“Eh? What I say? I speak true when I say dat Buck two devils.”

This was Francois's speech next morning when he discovered Spitz missing and Buck covered with wounds. He drew him to the fire and by its light pointed them out.

“Dat Spitz fight like hell,”said Perrault, as he surveyed the gaping rips and cuts.

“An’dat Buck fight like two hells,”was Francois's answer.“And now we make good time. No more Spitz, no more trouble, sure.”

While Perrault packed the camp outfit and loaded the sled, the dog-driver proceeded to harness the dogs. Buck trotted up to the place Spitz would have occupied as leader; but Francois, not noticing him, brought Sol-leks to the coveted position. In his judgment, Sol-leks was the best lead-dog left. Buck sprang upon Sol-leks in a fury, driving him back and standing in his place.

“Eh? Eh?”Francois cried, slapping his thighs gleefully.“Look at dat Buck. Him kill dat Spitz, him think to take de job.”

“Go 'way, Hook!”he cried, but Buck refused to budge.

He took Buck by the scruff of the neck, and though the dog growled threateningly, dragged him to one side and replaced Sol-leks. The old dog did not like it, and showed plainly that he was afraid of Buck. Francois was obdurate, but when he turned his back, Buck again displaced Sol-leks, who was not at all unwilling to go.

Francois was angry.“Now, by Gar, I fix you!”he cried, coming back with a heavy club in his hand.

Buck remembered the man in the red sweater, and retreated slowly; nor did he attempt to charge in when Sol-leks was once more brought forward. But he circled just beyond the range of the club, snarling with bitterness and rage; and while he circled he watched the club so as to dodge it if thrown by Francois, for he was become wise in the way of clubs.

The driver went about his work, and he called to Buck when he was ready to put him in his old place in front of Dave. Buck retreated two or three steps. Francois followed him up, whereupon he again retreated. After some time of this, Francois threw down the club, thinking that Buck feared a thrashing. But Buck was in open revolt. He wanted, not to escape a clubbing, but to have the leadership. It was his by right. He had earned it, and he would not be content with less.

Perrault took a hand. Between them they ran him about for the better part of an hour. They threw clubs at him. He dodged. They cursed him, and his fathers and mothers before him, and all his seed to come after him down to the remotest generation, and every hair on his body and drop of blood in his veins; and he answered curse with snarl and kept out of their reach. He did not try to run away, but retreated around and around the camp, advertising plainly that when his desire was met, he would come in and be good.

Francois sat down and scratched his head. Perrault looked at his watch and swore. Time was flying, and they should have been on the trail an hour gone. Francois scratched his head again. He shook it and grinned sheepishly at the courier, who shrugged his shoulders in sign that they were beaten. Then Francois went up to where Sol-leks stood and called to Buck. Buck laughed, as dogs laugh, yet kept his distance. Francois unfastened Sol-leks's traces and put him back in his old place. The team stood harnessed to the sled in an unbroken line, ready for the trail. There was no place for Buck save at the front. Once more Francois called, and once more Buck laughed and kept away.

“Throw down de club,”Perrault commanded.

Francois complied, whereupon Buck trotted in, laughing triumphantly, and swung around into position at the head of the team. His traces were fastened, the sled broken out, and with both men running they dashed out on to the river trail.

Highly as the dog-driver had forevalued Buck, with his two devils, he found, while the day was yet young, that he had undervalued. At a bound Buck took up the duties of leadership; and where judgment was required, and quick thinking and quick acting, he showed himself the superior even of Spitz, of whom Francois had never seen an equal.

But it was in giving the law and making his mates live up to it, that Buck excelled. Dave and Sol-leks did not mind the change in leadership. It was none of their business. Their business was to toil, and toil mightily, in the traces. So long as that was not interfered with, they did not care what happened. Billee, the good-natured, could lead for all they cared, so long as he kept order. The rest of the team, however, had grown unruly during the last days of Spitz, and their surprise was great now that Buck proceeded to lick them into shape.

