"Lost!? But Kaasen's never gotten lost before. And Steele wouldn't drive the team that far off the trail!" a disbelieving Summers protested in shock to the rest of the Board of Health inside the telegraph office. From his position on the snowbank outside-this time having burrowed partially into the snow to disguise himself, Balto shook his head softly. He knew Steele much better than these men, and knew the malamute, if he had taken a wrong turn, was far too vain to admit it and go back. "They've got to be further ahead on the trail by now!" the gold mine president insisted.
"All the other roadhouses reported in: no sign of them there either. I'm sorry, Mark, but they're definitely off the trail somewhere deep in the Interior," the telegraph operator told him sadly, "And with this storm raging," he gestured at the drives of snow outside the window, covering Balto up from the men's view even further, "It's far too risky to go out and look for them."
"And the latest weather reports has an even bigger storm crossing the Pacific in the next couple of days. Once it hits, nobody's going anywhere anywhere in Alaska. If they're lost out there, that might finish them," Judge Lomen sighed, buried his face in his hands, "Just like that, gentlemen, the worst has happened."
"Well then, now we have to consider the plane," the mayor wasn't giving up, "Ed, cable Sutherland again; see if he can get a naval ship up to the edge of the ice," he asked the telegraph operator, "They can launch a plane off it, and that can fly the few hundred miles or so..."
"It's still too far for a plane, George, and when it's snowing this badly, there's no chance they'd make it without crashing," the judge shot him down.
"Well we have to try something, J.C.!" the mayor snapped, "Get another team together with more antitoxin and have them follow the trail..."
"And then they get lost like Kaasen's team in the snows too. And where are we going to find even more antitoxin? The governor made it clear he sent pretty much everything he had with Kaasen's team."
"There's got to be some down in Seattle, maybe even further down! All they have to do is get it to Juneau; then they can get it on a plane or another team...!"
"Sorry, Mr. Mayor, but it would be too late by then," Dr. Welch spoke up gravely from the corner, "The cases are quickly becoming exponential. Our time's rapidly running out."
"How many today, Doctor?" Summers asked him hesitantly.
"Six more new ones. Bessie Stanley will likely be gone by the end of the day; she was entering the clear terminal phase before I left to come here," the doctor put a hand over his face in grief, "Her sister Dora's looking bad too. Daniel Kialook's got the beginning of a membrane in his throat, as does Katherine Barnett. And I've noticed the beginning of a decline in Rosy Redington too (Balto shuddered again). I gave in to her father's request to let the girl's dog into the hospital to cheer her up before I came here. At least it's something we do for her. The adults are catching it too; John and Helen Winters were admitted after their daughter this morning. I just feeling so completely overwhelmed here, and now our best hope might have just been extinguished for good."
There was silence among the men, leaving the only sound the pounding of McDowell's typewriter at the far end of the desk. "Wish we could give you a better story to writer for your paper, Mr. McDowell," Summers told the reporter softly.
"I wish it was better too. But as long as the sled team isn't found dead out there, there's still hope," McDowell said optimistically, reaching over to cuddle his daughter close.
"Well, on the positive side, McDowell, your wife's been a big help for us," Dr. Welch told him, briefly looking less grim, "I am glad she came with you. So, now what?" he asked the rest of the Board of Health.
"First, give every roadhouse on the mail trail the alert to be on a lookout for Kaasen's sled twenty-four/seven, Ed," the mayor said firmly to the telegraph operator, "Have them send out anyone they scan to scour the woods; if they find anything, bring the team back to the trail immediately and get them back on their way. Then tell Governor Bone to search for whatever other antitoxin he can find and find an alternate way to get them here quick in case we can't find the team. And that includes that pilot Darling in his plane-sorry, your Honor," he turned to the judge, "I don't care if he hasn't flown in years, we have to try, for the children of this town."
"Well...if it's for the children, I guess it's worth a try," Judge Lomen conceded, "But I don't think it's going to work, George. It's probably going to be Kaasen's team or nothing, and God help us all if it's nothing."
There was another somber silence among the men. "All right then, gentlemen, we'll convene for another meeting here in forty-eight hours," the mayor told them, grabbing his coat and top hat, "If all goes well, maybe there'll be some word from Kaasen by then."
"Here's hoping, Mr. Mayor," Summers said softly, but neither he nor the other men looked very confident as they left the telegraph office. Soon all was quiet inside except for the pounding of the telegraph operator's key as he sent out the messages to the roadhouses and Juneau. Balto could see the strong doubt and concern on the man's face as he pounded out the messages; clearly the news the team was off the trail had shaken him to the core too. Even Morris in his basket seemed depressed, he saw. He shook his head softly. Steele's arrogant belief in his own superiority must have led the team well off the trail if there was no sign of them whatsoever.
He leaped off the snowbank and shook himself dry, wondering what to do next. Rosy immediately flashed to his mind. He could at least check in on her again. He wasn't going to abandon her, even if the team would never make it...
