The Call of the Wild: Selected Short Stories by Jack London

Chapter 10 The Call of the Wild (6)
Spitz, however, broke away from the group without disturbing any of the dogs.There was a narrow creek ahead, and after Spitz had passed through it, he chose a more direct path.Finally, stand still on a high ground.

Spitz was old and cunning, and he never changed.Even when he was in a good mood, he never let his guard down.It secretly plotted countermeasures.

Booker was preoccupied with chasing the prey, without the slightest notice of its actions.

Rabbit ran ahead, and Buck watched closely behind.After a bend, a shadow suddenly jumped out from the high ground ahead.The shadow was big and white, like a ghost.It all happened so suddenly.The rabbit's path was blocked, and when it was about to turn around, its back was bitten.I only heard a click, and the bone was broken.The rabbit was hit hard and screamed.The cry was very miserable, breaking the originally silent night sky.Then, there was a happy sound from the dogs, as if made by a devil.

When Booker learned that the Raiders were Spitz, Booker did not agree with its victory.This prey was about to be obtained, but was snatched by Spitz, which made Booker very angry.So, he swooped over.Spitz was very alert. Seeing Booker's action, he immediately dropped the rabbit and narrowly avoided the blow.

It didn't work!Booker was very annoyed, and continued to attack.Immediately afterwards, they fell on the snow and kept rolling.During their fight, Spitz would have been knocked down more than once if he hadn't been quick-witted.Many times, Booker took the opportunity to take a bite before he could gain a firm foothold, and then quickly jumped away, waiting for the opportunity.

The hair on their bodies stood up straight, and while they were circling around, they were looking for a fighter, with a very focused expression.Now is the time for them to decide the outcome, and they all know it very well.

After the group of huskies had carve up the little white rabbit, they surrounded Booker and Spitz, and watched the battle motionless.They waited eagerly, their eyes were bright, and their eyes were full of greed.At this time, the night sky was cold and silent, and the smell of death was everywhere.

Booker is very familiar with this situation.It is also very clear what this silence represents.Therefore, for Spitz, it is even more careful.

Spitz is experienced and has seen countless battles.In front of it, Booker is not only young, but also weak.In previous struggles, Spitz had seen all kinds of dogs, and he had never been defeated until now.This allowed its dominance to continue, and those dogs obeyed its orders.It never fights a battle it is not sure of, and even when it is furious to the extreme, it just keeps on the defensive.After so many years of experience, it was able to escape Booker's attacks one by one. Even though Booker wanted to bite its neck very much, he tried his best to do so.

They are stuck like this.A long time has passed, facing Spitz's strict defense, although Booker was well prepared and fast, he ended in failure time and time again.It's not that easy to put Spitz to death.On one occasion, instead of biting Spitz, Booker was bitten back, allowing Spitz to escape.

Booker once threw himself on Spitz in order to bite through Spitz's throat.Seeing that he was about to get close to Spitz, Booker changed his mind and suddenly lowered his head, intending to bump his shoulder against Spitz's.If successful, it would knock Spitz to the ground.However, things backfired, and it was Booker who was injured in the end.After Spitz bit it on the shoulder, it ran away again.

So far, Spitz has not suffered any damage, but Booker is covered in blood and panting, looking pitiful.The struggle intensified.The huskies were still waiting, silent.They just wait to see who falls first so that they can become their prey.

Booker's panting made Spitz see the fighter, so he immediately changed from defense to offense, and the offensive was very violent.

Once, under the attack of Spitz, Booker fell to the ground, and before he could stand up, the huskies surrounded him with great speed.Booker was so frightened that he jumped up, almost in the air.The huskies had to go back.

Successive failures made Booker realize a truth, that is, to use both hands and brains in the struggle.So, when it attacks again, it learns to be smart.Although it still hit Spitz with its shoulder, at the last moment, it suddenly lowered its body, so low that it was about to touch the snow, and then went straight to Spitz's left leg, and then bit tightly .

With a click, the bone cracked.When Booker heard the sound, he knew that Spitz's left front leg was useless.Now it only has three legs available, and if it continues to fight Booker, it seems that it will not be so lucky.

In the same way, Booker crushed Spitz's right front leg again.Spitz tried his best to suppress the pain in his leg, and he didn't want to collapse.

At this moment, Booker noticed that although the circle surrounding them was still silent, it was getting closer little by little.The eyes of those huskies were shining, like burning flames, and their tongues were very long, and they all stuck out at this time.

Spitz has seen such a scene more than once.However, what he didn't expect was that he would end up like this.Judging from Booker's ferocity, it may be foolish to want to win.

For Spitz, Booker had no mercy.In this world, Booker's charity has long been buried in ice and snow.As long as Spitz isn't down, he won't stop attacking.

The huskies surrounded them step by step. They were all ready to go, eager to get food.Booker has a panoramic view of these situations.In their view, Spitz is about to become their mouth, so their eyes are fixed on Spitz.

