4 The Strongest Dog

CHAPTER 4 The Strongest Dog There was a desire in Buck to be the strongest dog in the group, and under the hard conditions of trail life, that part of him grew and grew. But he kept it a secret. He had a sense of sneakiness and cunning that was new to him, and it helped him appear calm and in control. He was too busy adjusting to his new life to feel comfortable. He never picked fights with any of the dogs, and avoided fighting whenever he could. Even though he and Spitz did not like each other, and that dislike grew every day, Buck

第四章最强壮的狗巴克有一种愿望，要成为一群狗中最强壮的狗，在艰苦的野外生活条件下，他的这种愿望越来越强烈。 但他一直保密。他有一种新的鬼鬼祟祟和狡猾的感觉，这让他看起来很平静，很有控制力。 他忙于适应新生活，感觉不舒服。 他从不和狗打架，只要有可能，他就避免打架。 尽管他和斯皮兹不喜欢对方，而且这种不喜欢一天比一天加深

did not let it show. On the other hand, possibly because he sensed that Buck could take his place as leader of the pack, Spitz never let a chance pass to show his teeth. He went out of his way to bully Buck, and he always tried to start a fight that could only end with one of them running away. This almost happened early in the trip, but an accident got in the way. At the end of this day, they had made camp on the shore of Lake Le Barge. It was bleak and miserable. Driving snow, a wind that was sharp as a knife, and total darkness forced them to search blindly for a camping place. They could not have chosen worse. At their backs there was a wall of rock, and Perrault and Francois had to make their fire and spread their sleeping bags on the ice of the lake itself. They had thrown the tent away so they could travel light. They used a few sticks of

没有表现出来。另一方面，可能是因为斯皮兹感觉到巴克可以取代他成为狼群的领袖，他从不放过任何露出牙齿的机会。 他不顾一切地欺负巴克，总是想挑起一场争斗，结果只能以其中一人逃跑告终。 这几乎发生在旅行的早期，但意外发生了。 这一天快结束时，他们在勒巴格湖岸边扎营。 那里荒凉而悲惨。 大雪纷飞，寒风如刀，漆黑一片，他们不得不盲目地寻找露营的地方。 他们没有比这更糟糕的选择了。 他们身后是一堵石墙，佩诺特和弗朗索瓦斯不得不在湖面上生火，把睡袋铺在冰上。 为了轻装旅行，他们把帐篷扔了。 他们用了几根树枝

driftwood to make their fire, but it burned through the ice and left them to eat supper in the dark. Close to the wall of rock, Buck had dug his hole in the snow. He was so snug and warm in it that he did not want to leave when Francois gave out the fish, after thawing it over the fire. When Buck finished eating and returned to his hole, he found another dog in it. A warning snarl told him it was Spitz. Until then, Buck had avoided trouble with his enemy, but this was too much. The beast in him roared. He sprang on Spitz with a fury that surprised them both. Spitz was especially surprised because his whole experience with Buck had told him that Buck was usually a timid and quiet dog who managed to hold his own with the other dogs only because of his great weight and size. Francois was surprised, too, when they rolled out in a tangle from the sleeping hole,

他们想用浮木生火，但它烧穿了冰，让他们只能在黑暗中吃晚饭。 巴克在靠近岩壁的地方挖了个洞。 弗朗索瓦斯在火上把鱼解冻后，把鱼递了出去，他觉得又舒服又暖和，不想离开。 巴克吃完东西回到洞里时，发现洞里还有一只狗。 一声警告的咆哮告诉他那是斯皮兹。 在此之前，巴克一直避免与他的敌人发生冲突，但这太过分了。 他内心的野兽咆哮着。他怒气冲冲地扑向斯皮兹，把他们俩都吓了一跳。 斯皮兹特别惊讶，因为他和巴克相处的整个经历告诉他，巴克通常是一只胆小、安静的狗，只是因为它的体重和体型很大，才在其他狗中站稳了脚。 弗朗索瓦斯也吃了一惊，他们从睡觉的洞里滚了出来，

and he guessed why they were fighting. "A-a-ah!" he cried to Buck. "Give it to him, by God! Give it to him, the dirty thief!" Spitz was just as willing to fight. He was crying with anger and eagerness as he circled back and forth, looking for a moment to jump in. Buck was also eager, but just as careful, as he circled back and forth. It was then that something unexpected happened that made them wait for another time to fight. Perrault yelled, and there was the sound of barking. The camp was suddenly alive with other animals. They were starving wild huskies, four or five dozen of them, who had smelled the camp from a nearby village. They had crept in while Buck and Spitz were fighting, and when the two men jumped in among the wild dogs, they showed their teeth and fought back. The smell of food