Pike, who pulled at Buck's heels, and who never put an ounce more of his weight against the breastband than he was compelled to do, was swiftly and repeatedly shaken for loafing; and ere the first day was done he was pulling more than ever before in his life. The first night in camp, Joe, the sour one, was punished soundly-a thing that Spitz had never succeeded in doing. Buck simply smothered him by virtue of superior weight, and cut him up till he ceased snapping and began to whine for mercy.

The general tone of the team picked up immediately. It recovered its old-time solidarity, and once more the dogs leaped as one dog in the traces. At the Rink Rapids two native huskies, Teek and Koona, were added; and the celerity with which Buck broke them in took away Francois's breath.

“Never such a dog as dat Buck!”he cried.“No, never! Him worth one thousand dollair, by Gar! Eh? What you say, Perrault?”

And Perrault nodded. He was ahead of the record then, and gaining day by day. The trail was in excellent condition, well packed and hard, and there was no new-fallen snow with which to contend. It was not too cold. The temperature dropped to fifty below zero and remained there the whole trip. The men rode and ran by turn, and the dogs were kept on the jump, with but infrequent stop-pages.

The Thirty Mile River was comparatively coated with ice, and they covered in one day going out what had taken them ten days coming in. In one run they made a sixty-mile dash from the foot of Lake LeBarge to the White Horse Rapids. Across Marsh, Tagish, and Bennett (seventy miles of lakes), they flew so fast that the man whose turn it was to run towed behind the sled at the end of a rope. And on the last night of the second week they topped White Pass and dropped down the sea slope with the lights of Skaguay and of the shipping at their feet.

It was a record run. Each day for fourteen days they had averaged forty miles. For three days Perrault and Francois threw chests up and down the main street of Skaguay and were deluged with invitations to drink, while the team was the constant center of a worshipful crowd of dogbusters and mushers. Then three or four western bad men aspired to clean out the town, were riddled like pepperboxes for their pains, and public interest turned to other idols. Next came official orders. Francois called Buck to him, threw his arms around him, wept over him. And that was the last of Francois and Perrault. Like other men, they passed out of Buck's life for good.

A Scotch half-breed took charge of him and his mates, and in company with a dozen other dog-teams he started back over the weary trail to Dawson. It was no light running now, nor record time, but heavy toil each day, with a heavy load behind; for this was the mail train, carrying word from the world to the men who sought gold under the shadow of the Pole.

Buck did not like it, but he bore up well to the work, taking pride in it after the manner of Dave and Sol-leks, and seeing that his mates, whether they prided in it or not, did their fair share. It was a monotonous life, operating with machine-like regularity. One day was very like another. At a certain time each morning the cooks turned out, fires were built, and breakfast was eaten. Then, while some broke camp, others harnessed the dogs, and they were under way an hour or so before the darkness fell which gave warning of dawn. At night, camp was made. Some pitched the tents, others cut firewood and pine boughs for the beds, and still others carried water or ice for the cooks. Also, the dogs were fed. To them, this was the one feature of the day, though it was good to loaf around, after the fish was eaten, for an hour or so with the other dogs, of which there were fivescore and odd. There were fierce fighters among them, but three battles with the fiercest brought Buck to mastery, so that when he bristled and showed his teeth, they got out of his way.

Best of all, perhaps, he loved to lie near the fire, hind legs crouched under him, fore legs stretched out in front, head raised, and eyes blinking drearily at the flames. Sometimes he thought of Judge Miller's big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley, and of the cement swimming tank, and Ysabel, the Mexican hairless, and Toots, the Japanese pug;but oftener he remembered the man in the red sweater, the death of Curly, the great fight with Spitz and the good things he had eaten or would like to eat. He was not homesick. The Sunland was very dim and distant, and such memories had no power over him. Far more potent were the memories of his heredity that gave things he had never seen before a seeming familiarity; the instincts (which were but the memories of his ancestors become habits) which had lapsed in later days, and still later, in him, quickened and became alive again.

