Call of the Wild Chapter 2 If you are good, I will give you a reward

Chapter 2 The Law of Sticks and Fangs

Buck’s first day at Yea Beach was like a nightmare. Every moment is full of shock and surprise. Suddenly, he was pushed out of the civilized paradise and thrown into the primitive center. This is not a lazy, sunny life. A lazy and sunny life is either doing nothing or living boringly. Here, there is no tranquility, no rest, no moment of peace. There is chaos and bustle everywhere, and there is always the danger of life and limb being destroyed. You must be alert at all times; because these dogs and people in front of you are not city dogs or city people. They were savages, all of them, and they knew only the law of sticks and fangs, not the existence of law.

These dogs fought like wolves, something he had never seen before, and his first experience taught him an unforgettable lesson. Yes, it was an indirect experience gained by drawing on other people's experiences, otherwise he would not be alive to benefit from it. The victim is Curly. They were stationed near the log store, and Curly walked friendly toward a husky, the size of a full-grown wolf, but still less than half her size. Without any warning, the Huskies pounced like a flash, with a pair of teeth like metal clamps, and jumped away just as quickly, but the curly face was torn from the eyes to the chin.

It pounces and bites, and then jumps away after biting. It is like wild wolves fighting; however, the matter is far from over. At this time, thirty or forty Huskies came running, and they eagerly and silently surrounded the two fighting dogs. Buck could not understand the silent eagerness, nor the eagerness with which they licked the pieces of meat. Curly rushed towards her opponent, who lunged at her again before leaping to the side. He used his chest to stop her next thrust, which was so unexpected that she turned over and fell to the ground. She never stood up again. That's exactly what the watching Huskies were hoping for. Howling and howling, they closed in on her, and she drowned among them, screaming in agony beneath a swarm of bristling bodies.

It all happened so suddenly and unexpectedly that Buck was stunned. He saw the Spitz sticking out his bright red tongue, as he did when he laughed; he saw Franks leaping into the confusion of dogs brandishing an axe. Three men armed with sticks helped him disperse the dogs. The dogs dispersed after a while. There were only two minutes between Curly's fall and the time her attackers were clubbed away. But she was lying in the blood-red trampled snow, her whole body limp and lifeless. She was almost torn into pieces. The dark mixed-race stood there and looked down at her, uttering a terrible curse. This scene often appeared in Buck's sleep, making him restless. So that's what survival is like. There is no justice. Once you fall, you're screwed. Therefore, he must be careful and never fall. The Spitz stuck out his tongue again and laughed again, and from that moment Buck was filled with an unquenchable hatred for him.

Curly's tragic experience shocked him greatly, but before he could recover from this shock, he suffered another shock. Franks put a leash and buckle on him. It was a harness, one of the things he had seen grooms putting on horses when he was at home. So, as he had seen horses work, he was forced to work, dragging Franks on a sled into the forest on the edge of the canyon and hauling back a sled's worth of firewood. Although treating him as a sled-pulling beast severely wounded his dignity, he was smart enough that he did not resist. Although working was something new and unfamiliar to him, he was determined to work hard and do his best. Franks was a stern man who demanded immediate obedience, and with the whip in his hand, his orders were always obeyed immediately; and Dave was an experienced wheel dog, and whenever Buck made a mistake, he would Bite Buck on the hind leg. Spitz is the leader dog and is also experienced. Although he cannot attack Buck all the time, he often scolds him with sharp roars, or cunningly puts his weight on the rope to stop Buck suddenly. On the path he should be on. Buck learned these tricks easily, and under the guidance of his two companions and Franks, he improved rapidly. When they returned to the camp, he already knew very well that "ho" means to stop and "go" means to move forward. Moreover, when taking a curve, the degree of rotation must be larger. When the heavily loaded sled rushes down the hillside behind them, , to avoid the carriage dog.

“All three dogs are outstanding,” Franks told Perrault. "Look at Buck, he's trying to pull him to death. He's a quick learner." By afternoon, Perrault was eager to hit the road to deliver his dispatch, and came back with two more dog. Their names are "Berry" and "Joe", they are two brothers, both are real Huskies. Although they were born from the same mother, they were as different as night and day. One of Berry's weaknesses is that he has an extremely mild temperament; Joe is the complete opposite. He has a bad temper and an introverted personality. He is constantly growling and often has a malicious look in his eyes. Buck accepted them friendly, Dave ignored them, and Spitz defeated them one by one.

