thE CALL
een es for Joon, possible for er to pay off certais and to journey ners into t after a fabled lost miory of ry. Many men it; feurned from t. t mine eeped in tragedy and sery. No one kne man. t tradition stopped before it got back to and ramso it, and to te of imony s t hland.
But no living mareasure on ae and o t on an unknorail to acy miles up to t into te River, passed tion, and il te itself became a streamlet, tanding peaks .
Joon asked little of man or nature. and a rifle o te, Indian fased raveling; and if o find it, like t on traveling, secure in t sooner or later o it. So, on t journey into t, straig ion and tools principally made up timecard less future.
to Buck it range places. For a time teadily, day after day; and for less pans of dirt by t of times t imes ted riotously, all acc to tune of ing. Summer arrived, and dogs and men, packs on ted across blue mountain lakes, and desded or asded unknos .
t, and bad forted ted vastness, rue. t across divides in summer blizzards, s sun on naked mountaiimber line and ternal snoo summer valleys amid ss and flies, and in tra. In trated a ry, sad and silent, he melancholy rippling of waves on lonely beaches.
Aerated trails of men , an a pat seemed very near. But tery, as t and t remained a mystery. Anotime time-graven ted blas Joon found a long-barreled flintlock. for a , o t ts.
Spring came on once more, and at t t , but a ster across ttom of t no fart and s, and ty pounds to tside ts toiled, days flasreasure up.
to do, save t no ton killed, and Buck spent long -legged o ly, no ttle o be done; and often, blinking by t other world which he remembered.
t tclessly, arts and a e t roved every its first appeara t noiselessly, Buck at t and vigilant, tcrils quivering, for to trees and travel a as on to limb, sometimes a doze apart, letting go and catc, rees as on ts of vigil sperees wed, ig.
And closely akin to till sounding in t. It filled u and strange desires. It caused o feel a vague, s gladness, and irrings for imes o t, looking for it as t angible tly or defiantly, as t dictate. o to t t eart, berunks of fallen trees, o all t moved and sounded about mig o surprise t uand. But kno reason about t all.
Irresistible impulses seized of t a and listening, and o and das aisles and across to run doercourses, and to creep and spy upon t a time cridges drumming and strutting up and do especially o run in tening to t, reading signs and sounds as man may read a book, and seeking for terious somet called--called, all times, for o e.
One nigart, eager-eyed, nostrils quivering and sting, ling in recurrent came te of it, for ted), distind definite as never before--a long-dra silence daso t more sloion in every movement, till o an open place among trees, and looking out sa oo timber wolf.
it ceased from its ried to sense alked into tly togetail straigiff, feet falling ed care. Every movement advertised iening and overture of friendliness. It ruce t marks ting of s t prey. But t sigo overtake. o a blind cimber jam barred t, pivoting oling, clippiogetinuous and rapid succession of snaps.
Buck did not attack, but circled and , ime and agaiion or Buck could not so easily aken ill Bucks bay, only to das t opportunity.
But in tinacity no ended, finally sniffed noses in ts belie ter some time of tarted off at an easy lope in a ma plainly s clear to Buck t o e, and t issued, and across t took its rise.
On te slope of terso a level try retd many streams, and t stretceadily, er last anso, and irring to tirred to ties of again, no, the wide sky overhead.
topped by a running stream to drink, and, stopping, Buck remembered Joon. doarted on touro ions as to ence Buck turned about and started slorack. For tter part of an ly. t doed and fainter until it in tance.
Joon ing dinner urning ing ;playing tom-fool," as Joon cerized it, th and cursed him lovingly.
For t ton out of . at ce, sa nig of t after t began to sound more imperiously tlessness came ba ed by recolles of t stretcook to tehe mournful howl was never raised.
o sleep out at nigaying a a time; and o doo timber and streams. t as raveled and traveling seems o tire. ream t emptied someream oes aroused t latent remnants of Bucks ferocity. And ter, o tered t fled left two behind who would quarrel no more.
tro preyed, living on t lived, unaided, alone, by virtue triumply in a ile enviro pride iself like a tagion to advertised itself in all s, in t if anyt for tray bro doic of t. Bernard fated size and size and broader, he wolf head on a massive scale.
elligence, selligend St. Bernard intelligence; and all t of scure as any t roamed traig diet, tide of y. on passed a caressing s pent magism at tact. Every part, brain and body, issue and fiber, o t exquisite pitcs t equilibrium or adjustment. to sigs y. Quickly as a o defend from attack or to attapass termined and responded in tant. In point of fact tions of perceiving, determining, and responding ial; but so infinitesimal ervals of time bet taneous. ality, and snapped into play seel springs. Life streamed t, until it seemed t it asy and put forthe world.
"Never ; said Joon one day, as tners c of camp.
"; said Pete.
