Kincaid and the Winter Rescue — Curtis Carney

“James,” Soup stressed, “Don't be so hard on yourself. We managed to save the
rest of the dogs and that has to mean something.”

As the match was blown out by the night breeze, James picked up Minnie and
carried her bloody mangled body to the toboggan and announced to the hunting
party, “Tonight I lost a good sled dog because I didn't do my job,” and then turned
and disappeared into the darkness.

James and Moaka are tested to the height of their ability to survive in the wilderness
as they are assigned to hunt for lost and missing hunting parties that have
been stranded in the high mountains of Alaska by heavy early snow falls.
Their task becomes even more challenging when they realize the wolf population
has exploded and the wolves are beginning to attack miners and hunters
alike. James suspects that they may have some sort of parasite or disease, which
is affecting their behavior.

As James and Moaka go about their urgent rescue missions: Bray fights in
life and death combat with the wolves, James loses one of his sled dogs to the
wolves, and men and pack horses are killed as a result of the wolves' aggression.
Although James and Moaka realize the wolves may be overpopulated, the animal
is doing nothing but playing out his natural behavior, and James and Moaka must
protect human lives.