9 The Bet

CHAPTER 9 The Bet That winter in Dawson, Buck did another amazing thing that made him even more famous. It all started during a conversation in the Eldorado Hotel, where some men were telling each other about their favorite dogs. Buck was the most famous, but these men said that he was not so great. Thornton argued with them. One man said that his dog could pull a sled with five hundred pounds on it. Another man said six hundred for his dog, and a third said seven hundred. "That's nothing," said John Thornton.

在道森的那个冬天，巴克做了另一件让他更加出名的惊人的事。 这一切都始于埃尔多拉多酒店的一次谈话，一些男人在那里互相讲述他们最喜欢的狗。 巴克是最有名的，但这些人说他没有那么伟大。 桑顿和他们争论起来。 一个人说他的狗可以拉一个500磅的雪橇。 另一个人说六百买他的狗，第三个人说七百。 “那没什么，”约翰·桑顿说。

"Buck can pull a sled with a thousand pounds on it." "And break it out of the ice? And walk off with it for a hundred yards?" asked Matthewson, who had claimed seven hundred pounds for his dog. "And break it out and walk off with it for a hundred yards," John Thornton said, coolly. "Well," Matthewson said, slowly and deliberately, so everyone could hear, "I've got a thousand dollars that says he can't. And there it is." He slammed a sack of gold dust the size of a sausage on the bar. Nobody spoke. Thornton could feel himself blush. He had spoken too soon. He did not know if Buck could pull that much. A thousand pounds! The size of it made him feel sick. He was certain that Buck had great strength, and he had thought many times that Buck might be able to pull such a load.

“巴克可以拉一个装着一千磅的雪橇。” “把它从冰里弄出来？” 然后牵着它走一百码？”马修逊问，他已经为他的狗认领了700英镑。 “把它拿出来，带着它走一百码。”约翰·桑顿冷冷地说。 “好吧，”马修逊慢条斯理地说，好让每个人都能听见，“我赌一千美元，他不能。 它就在那儿。”他猛地把一袋香肠大小的金粉扔在吧台上。 没有人说话。桑顿感到自己脸红了。 他说得太早了。他不知道巴克是否能拉那么多。 一千英镑！它的大小让他感到恶心。 他确信巴克的力气很大，他也多次想到巴克也许能拉这么重的东西。

But now he had to do it. The whole town was waiting and watching. Even worse, Thornton did not have a thousand dollars. Neither did Hans, nor Pete. "I've got a sled standing outside now, with twenty fifty-pound sacks of flour on it," Matthewson went on, sounding mean. "That's a thousand pounds. So we can go right now." Thornton did not reply. He did not know what to say. He looked from face to face, and saw an old friend, Jim O'Brien. "Can you lend me a thousand?" Thornton asked, almost in a whisper. "Sure," answered O'Brien, thumping down a sack right next to Matthewson's. "I'm putting my faith in you, John, that the beast can do the trick." "Don't worry, that dog can do miracles," Thornton said. "He even saved my life, once."

但现在他不得不这么做了。全镇的人都在等着看。 更糟糕的是，桑顿没有1000美元。 汉斯和皮特也不知道。 “我现在有一个雪橇停在外面，上面有20袋50磅重的面粉，”马修逊继续说，听起来很刻薄。 “那是一千英镑。 所以我们现在就可以走了。”桑顿没有回答。 他不知道说什么好。 他面面相觑，看到了一位老朋友，吉姆·奥勃良。 “你能借我一千块钱吗？”桑顿问道，几乎是耳语。 “当然，”奥勃良回答说，砰地一声把一个麻袋放在马修逊的袋子旁边。 “我相信你，约翰，这头野兽能做到。” “别担心，那只狗能创造奇迹，”桑顿说。 “他甚至救过我的命，有一次。”

"And he'd do it again," Pete said. Thinking back to the time when Buck almost jumped over the cliff on Thornton's command, he added, "I've never seen a dog so devoted to his master. If Buck can't do it, it can't be done." O'Brien nodded his head in agreement. "I've heard about this one and what he can do," he said, pointing to Buck. "I know it's a risk, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. Matthewson is a big talker, but Buck's the one who can get things done." Everyone left the Eldorado and stood on the street outside. Several hundred men, wearing furs and mittens, stood around Matthewson's sled. It was loaded with a thousand pounds of flour and had been sitting there for several hours. In the cold, the sled had frozen to the hardpacked snow. Most men were betting that Buck could not budge the sled.

