THE LAW OF CLUB AND FANG A VERY GOOD BOOK 004
THE LAW OF CLUB AND FANG A VERY GOOD BOOK 004
He had never seen dogs fight these wolfish creatures fought, and his first experience taught him an unforgettable lesson. Buck's first day on the Yea beach was like a nightmare. Every hour was filled with shock and surprise. it was a vicarious experience, he would not have lived to profit by it. Curly was the victim. He had been suddenly jerked from the heart of civilization and flung into the heart of things primordial. No lazy, sun-kissed life was this, with nothing to do but loaf and be bored. Here was neither peace, nor rest, nor a moment's safety. They were camped near the log store, where she, in her friendly way, made advances to a husky dog the size of a full-grown wolf, though not half so large she. All was confusion and action, and every moment life and limb were in peril. There was imperative need to be constantly alert; for these dogs and men were not town dogs and men. They were savages, all of them, who knew no law but the law of club and fang. There was no warning, only a leap in like a flash, a metallic clip of teeth, a leap out equally swift, and Curly's face was ripped from eye to jaw.
It was the wolf manner of fighting, to strike and leap away; but there was more to it than this. Thirty forty huskies ran to the spot and surrounded the combatants in an intent and silent circle. Buck did not comprehend that silent intentness, nor the eager way which they were licking their chops. So sudden was it, and so unexpected, that Buck was taken aback. He saw Spitz run out his scarlet tongue in a way he had of laughing; and he saw Francois, swinging an axe, spring into the mess of dogs. Three men clubs were helping him to scatter them. It did not take long. Two minutes the time Curly went down, the last of her assailants were clubbed off. But she lay there limp and lifeless in the bloody, trampled snow, almost literally torn to pieces, the swart half-breed standing over her and cursing horribly.
She regained them. This was what the onlooking huskies had waited . They closed in her, snarling and yelping, and she was buried, screaming agony, beneath the bristling mass bodies. The scene came back to Buck to trouble him in his sleep. So that was the way. No fair play. Once down, that was the of you. Well, he would see to it that he never went down. Spitz ran out his tongue and laughed again, and that moment Buck hated him a bitter and deathless hatred.