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

Chapter 2 Love Life (1)
This novel describes a person's story of fighting against cold, hunger, disease and beasts, and finally getting out of the predicament.People can feel the tenacity of life and gain inspiring power from it.

This is the only one left.Although they have gone bankrupt, they have gone through the hardships of life, and it is a victory to come to this point.

Two people walked from the bank of the river. They moved forward and backward, with one foot deep and one foot shallow.Occasionally, the messy gravel on the river bank would throw them off balance.They have suffered a lot in their lives, and now they are haunted by this difficult journey, so they are miserable.Alas, there is no way, they can only grit their teeth and move forward.They all wore leather straps across their foreheads to hold packs around their shoulders.Luckily the two straps were strong enough that the package didn't slip off them.They bowed their waists, leaned forward, each with a rifle, and walked forward with difficulty while looking for favorable terrain.

"If only we didn't hide all the bullets in the cellar, even if we only carry two or three rounds," said the man in the back dryly.But his companion had no energy to talk to him other than struggling to move towards the small river.At this time, the small river was bursting with large foams because it was struggling to break through the rocks.

The two of them walked side by side.Even though they were wearing shoes and socks, their legs were numb from the freezing water, and their ankles still ached.It was hard for them to keep their feet when the river washed them over, especially when the current hit their knees.The man behind stepped on a round rock that was so slippery that he nearly fell.With an effort, he stopped again, and let out a scream of pain at the same time.He may have been dazed by the stream, his free hand clawing at the air as he swayed.After he got a firm footing, he wanted to go forward, but he wobbled and almost fell again.Therefore, he stood still, watching the back of the man in front of him remain motionless.But he stood there for a minute, and his companion didn't look back.He had to yell, "I sprained my ankle, Bill."

But Bill didn't look back, and still staggered forward in the whitened river.

The man behind watched Bill walking forward like this. Although he didn't say anything, judging from the expression in his eyes, his heart was very hurt.

Bill staggered onto the other side of the river, and walked forward on his own.The people behind watched Bill leave, his lips trembled slightly, and his beard trembled accordingly; he involuntarily licked his lips with his tongue.He has always been very strong, but at this moment he still couldn't help shouting loudly: "Bill!"

To his disappointment, his companion still did not look back.Bill walked in an odd way, but still he stumbled forward, up the slope, over the hill, and disappeared into the dark sky.He watched Bill drift away until he disappeared into the dark sky.At this moment, he turned his gaze away and calmed down to carefully examine everything around him.

The surrounding fog and steam almost enveloped the sun airtightly.Through the layers of fog, the sun only showed a little light, like a fireball that was about to burn out.Because of a sprained foot, he can only stand on one leg.While resting, he looked at his watch, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon.Although he doesn't know the exact date, but at the turn of July and August, he can still estimate the position of the sun at this time - northwest.To the south, according to his judgment, over those barren hills, he could reach Big Bear Lake.Continue south to Canada, where there is a dividing line that draws the Canadian tundra into the Arctic Circle.The creek he was in belonged to the Copper Mine River.The Copper Mine River flows north into Coronation Bay and the Arctic Ocean.He had never been to places like Coronation Bay and the Arctic Ocean, and had only seen them once on a map of the Hudson's Bay Company.He looked around again, blurry sky, low hills, nothing but open wilderness!How disturbing and dreadful is this desolate scene around us!

He kept calling softly, "Bill!"

The creek frightened him.In his view, the surrounding scene surrounded him like a demonstration, trying to overwhelm him and destroy him with all their strength.He trembled all over.Suddenly, the gun in his hand fell into the river, and he woke up with a loud crash.Fear is fear, and the gun cannot be thrown away.He pulled himself together and groped in the river.Fortunately, the gun was quickly found.Because of a sprained right foot, he could only shift the center of gravity of his body to the left, and shift the burden that was originally carried on the right to his left shoulder.Then, enduring the pain and concentrating, he slowly moved to the other side of the river.

In order to catch up with Bill, he ignored the pain in his ankle and walked forward desperately without stopping.He walked as fast as he could up the slope to the top of the hill where he had last seen Bill.But there is only a small valley below, and there is not a single grass.And his appearance at this time is even more comical than that of Bill at that time.Moving the package over his left shoulder, he tried his best to suppress the fear in his heart, and walked slowly down the mountain.

The damp moss and the water at the bottom of the valley are attached together, covering the bottom of the valley thickly like a large sponge.This kind of moss has good adsorption properties. Every time he lifts his feet and takes a step, the water will be squeezed out, and there will be a tearing sound under his feet, as if something is grabbing his feet.Fortunately, there are still traces of Bill walking on the bottom of the valley. He carefully distinguishes the path under his feet, bypassing swamps and walking through piles of rocks.Alone, he was not lost in the mossy valley floor.

