03-01-02-野性的呼唤 [15]
said Thornton．‘Buck can pull three hundred and fifty．’
‘ Can he break the sledge out when it's frozen to the ice and then start it moving？And pull it a hundred metres？’ asked Matthewson．
‘He can break it out，and start it，and pull it a hundred metres，said Thornton．
‘Well，’said Matthewson，speaking slowly and loudly．‘I've got a thousand dollars here，and I say he can't．’ As he spoke，he took a bag of gold and put it down on the table．
Suddenly Thornton was worried．He knew Buck was strong，but was he strong enough？ Now ten men were watching him and waiting．He didn't have a thousand dollars，and neither did Hans or Pete．
‘I've got a sledge outside with three hundrd and fifty kilos on it，’said Matthewson．‘So it's easy if you want to try．’
Thornton didn't know what to say．He looked at the other men in the bar．One of them was an old friend，Jim O’Brien．
‘Can yon lend me a thousand dollars，Jim？’he asked softly．
‘Sure，’said O’Brien，putting another bag of gold next to Matthewson's．‘But I don't think the dog can do it，John．’
Everybody went out into the street．There were two or three hundred men around Matthewson's sledge．The sledge had been outside the bar for two hours，and it was frozen to the ice，in a temperature of 50°below zero．Most of the men thought that Buck was not strong enough，and Matthewson smiled happily．
‘Shall we make it two thousand dollars？’he asked．
Thornton，Hans and Pete talked for a minute．They had only four hundred dollars，but they added this to O’Brien's thousand．Matthewson，very sure of winning．also put down another four hundred dollars．
Matthewson's ten dogs were taken away，and Buck，who could feel the excitement in the air，was harnessed to the sledge．Buck was，without question，a very fine animal—bright-eyed，intelligent，his thick coat shining with health．And he looked as strong as a horse．
One man went up to Thornton．‘I'll buy him now，’he said．‘I’11 give you eight hundred dollars for him．’
Thornton shook his head and sat down on the snow next to Buck．He held Buck's head in his hands and spoke softly into his ear．‘If you love me，Buck．If you love me．’
Buck took Thornton's hand between his teeth，then let go，and Thornton stood up and stepped back．
‘Ready，Buck，’he said．
Buck pulled on the harness a little， getting ready．
‘Right！’cried Thornton．
Buck pulled to the right，hard，stopped suddenly，and the ice under the sledge began to break．
‘Now，left！’called Thornton，and Buck pulled to the left，breaking more of the ice．
‘Now，pull！’
Buck threw himself against his harness，and pulled．He held his body low to the ground，his head down and forward，and his feet dug into the hard snow．Harder and harder he pulled．Suddenly，the sledge moved a centimetre…two…three…and，little by little，it started to go forward across the snow．With each second it went a little faster，and Thornton ran be hind，calling to Buck as he pulled the sledge towards the end of the hundred metres．The watching men were shouting and throwing their hats in the air；Buck had won．
Then Thornton was on the snow next to Buck again，talking to him，and Buck had Thornton's hand in his teeth．
■ 6 对人的热爱
约翰·桑顿在12月份时生了病，他的两个朋友不得不把他独自留在白河然后奔赴道桑。他们把他留在营地，备下大量食物和两条狗，斯开特和布莱吉。如今春天来了，他几乎康复了。他和巴克一同躺在河边晒太阳，看着流水潺潺，聆听着鸟声啾啾，慢慢地强壮了起来。
对巴克来说，在奔波了5000公里之后，休息是最快意的事情了，他逐渐恢复了强壮，长胖了许多。在等待桑顿的朋友从道桑回来的日子，对人和狗来说，是一段宁静舒赖的时光。
斯开特立刻同巴克成了朋友。当巴克仍然非常虚弱的时候，每天早晨她都用舌头舔净他的伤口。布莱吉也很友好。在巴克越来越健壮之后，三条狗常在一起嬉戏。有时桑顿也加入其中。
时间愉快地飞逝，而平生头一次，巴克学会了爱。从前他从未爱过别人。他和米勒先生从前在桑塔·克拉拉山谷时只是极好的朋友，但是巴克从来没爱过他。约翰·桑顿救了他的命，但他还是一个天性善待动物的人。他细致地照看着他的狗，并不是出于什么意识，而是因为他觉得他们是他的孩子。他总是和巴克说话儿，捧着他的头怜爱地摇晃着。作为回答，巴克喜欢轻轻地把桑顿的手噙在嘴里。
巴克也很高兴整天躺在地上看着桑顿。每当桑顿同他说话或抚摸他时，巴克就会高兴地发狂。起初，他很害怕桑顿也会像佩诺特和弗朗索瓦斯一样消失，于是他常常会在夜里醒来溜到帐篷里去看看他是否还在那儿。
但是巴克的本性发生了变化。如今他已经在北方呆了很久，他几乎变成了一条野狗。他喜欢蹲坐在桑顿的火边，但他蹲坐的姿势像野兽，而他的梦中则充满了野兽的影子——狗，狼狗，还有野狼。他们似乎在丛林里向他呼唤，有时巴克想离开火堆回应那呼唤。但是每当他跃入丛林时，对桑顿的热爱又将他拉了回来。
只有桑顿才是阻挡他回到森林中去的人。他对别的人漠不关心。到营地来的人试图同他交朋友，但他却毫无兴趣。当桑顿的两个朋友，汉斯和皮特从道桑回来时，巴克起初连正眼都不瞧他们。直到后来他看出来他们是桑顿的朋友才开始接受他们；但他们并不是他的朋友。他们和桑顿一样善良，知道巴克深爱着而且只爱桑顿一个人。
