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

Chapter 13 The Call of the Wild (9)
All the dogs fell to the ground, and Hal's whip fell on them mercilessly, but even so they did not get up.In the end, it was Thorocks who took the lead, and Tick and Joey also stood up one after another.Pike remembered too, but before he could stand up, he fell to the ground. After trying twice, it didn't stabilize until the third time.And Booker has been lying in place, as if dead.The lashing of the whip had no effect on it, not to mention it moved, and it didn't even make a howl.

The dogs were exhausted, but Hal's whip kept coming down.Seeing this scene, Sandy couldn't help crying.He stood up several times, and every time, he wanted to rush to Hal to stop him from doing this.But he hesitated until the end, he didn't go there, just walked back and forth.

If you really want to stand up, Booker can still do it, but it needs to be supported hard.However, Booker made up his mind and just couldn't get up.This glacier has traveled back and forth several times. At that time, the sled behind it was also full of letters.Therefore, it knows more about the current situation of the ice on the river than its new owner.As soon as he reached the river, he knew that the ice on the river was no longer so solid.The scene of passing by this river is still fresh in Booker's memory.That was the first time it pulled a sled, and Frankie and the others were its masters.They were catching up with the freezing period of the river, and the thickness of the ice was very uneven. Several times, they all fell into the river and almost died at the bottom of the water.Thinking of that experience now, Booker feels terrified.Now, Hal was going to get up and go the same way himself, which was putting him at risk.It has a strong feeling in its heart that disaster is imminent.

Booker, the team leader, has always satisfied Hal because he is dedicated to his duties.But now, it didn't obey his command, Hal was very angry.So he picked up a stick and hit Booker.The club hit Booker hard like raindrops.But to his disappointment, Booker remained unmoved.

The pain has slowly left Booker's body.The spark that symbolizes life is bright for a while, dark for a while, and gets weaker and weaker.

At this time, Sandy jumped up, and there was a loud cry in his mouth, like the howling of a wild animal.Then he lunged at Hal.

Hal was hitting Booker with a club in his hand.Suddenly, Sandy threw him to the ground, face up, as if he had hit a big tree.

Seeing Hal's heavy fall, Messesa was very frightened, and screamed involuntarily, with a sharp and ear-piercing voice.

Charis couldn't move his body, couldn't stand up even if he tried to.His eyes were a little wet, there was nothing he could do about it, he could only wipe his eyes and watch from the side, with no expression on his face.

Sandy blocked Hal just like that.Under the stimulation of anger, he could not utter a word.After a long time, he spoke, his voice full of grief: "If you hit this dog again, I will kill you! Even if you touch a hair of it."

"Have you figured it out? I am the owner of this dog!" Blood dripped from Hal's mouth, and he stood up while wiping away the blood, "Our destination is Daosheng, we have to hurry. If you don't get out of the way again, I won't be polite. At that time, you can't blame me. "

However, Sandy was not intimidated by his words, and still stood where he was. Seeing the situation, he had no intention of giving in at all.Hal was still indignant about Sandy's behavior just now, and seeing his behavior like this again, he pulled out the hunting knife on his waist and rushed towards Sandy.

At this time, Messesa was crying and laughing like a madman.

Sandy happens to be holding the unfinished ax handle in his hand.Seeing Hal rushing with a knife in his hand, he immediately knocked the knife down with the handle of his axe.Hal wanted to pick it up, but just as he stretched out his hand, he got hit.Sandy then picked up the knife and used it to cut the rope on Booker.

Hal didn't have the guts to continue fighting Sandy.And besides, Messa, his sister, came running up again and took him by the arms.Booker was still lying on the ground, looking like he was going to die.So it looked like it couldn't pull the sled either.So he gave up and urged the other dogs to hurry on the road.Starting from the river, they walked towards the middle of the river.They were moving very slowly, trying to cross the river and thus reach Dawson.

Booker raised his head, but at this time Hal and the others had already walked away.It saw that Pike was at the front, followed by Joey and Tick, and Thorocks was in charge of holding the line at the end.As Booker watched his companion stagger forward, Sandy was by his side.He knelt on the ground and gently stroked Booker's body with both hands.His hands were not smooth at all, but full of love and affection.Booker's body was covered with bruises, and Sandy checked them one by one.He checked very carefully and it took a long time.Although Booker had many injuries, none of them hurt his muscles or bones.After figuring this out, Sandy felt relieved.

He held Buck in his arms and was about to walk back to the tent, when there was a scream, it was Messesa's voice, and it sounded very miserable.He turned his head immediately.As a result, a tragic situation came into his and Booker's eyes.I saw Hal and his team fall into the water, leaving only a small part behind on the river.Charis was the last one to walk. Seeing the situation, he hurried back.Unfortunately, after walking a few steps, he disappeared.

All this happened in an instant.Sleds, men and dogs were swallowed by the river.

Booker lay in Sandy's arms.Looking at Booker, Sandy felt pity and love, and said, "Although you deserve sympathy, you are an out-and-out devil!"