Going forward, he will reach a place called Tichenijili by the locals.Tichenigili means "a place with many sticks", and it is next to a small lake where there are many small, dead fir trees.Hence the name.The lake water leads to the outside through a small stream.Because there are not so many rocks blocking the stream, the water in the creek is not as white as the river he just waded.

He clearly remembered that there were only rushes and no trees on this stream.Walking along this creek, you can find the end of the water source.Here, there is a watershed, which separates the two streams from their sources.On the other side of the divide is a creek that flows west.Follow the direction of the stream until it flows into the mouth of the River Dease where he and Bill hid.There's an upside-down canoe -- and there's a small pit full of rocks underneath.In this pit were all the tools and food they needed to survive: bullets, hooks, lines, a small net, a few flour and beans, and a piece of bacon.

There he and Bill would meet, and they would sail the boat down the Dease River, past Big Bear Lake, and down to the Mackenzie River.If they don't want to experience the cold winter, they can continue to row south.No need to worry about freezing turbulence, no need to fear the bitter cold wind, if they just keep going south, they will reach a warm place-the Hudson's Bay Company's docks.There, there are not only thick and luxuriant trees, but also countless delicacies.

Only by thinking like this can he have the motivation to move forward.While his body was suffering from pain, his spirit was also suffering.He racked his brains to find excuses for Bill, hoping that Bill would be waiting for him at their agreed place.He can only use this kind of thinking to comfort himself, otherwise he would not be able to support it long ago.

The dim sun was setting little by little in the northwest.He repeatedly calculated their every step in his mind, and imagined how to go, so as to reach the pier as quickly as possible before winter came.He hasn't eaten anything in two days, let alone eat whatever he wants.He can only keep imagining that he will soon be able to eat things in the cellar and on the dock, so that he has the motivation to move on.Fortunately, there is a gray-white berry in this moor.He often bent down to pick them off, put them in his mouth, chewed and swallowed them.Although this kind of berry has only a little pulp, which melts in the mouth, and the seeds are spicy and bitter, without much nutrition, but in order to satisfy his hunger and to continue walking, he still chewed them seriously.

It went like this until nine o'clock in the evening. He was tired and hungry. He accidentally stepped on a rock and fell down after only a sway.He couldn't move anymore, so he turned sideways and lay motionless on the ground.But after a while, he broke free from the belt that tied the package and struggled to sit up.At this time, the sky was still a little dim, and he took advantage of this twilight to fumble for some dry moss to make a fire.In no time he had gathered a heap, and raising a feeble, black-smoky fire, he filled a tin pot of water on which he boiled.

After doing this, he opened the package.Matches - The first thing he does is count his matches.He counted three times in a row, and there were 66 in total.Then, he divided the matches into three parts, wrapped them in oiled paper, and put them in his empty cigarette pouch, in the ring of his broken hat, and in his close-fitting shirt respectively.But after putting them away, he felt a little flustered again, and he took out the divided matches again, opened them, and counted them.Still 66!
00 He put the already soaked shoes and socks by the fire to bake.The shoes on the feet were made of buckskin, which had been damp to pieces.The felt stockings were also frayed, covering the two torn feet.He took a closer look, and found that both feet were bleeding, and one of the ankles was swollen as thick as a knee, and the blood vessels on it could be seen bulging.He tore strips of cloth from the two blankets he carried with him, bound his swollen ankle tightly, and then wrapped his foot—so he wouldn't have to wear shoes and socks.The pot of water on the fire was boiling hot, and he drank it, wound up the clockwork, crawled into the two blankets, and soon fell asleep like a dead man.

After a short period of darkness, there was a little light in the northeast, and the sun slowly emerged through the dark clouds.

It was just six o'clock when he woke up.He lay still on his back, looking at the gray sky above him, until he felt hungry.He propped up his arms and wanted to turn over, but suddenly, a loud snoring sound came from his ear, and he was startled.Following the sound, about fifty feet away from him, a stag was watching him warily.Seeing this animal, the first thing he thought of was the deliciousness of roasted venison. He even forgot that there was no bullet in the gun, and still aimed and pulled the trigger.And the buck snorted, turned around and ran towards the rocks, leaving a series of hooves hitting the ground with a "crack" sound.

He couldn't help cursing, and threw the gun casually.He tried hard to stand up, but the joints all over his body seemed to be rusted, moving slowly in the bone socket, and he had to grit his teeth tightly to complete the bending and stretching movements.But even with such a simple movement, he gritted his teeth and insisted, but he was still so tortured by the pain that he couldn't help making a humming sound.First stand on two legs, and then straighten his waist, although it took him another minute, but now he can at least stand upright like a normal person.

He climbed a small hill slowly, and the surrounding scene came into view.Except for the gray moss that can't be seen at the edge, there are no trees here, let alone small bushes. Even the occasional rocks, lakes, and streams that appear as embellishments are all gray.There was no shadow of the sun on the ground. He looked up at the sky, which was also gray.He can't remember how he got here yesterday, and now he can't see the sun, and he can't tell which side is north.But one thing he was sure of was that he hadn't gone the wrong way.According to his feeling, after crossing the hill in front, the place not far to the left should be the place with many fir trees.