桑顿也明白巴克的心意。有一天，巴克和3个男人一同坐在高高的岩石上，距河水有100米的距离。桑顿想知道巴克是否会遵从任何命令，
‘ Can he break the sledge out when it's frozen to the ice and then start it moving？And pull it a hundred metres？’ asked Matthewson．
‘He can break it out，and start it，and pull it a hundred metres，said Thornton．
‘Well，’said Matthewson，speaking slowly and loudly．‘I've got a thousand dollars here，and I say he can't．’ As he spoke，he took a bag of gold and put it down on the table．
Suddenly Thornton was worried．He knew Buck was strong，but was he strong enough？ Now ten men were watching him and waiting．He didn't have a thousand dollars，and neither did Hans or Pete．
‘I've got a sledge outside with three hundrd and fifty kilos on it，’said Matthewson．‘So it's easy if you want to try．’
Thornton didn't know what to say．He looked at the other men in the bar．One of them was an old friend，Jim O’Brien．
‘Can yon lend me a thousand dollars，Jim？’he asked softly．
‘Sure，’said O’Brien，putting another bag of gold next to Matthewson's．‘But I don't think the dog can do it，John．’
Everybody went out into the street．There were two or three hundred men around Matthewson's sledge．The sledge had been outside the bar for two hours，and it was frozen to the ice，in a temperature of 50°below zero．Most of the men thought that Buck was not strong enough，and Matthewson smiled happily．
‘Shall we make it two thousand dollars？’he asked．
Thornton，Hans and Pete talked for a minute．They had only four hundred dollars，but they added this to O’Brien's thousand．Matthewson，very sure of winning．also put down another four hundred dollars．
Matthewson's ten dogs were taken away，and Buck，who could feel the excitement in the air，was harnessed to the sledge．Buck was，without question，a very fine animal—bright-eyed，intelligent，his thick coat shining with health．And he looked as strong as a horse．
One man went up to Thornton．‘I'll buy him now，’he said．‘I’11 give you eight hundred dollars for him．’
Thornton shook his head and sat down on the snow next to Buck．He held Buck's head in his hands and spoke softly into his ear．‘If you love me，Buck．If you love me．’
Buck took Thornton's hand between his teeth，then let go，and Thornton stood up and stepped back．
‘Ready，Buck，’he said．
Buck pulled on the harness a little， getting ready．
‘Right！’cried Thornton．
Buck pulled to the right，hard，stopped suddenly，and the ice under the sledge began to break．
‘Now，left！’called Thornton，and Buck pulled to the left，breaking more of the ice．
‘Now，pull！’
Buck threw himself against his harness，and pulled．He held his body low to the ground，his head down and forward，and his feet dug into the hard snow．Harder and harder he pulled．Suddenly，the sledge moved a centimetre…two…three…and，little by little，it started to go forward across the snow．With each second it went a little faster，and Thornton ran be hind，calling to Buck as he pulled the sledge towards the end of the hundred metres．The watching men were shouting and throwing their hats in the air；Buck had won．
Then Thornton was on the snow next to Buck again，talking to him，and Buck had Thornton's hand in his teeth．
■ 6 对人的热爱
约翰·桑顿在12月份时生了病，他的两个朋友不得不把他独自留在白河然后奔赴道桑。他们把他留在营地，备下大量食物和两条狗，斯开特和布莱吉。如今春天来了，他几乎康复了。他和巴克一同躺在河边晒太阳，看着流水潺潺，聆听着鸟声啾啾，慢慢地强壮了起来。
对巴克来说，在奔波了5000公里之后，休息是最快意的事情了，他逐渐恢复了强壮，长胖了许多。在等待桑顿的朋友从道桑回来的日子，对人和狗来说，是一段宁静舒赖的时光。
斯开特立刻同巴克成了朋友。当巴克仍然非常虚弱的时候，每天早晨她都用舌头舔净他的伤口。布莱吉也很友好。在巴克越来越健壮之后，三条狗常在一起嬉戏。有时桑顿也加入其中。
时间愉快地飞逝，而平生头一次，巴克学会了爱。从前他从未爱过别人。他和米勒先生从前在桑塔·克拉拉山谷时只是极好的朋友，但是巴克从来没爱过他。约翰·桑顿救了他的命，但他还是一个天性善待动物的人。他细致地照看着他的狗，并不是出于什么意识，而是因为他觉得他们是他的孩子。他总是和巴克说话儿，捧着他的头怜爱地摇晃着。作为回答，巴克喜欢轻轻地把桑顿的手噙在嘴里。
巴克也很高兴整天躺在地上看着桑顿。每当桑顿同他说话或抚摸他时，巴克就会高兴地发狂。起初，他很害怕桑顿也会像佩诺特和弗朗索瓦斯一样消失，于是他常常会在夜里醒来溜到帐篷里去看看他是否还在那儿。
但是巴克的本性发生了变化。如今他已经在北方呆了很久，他几乎变成了一条野狗。他喜欢蹲坐在桑顿的火边，但他蹲坐的姿势像野兽，而他的梦中则充满了野兽的影子——狗，狼狗，还有野狼。他们似乎在丛林里向他呼唤，有时巴克想离开火堆回应那呼唤。但是每当他跃入丛林时，对桑顿的热爱又将他拉了回来。
只有桑顿才是阻挡他回到森林中去的人。他对别的人漠不关心。到营地来的人试图同他交朋友，但他却毫无兴趣。当桑顿的两个朋友，汉斯和皮特从道桑回来时，巴克起初连正眼都不瞧他们。直到后来他看出来他们是桑顿的朋友才开始接受他们；但他们并不是他的朋友。他们和桑顿一样善良，知道巴克深爱着而且只爱桑顿一个人。
桑顿也明白巴克的心意。有一天，巴克和3个男人一同坐在高高的岩石上，距河水有100米的距离。桑顿想知道巴克是否会遵从任何命令，