Berry wagged his tail calmingly, but when he knew that the calming method was not working, he turned and ran away, and cried when the Spitz's fangs bit his side. A calming attitude). But no matter how the Spitz hovered, Joe stood on his hind legs and turned quickly to face him. His mane stood on end, his ears were pressed back, and he twisted his mouth and lips to growl, and his teeth immediately clicked after the roar. He clenched his teeth, and his eyes glowed dimly like a devil - a reflection of his mentality before the battle. His appearance was very scary, so Spitz had to give up the idea of ??teaching him a lesson; in order to cover up his own embarrassment, he turned his target to Berry, who did no harm to others but only sighed, and drove him outside the camp. . At dusk, Perrault got another dog. This was an old Eskimo dog. It had a long body, was thin and haggard, and its face was covered with scars from fighting. A single dragon eye was warning. His glory and bravery forced everyone to respect him in awe. His name was Solex, which means the Angry One. Like Dave, he had few demands, no pushiness, and no expectations. Not even the Spitz dared to mess with him as he walked slowly and cautiously among them. There was something special about him that Buck unfortunately discovered. He didn't like people coming near his blind side. Buck discovered it by accident, and when he first accidentally discovered Sol-lex's weakness, Sol-lex spun around him and tore three inches of flesh from his shoulder, all the way to the On the bone. From then on, Buck always avoided his blind side, so they got along well to the end, and Sol-leks was like Dave, and his only wish was that people leave him alone. However, Buck later learned that each of them had a more life-threatening ambition.

That night Buck had a big problem sleeping. The wax-lit tent looked bright and warm on the white plain; and when he entered the tent as usual, Perrault and Franks cursed him and threw pots and pans at him. Until he woke up from his extreme consternation and fled dejectedly into the cold outside. There were gusts of cold wind blowing outside, biting to the bone, biting his injured shoulder violently. He lay on the snow and tried to sleep, but the frost immediately made him shiver from head to toe. Full of desolation and melancholy, he walked back and forth among the many tents, only to find that it was equally cold everywhere. From time to time he encountered wild dogs leaping at him, but he bristled his neck hair and howled at them (he soon learned to do so), and they let him go without harming him. Finally, an idea occurred to him. He wanted to go back and see how his friends slept in the cold. To his surprise, they all disappeared. Once more he wandered the great encampment, looking for them, and then he returned again. Are they in the tent? No, it couldn't be, otherwise he wouldn't be kicked out. So where could they be? His tail was hanging down, his whole body was trembling, and he looked like a lost dog. He walked around the tent aimlessly. Suddenly the snow gave way under his front legs and he sank down. Something writhed beneath his feet. He jumped out and howled horribly, frightened by what he couldn't see and didn't know. But a little friendly bark reassured him, and he turned back to see what was going on. A warm current rushed towards him, and Berry was huddled under the snow, curled up tightly into a ball. He purred soothingly and squirmed to show his kindness and good intentions, and he even boldly licked Buck's face with his warm, salivary tongue, as if he wanted to buy peace.

Another lesson learned. That's how they sleep, huh? Buck selected the spot with confidence, and then dug a hole for himself with great fanfare, wasting a lot of energy in it. Suddenly, the heat from his body filled the limited space and he felt drowsy. The day had been very long and difficult, so although he was roaring and struggling in his nightmares, he slept very soundly and comfortably.

He didn't open his eyes until the noise from the people in the camp woke him up. At first, he forgot where he was. It snowed at night and he was completely buried in the snow. The wall of snow squeezed him around him, and a feeling of fear shot through him—the kind of fear a wild animal has for a trap. This is a sign that he is using his own life to listen to the memories of his ancestors; because he is a civilized dog, an extremely civilized dog, and based on his own experience, he does not know the traps, so he It is impossible for oneself to know how to be afraid of it. The muscles all over his body twitched in fits and starts, and the hair on his neck and shoulders stood on end. Then he howled wildly, jumped up, and jumped into the dizzyingly bright day. , the snow flew away like clouds around him. Before he could stand firm on the ground, he saw a large white camp unfolding in front of him, and then he understood where he was. He remembered the place where he had been since he went for a walk with Manuel until he dug a hole to sleep in last night. everything that happened.

