Among the unaffiliated, Bates Paws stands out as a Beagle who is a tracker first and a friend always. Anyone within earshot of Bates Paws eventually hears the theory that the deepest tunnels under The Yard are warm because old machines still hum. Runners along the Endless Track quietly time themselves against the pace Bates Paws keeps. Bates Paws thinks the right life is one good walk near the bone polishers den, repeated until it stops feeling ordinary.