(Chapter 6) Booker's love for Sandy
(Verse [-]) What is love

Sandy went to the mouth of the White River last winter, and he came with his friends Hansen and Pete.

The cold weather frostbitten Sandy's feet.Hansen and Pete were very worried. They were afraid that Sandy's injury would worsen, so they built a wooden tent on the river bank as Sandy's habitat.And the two of them also made a raft and sailed upstream on it.In the spring, when the ice melted, they went downriver to fetch Sandy.At that time, Sandy's injury was also recovered, and they went to Daosheng together.

Sandy's foot injury has not fully healed, and he was still limping when he rescued Booker just now.

It is spring now, and the temperature is getting higher and higher every day.Sandy's foot slowly regained its health in these climatic conditions, and there was no limping at all.

Sandy took good care of Booker. Although Booker had many wounds, they are all healed now.The muscles on its body, which had been flattened due to extreme fatigue, have now recovered as before.Booker's original look is all back.

Throughout the spring, Booker stayed with Sandy.Their daily life is comfortable and easy.Booker often lay by the river or under a tree.By the river, it saw that after the ice and snow in the river melted, the river flowed continuously.And Booker just watched them pass with indifference.It lay quietly and lazily under the tree, listening to the birds singing on the branches.

Day after day, they have nothing to do but wait.They were looking forward to the arrival of Hansen and Pete, and then went to Daosheng together.

The current life is easy and free for Booker.After leaving the judge's house, it was the first time to live this kind of life, and it was very happy.

Before Booker arrived, there were two dogs beside Sandy, their names were Skid and Nico.Skidder was a hound, Irish, and Nico was a police-hound mix, big and dark, with smiling eyes, and very docile.For Booker's joining, not only are they not jealous, but they never bully the small.Together with Booker, they accompany Sandy and enjoy his love together, just like a family.

Sandy took Booker back and let him recuperate here.From the beginning, Scheder came to visit frequently, like a doctor visiting patients.When he first arrived, Booker's breath was very weak, and Schid licked the wounds on his body with his own tongue until they were all cleaned up.Schid's enthusiasm for Booker is just like a mother cat's love for her kittens.

Every morning, as soon as Booker finished his meal, Skid would come to take care of Booker.Then, when that moment came, Booker was filled with anticipation.

As the days passed, Booker's physical strength also increased little by little.Just then, Schidt and Nico, Booker's friends, encouraged him to go out and play.They are very cute, and their games are also varied, but all very interesting.

Booker had a great time with them.Sandy often joins in and plays games with them.Booker has a new home, and the atmosphere here makes it all the more intimate.Its life had a new beginning, and it had a feeling of love that was as simple as it was passionate.

Even with the sun shining in the Santa Clara Valley and the Judge and his family treating them well, Booker has never felt like this.For the judge's sons, Booker is just their hunting assistant, helping them catch prey; for the judge's grandsons, it is just a playtime nanny, responsible for protecting them; But he treats him as a friend, and there is a friendship between them, which is very precious to Booker.

But these are not love.what is love?Booker didn't know it before.It didn't really understand the meaning of the word until it got acquainted with Sandy.

There are two reasons why I say that, one is because Sandy has saved my life, the other is Sandy's own charm, and the second is a crucial point.In Booker's mind, as a master, there is no better than Sandy.His attitude towards those dogs is like treating children.After sitting on the ground, his favorite thing to do is either wrap his arms around their necks or hug their bodies, pulling them back and forth.They live together like a family, very happy.

What Sandy did most often was to rock Buck's head back and forth between his legs.At this time, he would first pull Booker's head with both hands, with a rough attitude, and then sandwich it between his legs, and then shake it up and down.While shaking Booker's head, he murmured words, those are the nicknames he gave Booker.These nicknames are various, but to Booker, they are very affectionate.Sandy treats Booker like this out of love. Although the method he uses is a bit rude, Booker feels fresh and fun.

Booker's heart shook with Sandy's shaking.And when Sandy let go of his hands, it jumped up and smiled at Sandy.At this time, its front legs were raised, and its upper and lower jaws were opened, like a gentleman.It is very happy, its eyes are full of true feelings, and from time to time, there are bursts of trills in its throat, as if it wants to express something, but it just can't say it.

Sandy was amazed by the way Booker looked at him.His eyes widened, he looked at Booker and exclaimed, "God bless! You know everything except you can't talk."

Booker also responded to Sandy's love in a very unusual way, that is, leaving his own teeth marks on Sandy's hands.It first held Sandy's hand in its mouth, and then bit its teeth hard, so that the tooth marks were printed on it, and it lasted for a long time.This method is similar to hurting, but Sandy knows that this is Booker expressing love to himself.

However, this expression is not often used by Booker.Under normal circumstances, Booker is very secretive.Both Skidder and Nico express themselves directly.Skidder was always around Sandy, and Nico, anyway, had his head on Sandy's lap.The relationship between Booker and Sandy is not so intimate. It is always outside a certain range, watching Sandy for a long time, and its eyes are full of respect.