“他还会再来一次，”皮特说。 回想起巴克在桑顿的命令下差点跳下悬崖的时候，他补充说：“我从来没有见过一只狗对主人如此忠诚。 如果巴克做不到，那就做不到。” 奥勃良点头表示同意。 “我听说过这个人，也听说过他的能耐，”他指着巴克说。 “我知道这有风险，但我愿意冒这个险。 马修逊是个夸夸其谈的人，但巴克才是真正能干的人。” 大家都离开了埃尔多拉多，站在外面的街道上。 几百人穿着皮衣，戴着连指手套，站在马修逊的雪橇周围。 车上装着一千磅面粉，已经在那里放了好几个小时了。 在寒冷的天气里，雪橇冻在了坚硬的积雪上。 大多数人都打赌巴克不可能移动雪橇。

Even John Thornton felt terrible that he had rushed into the bet once he looked at the sled, with its regular team of ten dogs lying in the snow in front of it. Buck's task seemed next to impossible. Matthewson, however, was happy. "Three to one!" he yelled. "I'll bet you another thousand at that figure, Thornton. What do you say?" Thornton looked worried, but his fighting spirit was aroused. He called Hans and Pete to him. Together, the three men had only two hundred dollars. It was everything they had, and they bet it all. The team of ten dogs was unhitched, and Buck, with his own harness, was connected to the sled. He had felt the excitement around him, and he knew that in some way he had to do a great thing for John Thornton. The crowd talked about how great Buck

就连约翰·桑顿一看到雪橇，就觉得自己不该贸然下注，雪橇前的雪地上躺着10只狗。 巴克的任务几乎是不可能完成的。 然而马修逊很高兴。 “三比一！” “我跟你赌一千美元，桑顿。 你说呢？”桑顿看起来很担心，但他的斗志被激发了。 他把汉斯和皮特叫到他身边。 这三个人加起来只有200美元。 这是他们的一切，他们赌上了一切。 十只狗被解开了，巴克用自己的挽具拴在雪橇上。 他感觉到了周围的兴奋，他知道，在某种程度上，他必须为约翰·桑顿做一件大事。 人们都在谈论巴克有多伟大

looked. He was in perfect shape, one hundred and fifty pounds of pure strength, and his furry coat shone like silk. Men felt his muscles and said they were as hard as iron, and the odds went down to two to one. "By God, sir!" exclaimed one member of the crowd to Thornton, "I'll offer you eight hundred for him, sir, before the test of strength. Eight hundred for him right now." Thornton shook his head and stepped to Buck's side. "You must stay away from him as he pulls," Matthewson said. "Give him plenty of room." The crowd fell silent. Everybody agreed that Buck was a magnificent animal, but they thought one thousand pounds was just too much for one dog to pull, and no one else would bet that he could do it. Thornton knelt next to Buck. He took his

看。他身材匀称，有一百五十磅的纯体力，毛茸茸的皮毛像丝绸一样闪闪发光。 男人们摸了摸他的肌肉，说他的肌肉像铁一样坚硬，赔率降到了2比1。 “上帝保佑，先生！”人群中的一个人对桑顿喊道，“我愿意出800元买他，先生，在力量测试之前。 现在给他八百镑。” 桑顿摇了摇头，走到巴克身边。 “他拉的时候你必须离他远点，”马修逊说。 “给他足够的空间。” 人群安静了下来。每个人都认为巴克是一只了不起的动物，但他们认为1000磅对一只狗来说太大了，而且没有人敢打赌他能做到。 桑顿跪在巴克旁边。 他拿走了他的