Sometimes as he crouched there, blinking dreamily at the flames, it seemed that the flames were of another fire, and that as he crouched by this other fire he saw another and different man from the half-breed cook before him. This other man was shorter of leg and longer of arm, with muscles that were stringy and knotty rather than rounded and swelling. The hair of this man was long and matted, and his head slanted back under it from the eyes. He uttered strange sounds, and seemed very much afraid of the darkness, into which he peered continually, clutching in his hand, which hung midway between knee and foot, a stick with a heavy stone made fast to the end. He was all but naked, a ragged and fire-scorched skin hanging part way down his back, but on his body there was much hair. In some places, across the chest and shoulders and down the outside of the arms and thighs, it was matted into almost a thick fur. He did not stand erect, but with trunk inclined forward from the hips, on legs that bent at the knees. About his body there was a peculiar springiness, or resiliency, almost catlike, and a quick alertness as of one who lived in perpetual fear of things seen and unseen.

At other times this hairy man squatted by the fire with head between his legs and slept. On such occasions his elbows were on his knees, his hands clasped above his head as though to shed rain by the hairy arms. And beyond that fire, in the circling darkness, Buck could see many gleaming coals, two by two, always two by two, which he knew to be the eyes of great beasts of prey. And he could hear the crashing of their bodies through the undergrowth, and the noises they made in the night. And dreaming there by the Yukon bank, with lazy eyes blinking at the fire, these sounds and sights of another world would make the hair to rise along his back and stand on end across his shoulders and up his neck, till he whimpered low and suppressedly, or growled softly, and the half-breed cook shouted at him,“Hey, you Buck, wake up!”Whereupon the other world would vanish and the real world come into his eyes, and he would get up and yawn and stretch as though he had been asleep.

It was a hard trip, with the mail behind them, and the heavy work wore them down. They were short of weight and in poor condition when they made Dawson, and should have had a ten days’or a week's rest at least. But in two days’time they dropped down the Yukon bank from the Barracks, loaded with letters for the outside. The dogs were tired, the drivers grumbling, and to make matters worse, it snowed every day. This meant a soft trail, greater friction on the runners, and heavier pulling for the dogs; yet the drivers were fair through it all, and did their best for the animals.

Each night the dogs were attended to first. They ate before the drivers ate, and no man sought his sleeping-robe till he had seen to the feet of the dogs he drove. Still, their strength went down. Since the beginning of the winter they had traveled eighteen hundred miles, dragging sleds the whole weary distance; and eighteen hundred miles will tell upon life of the toughest. Buck stood it, keeping his mates up to their work and maintaining discipline, though he too was very tired. Billee cried and whimpered regularly in his sleep each night. Joe was sourer than ever, and Sol-leks was unapproachable, blind side or other side.

But it was Dave who suffered most of all. Something had gone wrong with him. He became more morose and irritable, and when camp was pitched at once made his nest, where his driver fed him. Once out of the harness and down, he did not get on his feet again till harness-up time in the morning. Sometimes, in the traces, when jerked by a sudden stoppage of the sled, or by straining to start it, he would cry out with pain. The driver examined him, but could find nothing. All the drivers became interested in his case. They talked it over at meal-time, and over their last pipes before going to bed, and one night they held a consultation. He was brought from his nest to the fire and was pressed and prodded till he cried out many times. Something was wrong inside, but they could locate no broken bones, could not make it out.

By the time Cassiar Bar was reached, he was so weak that he was falling repeatedly in the traces. The Scotch half-breed called a halt and took him out of the team, making the next dog, Sol-leks, fast to the sled. His intention was to rest Dave, letting him run free behind the sled. Sick as he was, Dave resented being taken out, grunting and growling while the traces were unfastened, and whimpering broken-heartedly when he saw Sol-leks in the position he had held and served so long. For the pride of trace and trail was his, and, sick unto death, he could not bear that another dog should do his work.

