5 Rivals

CHAPTER 5 Rivals From then on it was war between the two dogs. Spitz, as lead dog and master of the team, worried that this strange southern dog would take his place. And Buck certainly was strange to him. Spitz had known many southern dogs, and none of them had been strong in the camp or on the trail. They were all too soft. They could not take the hard work, the frost, and the starvation. Buck was different. He could match the huskies in

strength, savagery, and cunning. He was a great dog, and what made him more dangerous was that his early experience with the man in the red sweater had taught him to save up his anger and to be patient. He was smart, and he could wait in a way that made him as sneaky as the wildest dogs. All the dogs knew that Buck and Spitz would fight to be the leader of the team. Buck wanted it. He felt a special kind of pride, which all of the dogs that worked on the trail also felt. It was pride that made them work so hard and not want to give up. This pride changed Dave and Solleks every morning from mean and sullen dogs into eager, ambitious ones. Pride kept them going every day. It made Spitz the leader and also made him punish any of the dogs that could not keep up or tried to get out of hard work. It was this pride that made him afraid of Buck.

Buck threatened Spitz's leadership all the time. He kept Spitz from punishing the dogs who did not work hard enough. One night there was a heavy snowfall, and in the morning Pike, who never liked to work hard, did not appear. He was hidden in his nest under a foot of snow. Francois called him and searched for him. Spitz was wild with anger. He raged through the camp, smelling and digging everywhere, and snarling so loudly that Pike heard and shivered in his hiding place. But when Spitz finally found him and tried to punish him, Buck jumped in between them, knocking Spitz backward. Pike had been shaking with fear, but when he saw this happen, he became happy and jumped on Spitz. Buck no longer remembered what it meant to fight fairly, and so he also jumped on Spitz. Francois broke them up quickly, and while he punished Buck, Spitz punished

Pike. As they moved closer and closer to Dawson, Buck continued to come between Spitz and the other dogs. But Buck was smart about it. He waited until Francois was not around. Many of the other dogs also began to be unruly, except for Dave and Sol-leks. Everything was going wrong. The dogs were always fighting and getting in trouble; Buck was always the cause, and he kept Francois very busy. Francois knew that Buck and Spitz would have a terrible fight one day, and whenever he heard trouble among the dogs, he thought Buck and Spitz were at it again. But the chance never came, and the team pulled into Dawson one dreary afternoon with the great fight still to come. Here were many men and countless dogs, and they were all hard at work. All day the dogs ran up and down the main street in long teams, pulling sleds, and at night he could hear the jingling

bells on their collars as they ran. They hauled logs for cabins and firewood up to the mines. Dogs did all the work that horses did back home in the Santa Clara Valley, at Judge Miller's place. Here and there, Buck met other southern dogs, but most of them were huskies, and had been bred for this kind of work. Every night at nine, then at twelve, and again at three, they sang together. It was a weird and eerie chant, and Buck loved joining them. With the northern lights overhead, which looked like flames, the stars twinkling, and the land frozen under the snow, this song of the huskies sounded very sad, with long cries and half sobs. It was an old song, one of the first songs that the first huskies ever sang, so many years ago. When Buck sang with them, he felt the fear and mystery of the cold and dark. Seven days after they pulled into Dawson,

they left again. This time they were on the Yukon Trail headed back to Dyea and Salt Water, which was where they had started. Perrault was carrying letters that were even more important than the ones he had brought in. He felt as proud of his work as the dogs did, and he decided they were going to make the trip in record time. He had many reasons to think they could do it. The week's rest had helped the dogs to recover, and they were filled with energy. The trail that had been so soft on the way here was now packed down hard from the teams that had come after them. The Northwest police had also agreed to leave food and supplies for the men and dogs at two or three places along the way, and now this team was traveling with a lighter load than on their way up. They traveled fifty miles on the first day, and the second day saw them speeding up