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

Chapter 19: An Odyssey in the North (2)
"I don't even know what the situation is. In short, there is a reason why this sympathetic man doesn't want to do it any more-he doesn't want others to know about it." The reason, but this reason should be very important to him. This kind of work is actually equivalent to joining the army, of course you know it well. He has signed a two-year contract, and now he can only get There is no other solution than paying gold to redeem himself so that he can get free early. He wants to stay in this place, wants to die, but if he slips away, he doesn't have to expect to stay. He and I said that he made this decision the moment he first arrived in Dawson, but he didn't know anyone there. The only person he talked to was me, not to mention he was penniless .In this case, he went to the Deputy Governor, and the two agreed that if he wanted to go through the formalities of resignation, he only needed to get money from me-he needed me to lend him money, and this was his Meaning. He told me that the money he lent me would be returned within a year, and that he could help me find a way to get rich, provided I had no objection to it, of course. He knew there was a lot of gold hidden somewhere, though He never set foot there.

"Please listen to me! Hey, just a moment ago, I was taken outside by him, and I was about to cry when I saw him. He begged me in every possible way, and even knelt directly at me in the snow. He stood up, what else could I do? He talked for a long time, like he was crazy. He said that he had worked so hard for so many years to make this wish a reality. Now he can't bear the broken hope He didn’t want to tell me what his wish was, no matter how much I asked, it was useless. He just told me that he was worried that his place of work would be placed in the other half of the road, so that he would It would be two years before I could go back to Dawson, and it would be too late. I never saw a man in my life who was so sad. I agreed to lend him the gold, Then I was forced to help him again, who was kneeling in the snow again. I said that if I want to buy shares, I should pay the gold first. In your opinion, he can’t ask for it, right? Brother, you really are Big mistake! He swore to me that he would make me amazingly rich, because he would give me as much treasure as he found. He said it over and over again. If someone A person has worked hard year after year, just because someone has advanced a sum of money to him, so after he gets the harvest, even if he only gives half of it to investors, he is often unwilling. Prince, you have to remember that there must be a reason for this incident. We will definitely hear from him in the future, as long as he does not leave this area..."

"But what if he leaves the area?"

"Then I have lost sixty ounces of gold. I did a good deed, and people reward me like this, so I can only admit it."

The long night was coming, and the cold weather was coming, and on the horizon south of the snow, the sun was hiding, and she had always liked to play this game.However, Malmute?The funds advanced by Gide have never been heard from.Some time later, in early January, on a cold and cloudy morning, the heavy sledges were dragged by many dogs to the door of his little log cabin, near which the lower part of the Stewart River passed.It was the man who exchanged the sea otter skin for the dog who came to visit, and he also brought a companion—how he created this man's figure, I guess God has no memory.Axel?Gunderson is the man everyone thinks of when they talk about luck, guts, and gold dust that costs five hundred dollars a shovel.Everyone sat around the bonfire and told stories. As long as the stories involved keywords such as bravery, strength, and bravery, it was inevitable to talk about his stories.Once everyone gradually loses interest in chatting, the only way to restore the lively chatting atmosphere is to talk about the woman who shared his troubles.

God put Axel?Gunderson was shaped like a primitive man. It is estimated that in the process of creating him, the ancient man-making technology emerged in God's mind again.This point has been mentioned above.His height reached seven feet, he looked very tall, and the clothes on his body were also very gorgeous. As the king of a country in the Golden Kingdom, he showed his style everywhere.He has the chest, neck and limbs of a giant.His snowshoes were more than a yard longer than the average person's. After all, the total weight of bones and muscles they had to bear reached three hundred pounds.His face was rough, he had a very striking crown and a thick jaw, and his eyes were a pale blue in which timidity would never appear.His brutality is exposed through this face.His hair was covered with frost and was as yellow as ripe corn tassels - against which his face was like a ray of sunshine in the dark night, not even his bearskin coat was spared .He walked on that narrow road, passed the pack of dogs, and then wobbled to this side, his appearance revealing a certain habit, which people have lived at sea all year round.He was just like a pirate who came to the south from northern Europe to rob, and was launching a fierce attack on the gate of the castle. The handle of his dog whip was on Malmute?There was a knock on Gide's door.

