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

Chapter 21: An Odyssey in the North (4)
"The uproar hadn't quite died down when the leader of the sea bums came. He brought some black bottles, and we drank happily from what was in them. We've lived at the end of the world, and Young and vigorous, my blood is burning like a fire, and my heart is like the bubbles splashed by the waves on the cliff, very light. There are many furs piled up in one corner of the room, and Enka is sitting there, She didn't say a word. She seemed to be a little frightened, and her eyes were wide open. The man with hair like a sea lion's mane stared at her for a long time. His men then brought a bundle of Another bundle of things, none of which Arcatun had. He laid them all before my eyes. They included guns, large and small, powder, bullets, shells, gleaming axes, broadswords, handy implements , and a lot of strange things, it's the first time I've seen them. I can get everything, he said to me with his hands. At that time, I thought he must be a big man, otherwise how could he be so generous. But then he gestured that he would take Enka on board and leave here with him. Do you understand what I mean?—He would take Enka on board and leave here with him. In an instant, the ancestors The blood was rushing through my body. I was about to pierce him, and I took a spear to do so, but the strength in my arm was taken away by the strange bottle. He grabbed my neck, forcing my head to hit the wall in the room randomly, that's it. Under his push, I lost all strength, and my legs softened, like a newborn baby. He pulled En Ka walked towards the door. At that time, Enka screamed and grabbed some things from the room. The things fell around us, and finally made a mess. He simply stretched out his strong arms to hug Enka, and Enka grabbed He tore at his yellow hair, but he laughed like a huge spring male seal.

"I crawled all the way to the beach, and told my men to come over and help, but they were all very afraid. The only one who can be called a real man is Axi? Nuxi, it's a pity that those guys took the oars hit him on the head, and by the time they finally stopped he was lying face down on the sand, unable to move, and then the gang, taking advantage of the favorable wind, set sail singing .

"Everyone said at that time that no one would fight and cause bloodshed in Akatun from now on. Thinking about it, this is also a good thing. However, I never said anything. I On the day of the full moon, I put fish and oil on my kayak, and then I started sailing east. I saw many islands and people. Before that, I had been living at the end of the world. Only then did I realize that the world is Very big. I use my hands to communicate with people, but they are always pointing to the east. Whether it is a brigantine or a man with hair like a sea lion mane, they have never seen it. I rest The places I eat, the food I eat, and the strangers I meet are all strange. Many people think that I am crazy, so they take me as a target for teasing. But some old people sometimes pray for me. Put me face to face with the sun. And some young women with tears in their eyes asked me about the ship that came from elsewhere, Enka, and the crew.

"That's how I made my way through rough seas and storms to the island of Unalaska. I found two brigs there, but the one I was looking for was not one of them. Any of them. I continued eastward, and the world expanded in the process. I never found out the whereabouts of the ship, although I had traveled to Unamoco, Codiaco, and Atognaco Island. One day, I arrived at a place where there were many rocks. In the mountains of that area, some people dug several huge caves. The stones they dug out Loaded onto a boat, which was also a brig, but not the one I was looking for. Since stones were everywhere, I felt like they were doing it like a child at play. However, they forced me to do their favors and provided me with food. When the boat reached deep water, the captain asked me to leave. Before that, he gave me some money. When I asked about their trip At the destination, the captain pointed to the south. I gestured with my hand and said, I hope to follow him. He just smiled at me at first, and then asked me to stay on the boat to help them, because the crew on the boat Not enough. I began to learn their way of speaking, to help them pull the hawse, to furl the taut sails when the gale picked up, and to take turns with them at the helm. My ancestors flowed The blood is the same as that of their crew, so it is not surprising that I have this kind of performance.

"I thought it would be easy to find him by assimilating with his kind. One day, land appeared before us, and our ship sailed from the channel to the harbor. I thought that the people here I can count the number of schooners on my fingers, but here and there on the docks there are such boats for miles on end, huddled together like innumerable little fish, There is almost no gap. I went on these boats and asked about the man with the hair like a sea lion's mane. The crew smiled and answered me in their own language. It turned out that the gang came from the other side of the world and arrived here I only found out about this when.

