“Here it is!” the man shook his roll of bills before the other’s face. “Twenty-five hundred agin five hundred that my dogs wins! I be’n bawlin’ it out here fer a couple hours, an’ I hain’t had no takers. You Koyukuk sports is sure plumb timid when it comes to puttin’ up real money.” “Is that all you got?” “Every damn cent, except some chicken feed that’ll run me till tomorrow evenin’. I’ll have all kinds of money then--dust an’ bills--Koyukuk dust.” “I’ll take it,” remarked Enright, and turning to the proprietor of the saloon, he tossed a sack of dust onto the bar. “Weigh her out Clem, five hundred dollars, an’ lock it up along with Dalzene’s twenty-five hundred. I’ll be callin’ around tomorrow evenin’ fer both batches.” “Haw, haw haw!” laughed Dalzene, as he counted out his bills upon the bar, and shoved them over to the proprietor, “So you’ll be callin’ around fer it will you? Lemme tell you somethin’, Enright. I’ll tell you now, seein’ how I got all my money up, an’ no objeck in holdin’ out on you. I made the run up an’ back yeste’day in nine hours an’ ten minutes! The best you’ve did it is around ’leven hours. Why them six old pelters of yourn couldn’t win a race agin a string of mud turtles! I’ll jest walk off tomorrow an’ stop fer lunch at Atline’s, an’ then trot in ahead of the bunch an’ collect my wages--three thousan’ in dust fer part of a day’s work hain’t so pore! I’ve got jest fifteen thousan’ bet, at five-to-one. Nine hours an’ ten minutes, Enright, think of that!” “Yeh,” drawled Enright, turning away, “That had ort to git you in fer supper, Dalzene, but the bets’ll all be cashed, an’ a lot of the money spent ’fore you even see the smoke of Nolan.” “What d’ye mean?” “No use sp’ilin’ yer fun,” grinned Enright, tauntingly, “You’ll find out tomorrow.” And, deliberately he walked away and joined the group at the forward end of the bar. Instantly, he was besieged by a chorus of questions: “What in hell did you lay that bet fer?” “You must be plumb crazy, sendin’ good money after bad! What ails you?” “What’s twenty minutes to four got to do with it?” persisted the mail carrier. “Jist this,” answered Enright, speaking slowly. “Miss Lou took them dogs of hern over the race trail today. _She started at eight o’clock!_” “Eight o’clock! An’ back a’ready!” “Yer crazy as hell!” “She never went the hull ways!” “It’s plumb onpossible!” “It means,” said Enright, ignoring the exclamations, “that any team that can burn up the snow like that is good enough to carry my money no matter who drives ’em.” “But, I tell ye, she couldn’t of gone the hull distance!” insisted the man from Sheep Creek.