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

Chapter 16 The Call of the Wild (12)
They just ran forward like this, regardless of the time or the distance they ran.Booker only felt the temperature rise slowly, because the sun gradually rose.

What those calls meant, Booker hadn't figured out until now.It couldn't be happier.Booker had a vague feeling that he had run like this with other brothers long ago.It was a wilderness, so wide that it had no boundaries. They walked side by side and ran forward in unison.The ground under their feet is loose and soft, the sky above them is blue, and they are so free.

A small river appeared in front of them.So they stopped to drink water.At this moment, Sandy's figure flashed in Booker's mind.Booker couldn't help but froze.It squatted on the ground, motionless.

The wild wolf ran again after drinking the water, and its destination was where the calling sound was.But it patronized itself and ran away. After a long time, it found that there was no Booker behind him.So it ran back again.It sniffed Buck's nose, and made all kinds of intimate gestures to keep Buck going.

But to its disappointment, Booker not only did not respond, but walked back slowly.

Booker was still hesitating whether to go back, so it walked very slowly at first.But, after a while, it made up its mind.So he ran quickly.

(Section [-]) Wild growth in the body

In the end, between Sandy's love and the call of the wild, Booker chose the former.Now, what Booker wants to do most is to throw himself into Sandy's arms.

When Booker was running back, the wild wolf followed him and hummed in a low voice, as if trying to persuade Booker.But an hour later, Booker was still unmoved.There was nothing the wolf could do, so it had to squat down and howl at the sky.The sadness in the voice shocked Booker's heart, and he couldn't help shivering.Even so, it still hasn't stopped moving forward.As it walked away, the howling behind it became weaker and weaker, until it could no longer be heard.

Finally, Booker finally ran back to camp.Sandy was having lunch when he entered the shed.

Seeing Sandy, Booker was ecstatic, and immediately rushed forward, with an enthusiastic attitude as if seeing a long-lost relative.It fell on Sandy, scratched here, licked there, and opened its mouth to bite his hand.Sandy cursed while rocking Booker's body back and forth, but his tone was full of affection.

For the next two days, Booker and Sandy were inseparable.Whether it is day or night, it follows Sandy's left and right, and its eyes change with the change of Sandy's figure.

If Sandy worked, he followed him every step of the way.If Sandy eats, it just lies on the ground and stares at him.If Sandy slept, he had to see him get into his sleeping bag at night and watch him come out in the morning.Booker just guarded Sandy's side like this, not refusing to miss even a minute.It was scared, and Sandy disappeared by accident.

However, such a life lasted only two days.Because two days later, that calling sounded again, and the voice was extremely urgent, so urgent that it surpassed any previous voice.In that vast forest, Booker and the wild wolf once ran side by side, and its heart was full of joy at that time.After hearing this call, Booker's heart flooded with joy again.Although that kind of voice made it impossible to calm down again, Booker was attracted, and involuntarily, he ran to the forest again.To its great disappointment, the wild wolf was not there.At night, it stayed up all night just to hear the wolf howling again.The voice was so bleak that Booker's heart trembled.However, it never appeared.

So Booker slept outside, so that he could find the wild wolf more conveniently.Sometimes, it leaves the camp for several days.On one occasion it stayed in that forest for a week.During this week, it wandered back and forth near the woods and streams, but in the end, none of its friends appeared.

Booker wandered, learning to hunt and kill other animals in order to fill his stomach.

It once killed a large black bear on a broad river bank.That time, Booker came to the bank to catch salmon.A big black bear happened to be there too.Unfortunately, when the bear caught the fish, he was so careless that he was blinded by mosquito bites.So it lost its temper, screaming and jumping wildly, its voice full of despair.The cry of the big black bear aroused the fierceness in Booker's heart.So, it fought a life-and-death struggle with the big black bear.