When the sled started, he floundered in the soft snow alongside the beaten trail, attacking Sol-leks with his teeth, rushing against him and trying to thrust him off into the soft snow on the other side, striving to leap inside his traces and get between him and the sled, and all the while whining and yelping and crying with grief and pain. The half-breed tried to drive him away with the whip; but he paid no heed to the stinging lash, and the man had not the heart to strike harder. Dave refused to run quietly on the trail behind the sled, where the going was easy, but continued to flounder alongside in the soft snow, where the going was most difficult, till exhausted. Then he fell, and lay where he fell, howling lugubriously as the long train of sleds churned by.

With the last remnant of his strength he managed to stagger along behind till the train made another stop, when he floundered past the sleds to his own, where he stood alongside Sol-leks. His driver lingered a moment to get a light for his pipe from the man behind. Then he returned and started his dogs. They swung out on the trail with remarkable lack of exertion, turned their heads uneasily, and stopped in surprise. The driver was surprised, too; the sled had not moved. He called his comrades to witness the sight. Dave had bitten through both of Sol-lek's traces, and was standing directly in front of the sled in his proper place.

He pleaded with his eyes to remain there. The driver was perplexed. His comrades talked of how a dog could break its heart through being denied the work that killed it, and recalled instances they had known, where dogs, too old for the toil, or injured, had died because they were cut out of the traces. Also, they held it a mercy, since Dave was to die anyway, that he should die in the traces, heart-easy and content. So he was harnessed in again, and proudly he pulled as of old, though more than once he cried out involuntarily from the bite of his inward hurt. Several times fell down and was dragged in the traces, and once the sled ran upon him so that he limped thereafter on one of his hind legs.

But he held out till camp was reached, when his driver made a place for him by the fire. Morning found him too weak to travel. At harness-up time he tried to crawl to his driver. By convulsive efforts he got on his feet, staggered, and fell. Then he wormed his way forward slowly toward where the harnesses were being put on his mates. He would advance his fore legs and drag up his body with a sort of hitching movement, when he would advance his fore legs and hitch ahead again for a few more inches. His strength left him, and the last his mates saw of him he lay gasping in the snow and yearning toward them. But they could hear him mournfully howling till they passed out of sight behind a belt of river timber.

Here the train was halted. The Scotch half-breed slowly retraced his steps to the camp they had left. The men ceased talking. A revolver-shot rang out. The man came back hurriedly. The whips snapped, the bells tinkled merrily, the sleds churned along the trail;but Buck knew, and every dog knew, what had taken place behind the belt of river trees.

“呃？我說啥？我說過巴克是雙料魔鬼，說得沒錯?！?

這是弗朗索瓦第二天早上說的話，當時它發現斯皮茨不見了蹤影，巴克傷痕累累。他將巴克拉到火邊，借著火光指出那些傷口。

“那個斯皮茨打得真不要命了?！迸辶_一邊檢查一道道傷口和裂痕，一邊說。

“還有那個巴克打得更該死，”弗朗索瓦答道，“現在我們可以快速前進了。沒有了斯皮茨，肯定不會再有麻煩了?！?

佩羅收拾宿營用具，裝上雪橇，趕狗人動手給狗套挽具。巴克小跑到了斯皮茨本來應該占據的領頭狗的位置，但是，弗朗索瓦沒有理睬它，反而把索爾雷克斯帶到了它垂涎欲滴的那個位置。在他看來，索爾雷克斯是剩下的最好的領頭狗。巴克狂怒地撲向索爾雷克斯，把它逼退，站在了那個位置。

“呃？呃？”弗朗索瓦開心地拍著大腿喊道，“瞧那個巴克。它以為是自己咬死了斯皮茨，要接手那個工作?！?