Prince was kneading dough, exposing his feminine arms, and at the same time, he glanced at the three guests from time to time—many people would never see three guests like this in their lifetime Enter someone's home at the same time.He is still very interested in that strange guy, that is, by Malmute?Gide named the man Ulysses, but at the moment Axel?Gunderson's wife was even more attractive to him.Ever since her husband took the gold mine seedlings in the cold zone as his own and made a fortune, she has lived in a comfortable wooden house. This kind of life has made her body weak. Feeling very tired after a day of running around.She leaned against her husband's broad chest, like a delicate flower leaning against a wall.Malmute?Gide was laughing at her, but there was no malice in the joke.She responded lazily to him.Every time Prince made eye contact with hers, he became very excited, and of course her dark, deep eyes only glanced at Prince occasionally.The reason why Prince is like this is that he is a man in good health and has not seen a woman for several months.What's more, she was an Indian woman older than him.Compared with other Indian women he had met, she was clearly an anomaly: from their conversations, he learned that she had been to many countries far from home, including England, which was his home; She knows everything a white woman knows, and besides that, she knows a lot of things a woman shouldn't know.She can eat only dried fish to satisfy her hunger, or build a bed in the snow.But she wants to describe those exquisite banquets in detail in front of them, let those dishes that have almost been forgotten by them resound in their ears, and make their stomachs feel very uncomfortable, she just wants to tease them.She knew the habits of the elk, the bear, the young of the blue fox, and the amphibians that lived in the northern seas.She knows everything about forests and rivers.She could easily tell whether it was a man, a bird, or an animal that had left imprints in the soft snow.She looked at their camping charter with admiration, which Prince noticed.The content of the articles of association is concise and the writing is very witty.Because Betts couldn't get rid of his bad habits, he made these regulations on a whim.Every time before the ladies came, Prince would turn it over so that the front was facing the wall.But the arrival of this Indian woman caught people off guard... But the matter has come to this point, so I have to accept it.

In short, this is Axel?Gunderson's wife.No one in the northern region does not know her name, and in this regard, she is no different from her husband.During the meal, Malmute?Gide joked with her unscrupulously, after all, they had known each other for a long time.Prince joked with them too, and now he was not as shy and reserved as he had been when he first met her.Despite the disparity in the strength of the enemy and us, she behaved sharply.The only thing her husband can do is to cheer for her with a smile, because his eloquence is really not very good.He is very proud of his wife.She was a vital part of his life, and it was evident in all his eyes and movements.In the tumultuous battle, the man who exchanged the otter skin for the dog was ignored by all.He ate in silence, and then went outside to keep company with the dogs after eating.Although the rest of the people were not full, but after seeing him leave, his two companions immediately put on their gloves and fur coats, and followed them outside.

The surface of the Yukon Road was so hardened that the sledges ran over it as effortlessly as on smooth ice, for it had not snowed for many days.Ulysses driving the first sledge, and Prince and Axel driving the second?Gundersen's wife, Malmute driving the last sleigh?Gide and the giant with yellow hair.

Gunderson said: "Gide, I think this is true, even though it's just my personal feeling. Although he has never set foot in that place, what he said is very logical. In addition, he took a ticket. Show me the map, I've heard about it when I was in the Kootenai area a few years ago. He's a very eccentric guy, and he said that if anyone else gets involved in this thing, everyone will immediately blow it up , if it weren't for this, I would have let you join us early in the morning. However, when I return, you will be the first to know, and you will also get the nearby mines and half of the planned city construction A foundation."

At this time, Gide wanted to intervene, so he said loudly: "Don't talk! Don't talk! This private matter of mine is not yet finished, and I hope to discuss it with someone. If it is true, there will be another A Cripple River A goldfield in the United States. Haha, my old friend, did you hear me? Another Cripple River! That's not a gold placer, it's a quartz gold mine, you Already know. We could have the whole gold mine for ourselves if we figured out how to mine it - that's worth millions. You and I have heard other people mention this place in the past. We're going to build A city—employing thousands of people alone—creating waterways—as a shipping route—enabling transportation—small oil tankers going upriver—maybe a rail line would be necessary— —Set up a few more logging factories—build a power station—build our own bank—commercial enterprise—Sindyka—haha! You have to keep it a secret for me until I return!”

The sled came to a halt where the road met the mouth of the Stewart River.The frozen sea stretched all the way to the mysterious east.They took off the snowshoes that had been strapped to the sled.Axel?Gunderson shook hands with them one by one, and then came to the front.His snowshoes were like a pair of huge webbed feet, and they trampled down the goose-feather snow for more than half a yard, so that the dog could no longer sink into the snow, because the snow was packed so tightly. up.His wife followed the last sled, apparently having trained for a long time to handle the large and heavy snowshoes.The serenity ends with cheerful farewells and dogs barking.The guy who traded sea otter pelts for dogs was trying to make a disobedient dog obedient with a whip.