"When I enter the city, I will not let go of the faces of all passers-by. But there are too many people to count, just like cod fish gathered in the shallow water of the beach. My ears are deaf. Those noisy voices are noisy. My head is dizzy, disturbed by those chaotic scenes. I keep moving forward, and many places I pass have warm sunshine and melodious singing, and there are also many places where crops are harvested There are many large-scale cities in the plains, and the lives of many men are very similar to those of women. Their hearts are already darkened, and they are full of lies. Only gold is what they care about most. In the same At that time, my people were happily hunting and fishing in Akatun, and the world was very small in their eyes.

"But I can't forget the way Enka looked at me when I came back from fishing. I knew I would find her when the time came. She used to walk the quiet lanes in the dark of night. Occasionally, she would tempt me to run after her, and to do so I would walk through the dense fields, wet and full of morning dew. Then I would see her wistful eyes, the kind that only appear in In the eyes of women like Enka.

"After traveling through more than 1000 cities, I drifted here. Some people provided me with food and were very friendly to me, while others treated me as an object of ridicule, and some cursed me. But I always insist on one word. Needless to say, I continue to walk on roads I have never walked before, and continue to admire all kinds of sights I have never seen before. My father was a chief, and I am a chief myself, but sometimes I have to Coolies—the men who hired me were rude and hard-hearted. Their gold was bought by the sweat, blood, and pain of their kin. But the guy I was looking for was still nowhere to be heard when I When at last I heard a little about him, I was back at sea again, like a seal returning to its lair. I had then reached a seaport in another country to the north. There I was There were a few rough rumors about the man with the yellow hair who was adrift at sea. I finally learned that he was adrift at that time, and his job was to catch seals.

"That's why I went aboard a seal-hunting brig with a couple of lazy Siwahis. Since it was the best season for seal-hunting, we headed north and although he left no traces, we followed exactly the same route as he did. We had been adrift for months and we became very weary. We never saw He, although we talked a lot about the fleet and heard a lot about the evil that the guy I was looking for did. We marched up north to the Pribilov Islands, where a fleet of seals Hunted on the beach, we are the killers. We carry them on board while they are still warm. We carry so many, so many that there is no place to stand on the deck, so much that it is flowing out of the ship's scupper All that was left was grease and blood. A ship then fired shells at us and chased us. We took off all the sails and let the ship fly into the waves, and in a short while, the fog engulfed our ship. up.

"I heard that the guy with the yellow hair who was floating on the sea happened to come to the Pribilov Islands when we were fleeing in a hurry. After landing, he went to the factory immediately, and he ordered some of his men to take the and at the same time ordered his other men to move ten thousand hides from the warehouse to his ship. I think this happened, though as I said before, it was only what I heard from other people .His evil deeds are known to everyone on the northern seas. Because of this, three countries with territories there have sent ships to arrest him. But I have never been in the process of sailing. I met him face to face. Many captains spoke highly of Enka, and this is where I got information about Enka. She has been with the man. According to them, she is used to it now and very Happy to enjoy his way of life. But compared to them, I am the most sober one - her people who lived in the yellow sands of Akatun are still in her heart, I understand that .

"It was a long time before I returned to the port near the strait. Once there, I received word from him that he had crossed the sea to catch seals and reached the eastern coast of the southern part of the Russian Sea, where The climate was warm. At that time, I was no different from a real crew member, so I followed him in a boat to catch seals, and all the people with me were his people. The place was just developed and there were few boats. Our The boat was near the seal colony, driving them to the north, and it was like this for a spring. The female seals were all transferred to the coast of Russia, and they were all pregnant. Our group complained and feared. Many crew members They all resigned, and the captain reluctantly returned to the place of departure. The reason why everyone is like this is because there is often fog along the coast of Russia, and every day, several people on small boats are missing. But the one with yellow hair is floating on the sea. A man will not be afraid, I know that well. He will follow the pack of seals until he reaches the Russian Islands, where there are very few people. For this reason, I spotted the man on the sentry deck at the bow. When I was sleepy, I lowered a small boat under the cover of night, and sailed alone to the warm island. I have been traveling south to find a group of fearless savages, who live Not far from Edo Bay. The girl who lived in Yoshiwara was petite, with beautiful skin that shone like steel. But I knew that Enka must be wandering around the seal dens in the north at that time, so I couldn't stay in Yoshiwara.

