“Did you just hear him talk?” Harry asks looking to his fellow musher hoping to not seem foolish. The musher tries to decide which option is the best: To tell him that he’s not crazy and that the dog really is talking or make up a lie. He quickly decides as continuing his silence would be suspicious. “What are you talking about?” He chooses this option because then the chance isn’t so big that Harry will listen to what Bryan is saying. Even if the risk that he’ll say something inappropriate relatively little because of the major part of his mind is still canine. Harry begins to look a bit uneasy at the response. “Oh, I’ve probably just been in the dog trail for too long…” The musher nods slightly in agreement, then he looks into Bryan’s eyes and Bryan stares back. The sounds from Sue’s dog sled are getting noticeably closer. Harry makes quick peak over his shoulder to see if he can see his sister. “Well, I must be going now. Or else my sister will get the family kennel” Harry says as he gets on his sled again. “What about the dog?” The Musher asks and nods in Bryan’s direction. Harry looks down at Bryan and then he looks back at the musher again. “Oh, I don’t think it will be any problem. He’s tagging along very well in a good pace. I will take him to town when I’m ready with the race” The Musher smiles. “You want a harness for him? I can lend you a harness, maybe he can help you a little in the race?”
When Bryan hears the word harness, he freezes. There is something bad about that word and that other human too, Bryan’s instincts tells him that. Bryan looks up at Harry’s face. “Don’t take the harness, it’s bad and that human is also bad” Harry tries to ignore the dog’s voice, but it’s impossible for him to resist looking into those intelligent dog eyes. “I don’t want a harness” Bryan whines.