“走開，笨蛋！”他喊道，但巴克拒絕移動。

他抓住巴克的后脖頸，盡管巴克吼叫威脅，但他還是把它拖到了一邊，讓索爾雷克斯重新站在了那個位置。這條老狗不喜歡這樣，而且明確表示，它害怕巴克。弗朗索瓦毫不讓步，但他轉過身，巴克便又取代了索爾雷克斯，索爾雷克斯也情愿離開。

弗朗索瓦非常生氣?！昂昧?，上帝啊，我要收拾你！”他手里拿著一根粗棍走回來喊道。

巴克想起了那個穿紅毛衣的人，然后慢慢后退。當弗朗索瓦又一次把索爾雷克斯帶上前時，巴克并沒有想沖過去，而是在棍子剛好夠不到的地方轉圈，痛苦而憤怒地咆哮著，它一邊轉圈，一邊看著棍子，以便弗朗索瓦砸來棍子時躲開，因為它已經明白棍子是怎么回事了。

弗朗索瓦著手工作，沖巴克叫喊，準備把它放在戴夫前面的老位置上。巴克后退了兩三步。弗朗索瓦追上它，它又退一下。這樣過了一陣，弗朗索瓦將棍子砸了下去，以為巴克會害怕挨打。但是，巴克公然造反。它不是想躲避一頓棒打，而是想擁有領導權。它有權得到那個位置。這是它贏來的，少一點它都不會滿足。

佩羅伸出了援手。他們圍著巴克追來追去，跑了大半個小時。他們用棍子打它，它避開。他們罵它，罵它之前的祖宗，罵它之后所有的乃至最遙遠的子孫，還罵它身上的每一根毛和血管里的每一滴血，而它則以咆哮來回罵，不讓他們抓住。它不想逃跑，只是圍著營地退來退去，明白告知，只要愿望得到滿足，它就會讓套上挽具，表現乖乖的。

弗朗索瓦坐下來，撓起了頭。佩羅一邊看著手表，一邊破口大罵。時間過得飛快，他們本該上路一個小時了。弗朗索瓦又撓了撓頭，搖了搖頭，對佩羅困窘地咧嘴笑了笑。佩羅聳聳肩，表示他們被打敗了。于是，弗朗索瓦走到索爾雷克斯站立的地方，對巴克叫喊。巴克發出了狗那樣的笑聲，但保持著距離。弗朗索瓦解開了索爾雷克斯的韁繩，把它推回了原處。狗隊套上雪橇，站成完整的一行，準備上路。前面的位置非巴克莫屬。弗朗索瓦又一次叫喊，巴克又一次發出笑聲，保持距離。

“扔下棍子。”佩羅命令道。

弗朗索瓦照辦，巴克揚揚得意地笑著小跑過來，飛快地轉過身，站在了隊伍前面的位置。它的韁繩系好后，他們便上路了。它們沖上沿河的雪道，那兩個人跑了起來。

盡管趕狗人先前對巴克估價很高，說它是雙料魔鬼，但天色還早，他就發現他低估了巴克。巴克一下子承擔起了領頭狗的職責。凡是需要做出判斷，需要思維敏捷和行動迅速的地方，它都表現得甚至比斯皮茨還出色，弗朗索瓦還從來沒有見過跟斯皮茨旗鼓相當的狗。

但是，巴克的出色之處在于，它能向同伴發號施令，并使之照辦。戴夫和索爾雷克斯對更換領導并不介意。這不關它們的事兒。它們關心的是套著韁繩拉橇，竭盡全力地拉橇。只要拉橇不受到干擾，它們就不在乎發生了什么事兒。就是脾氣溫和的比勒當領頭狗，它們也不在乎，只要它能維持秩序就行了。然而，狗隊的其他成員在斯皮茨死前的那些日子就不再安分守己了，現在巴克當了領頭狗，讓它們規規矩矩，這讓它們大吃一驚。

跟在巴克后面拉橇的派克不到迫不得已絕不在胸帶上多加一點力，干活懶散，它立馬就受到了巴克的懲罰。結果，第一天還沒有結束，它拉橇用的勁兒比平生任何時候都大。第一天夜里扎營，巴克又狠狠教訓了一頓脾氣乖僻的喬——這是斯皮茨從來沒有做到過的事兒。巴克僅僅依靠自己的體重優勢，就讓喬喘不過氣來，挫敗了它的銳氣，不再亂咬，開始嗚嗚求饒。