"Edo Bay is full of people from all over the world. These homeless people have no religion. On their boats, the Japanese flag is hoisted. I went with them to the coast of the Copper Island. The place is quite rich. We are in There was a lot of seal skins piled up in the cabin. The sea there was very quiet, and we hadn’t seen anyone on the sea. Finally we planned to leave. The thick fog on the sea was suddenly dispersed by the strong wind that day. A smoke-filled Russian warship was in hot pursuit of us, and was racing towards us. We hoisted our sails and fled, and the headwind was no longer able to hold us back. But we went two feet forward, and the brig The sailboat would move three feet toward us, so that the distance between us and us was getting shorter and shorter. The man with the hair like a sea lion's mane was standing in the stern, a proud smile on his face, his Hands were pressing the crossbar and the sail. I glanced and saw Enka, and she was there too—he sent her to the cabin when the battle was just starting at sea. We went two feet forward, The brig would come three feet towards us, which I have just mentioned. And this went on until, when the waves lifted the ship up, its green rudder would immediately come before our eyes. .I took the helm firmly and kept yelling at them. The Russian warships had enough shells to hit our ship. The guy just wanted to get ahead of us so that when we were arrested, he could escape , we all know his intentions. The gunfire knocked down the mast on the ship, and our ship began to spin under the force of the wind, like a wounded seagull. At the same time, he sailed straight beyond the horizon where - he, and Enka.

"What can we do? What have we done? Just look at the fresh sealskins. In this way, we were escorted to a Russian seaport, and then to a deserted salt mine. There, we They were forced to work as salt diggers. Some of them were exhausted to death, and some of them...at least they saved their lives."

Nass lifted the blanket covering his shoulders, and saw that there were bulges on the muscles there, obviously some scars, made with whips.The scene was uncomfortable to watch, so Prince hurried to help him put the blanket back on.

"In that place, we struggled for a long time. Some people occasionally fled to the south, but they were all caught back. Because of this, we, the people who came here from Edo Bay, Decided to snatch the guard's guns at night. After we really did this, we began to flee to the north. There is a vast area, including swamps and many large forests. Those swamps are very wet, and there is a lot of water in them .In the severe cold season, everyone walked in the deep snow, and could not even recognize the direction. We walked for several months in the endless woods, and we were extremely tired—we were in There was so little food to be found there, and I was often lying on the ground waiting for death, that I don't remember much of that time now. When we finally reached the icy shore, there were only three survivors among us. One of them is a captain who originally lived in Edo. He is very familiar with the undulations of the land in this area. We continued to move forward under his leadership, and at the end there were only two survivors. It is not clear how long we walked, because the road we traveled was too long. Afterwards, we followed five people who had never The men we met met, and we had reached the ice where we could cross the ocean. The five locals had a lot of dogs and animal skins, but we had nothing. We fought with them in the snow I ended up with all the dogs and animal skins, because the five men and the captain were killed. Then I went out on the frozen sea and saw cracks everywhere. Then the ice cracked, I came ashore after floating in the sea for some time, thanks to a strong westerly wind that pushed me and the huge ice block under my feet. Next, I reached Korovan Bay, Pastilik and Priest And then I kept going south, and going, until I finally reached that sunny, spring-warm region, which was my first stop after leaving home.

"But there are not many resources in the sea to provide me. It takes a lot of risk to catch seals, but the profit is very little. The fleet has also become very rare. I want to find out from the captains and crews The whereabouts of the fellow, but the gang knew nothing about it. Because of this, I said goodbye to the sea that wavered every moment, and I came to land, and I started to look around again. Here, The trees, the houses, the mountains stood still all the time. I traveled to very distant places and learned to read and read, the most difficult skills, and many others. I think that Enka must have mastered these too Yes, so I feel that it is a good thing that I can do this. Wait until some time in the future... we... wait until some time in the future, and you will understand the meaning of this sentence...

(End of this chapter)