had happened last night. Jack had loved trains, almost as much as he had loved Nicole. When he wasn't herding his master's livestock or with Nicole, he would be at the train station waiting for a train to chase. Nicole pictured him running alongside her train, and it brought tears to her eyes. Right before he died, although he didn't say it, she could tell from the look in his eyes: he would always be with her in spirit, as he was now. With this in mind, Nicole was able to control her grief. She lay back down in the corner of the car, hoping that the next morning she would be in Nenana.
Nome
"Balto, wait!" Jenna cried. "Balto!" She watched as he walked off into the distance, wanting to run after him, but she knew he needed some time alone. She had never been so angry in her life. Steele had some nerve to pull such a dirty trick! Balto had won the race fair and square, and Steele had to sabotage Balto's chances of ever being on a sled team by making him look like he couldn't be trusted. "Steele doesn't care about Rosie or any of the other children" Jenna said to herself. "If they all die of diphtheria he probably won't give a damn! It's clear that Balto is the fastest dog; and he sincerely wants to help. Why should his pedigree make any difference?" Jenna's train of thought was interrupted when Dixie and Sylvie showed up.
"Jenna, are you losing your mind?" Sylvie asked somewhat rhetorically.
"Yeah," Dixie interjected, "I don't get it. Steele is in love with you out of all the dogs in Nome, and yet you're completely dejecting him." She meant to say rejecting.
"Precisely," Sylvie added before Jenna could reply. "Are you in denial?"
"No," Jenna answered with confidence. "I think I'm in love."
"With whom?" Dixie and Sylvie asked in unison.
"Balto." Before Dixie or Sylvie could react to this, Jenna headed for the abandoned boat on the outskirts of town where she had often seen Balto go. She had to make sure he was alright.
Dixie and Sylvie watched Jenna leave, looked at each other, and then called out to Jenna, "You're out of your mind, Jen!"
Jenna didn't care what the others thought. If only they could look past Balto's pedigree as she did, they would see that his wolf heritage is what makes him unique. She walked up to the abandoned boat and looked around. She couldn't find a way in. She walked around to the other side and saw the narrow plank leading up to the deck. She began to walk up to the boat, but then she saw two polar bears at the stern. She panicked, and yelled for Balto; she didn't like polar bears . . . and for a good reason: her brother was killed by one. "Balto!" she called. "Are you there?"
Balto's ears stood up. "Jenna?" He got up from where he lay under his blanket, moved to the edge of the boat and looked over at the plank. "What are you doing here?" he asked confusedly.
"Do you know them?" Jenna asked, looking worriedly in the direction of the two white bears. The larger one had chased the smaller one to the bow of the boat.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, this is Muk and Luk," he explained. "Muk! Luk! Get over here!" Jenna took a step back. Balto noticed this. "Don't worry, they won't bite," he reassured her. "Jenna, this is Muk," Muk waved his paw at Jenna.
"How do you do?" Muk said very politely.
"And this is Luk," Balto went on.
"Hmmm hm hmmm humm hmmn," Luk squeaked.
"What he's trying to say is," Muk translated, "is that he's very pleased to make your acquaintance."
"The pleasure's all mine," Jenna replied politely. Then she turned to Balto. "Balto, about today . . ."
"I don't want to talk about it, Jenna." He walked toward the bow of the boat.
"No, Balto," Jenna insisted, "we need to talk about it."
Balto turned to face her, and replied "Jenna, no musher would ever put me on his team. I know that, you know that, everyone does. I can't change my pedigree, I just have to deal with the fact that I'm half wolf, and all the discrimination and ridicule that comes with it."
Jenna stepped closer to Balto. "Balto . . ." she paused, hesitating to find the right words, "No matter what your pedigree is, I know you would never turn on me. You would make a better leader than Steele could ever be. You're different from the rest of them, and that's a good thing. If only the musher could see what I see . . . a good dog with a pure heart, even if mixed blood runs through it."
Balto walked back to Jenna. "Thanks," he said. "It's good to have someone who understands. I'm sorry for the way I acted; I was just . . ."
Jenna simply nuzzled Balto's neck, saying "It's okay. I know how you feel." She pulled away and blushed as she saw Muk, Luk, and Boris staring at her. "Balto, I have to go. Rosie's getting sicker . . . and I don't trust Steele with that medicine. I'll see you later. Bye." With that, Jenna ran off towards the hospital, as Steele and his team prepared to leave for Nenana the next day.