That fight was very dangerous, but it proved one thing, that is, Booker is fully capable of surviving on his own.Because it not only has great power, but also has a heroic character. Even if the environment is very harsh, only the strong can continue to survive.Booker is very proud of his ability to survive.Judging from the current situation, Booker is a hunter, he is very fierce, and any of his movements and muscles are the best proof of this.

Booker inherited his strong physique from his father, a Saint Bernard, and his graceful figure from his mother, a collie.In addition, it has a large mouth, which is long and cylindrical, larger than that of any wolf.Its head is also very big, which is really not comparable to that of ordinary wolves.It has brown whiskers on its mouth and eyes, but there are only a handful of them, and it has a white patch on its chest.These hairs can also tell that it is a dog. Without them, it is an out-and-out wolf.

Booker's size is outstanding.It is not only cunning, but also responsive, which are the characteristics of wolves.Its congenital conditions are very good, and later, under the tempering of the cruel living environment, it is full of wildness.Now, its vitality is at its peak, full of vitality from top to bottom.

If threatened, those huskies will jump at great speed, ready to defend or attack.Their responses are very sensitive, but compared with Booker, they are far behind, because Booker's speed is more than twice as fast as them.Whenever Booker sees an action or hears a sound, in an instant, it will complete the two different actions of judging and responding.

One day, when Buck walked out of the camp, Sandy looked at his back and couldn't help sighing: "In this world, there is no other dog like Buck!"

And all he saw was Booker as usual.It changes completely as soon as it enters the forest.Sandy has never seen Booker after the change.

For Booker, the atmosphere in the forest is very mysterious. Under the influence of this atmosphere, Booker's natural wildness is exposed.

Although it was still a dog, after entering the forest, the obedience it showed in front of its master had disappeared. It is no exaggeration to say that it is now a wild wolf, not only cunning, but also vicious.Whenever it sees other animals, it first sneaks forward like a hunter to a shaded place, and then crawls forward, as cunning as a snake, and then it will sneak attack.

And that's just one way it captures its prey, in addition to making effective use of cover.When the partridges were in their nests, or the hares were asleep, Buck would hunt them under cover.

The chipmunks were very quick, but even so they were in danger of falling into Buck's hands, for if there was any delay in their escape they would never try to climb the tree again.

From Booker's point of view, the swimming speed of the fish in the pond is very slow. Although sea otters know how to build dams on the coast, they are not careful enough.In short, no matter how responsive other animals are, in the end, they will all become Booker's food.And to do this, for Booker, it is effortless.

Whenever he eats the prey he has caught, Booker is very happy.In addition, it also enjoys the process of catching prey.For it, the process was extremely thrilling, and while it made itself feel tense and exciting, it was also deeply fascinated by it.Therefore, in many cases, it is not eager to catch them immediately, but deliberately let them go first.Booker's favorite thing to do was to watch them scream in panic and fear as they ran away.

In a blink of an eye, it was autumn.There are new guests in the valley - elk, and they come down from the mountains one after another.In winter, the temperature in the valley will be relatively warm, so they prepare to spend the winter here.

When the elk came down the mountain in large numbers, some fawns also fell behind the team for various reasons. In a very accidental situation, Booker once captured one of them.

Since then, a strong desire to conquer the elk has been aroused in its heart, even though the body of those elk is several times larger than itself.It has a wish that one day it can wrestle with them.Every day, it looks forward to this opportunity.

Hard work pays off, and this day has finally arrived.

That day, Booker walked to the source of a creek.While he was wandering about on the divide, he saw a herd of elk.They walked in front of Booker with great momentum, there were probably more than 20 of them.

Walking in the front of the team is a stag, responsible for leading the team.It weighed about thirteen hundred pounds, was more than six feet high, and had very large horns on its head, which looked like palms, but which had as many as fourteen branches.Its temperament is rough and fierce, and even the way it looks at Booker reveals a viciousness.

For Booker, this opponent is not only physically strong, but also has a fierce personality, which is what Booker has always wanted to find.Therefore, the fierce look in the buck's eyes not only didn't scare Booker away, but aroused the warlike emotion in Booker's heart.It is actively preparing for a fight with the buck.

