03-01-02-野性的呼唤 [1]
． After a few minutes there was a hole big enough for Buck to get out． ‘ Now， come here， red eyes，’ said the fat man， dropping his axe and taking the club in his right hand．
Buck jumped at the man， sixty kilos of anger， his mouth wide open ready to bite the man's neck． Just before his teeth touched the skin， the man hit him with the club． Buck fell to the ground． It was the first time anyone had hit him with a club and he did not understand． He stood up， and jumped again． Again the club hit him and he crashed to the ground．Ten times he jumped at the man， and ten times the club hit him． Slowly he got to his feet， now only just able to stand．There was blood on his nose and mouth and ears． Then the fat man walked up and hit him again， very hard， on the nose．The pain was terrible． Again， Buck jumped at the man and again he was hit to the ground．A last time he jumped， and this time， when the man knocked him down， Buck did not move．
‘He knows how to teach a dog a lesson，’ said one of the men on the wall． Then the four men jumped down and went back to the station．
‘His name is Buck，’said the fat man to himself， reading the letter that had come with the box．‘Well， Buck， my by，’he said in a friendly voice，‘we've argued a little， and I think the best thing to do now is to stop． Be a good dog and we'll be friends． But if you're a bad dog， I'll have to use my club again．Understand？’
As he spoke， he touched Buck’ s head， and although Buck was angry inside， he did not move． When the man brought him water and meat， Buck drank and then ate the meat， piece by piece， from the man's hand．
Buck was beaten（he knew that） but he was not broken． He had learnt that a man with a club was stronger than him．Every day he saw more dogs arrive， and each dog was beaten by the fat man． Buck understood that a man with a club must be obeyed， although he did not have to be a friend．
Men came to see the fat man and to look at the dogs． Some-times they paid money and left with one or more of the dogs．One day a short， dark man came and looked at Buck．
‘That's a good dog！’ he cried．‘How much do you want for him？’
‘Three hundred dollars． It's a good price， Perrault，’said the fat man．
Perrault smiled and agreed that it was a good price． He knew dogs， and he knew that Buck was an excellent dog．
‘One in ten thousand，’ Perrault said to himself．
Buck saw money put into the fat man’ s hand， and he was not surprised when he and another dog called Curly were taken away by Perrault． He took them to a ship， and later that day Buck and Curly stood and watched the coast get further and further away．They had seen the warm south for the last time．
Perrault took Buck and Curly down to the bottom of the ship． There they met another man， Francois． Perrault was a French－Canadian， but Francois was half－Indian，tall and dark．Buck learnt quickly that Perrault and Francois were fair men，calm and honest． And they knew everything about dogs．
There were two other dogs on the ship．One was a big dog called Spitz， as white as snow． He was friendly to Buck at first， always smiling． He was smiling when he tried to steal Buck’ s food at the first meal． Francois was quick and hit Spitz before Buck had time to move． Buck decided that this was fair， and began to like Francois a little．
Dave， the other dog， was not friendly． He wanted to be alone all the time． He ate and slept and was interested in nothing．
One day was very like another， but Buck noticed that the weather was getting colder． One morning， the ship's engines stopped， and there was a feeling of excitement in the ship．Francois leashed the dogs and took them outside． At the first step Buck's feet went into something soft and white． He jumped back in surprise． The soft， white thing was also falling through the air， and it fell onto him． He tried to smell it， and then caught some on his tongue． It bit like fire， and then dis appeared． He tried again and the same thing happened． People were watching him and laughing， and Buck felt ashamed，although he did not know why． It was his first snow．
Buck jumped at the man， sixty kilos of anger， his mouth wide open ready to bite the man's neck． Just before his teeth touched the skin， the man hit him with the club． Buck fell to the ground． It was the first time anyone had hit him with a club and he did not understand． He stood up， and jumped again． Again the club hit him and he crashed to the ground．Ten times he jumped at the man， and ten times the club hit him． Slowly he got to his feet， now only just able to stand．There was blood on his nose and mouth and ears． Then the fat man walked up and hit him again， very hard， on the nose．The pain was terrible． Again， Buck jumped at the man and again he was hit to the ground．A last time he jumped， and this time， when the man knocked him down， Buck did not move．
‘He knows how to teach a dog a lesson，’ said one of the men on the wall． Then the four men jumped down and went back to the station．
‘His name is Buck，’said the fat man to himself， reading the letter that had come with the box．‘Well， Buck， my by，’he said in a friendly voice，‘we've argued a little， and I think the best thing to do now is to stop． Be a good dog and we'll be friends． But if you're a bad dog， I'll have to use my club again．Understand？’
As he spoke， he touched Buck’ s head， and although Buck was angry inside， he did not move． When the man brought him water and meat， Buck drank and then ate the meat， piece by piece， from the man's hand．
Buck was beaten（he knew that） but he was not broken． He had learnt that a man with a club was stronger than him．Every day he saw more dogs arrive， and each dog was beaten by the fat man． Buck understood that a man with a club must be obeyed， although he did not have to be a friend．
Men came to see the fat man and to look at the dogs． Some-times they paid money and left with one or more of the dogs．One day a short， dark man came and looked at Buck．
‘That's a good dog！’ he cried．‘How much do you want for him？’
‘Three hundred dollars． It's a good price， Perrault，’said the fat man．
Perrault smiled and agreed that it was a good price． He knew dogs， and he knew that Buck was an excellent dog．
‘One in ten thousand，’ Perrault said to himself．
Buck saw money put into the fat man’ s hand， and he was not surprised when he and another dog called Curly were taken away by Perrault． He took them to a ship， and later that day Buck and Curly stood and watched the coast get further and further away．They had seen the warm south for the last time．
Perrault took Buck and Curly down to the bottom of the ship． There they met another man， Francois． Perrault was a French－Canadian， but Francois was half－Indian，tall and dark．Buck learnt quickly that Perrault and Francois were fair men，calm and honest． And they knew everything about dogs．
There were two other dogs on the ship．One was a big dog called Spitz， as white as snow． He was friendly to Buck at first， always smiling． He was smiling when he tried to steal Buck’ s food at the first meal． Francois was quick and hit Spitz before Buck had time to move． Buck decided that this was fair， and began to like Francois a little．
Dave， the other dog， was not friendly． He wanted to be alone all the time． He ate and slept and was interested in nothing．
One day was very like another， but Buck noticed that the weather was getting colder． One morning， the ship's engines stopped， and there was a feeling of excitement in the ship．Francois leashed the dogs and took them outside． At the first step Buck's feet went into something soft and white． He jumped back in surprise． The soft， white thing was also falling through the air， and it fell onto him． He tried to smell it， and then caught some on his tongue． It bit like fire， and then dis appeared． He tried again and the same thing happened． People were watching him and laughing， and Buck felt ashamed，although he did not know why． It was his first snow．