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Show 120 smudges of smoke and dirt and blood from the scratches covering his face. With one hand on Chinook's harness he tugged and helped the laboring dog pull the long travois that sagged with the weight of the canvas bag. At the side of the travois, hauling and tugging, Cap Mullins looked like something out of an eighteenth century scene. With his eye-patch askew, his face fearsomely muddied and bloodied, Cap grinned widely at the excitement of it all and shouted at the top of his lungs for the people to make way before them. Even Chinook, near exhaustion, pricked up his ears and his tail as he sensed the end of their journey. Eyes aglow, tail curled over his back, he strained and heaved in the harness. But he had begun to stagger as they skidded across the park grass toward the sound of music. The brass band had begun to pfay the state song in honor of the governor as he left his car and came through a roped-off cordon toward the bandstand. Finally, as the boys neared the bandstand at the rear, Josh caught sight of the mayor's startled face, looking back at them. "We've got it, Mayor!" Josh cried, pointing back to the travois. "We've got the gold!" As they halted at the rear of the bandstand, the crowd formed a wide circle around them. Josh and Cap stood breathing deeply in exhaustion. Chinook heaved a huge sigh and collapsed to the grass. Everyone stood back expectantly. No one understood yet what they brought with them. The mayor looked toward the approaching governor, nearly to the bandstand now in the roped-off cordon. The mayor smiled at him, then turned back toward the boys. |