They had taken a shrewd margin of time, for it was
their wish to arrive at Olaf Nelson's claim some days previous to the
expiration of its immunity, that they might rest themselves, and their
dogs be fresh for the first relay. On the way up they found the men of
Dawson already stationing spare dog teams along the trail, and it was
manifest that little expense had been spared in view of the millions at
stake.
A couple of days after the departure of their champions, Forty Mile began
sending up their relays,--first to the seventy-five station, then to the
fifty, and last to the twenty-five. The teams for the last stretch were
magnificent, and so equally matched that the camp discussed their
relative merits for a full hour at fifty below, before they were
permitted to pull out. At the last moment Joy Molineau dashed in among
them on her sled. She drew Lon McFane, who had charge of Harrington's
team, to one side, and hardly had the first words left her lips when it
was noticed that his lower jaw dropped with a celerity and emphasis
suggestive of great things. He unhitched Wolf Fang from her sled, put
him at the head of Harrington's team, and mushed the string of animals
into the Yukon trail.
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