狗隊的整體狀態馬上就恢復了。往日的團結一致也恢復了。狗們又步調一致飛躍向前。在林克湍灘，兩條當地的愛斯基摩狗蒂克和庫納加入了狗隊。巴克制服它們的速度之快，讓弗朗索瓦大為驚訝。

“從來沒有過巴克這樣的狗！”他叫道，“不，從來沒有！它真的值一千塊！嗯？你說呢，佩羅？”

佩羅點了點頭。他當時就打破了紀錄，而且與日俱增。路況良好，被踩得結結實實，沒有新落的雪需處理。天不是太冷。氣溫下降到了零下五十度，整個行程中都保持不變。那兩個人輪流駕橇和跑路，狗隊則一直在奔跑，路上很少停留。

“三十英里”河結的冰比較厚，所以它們一天就跑完了來時十天跑的路。它們一口氣跑了六十英里，從勒·巴格湖畔一直跑到白馬灘，雪橇飛馳，經過了馬什、塔杰斯和貝內特（七十英里湖），人落在雪橇后面，被繩子拽著向前跑。第二周的最后一天夜里，它們到達白渡口，一路下坡來到海邊，坡底已亮起斯卡格的燈光和海運船的燈光。

這是一次打破紀錄的賽跑。他們跑了十四天，平均每天四十英里。佩羅和弗朗索瓦一連三天都沿著斯卡格鎮的大街挺胸行走，不斷有人請他們喝酒，狗隊持續成為一群馴狗人和趕橇人崇拜的中心。后來，三四個西部壞蛋想在鎮上稱王稱霸，結果渾身被打得像虻眼皮革一樣，大家的興趣才轉到了其他偶像的身上。接下來傳來了正式通知。弗朗索瓦將巴克叫到身邊，兩臂抱住它哭泣。這是巴克最后一次見到弗朗索瓦和佩羅。像其他人一樣，他們從巴克的生活中永遠消失了。

一個蘇格蘭混血兒接管了巴克和它的隊友，它們和另外十幾支狗隊結伴同行，又踏上了前往道森的疲憊旅途?，F在跑路不輕松了，也創不了記錄了，而是每天后面拖著沉重的雪橇艱難跋涉，因為這次拉的是郵車，要把世界各地的消息送給那些在北極陰影下淘金的人。

巴克并不喜歡這樣，但它堅持好好工作，學著戴夫和索爾雷克斯的樣子為此而自豪，也看到它的隊友們不管自豪不自豪，都各盡其職。這是一種單調的生活，天天像機器一樣規律運轉。一天和另一天完全一樣。每天早晨的某個時間，廚師出來生火做飯，然后便是吃早飯。接下來，有人拔營，有人給狗套雪橇，他們上路一個小時左右，黑暗的天空才露出晨光。夜里安營扎寨。有人扎營，有人砍柴火和砍鋪床用的松枝，還有人幫廚師打水或取冰。同時，還要喂狗。對它們來說，這是一天里的一大特色，盡管吃過魚后跟其他狗四處游蕩一個小時左右也不錯，這些狗有一百多條。其中也有兇猛的斗士，但即使最兇猛的狗，三個回合下來，就會俯首帖耳。因此，只要它毛發倒豎、齜牙咧嘴，它們就會紛紛避開。

它最喜歡的也許就是臥在火邊，后腿蜷縮在身下，前腿伸向前，頭抬起來，對著那些火焰睡意矇朧地眨著眼睛。有時，它想起陽光親吻的圣克拉拉山谷里米勒法官的大房子，想起那個水泥游泳池，想起墨西哥禿頭狗伊莎貝爾和日本哈巴狗托茨，但是，它更常常想起那個穿紅毛衣的人、柯利之死、跟斯皮茨的那場大戰，以及他已經吃過或喜歡吃的那些好東西。他不想家。那片陽光充足的地方模糊而遙遠，而且這些記憶對它沒有什么威力。更有力的是它那些遺傳下來的記憶，這些記憶使那些它以前從來沒有見過的東西變得似曾相識。還有那些本能（它們不過是它對祖先相應習慣的回憶），這些本能后來已消失，但近來已在它身上蘇醒復活了。

