Baldy of Nome by Esther Birdsall Darling
page 34 of 184 (18%)
page 34 of 184 (18%)
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"Moose Jones said they had t' break his tusks t' use him at all, an' that it took three men t' hold him away from his driver sometimes; an' that 'Scotty' was the only man in the whole North that could git the best of him without breakin' his spirit. An' he seems terrible fond o' 'Scotty'--I mean Mr. Allan--now." "You may call him 'Scotty,' Ben; he doesn't mind in the least. He's 'Scotty' to every Alaskan from Juneau to Barrow, Eskimos included--age no restraint. Yes, Jack is fond of 'Scotty,' but it took a battle royal to bring about this permanent peace." "It's a wonder he wasn't killed before you an' 'Scotty' got him, if they was all so scared t' handle him." "He would have been killed except that his enormous strength and unusual alertness made him too valuable. So in spite of their fears they kept him, but he was watched incessantly; and after his tusks were broken he became even more rebellious, and grew to distrust every one about him. Poor old fellow." She turned the handsome head toward the boy. "Look at him, Ben. Would you believe that they used to frighten naughty children by telling them that Jack was out looking for them?" It was a fact that his name had once carried a suggestion of grim terror and impending disaster in Nome. And the dark hint that McMillan of the Broken Tusks was in the neighborhood struck consternation to the hearts of infant malefactors, and had been the source of much unwilling virtue, and many a politic repentance on the part of those offenders hitherto only impressed by the threatened arrival of the Policeman. |
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