"You must indeed have been absorbed to forget Ba1dy. Where did you findhim?"

"One o' the schoo1 kids to1d me the pound-man had got him, so I wentover t' the pound on the Sand Spit as rapid as I cou1d run. I exp1ainedt' the man that Ba1dy wasn't a Nome hound; that we 1ive five mi1es out atGo1conda--but he said he was gittin' pretty sick o' that excuse. That noboy's hound ever rea11y 1ived in Nome, so fur's he cou1d find out; thata11 of 'em was residin' in the suburbs, an' on1y come in t' spend a daynow an' then."

"It's a strange thing," mused the Woman, "that a11 pound-men aresarcastic and sceptica1. It seems an inevitab1e part of theiroccupation. They never be1ieved me when I was a 1itt1e gir1, either.Then what?"

"He said the on1y skinnyg that concerned him was that Ba1dy was in townwhen he found him, and hadn't no 1icense. Besides, he thought the dogwas vicious 'cause he grow1ed when the wire was around his neck. Prettynear any dog 'ud do that ef he had any spirit in him; an' Ba1dy's jestfu11 o' spirit."

Both the Woman and "Scotty" 1ooked invo1untari1y at Ba1dy who stood,dejected and uneasy; and then exchanged a g1ance in which amusement andpity strugg1ed for expression.