Spitz is very poor now.It was so frightened that the hair on its body stood up involuntarily, and its body kept trembling.Even though its leg was injured, it still didn't give up, even if it had only the last bit of strength left, it had to hold on until the end.Death was coming, it wanted to roar to dispel the panic in its heart.At this moment, Booker rushed over quickly, and then left quickly.Spitz was completely beaten.

The moonlight slanted down, covering the entire snow field.In an instant, the huskies had gathered into a single black dot.When this point spread out again, Spitz, who had fallen to the ground, was gone.

Booker has been watching quietly since Spitz fell to the ground.Booker is cruel by nature and full of desire to rule.It has won the fight.And Spitz, its counterpart, had disappeared, a result that pleased Booker.

(Chapter 4) The new leader of the dog team

(First quarter) Be the team leader for the first time
Frankie and Brott didn't realize Spitz was missing until the next morning.They were very anxious, but after searching everywhere, they found nothing.When Frankie saw the bruises all over Buck's body, he knew immediately that something must have happened.So, he called Booker, and then with the light of the fire, he observed the wounds on Booker's body.After reading it, he said to Brott: "My words have come true, Booker is a composite of two devils. Look at the wounds on his body."

"When it comes to fighting, Spitz is so relentless! He's so vicious!" Brott said, looking at the wound on Booker's body.The wounds were deep, and the blood that flowed out was clotted.

"But compared with Booker, it's still far behind. It's more than a few times." Frankie replied.After a while he added, "But we're moving faster without Spitz. Spitz took a lot of problems with him."

Next, Brott made preparations for the trip.After he piled the packed luggage on the sled, he was going to put the bridle on the sled dogs.At this moment, Booker stood in Spitz's position and wanted to replace him.

Frankie didn't notice Booker's move, and besides, he didn't know what Booker was thinking now.He thought that Sorox was the best candidate to take over, so he let Sorox stand as the team leader.Frankie's approach aroused Booker's strong dissatisfaction.It was so angry that it jumped up and drove away Thoroks.

"Ah!" Seeing it like this, Frankie couldn't help shouting.He slapped his legs while laughing and said to Brott, "You see. It killed Spitz just because it wanted to be the team leader."

"Get out of the way!" After saying this, he pushed Buck away with his hands, trying to get him out of there.But to his disappointment, Booker didn't respond, as if roots had taken root under his feet.

Frankie saw that this trick was not going to work, so she had to force it.So he grabbed Buck by the neck and dragged him away.Soloks was assigned to the position of team leader, but he was afraid of Booker and didn't have the courage to take over.

Frankie was so stubborn that he wouldn't let Booker be the team leader.Booker was very cunning, and whenever Frankie was not around, he would immediately take that position.

Frankie was very annoyed by Buck's resistance, so he came over with a stick in his hand and yelled at Buck, "Try again! If I don't believe it, I can't help you."

The stick in Frankie's hand aroused Booker's memory, and the man in the red shirt appeared before his eyes.So, even though it was not reconciled, it left that place.And it didn't prevent Thoroks from taking over.It ran away far away, and ran to a place where the stick could not hit.There, it turned back and forth, howling loudly and angrily.

Here, Frankie harnessed Thorocks and the other dogs, and when it was Buck's turn, Frankie planned to put the harness on in front of Dev.So he called Buck to come, but when he called, Buck took a step back.After a few times, Franca lost her patience and went over to try to drag it.When Booker saw him coming, he turned and ran away.

He tried several times, but failed to catch Booker.He suddenly realized that the stick in his hand made Booker feel scared, so it didn't dare to come over.So he threw the stick away.However, instead of approaching, Booker resisted.The position of team leader is what Booker wants most at this time, and it believes that it deserves it, because it is what he bought with his life.You can't make it submissive unless you give it what it wants, which is dominion over the dog team.

Brot came too, and together they chased Booker through the pack.An hour passed, and not only did they fail to catch Booker, they even failed to try to beat him with a stick.

They were so angry that they couldn't help cursing loudly.It was Booker who yelled angrily in return.In order to prevent them from catching up with him, Booker kept going around in circles with them.But it has no intention of running away, it just wants to let them understand that it will not be obedient until it gets what it wants.

If they started on time, they should have walked an hour's journey by now.

There was no other way, Frankie scratched the back of her head with her hands, and sat down on the ground, startled.Brott looked at his watch and was so angry that he couldn't help but curse.

Finally, Frankie sighed, shook her head and smiled at Brott with a helpless expression.Although they were not reconciled, they still failed.

Next Frankie unhooked Thoroks and at the same time called Buck over.Sorox returned to his original position.Seeing this, Booker was satisfied and ran forward.I finally won the victory.So it stood in the leader's position with a smile on its face, full of air.

They were able to get on the road smoothly.The speed of the sled increased little by little, and finally it galloped on the river.

Frankie has made a high evaluation of Booker's value.He believes that Booker's body is mixed with two devils.But that was when Booker was not the team leader, and now Frankie found that her previous evaluation was too low.