Franks appeared in front of him with a cheer. "Am I right?" the driver shouted to Perrault. "That Buck is indeed a very quick learner."

Perrault nodded solemnly.

As a courier and guide for the Canadian government, transporting important documents, it was a dream to get the best dogs, so he was particularly happy to have Buck.

Within an hour, three more Huskies were added to the team, bringing the total to nine dogs, and in less than a quarter of an hour, they were all harnessed. We took the gear and staggered onto the path, heading towards Daiya Canyon. Buck was happy to set out. Although the work was very tiring, he did not despise doing it. He was surprised to find that the entire dog team was in a mood of urgency, which energized everyone and infected him; but what was even more surprising was that a lot of things happened to Dave and Sol-leks. Big changes. They were all new dogs, and when they put on a harness, they looked completely different. All passivity and indifference suddenly disappeared from them. They become alert, lively, eager to get their work done, and can become very irritated and frustrated if their work is delayed due to slowness or confusion. The work of pulling sleds seemed to be the highest expression of their existence, the whole meaning of their existence, the only thing that made them happy.

Dave is a cart dog or a sled dog, Buck pulls in front of him, and Sol-leks in front of him; the other dogs are in front, lined up in a single file, with the Spitz taking the lead. Dog position.

Placing Buck between Dave and Sol-leks was purposeful so that he could be trained. He is a qualified student, and they are also qualified teachers. They never allow him to make excessive mistakes for a long time on the way, and always use their sharp teeth to teach him lessons. Dave is fair and smart. He never bit Buck without reason, and when Buck stood still and had to be bitten, he never let him go. With Franks' whip as his accomplice, Buck finds it easier to repent than to seek revenge. Once, during a brief stop, he messed up the rope and delayed his departure, Dave and Sol-leks both jumped on him and gave him a sound beating. The result was an even greater tangle of ropes, but from then on Buck took great care not to let them get tangled; so before the day was over, as he had mastered the art of the job, his companions I almost don’t find fault with him anymore. Franks' whip cracked less frequently, and Perrault even did Buck's honor by lifting up all four of Buck's feet and examining them.

It was an arduous day of running up the Daiga Gorge, through Shipa Camp, past Skanders and woods, across hundreds of feet of glaciers and snowdrifts, and across the Sylkot Divide. , this watershed stands between salt water and fresh water, guarding the sad and lonely north with a cold face. They had a pleasant time entering several lakes formed in the crater of an extinct volcano, and that night they encamped at the large camp at Lake Bennett, where thousands of gold prospectors were building boats for the spring Used when ice melts. Buck dug a hole in the snow and fell asleep exhausted. However, he was driven up early in the cold of the dark cave, and he and his companions were put into the harness of the sled.

They traveled forty miles that day, and the ice and snow on the road were heavily packed; however, the next day and many days after that, they had to make their own way and work. It’s more difficult and the process is much slower. Normally, Perrault walked in front of the group, compacting the snow with his snowshoes to make their walking easier. Franks guided the sled at the sled's steering pole, sometimes switching places with him, but not often. Perrault was very busy, and he was proud of his knowledge of ice and snow. Such knowledge was indispensable, because the ice in autumn is very thin, and in places with fast currents, there is no ice at all.

Buck wore a harness and worked hard day after day, and time seemed to be endless. Often they would break camp in the dark, and by the first light of dawn they would be on the road, leaving miles of fresh tracks behind them. They often set up camp after dark, eat their own ration of fish, and then crawl into the snow to sleep. Buck always looked like he was gobbling up food. His daily ration of one and a half pounds of dried salmon ended up somewhere. He never had enough to eat, so he always suffered from abdominal pain caused by hunger. However, other dogs, because they are light-bodied and born to live this kind of life, only have a ration of one pound of fish, but do not feel any discomfort at all.