他猜到了他们打架的原因。 “啊——啊！”他对巴克喊道。 “给他吧，上帝保佑！”给他，这个肮脏的小偷！”斯皮兹也同样愿意战斗。 他又气又急地哭着，来回地转着圈，想找个机会跳进去。 巴克也很急切，但他在来回转圈时同样小心翼翼。 就在那时，一些意想不到的事情发生了，使他们等待另一个时间来战斗。 佩诺特喊道，接着传来了狗叫声。 营地里突然充满了其他动物。 它们是四五十多只饥饿的野生哈士奇，从附近的一个村庄嗅到了营地的气味。 他们是在巴克和斯皮兹打架的时候溜进来的，当这两个人跳到野狗群中时，他们露出了牙齿，进行了反击。 食物的味道

made them crazy. Perrault found one eating from the grub box, where the men stored all the food. He chased that one away, but the grub box was knocked over, and right away more of the wild dogs were scrambling for the bread and bacon. They yelped and howled as the men tried to scare them away. In the meantime, the astonished sled dogs had burst out of their sleeping holes only to be jumped on by the fierce invaders. Buck had never seen such dogs. They were so skinny it seemed as though he could see their skeletons through their skin. Their eyes were blazing and they showed their teeth. Their hunger made them very scary, and it was impossible to fight them off. The sled dogs were pushed back against the cliff during the first attack. Three huskies tried to fight with Buck. The sound was very frightening. Billee was crying. Dave and Sol-leks were fighting bravely side by side. Joe was barking like a

让他们疯了。佩诺特发现一只正在吃食物箱里的东西，那是人们储存食物的地方。 他把那只狗赶走了，但食物盒被打翻了，更多的野狗马上就开始争抢面包和培根。 当人们试图把它们吓跑时，它们又叫又叫。 与此同时，受惊的雪橇狗从它们的睡眠洞里冲了出来，却被凶猛的入侵者扑了上来。 巴克从未见过这样的狗。 他们是那么瘦，他仿佛可以透过他们的皮肤看到他们的骨骼。 他们的眼睛闪闪发光，龇牙咧嘴。 它们的饥饿使它们非常可怕，想要击退它们是不可能的。 在第一次攻击中，雪橇犬被推到悬崖上。 三只哈士奇想和巴克打架。 那声音很可怕。 比利哭了。戴夫和索拉克斯勇敢地并肩作战。 乔像狗一样叫

monster. Pike was running around from dog to dog. The fight was making Buck crazy and excited. It made him fierce. He chased away one dog, then felt another next to him. It was Spitz, unfairly attacking him again from the side. Perrault and Francois chased away the wild dogs from their part of the camp and then hurried to help their sled dogs. The starving dogs moved away, and Buck shook himself free. But it was only for a moment. The two men had to run back to save the grub, where the wild dogs had run. When the men chased them away, the huskies returned to attack the team. Billee, terrified into bravery, sprang through the savage circle of wild dogs and ran away over the ice. Pike and Dub followed, with the rest of the team behind them. As Buck got ready to spring after them, out of the corner of his eye he saw Spitz rush at him, to try to knock him over.

怪物。派克从一条狗跑到另一条狗。 这场战斗使巴克疯狂而兴奋。 这使他变得凶狠。他赶走了一只狗，然后又觉得旁边有另一只。 是斯皮兹，又一次从边路不公平地攻击他。 佩诺特和弗朗索瓦斯把野狗赶出了他们的营地，然后赶紧去帮助他们的雪橇狗。 饥饿的狗走开了，巴克挣脱了束缚。 但那只是一瞬间。 这两个人不得不跑回野狗跑过的地方去捡食物。 当人们把它们赶走时，哈士奇又回来攻击他们。 比利吓得勇敢起来，从野蛮的野狗圈里跳了出来，跑到冰上去了。 派克和杜布跟在后面，其他队员跟在他们后面。 正当巴克准备扑向他们时，他从眼角看到斯皮兹向他冲过来，想把他撞倒。