Both Frankie and Brott marveled at Booker's responsiveness and quick movements, as well as his leadership skills.In comparison, it is better than Spitz, and this is confirmed by its performance.

Booker made a rule as soon as he took office, that is, other companions must obey its leadership unconditionally, otherwise they will be severely punished.

For Booker's appointment, the dog team has different views.It doesn't matter if Dev and Soloks, it's also because of their personality.All they care about is work, and they don't care about anything else.Billy was obedient and friendly, and he was very happy with Booker's appointment.It has a good impression of Booker, because Booker has reached out to it many times.

Other companions have a different opinion.At the beginning, if Booker hadn't supported behind them, they would not have dared to blatantly rebel.But now, it has suddenly turned into their ruler, and it is stricter than Spitz.In this regard, they are surprised and angry.

Parker has always loved to pretend to be sick and lazy.Booker was well aware of its tricks, so he took it behind him.If it refuses to use force, as long as the chest strap is slightly loose, it will be punished by Booker immediately.

Joey is impatient and irritable.The night Booker took office, Joey snatched his fellow fish while everyone was eating.And Booker happened to see it, so he severely punished Joey in public.Booker's body is very strong, and he crushed Joey in one fell swoop.Due to the pain, Joey had to spit out the fish in his mouth.Booker kept pressing it like this until Joey cried and cried out for mercy, and Booker released him.Such a thing, even Spitz has never done.Not only did Booker do it, but he did it with little effort.

To say that Booker possesses leadership qualities is not an exaggeration at all.Because the dog team is under its governance, the original looseness is gone.When they walked, their steps were in unison, like a dog pulling a sled and running forward.

Later, two more huskies joined the team.They had just arrived at the skating slope then.The two dogs are called Dick and Kuna, and they were both raised locally.As soon as they joined, they were subdued by Booker and followed the team.

Frankie and Brott were extremely surprised by this.They felt that Booker had brought them into compliance too quickly and in a very clever way.

Frankie was very happy and couldn't help shouting: "There is nowhere to find a dog like Buck! There is no other like him. God bless! As for its price, even 1000 yuan is not worth it." That's a lot. Brot, do you think I'm right?"

Frankie was very emotional, and under his influence, Brott was also very happy, nodding in agreement.Brot thought to himself, the fastest delivery record of the year seems to belong to him.

The destination was approaching little by little, and the road conditions and temperature also favored them.The snow trails along the road are very strong, and it is very smooth to walk.The temperature is always around minus [-] degrees, and the snow has stopped.

For fourteen days they had been on the road.Forty miles a day, this speed is the fastest ever.In the next few days, they can rest.

(Section [-]) Job Change

In Skagui City, Brott and Frankie stayed for three whole days, feeling very happy.

During this period, they returned drunk every day, helping each other back to the hotel.

These three days, they seemed to be soaked in a wine vat.Under the influence of alcohol, their heads were all muddy, and as a result, the normal transmission of official documents was delayed.So, they were transferred away with an order.When the order was issued, Frankie called Booker, and she was so sad that she couldn't help crying with her arms around him.And this hug was the last time they saw each other.

When Frankie and Brott left, they were taken by someone else.Although this person is also responsible for the transportation of mail, it is specially delivered to gold diggers.In addition to Booker and them, there are a dozen sled teams also responsible for this task.In the future, Booker and the others will work with these sled teams to drag heavy sleds between Skagui City and Daosheng City.

Now, they don't have to run fast, let alone stand a chance of breaking delivery records.Every day, there is only one thing they have to do, and that is to move forward hard.The sleds behind them were heavy, beyond their capacity.

In the past, most of what Brott and the others transported were official government documents, and the urgency of the official documents determined that they had to speed up their progress. Therefore, they had the opportunity to break the delivery record, which made them happy.Mail is also being delivered now, but only for gold diggers.The letters, from all over the world, were of little urgency, but numerous.Booker and the others dragged the sleigh full of letters, and they were struggling.

The work was tiring and unenjoyable, and Booker had no interest in it.But as a team leader, it still does its duty.Like Dev and Thoroks, it also thinks that hard work is a matter of great pride.

But this kind of life is too simple, just like the gears turning on a machine, it just repeats the same action mechanically.

Every morning, at a certain hour, someone would start the fire and cook, and then they would have breakfast.After the meal, there are special people responsible for tidying up the tent and harnessing the dog.After that, they hit the road together, with great fanfare.At this time, there was still about an hour before dawn.

All the work at night also has its own division of labor.Those who set up camp set up camp, those who make beds cut firewood or cut pine branches, and those who cook go to fetch water or ice cubes.Although there is a lot of work, with the cooperation of everyone, it is not difficult at all to do it.

For the sled dogs, they also have special people to take care of them.After a day's work, they are very tired, and eating has become their major event of the day.The staple food for dinner is fish.

(End of this chapter)