"If this is a shortcut, it's longest one I've ever heard of!" Nikki protested, slogging with the rest of the team through deep snow that went up to the dog's hips.
"I could swear we've passed that ridge there about three times already!" Kaltag added his own complaint, gesturing with his nose at the ridge in question.
"Come on you guys, we're going the right way! We'll be there soon enough!" Bear continued trying to defend Steele.
"It shouldn't take this long to get to a roadhouse that was only thirty miles away!" Blackie countered. "Steele, forget the speed record. Let's stop and get our bearings for a moment!" he called up to the team's leader.
"We're not stopping!" Steele shot him down harshly, "We'll be there soon enough!"
"You said that last night too! Steele, it's time to face the facts: we're off the trail...!" Jet also tried to protest. With a furious growl, Steele leaped backwards with his teeth bared right in Jet's face, making the other dog whimper in fear and crawl backwards. "Easy, Steele, easy!" Kaasen braked the sled to a stop and jumped between both dogs, "What's gotten into you!? Back to the front, please!"
Steele reduced his glare under his musher's gaze and started walking back towards the front of the team. "He's not saving any of you next time," he snarled at the rest of the team as he went, "The next one who questions how I'm leading this team even a little gets torn to shreds. I am dead serious. Now let's go!"
He broke off into another run, dragging the now very tired team members with him. "That roadhouse better be soon," Kaltag mumbled, stumbled to keep up the pace again, "Or we're in really big trouble..."
"A quest, Uncle Boris?"
"I'm not your uncle, bear! But yes, a quest. For the kids," Boris nodded to Muk and Luk the polar bears. He sided along Balto and muttered, "Do we really have to have them come along!?"
"They've lived in the wild, Boris. They know more about it than I do. They might come in handier than you'd think," Balto defended the polar bears.
"More like unnecessary comedy relief if you ask me..."
"Thank you so much, Uncle Boris," Muk gave him a strong hug-followed by an even stronger one from Luk from behind that left Boris gasping for air. "Don't mention it!" the snow goose quickly pulled away from the polar bears, "Just let Balto and I do the heavy lifting on this trip. So, where are we going first?" he asked Balto.
"They got lost between Tolovana and Manley Hot Springs, Boris. Assuming they've kept going all this time-and knowing Steele, he's probably not going to stop for anything with the hint of glory waiting at the end of the trail for him-they're probably deep in the Interior somewhere around Ruby by now. So, we follow the mail trail, and if we're lucky, we'll catch up with them somewhere on the other side of the portage from Unalakleet."
"So we're basing this all on a big maybe?" Boris raised his eyebrows.
"It's all this town has, Boris," Balto shot a glance back towards the town, and specifically the hospital, "You saw how bad Rosy's getting. Do you want to be the one to tell her we didn't try when we had the chance?"
Boris turned back towards the hospital himself and gave a firm nod. "OK then, Fido, let's do this," he patted Balto on the back.
"All right, let's go on a journey!" Muk eagerly started across the ice towards the mail trail, Luk hot on his heels. Boris rolled his eyes. "You'd better be right about them," he confided softly to Balto.
"Learn to trust, Boris," Balto whispered back, "And hopefully we can find that team quick," he gave one last backwards glance towards the town, "They're running out of time here really quick..."
"You're going to do what!?"
"I'm going out there on the trail to find the team," Jenna said firmly to Sylvie and Dixie outside the dogs' barn, "I want you two to look after Rosy while I'm gone..."
"What makes you think you'll find the team?" Sylvie asked, very skeptical.
"I have to," Jenna was fully determined, "And Balto's already left to look for them; if I catch up with him in time, maybe together we..."
"And what could he do?" Dixie rolled her eyes, "How could he succeed where Steele couldn't? In fact, Steele'll probably have the team back on the trail again real soon..."
"Dixie," Jenna shook her head softly, "It's probably Steele's fault they got lost in the first place. He wanted the glory of a big run..."
"You put Steele down way too much, Jenna," Dixie defended him firmly, "Isn't he everything we'd want in a dog?"
"Maybe to you, Dixie, but not to me. And as for Balto," Jenna shot a hopeful gaze towards the east, "maybe the fact he is different from the rest of us could make all the difference..."
She started off towards the eastern hills. "And we can't talk you out of this?" Sylvie stepped in her path with a disappointed expression.
"No. Now promise you'll watch over Rosy until we get back, promise?"
"Promise," Sylvie agreed with a sigh.
"Good. OK, hopefully this won't be more than a few days. I'll be back soon, hopefully with the medicine," Jenna bad her and Dixie farewell before breaking into a sprint towards the eastern hills. "She's crazy," Dixie shook her head softly, "I know she loves her girl more than anything, but to do this?"
"Well, I guess we'd do the same if it was our masters," Sylvie conceded, "But what could she possibly think that Balto could do...?"