By nature, Booker knew that the first thing he had to do to win was to get the buck out of the herd.Having said that, it is not so easy to achieve this.

In order to avoid being attacked, Booker first kept a certain distance from the buck, and then yelled around it, jumping non-stop while barking, trying to irritate it.

And the result was just as Booker wished, the buck was very angry at what Booker had done, couldn't help but lose his temper, and attacked Booker without considering the consequences at all.

Seeing this, Booker retreated as if he was invincible.

The buck was so stupid that he didn't know that it was just a trap, and that it had been carefully designed for him.So, under Booker's wrong guidance, it slowly left the team and went farther and farther.

In the beginning, to get the buck back on the team, some of the younger bucks in the team came running, two or three, to help their leader deal with Booker.

However, Booker is not so easy to dismiss, it has tenacious endurance.In most cases, it engages in some sabotage activities on both sides of the deer herd, setting up obstacles for their progress.As long as he seizes the opportunity, Booker will attack them, and the direction of each attack is different.And its purpose of doing this is to make the whole deer herd in a state of anger, so that they can lose their positions. In this way, the buck that has already left the team has no scruples because of its anger. Even if it wants to return to the team, There is no time to pay attention to it.

The sun was setting little by little, and night was coming.

The cold winter is approaching day by day.Under the influence of such external conditions, what the deer herd most want to do is to reach the lower valleys at the fastest speed, because the temperature there is relatively high.

However, during their migration, Booker appeared, not only obstructing their journey, but also relentless.It is not easy to get rid of it.

Only when the life of the deer herd as a whole or the lives of the young elk are in danger, those young bucks can rush forward, but this is not the case now, so even if they want to help, they can't break the rules of the herd .

Therefore, out of an attitude of being responsible for all elk, the herd made a decision to give up the leader and move on.

The sun has set, and there is still some twilight in the sky.By this time, the deer herd had gone further and further away, and the buck was left behind.Its head drooped, looking at their distant figures, feeling very depressed.

Many times, as long as the buck chased forward, it would be stopped by Booker.Booker always stood in front of it, shaking his head constantly, threatening with his cruel fangs, pressing every step of the way.Therefore, each of its attempts has failed, and it has no choice but to watch them go away.

Back then, it was also extremely heroic and had experienced countless fierce battles.Now, although the guy in front of him is short and his height is less than his knees, but to his surprise, he can see the shadow of death on him.

Booker had been keeping a close eye on the buck ever since he saw the herd go away.No matter it is day or night, it follows it every step of the way, never letting it have a chance to rest and eat, not even letting it drink a drop of water.At last the buck, tormented by extreme hunger and thirst, began to run like mad.

For its behavior, Booker not only did not stop it, but let it go.The stag runs ahead, and it follows.It treats it like a game, and it's having fun.

The buck was exhausted from running wildly, so it had to stop.Just as it was panting, Booker stopped and lay down beside him.It's okay if the buck has no other actions. If it wants to find food or drink water, it will be violently attacked by Booker.

Under Booker's pressing step by step, the buck's head lowered more and more every time, and even the steps became more and more reluctant.

Buck's bright red tongue stuck out long, and even though he was panting, his eyes never moved away from the stag's body.The buck was going to give up, and Booker could see that very clearly.

The buck did his best not to fall, but even then he lasted only three days.On the fourth night, it couldn't hold on any longer.

After the buck died, Booker stayed by for a day and a night.During this period, it eats and sleeps, and occasionally gets up and moves its body, but the range of activities is limited to four weeks.

After recharging his energy, Booker turned and ran towards the camp.Sandy and they're still there waiting for it.

(Section [-]) Sandy dies

Booker ran forward happily, as if he had wings on his feet.Hours passed, one forest after another was left behind, and though some of them he hadn't traveled through, one thing he was sure of was that he hadn't lost his way.Booker's ability to judge direction is slightly higher than that of a compass.

(End of this chapter)