有時，當它蜷縮在那里，睡眼蒙眬地對著那些火焰眨動時，那些火焰好像來自另一堆火，而且當它蜷縮在另一堆火邊時，它看到眼前那個混血兒廚師成了另外一個不同的人。另外這個人腿較短，胳膊較長，肌肉多筋多節，而不是豐滿凸起。這個人頭發又長又亂，遮蓋著眼睛，頭向后傾斜。他發出奇怪的聲音，好像非常害怕黑暗，不斷向黑暗中窺視，手垂到了膝蓋和腳中間，緊握著一根棍子，棍子一端緊綁著一塊沉甸甸的石頭。他幾乎赤身裸體，后背腰間圍著一塊被火燒焦的破獸皮，但身上有許多毛。胸部、肩膀、胳膊和大腿外側的一些地方幾乎蓋滿了濃密的軟毛。他站得不直，髖部以上的軀干向前傾斜，兩腿在膝蓋處彎曲，渾身有一種奇特的彈性或反彈力，幾乎像貓一樣，而且敏捷機警，那是生活在有形或無形的永恒危險中的人才有的敏捷機警。

還有的時候，這個渾身是毛的人蹲在火邊，頭埋在兩腿間睡覺。每當此時，他的胳膊肘就支在膝蓋上，兩手抱頭，好像要用多毛的胳膊擋雨似的。在那堆火的外面，在四周的黑暗中，巴克能看到許多閃爍的炭火，成雙成對，總是成雙成對，它知道那是大型獵獸的眼睛。它還能聽到它們的身體穿過矮樹叢時發出的碰撞聲，以及它們在黑暗中發出的嘈雜聲。當它在育空河岸邊神思恍惚，懶懶地對著火堆眨眼時，這些來自另一個世界的聲音和景象會使它從背部到肩膀乃至脖子上的毛發都倒立起來，它壓低嗓音嗚咽或輕聲低吼，那個混血兒廚師會沖它叫喊：“嘿，你這個巴克，醒一醒！”于是，另一個世界就會消失，真實世界就會進入它的視野，它常常會站起來，打個哈欠，伸伸懶腰，好像剛睡過一覺似的。

這是一次艱辛的旅行，它們身后拖著郵件，繁重的工作讓它們筋疲力盡。到達道森時，它們體重減輕，身體狀況很差，應該休息十天或至少一周。但兩天后，它們就離開巴勒克斯，沿著育空河出發了，雪橇上載滿了寄往外界的信件。狗乏人怨，更糟的是，每天都下雪。這意味著雪道軟化，滑板阻力加大，狗要用更大的勁兒拉橇，不過，駕橇人還算公平，盡力照顧好那群狗。

每天夜里，那些狗首先會受到優待。它們吃完飯后，駕橇人才吃，駕橇人要照看好自己趕的那些狗的蹄子，才去睡覺。盡管如此，但它們還是體力不支。入冬以來，它們已經跑了一千八百英里，一路上拉著雪橇疲于奔命，這一千八百英里路程，就是最強壯的生命也會受到影響。盡管巴克也疲憊不堪，但它還是挺了過來，保證隊友們干活，維持紀律。每天夜里，比勒都常常在睡夢中嗥叫嗚咽。喬比以前更加乖戾，索爾雷克斯則難以靠近，無論是從瞎眼那邊，還是從另一邊都難以靠近。

但是，戴夫受的苦最大。它某個地方出了毛病，變得更加郁悶急躁，一扎營就馬上扎窩，駕橇人到那里喂它吃東西。一卸下挽具臥下來，直到第二天早晨套上韁繩，它才站起來。有時套著韁繩雪橇突然停止或突然啟動繃緊，它常常疼得大聲叫喊。駕橇人仔細給它檢查，但什么也沒能發現。所有的駕橇人都對它的病情產生了興趣。吃飯時、睡覺前抽最后一斗煙時，他們總是討論它的病情。一天夜里，他們進行了一次會診，把它從窩里帶到火邊，這里按按那里捅捅，直到它叫喚了好多次。是內部出了毛病，但他們摸不到斷骨，查不清毛病。