Sometimes, Booker also likes to lie on Sandy's lap and watch Sandy up close.No expression on his face could escape Booker's eyes.And sometimes, Booker would walk in a relatively far place, lie on the ground and look at Sandy, to be precise, look at Sandy's back.Booker just stared, motionless.

Booker's gaze, to Sandy, was like some force pulling him, so he couldn't help turning his head.Then, he also stopped all activities, just looking back at the other party.

After Booker was rescued, for quite a long time, his eyes were fixed on Sandy, lest he disappear out of his sight.If Sandy got up to leave, it followed, like Sandy's shadow.

When it came to the North Pole, although it had changed several owners, none of them remained the same.They all came and went in such a hurry that it gave Booker the feeling that his master, for better or for worse, would stay only for a short time.He couldn't help being afraid that this would become a routine, and that sooner or later Sandy would leave his life and never return.

This kind of doubt makes him restless, and even when he sleeps, he is often awakened by nightmares.Upon waking up, the first thing it does is to determine whether Sandy is still there.Although the wind was biting outside, Booker didn't care about it, got up and ran to the tent.When it came close, it stopped and remained motionless until the sound of Sandy's regular breathing was heard next to its ear, making sure that Sandy had not abandoned itself.Then it turned around and came back.

But love for Sandy didn't kill Booker's nature.This kind of nature is full of primitive breath, which has always been hidden in Booker's heart, and has been passed down from generation to generation through blood.Booker is covered in scars all over his body, these are the marks of the battle.Even so, its combat power has not weakened in the slightest, and it is still so quick in response and fierce in action.

Sandys' other two dogs, Skid and Nico, are very kind to Booker.But when the other dogs approached Buck, they immediately realized that Buck was not a good dog, even if he was very fierce.

Sometimes, when Booker squatted by the fire, he often felt surrounded by many shadows.While these shadows kept jumping, they encouraged themselves to leave.There will also be a calling sound in the ear, which comes from the depths of the forest, which is both mysterious and exciting.Lured by the voice, Booker wanted to walk into the forest.And when he did run in, the shade of the woods reminded him of Sandy.Out of dissatisfaction with Sandy, Booker returned to the fire.

Sandy was the only person Booker cared about.Sometimes, passers-by either praised it or stroked it gently.For these people, Booker's attitude was very cold.If someone is too friendly, it will leave immediately.

Two strong men came to their camp one day.At first, Booker also regarded them as passers-by and ignored them.It wasn't until seeing Sandy talking with them, and with an affectionate attitude, that Booker came back to his senses, and never rejected their enthusiastic confrontation again.These two people are Hansen and Pete, and they came to meet Sandy.

The river water is now thawed.So, they set out from the mouth of the Baihe River, and with the help of the current, they arrived at Daosheng smoothly.Along the way, they spent very little time.

On the way, Hansen and Pete were already aware of Booker's weirdness.It was impossible for Booker to be as close to them as Skidder and Nico were.However, Booker's love for Sandy has become stronger and stronger as time goes by.It was there for Sandy, no matter what it was, whether it made sense or not.After dealing with Daosheng's matter, they took some food and daily necessities and headed for the source of the Tanana River. The means of transportation was still a raft.

This day they reached a cliff, which is the upper reaches of the Tanana River.They first moored the raft to the edge of the cliff, and then climbed to the top to rest for a while, and the dog also went up.The cliff is steep and sheer, perhaps three hundred feet high.At the bottom of the cliff, there are many hard rocks, which are exposed on the river bank.

While Sandy was looking at those rocks, suddenly he pointed to a big rock and said loudly to Booker: "Booker, jump off!"

The idea is crazy.But Booker immediately put into action.Seeing that it was about to jump, Sandy, Hansen and Pete hurriedly dragged it back.All this happens in an instant.The three of them were very frightened, and it took a long time before they could speak.

"It's almost! It's too close." When Pete said, he hadn't fully recovered.

"It's great, but it's scary. To be honest, sometimes I worry about it." Sandy shook her head, a little worried.Booker's back was very strong, and Sandy kept stroking it with his hands out of affection.

Pete looked at Booker and said firmly, "I don't dare to fight you in front of it, even if I touch you."

"God bless! I don't have the guts either!" Hansen continued.

That year, it was already the end of the year when they reached Circle City.

Pete's assertion was tested by an incident in a bar, not with him but with someone else.

One day, Sandy and the others came to a bar, and Booker followed them.When they were drinking and chatting, Booker and the others would just sprawl in the corner.Skidder and Nico were both drowsy when it happened, and Booker was resting his head on his front foot, his eyes following Sandy's walking.

There was a loud noise.Brayton got into a fight with a new guy.So Sandy walked over.Bu Ayton's nickname is "Black God" and he has a bad temper.The quarrel between them gradually escalated and turned into a fight.In order to prevent things from getting worse, Sandy wanted to go up to fight.But the good intentions were not rewarded, and Bu Ayton, who couldn't get over his anger, punched Sandy right on the shoulder.Sandy, who was unprepared, received a sudden blow and couldn't help stepping back, almost falling to the ground.Fortunately, he grabbed the railing next to the bar.

(End of this chapter)