But Mercedes stopped him. 'Oh,Hal, you mustn't,' she cried,pulling the whip away from
him. 'The poor dogs. You must promise to be nice to them or I'm staying here!'
'You know nothing about dogs,' answered Hal. 'Leave me alone. Dogs are lazy, and you
have to whip them. Everybody knows that. Ask those men if you don't believe me.'
Mercedes turned and looked at the watching men
'They're tired,
if you really want to know,' said one of them. 'They've been working very
hard and they need a rest.'
Rest?' laughed Hal. 'These stupid dogs are just lazy.'
Now Mercedes decided that her brother was right. 'Don't listen to that man,' she said.
'You're driving our dogs and you do what you think is best.'
Now Hal used his whip on the dogs. They pulled and pulled, but the sledge stayed where
it was. Hal was still using his whip when Mercedes stopped him again and put her arms
around Buck.