His past life made him picky, but this problem soon disappeared. He was originally very particular about his meals, but he found that his friends who had eaten first had taken away the portion he had not finished. He couldn't guard against it. Just as he was fighting off two or three companions, the fish entered the mouths of the other companions and disappeared. To compensate for this, he ate as quickly as they did; and hunger compelled him so strongly that he had to seek what was not his. He learned it by looking at it. Pike is the new dog, a cunning malingerer and thief. When Buck saw him steal a piece of bacon cunningly while Perrault was not paying attention, he followed suit the next day and successfully stole a whole piece of meat. There was a commotion, but no one suspected him; and the clumsy daredevil, Dubb, who was often caught, suffered for Buck.

This first theft marked Buck's suitability to survive in the dangerous northern environment.

It marked his adaptability, his ability to adapt himself to changing conditions, the lack of which meant a swift and tragic death. Moreover, it marks the decline or disintegration of his moral nature, which becomes a vanity and an obstacle in the ruthless struggle for existence. In the southern continent, under the law of love and partnership, everyone respects private property and personal feelings; however, in the north, the law of sticks and canine teeth prevails. Whoever values ??such things is a fool if he abides by love and partnership. law of relationships, then he cannot succeed.

This is not because of any conclusions drawn from Buck’s theory. In the final analysis, it is his adaptability and he has adapted to the new way of life unconsciously. In all his years, he had never had a history of running away from a fight, no matter how dire the situation. However, the man in the red sweater used a stick to drive a more fundamental primitive law into his heart. Due to the influence of civilization, he can die for the moral spirit, such as to protect Judge Miller's riding whip; however, now he can escape from the maintenance of moral behavior and thus save himself, which proves the completeness of his loss of civilization. . He stole not because it brought him pleasure, but because his stomach growled. He does not steal blatantly, but steals subtly and subtly, because he thinks of clubs and fangs. In short, he did what he did because it was easier to do than not to do.

His development (or regression) is rapid. His muscles became as hard as steel, and he gradually became indifferent to all ordinary pain. He developed an economic system that was consistent internally and externally. No matter how disgusting or indigestible the food is, he can eat it; and once he eats it, his gastric juices will absorb every bit of nutrients; his blood will transport these nutrients to the farthest corners of his body, Build them into the thickest and strongest tissue possible. His sense of sight and smell have become particularly keen. On the other hand, his hearing has also become extremely sensitive. When he is sleeping, he can hear the faintest sound and know whether the sound represents peace or danger. When the ice collects between his toes, he learns to bite the ice out with his teeth; and when he is thirsty, if there is thick ice on the water hole, he will push with his hind legs and straighten his front legs. Legs tapping, breaking the ice. His most impressive trait is his ability to smell the wind and predict its direction a night in advance. Regardless of whether he was digging a hole next to a tree or on the shore of a lake, although the air was stuffy and breathless at the time, when the wind blew later, he must be in a warm and comfortable downwind where the wind could not blow.

Not only did he gain this ability from experience, but his instincts that had been insensible for a long time were once again resurrected. The traits of generations of domestication disappeared from him. He recalled vaguely the infancy of his species, the savage days of dogs. At that time, in their time, they traveled in groups through the primeval forests, chasing animals and hunting for food. It was not his job to learn to bite, tear, and snap like a wolf. This is how his forgotten ancestors fought. These ancestors stimulated the ancient life deep in his heart. Their ancient fighting skills were deeply imprinted in the genetic characteristics of his species, so their skills became his skills. It was as if these abilities had always been his characteristics and had manifested themselves in him without any effort or discovery. On a quiet and cold night, when he turned his nose toward the stars and howled like a wolf, it was his ancestors who had long since died and turned into dust who turned up their noses toward the stars and howled like a wolf. Howling for a long time, this howling traveled through centuries and spread throughout his body. The tone of his voice was their tone, a tone that expressed their sorrow, their understanding of the meaning of silence, cold, and darkness.

Thus, this ancient song expresses the sense that life is nothing more than a puppet show manipulated by others, and after it has passed through his heart, he once again regains his original self; He came here because someone had discovered a yellow metal in the north, and because Manuel was a gardener's assistant and his salary could not support his wife and his many young replicas.