"Py Jingo! I t; hans affirmed.
t of camp, but t see tant and terrible transformation ly, cat-footed, a passing s appeared and disappeared among to take advantage of every cover, to crarike. ake a ptarmigan from its , kill a rabbit as it slept, and snap in mid-air ttle coo late for trees. Fis too quick for oo , not from onness; but o eat o steal upon t o let ttering in mortal fear to tree-tops.
As ter abundance, moving sloo meet ter in tray part-grly for larger and more formidable quarry, and one day on t ty moose reams and timber, and c bull. emper, and, standing over six feet from tagonist as even Buck could desire. Bad fortossed palmated antlers, branco fourteen points and embrag seve ips. ter lig sight of Buck.
From t forruded a feated for instinct o cut t from t of t out of reatlers and of terrible splay amped o turn o paroxysms e. At sucs reated craftily, luring ed inability to escape. But o rejoin the herd.
tience of tireless, persistent as life itself--t ionless for endless s s coils, ts ambuscade; tience belongs peculiarly to life s living food; and it beloo Buck as its marg tinued. Buck multiplied tag from all sides, enveloping tting out im as fast as it could rejoin its mates, tience of creatures preyed upon, of creatures preying.
As to its bed in t (ts eps more and more relutly to t leader. ter seemed tireless creature t t eer ient to pay toll.
As tces--tered--as t a rapid pace t. follo let more t life, full of figruggle, and at t teeture w reauckled knees.
From t and day, Buever left a moments rest, never permitted it to brorees or ts of young birity to slake in trig streams ten, in desperation, into long stretc. At sucime Buck did not attempt to stay loped easily at isfied ood still, attag rove to eat or drink.
t s tree reo standing for long periods, o ted ears dropped limply; and Buck found more time in er for o rest. At sucs, panting ongue and appeared to Buck t a cir in to t and stream and air seemed palpitant ler sense. k; t t stra and ranging; and o iigate after he business in hand.
At last, at t moose dourn and turn about. ted, refresrong, urned o on, er loss for tangled ry itude of dire t put man and ieedle to shame.
As ir in t different from t t borne in upon le, mysterious alked of it, ttered about it, t. Several times opped and dre sniffs, reading a message calamity already erso toion.
trail t sent ling. It led straigoealtraining and tense, alert to titudinous details ory--all but tion of traveling. silence of t. tted. ttened against a gray dead limb so t of it, a self.
As Buck slid along o tive force . into a t and found Nig. ruding, her side of his body.
A on in Da in a deatruggle, directly on trail, and Buck passed around stopping. From t sound of many voices, rising and falling in a sing-song c. Bellying foro t tant Buck peered out over kno errible ferocity. For t time in o usurp ing and reason, and it his head.
ts t roy. t man--it s--ripping t ill t jugular spouted a fountain of blood. pause to im, but ripped in passing, bound tearing of a sean. tanding in t, tearing, rending, destroying, in stant and terrific motion aoget t one anoter, Bu mid-air, drove it t of a broke tood out beyond. ts, and terror to t of t.
And truly Buck e, raging at trees. It eful day for ts. ttered far and ry, and it till a er t t of togeted t, uro ted camp. e moment of surprise. tons desperate struggle en on ted every detail of it doo t in ter, lay Skeet, faito t. tself, muddy and discolored from tually it tained, and it tained Joon; for Buck folloo ter, from wrace led away.
All day Buck brooded by tlessly about tion of movement, as a passing out and ao a great void in akin to a void times, emplate ts, t; and at sucimes pride i experienced. game of all, and not for t wheir arrows, spears and clubs.
Nigrees into ting till it lay batly day. And , brooding and m by to a stirring of t ot ening and sting. From far aed a faint, ss passed t oted in o ter of tened. It ed call, sounding more luringly and pelling to obey. Joon tie he claims of man no longer bound him.
ing t, as ts , on ting moose, t last crossed over from treams and timber and invaded Bucks valley. Into t streamed, ter of tood Buck, motionless as a statue, ing till and large ood, and a moments pause fell, till t one leaped straigruck, breaking tood, movement, as before, tri ireaming blood from slass or shoulders.
t to fling togets eagero pull doy stood ead. Pivoting on once, presenting a front ly did o side. But to prevent ttio till up against a o bay, protected on to do but face t.
And so at ted. tongues of all and lolling, te fangs se in t. Some ood on t, cill oter from tiously, in a friendly manner, and Buck reized t and a day. ly, and, as Buck wouched noses.
t and battle-scarred, came foro t sniffed noses doed t t doakable ats. oo, sat doo ther, yelping as he ran.
And ory of Buck. t many ed a cimber do. But more remarkable ts tell of a G Dog t runs at t Dog, for it er tealing from ters, robbing traps, slaying t ers.
Nay, tale groo return to ters tribesmen found s slass about ter ts of any of tain valley came to select t valley for an abiding-place.
In tor, o t valley, of kno is a great, gloriously coated unlike, all otimber land and es doo an open space among trees. ream floted moose-o t aable mold overrunning it and s yelloime, s.
But alo t t limmering borealis, leaping gigantic above t a-bellow as he pack.
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