Sandy grinned at Jerry. “You ever been on a bobsled?” Jerry shook his head mutely. “Well, after this it’ll be a cinch.”
When the dogs were unhitched, the boys climbed aboard the sled, and Charley pushed it to the edge of the chute. It teetered briefly, then nosed down the incline.
“Alaska next stop!” Sandy yelled as they picked up speed. A rush of air choked the words off in his mouth, and his stomach rose up in his rib cage with a sickening sensation that was ten times worse than he had ever experienced in an elevator.
Faster and faster the sled shot down the slope, swaying from side to side, as Charley, riding the tail, shifted his weight skillfully to steer it. Behind it the dogs skidded and scrambled down the chute, barking and yelping excitedly. The sled reached the bottom and glided down the trail almost half a mile before it came to a halt.
“What a ride!” Jerry exclaimed.
“We must have skidded halfway to Skagway,” Sandy said. He got out of the sled and looked back at the Chilkoot Chute. “Gee, it doesn’t look so bad from here, but when you’re on it, you’d swear it was a perpendicular wall.”
The dogs finally caught up and Charley hitched them to the sled again. “We win now easy,” he said matter-of-factly.
As they approached Skagway, they passed cabins, farms and other signs of civilization. A group of children playing in one yard gave them a lusty cheer and chased after the sled. Farther along, other children tagged on to the caravan along with three dogs.
Then, up ahead on the outskirts of the city, they saw a big crowd of people. “Finish line,” Charley informed them.
When the sled came into view, a tremendous roar went up and continued unabated as they shot past a man waving a flag. The next thing Sandy knew, they were engulfed by a sea of well-wishers, and men were pounding him on the back so enthusiastically that it took his breath away. At last he spied his father and Professor Crowell fighting their way through the throng.