After an hour, the huge snow-white paper was drawn with a straight and long line by the sled team like black pencils.

(two)

One night after a few weeks, Malmute?Gide and Price are working on a chess record on a piece of paper from an old magazine.Gide was going to rest for a while, he had just come down from the Bonnazza mine.Next, he plans to hunt elk, which is not a job that can be done in a short period of time.Prince also hopes to stay comfortably in the log cabin for a week. After all, he spends almost the whole winter on the waterways in the river and on the land covered with snow.

"Let the black knight go up and join him. It's useless, it won't work. Look, when you go down..."

"Why did you tell that pawn to take two steps forward? To trade it for a pawn, once the bishop is eaten..."

"Wait a minute! If you do that, you will reveal your flaws, not only that..."

"Just follow what I said, and there will be no flaws at all, not at all! Just wait and see, this way of walking is definitely feasible."

Their game of chess is very interesting, and because of this, when Malmute?When Gide finally heard the knock on the door and said "Come in", it was already after the outsider knocked on the door twice.After the door opened, a living creature waddled into the room.Prince was facing the direction of the door. When he saw this scene, he was taken aback and jumped up.Malmute?Gide, noticing the terrified fright in his eyes, turned back hastily, and was then equally terrified, though he had been through many dangers before.I saw the living creature walking towards them, it staggered, and walked straight.Prince turned sideways and began to back away slowly, waiting until his hand touched the nail from which his pistol was hanging.

He asked Malmute in a low voice?Gide: "My God! What is that?"

"I can't tell. It might be cold and hungry," while saying this, Gide quietly ran to the opposite side.He closed the door, and when he returned, he reminded Prince, "Be careful! Maybe this thing is a lunatic."

The living creature came to the table.Its eyes were illuminated by the light of the oil lamp.It was very happy, and to show it it made a noise of terror.The man then—and it was a man—suddenly jumped aft, tightened the straps, and began singing, the crew's anchor-weaving song.While the crew sang this song, the capstans were spinning and the sea was roaring.

American ships sailing down the stream,

Hardworking young man!Pull up!

Are you wondering who the captain is?

Hardworking young man!Pull up!

His name is Jiang Naisheng?Jones, from South Carolina,
Pull up!hard-working……

Suddenly, his singing stopped.He let out a howl, almost like a wolf howl, and followed him swaying to the shelf where the food was placed.A piece of raw bacon was between his teeth, and there was nothing they could do to stop him.Malmute?Gide started to fight with him, and the movements of both of them were extremely violent.But he quickly returned the bacon he got to its original owner, and he seemed to have no strength left, and the madness just now disappeared in a blink of an eye.Gide and Prince supported him and let him sit on the stool, and he immediately laid half of his body on the table.He rallied with the help of a small glass of whiskey.Malmute?Gide put a bottle of sugar in front of his eyes, and he already had the strength to dig out the sugar with a spoon and eat it.When he was a little full, Prince handed him a cup of light beef tea.Prince was shaking as he did this.

There was a dark, mad light in the man's eyes that flickered with every mouthful he took.His face was very thin, with sunken cheeks, and the little skin left on his face made him look like a person at all.His face was marred by successive bouts of severe cold, fresh frostbite always accumulating on it before the previous frostbite healed, forming a layer of scars.His face was a purple-black color, hard and dry, with red flesh protruding from multiple deep jagged wounds.He was wearing a dirty, torn leather jacket. Apparently, he had put one side of his body close to the fire while he was sleeping, which scorched the fur on one side of his fur jacket, and even dried the hair in some places. net.

His sunburnt leather jacket still has scars from knife cuts, Malmute?Gide pointed to the scars, from which his terrible hunger was exposed.

Gide paused every word, and asked slowly and clearly: "You—are—what—people?"

The other party turned a deaf ear to his question.

"where u from?"

Responding to Gide, he sang tremblingly, "America sailing down the stream."

"This tramp came here along the direction of the water flow, I am absolutely sure of that." Saying this, Gide wanted to ask him to give himself a more definite answer, for which Gide began to shake him .

However, the moment Gide touched him, he let out a scream.He obviously felt very painful, and stretched out a hand to press his waist.Next, he stood up, very slowly.He leaned half of his body on the table.

"She made fun of me—yes—she looked at me with resentment in her eyes. She—didn't—would—would—come back."

(End of this chapter)