到達卡西亞巴時，它虛弱不堪，多次在拉橇中跌倒。那個蘇格蘭混血兒停下來，讓它出列，把另一條狗索雷爾克斯套在了雪橇上。他的目的就是讓戴夫休息，讓它空跑在雪橇后面。盡管戴夫病了，但不喜歡被撤下來，給它卸挽具時，它又是哼哼又是低吼，當看到索爾雷克斯站在了它曾堅守了那么久的位置上時，它傷心地嗚咽起來。因為它為之自豪的就是韁繩和雪道，即使病死，它也無法忍受另一條狗去干它應該干的活兒。

雪橇啟動后，戴夫掙扎著走在踩實雪道邊的柔軟積雪里，并用牙齒襲擊索爾雷克斯，沖撞它，想設法把它撞到雪道另一邊的雪地里，力爭跳入它的韁繩，插在索爾雷克斯和雪橇中間，而且一直在傷心和痛苦地哀鳴和吠叫。那個混血兒設法用鞭子趕走它，但它根本不顧鞭子火辣辣的刺痛，而那個人又不忍心抽得更狠。戴夫拒絕跟在雪橇后面安分輕松地奔跑，而是繼續掙扎著在最難走的柔軟積雪里奔跑，直到筋疲力盡。隨后，它躺倒在地，當長長的雪橇隊劇烈搖晃著駛過時，它可憐巴巴地嗥叫著。

它用最后剩下的力氣設法搖搖晃晃地跟在后面，直到隊伍又一次停下來，這時它掙扎著走過一輛輛雪橇，來到自己的雪橇邊，跟索爾雷克斯站在一起。駕那輛雪橇的人想吸煙，向后面的人借火，拖延了一會兒。他回來后就趕狗上路。拉橇狗搖晃著上路時明顯沒有用上勁，不安地回過頭，驚訝地停下來。駕橇人也吃了一驚；雪橇沒有移動。他把同伴們喊過來目睹這一情景。戴夫已經咬斷了索爾雷克斯的兩根韁繩，正站在雪橇前它原來的位置上。

它用目光懇求留下來。駕橇人不知所措。他的同伴們說，不讓狗干致命的工作，它可能會傷心，還回憶起他們了解的一些例子：有些狗老得不能跋涉或受了傷，會因為被卸下挽具而死。他們也認為這樣做是一種仁慈，因為戴夫快要死了，它應該心滿意足地死在雪橇前。于是，它又被套上了挽具，依舊自豪地拉起了雪橇，盡管它不止一次因體內劇烈疼痛而忍不住叫出聲來。好幾次它倒下去，被韁繩拖著走。有一次，雪橇壓在它的身上，結果它的一條后腿從此就瘸了。

但是，戴夫一直支撐到了宿營地，這時駕橇人在火邊給它安排了一個地方。第二天早晨，它發現自己虛弱得難以行走。到了套雪橇時，它試圖爬到駕橇人的身邊。它抽搐著努力了幾次才站起來，又搖晃著摔倒。隨后，它向前爬行，慢慢地向同伴們正在套韁繩的地方爬去。它先伸出前腿，以用力拖行的動作前進，然后又伸出前腿再向前拖行幾英寸。它沒勁了，它們看它最后一眼時，它躺在雪地里喘著粗氣，向往著伙伴們。但是，它們能夠聽得到它的哀號，直至它們走到河邊林帶后面，從它的視野里消失。

雪橇隊在這里停下來。那個蘇格蘭混血兒又一步一步慢慢地回到了他們剛剛離開的營地。那些人不再說話。左輪手槍的聲音傳來。那個人又匆匆返回。鞭子啪地甩響，鈴鐺歡快地叮當作響，雪橇在雪道上搖晃前進，但是，河邊林帶后面發生的事兒，巴克知道，每條狗也都知道。