Tomas Archives (TOP SECRET): Madrigals in Alaska

To: Tomas Leadership From: Gunnar Kaasen Subject: The eagle has landed February 2, 1925 TOP SECRET I barely made it to Nome alive, but I am proud to report that the Clue is in a safe location here in town. The medicine that was needed also made it. The trip was treacherous and we were followed most of the way. At one point, we almost lost the medicine and the Clue in a blizzard outside Shaktoolik. Somehow we survived. I don’t think the men following us were as lucky. Before the Clue got to me, Wild Bill Shannon cabled me in code to say someone was tailing him when he set out from Nenana on the 27th. He said the men had all-black furs and black sleds. Once the relay started, several of the mushers also mentioned they thought they saw black figures closing in on them from behind, but in the constant whiteout of the blizzard they couldn’t be sure. It was Leonhard Seppala who finally spotted them for certain. Recognizing that they looked like Madrigals, he pushed his dog team to the limit, traveling across 90 miles of snow and ice at breakneck speed. He took an unsafe and unexpected detour through the Norton Sound to throw off his pursuers. He knew their heavier teams would break the ice, and he was right. As his sled climbed over a hill, he said he saw the dark figures fall into the glacial waters he had safely crossed just hours before. Without the courage and willpower of these men and dogs, it’s likely the Clue would have fallen into Madrigal hands. It’s times like these that make me proudest of being a Tomas Gunnar