After confirming this, he returned to the original place, packed the package again, and prepared to leave.He touched the three packs of matches first, they were still there.But he still hesitated, this time not for matches but for a pocket.The deerskin bag troubled him a little, though it was small enough to be concealed by his hands alone; but it weighed half the weight of the whole package--fifteen pounds.After thinking about it for a while, there was no result, so he went to roll up other things first and put it aside.Rolling and rolling, he couldn't help but stop and look at the pocket, grabbed it, looked around, and felt a little reluctant to throw it away.In the end he decided to carry on with the bag.

He carried the packed package on his back, turned around, and walked to the left.When he walked, his limp became worse because the sprained ankle was no longer able to exert any strength.Compared with hunger, this pain can be ignored.The pain caused by hunger was severe, and it gnawed at his stomach from time to time, making him unable to concentrate on finding the correct route to Tichenigili.He could only satisfy his hunger by picking berries from the moor from time to time.But instead of alleviating his hunger, the berry's bitter taste made him feel like eating chili -- hot and spicy.

Here is a valley.Many partridges clucked, clucked, flapped their wings, and flew out of the rocks and swamps.At last he saw something good to eat, and he stoned it first, but missed; then he put down his pack, and crept up to the grouse.The knee was cut by the rock, and the blood remained, drawing a long line on the ground; the body crawled on the moss, and the damp environment made him cold all over; what are these compared with his desire to eat grouse?But the group of grouse seemed to be playing a game with him, always flying up when he came to him, and he was almost dizzy.To him the noise the grouse made was mocking his incompetence.He got a little annoyed, and followed their cluck, cluck, as he cursed the grouse.

I remember once a grouse was lying behind a rock.Thinking the partridge was asleep, he crawled beside it.Suddenly the grouse darted out of the corner in a panic and ran right in his face.Panicked, he grabbed only three feathers from the grouse's tail.Seeing the grouse flapping away, he felt very angry and felt like being teased.He gave up, returned to the original place, picked up the package and continued on his way.

Time passed little by little, and he entered an area with more wild animals.Here is a continuous valley - swamp.About 20 reindeer walked by, and if the rifle in his hand had bullets, none of the reindeer would be able to leave.He wanted madly to catch them, believing he could catch them.At this time, a fox came over. Its hair was black and it held a grouse in its mouth. "Hey!" he yelled loudly.This sound made people sound very scared. The fox was scared away, but it didn't drop the grouse in its mouth.

It was not until evening that he walked along a small flowing river.There were few rushes in the river, and the water was milky white because of the lime.He uprooted the rushes.The edible root of the rush is about the size of a nail and resembles a green onion sprout.It's made of strands of fiber that creak when bitten.Although its fiber is full of water, it is chewy and has no nutrients.

But now he didn't care so much, he dropped the parcel and started chewing on the rush grass like a hungry cow.Driven by hunger, he could only hope to eat food by striving to reach Tchenigili as soon as possible, although he longed so much to lie down and rest.He knew there would be no frogs or bugs here, but he didn't want to miss any chance of finding food.He looked for all the small puddles one by one, but he didn't see a frog. From time to time, he used his fingernails to dig up the soil to look for bugs, but found nothing.

It was getting dark and he finally found a small fish in a puddle - the only one, kind of like a minnow.He put his whole arm into the puddle but still missed the little fish.He put his other arm into the water as well and was about to catch the little fish when he staggered and fell into the water, getting his clothes wet.Originally, when he caught the fish with both hands, he stirred up the milky white mud in the puddle, but now the water was even murkier, and he couldn't see the fish at all.

When the mud in the puddle had subsided he was at the little fish again.The water was muddy again, but he couldn't wait for the mud to settle, so he directly took out the tin can that had been used to hold the water, trying to scoop out all the water in the pit before catching the small fish.At first, he scooped out quickly, like crazy, and didn't even care about the water splashing on himself.He was too busy pouring water out, but he didn't notice that the water flowed back after scooping out—it was too close to the puddle.If this continues, his work will be in vain.In order to catch the little fish earlier, he was very anxious—his heart was pounding and his hands were shaking, but he tried his best to calm himself down first, and then carefully scooped out the water.Three and ten minutes passed, and there was less than a glass of water left in the pit.

But where are the fish?Then he saw a gap, and he realized why he didn't find the little fish.It turned out that this hidden seam was in the stone, and it was a passage connecting the two puddles.And there was too much water in the big pit next to it, and he couldn't scoop it up even in a day and a night.well!How good it would have been to know that there is such a channel!Then he can catch the fish.In the process of thinking about this, he fell to the ground exhausted - whether it was wet or not.Facing this wilderness, his tears flowed slowly. The more he thought about it, the more sad he became, and finally he couldn't help crying.It took a long time before he held back his tears.

(End of this chapter)