"I had five dogs, " he said, casting about for the easiest way to temper his refusal. "He was the leader. They was the crack team of Alaska. Nothin 'could touch' em. In 1898 I refused five thousand dollars for the bunch. Dogs was high, then, anyway; but that wasn't what made the fancy price. It was the team itself. Brown was the best in the team. That winter I refused twelve hundred for 'm. I didn't sell' m then, an 'I ain't a—sellin' 'm now. Besides, I think a mighty lot of that dog. I've ben lookin' for 'm for three years. It made me fair sick when I found he'd ben stole—not the value of him, but the—well, I liked' m like hell, that's all, beggin 'your pardon. I couldn't believe my eyes when I seen' m just now. I thought I was dreamin '. It was too good to be true. Why, I was his wet—nurse. I put' m to bed, snug every night. His mother died, and I brought 'm up on condensed milk at two dollars a can when I couldn't afford it in my own coffee. He never knew any mother but me. He used to suck my finger regular, the darn little cuss—that finger right there! "