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Chapter III. The Dominant Primordial Beast

The dominant primordial beast was strong in Buck, and under the conditions of trail life it grew and grew. Yet it was a secret growth. There was hatred between him and Spitz, but he did not demonstrate it.

On the other hand, Spitz never missed an opportunity of showing his teeth. He constantly wanted to start the fight which could end only in the death of one or the other.

At the end of one day they made a camp on the shore of Lake Le Barge. At their backs there was a perpendicular wall of rock, and Perrault and Francois had to make their fire and spread their sleeping robes on the ice of the lake itself. The tent they had left at Dyea in order to travel light.[23]

Close to the rock Buck made his nest. But after supper, when Buck finished his meal and returned, he found his nest occupied by Spitz. This was too much. He sprang upon Spitz with a fury which surprised them both.

Spitz was crying with pure rage as he circled looking for a chance to spring in. Buck was no less cautious. But then the unexpected happened, and their struggle for supremacy[24] was postponed far into the future.

There appeared hungry huskies, who had scented the camp from some Indian village. When the two men sprang among them with clubs they showed their teeth and fought back. They were crazed by the smell of food. In an instant, they ate bread and bacon. They cried under the rain of blows, but struggled madly till the last piece had been eaten.

Never had Buck seen such dogs. They were just skeletons. But the hunger-madness made them terrifying. Buck was attacked by three huskies. He and his mates fought bravely. When Buck’s teeth went through an enemy’s artery, the warm taste of it in his mouth made him fiercer. He flung himself upon another, and at the same time felt teeth sank into his own throat. It was Spitz, treacherously attacking from the side.

Perrault and Francois hurried to save their sled-dogs. The hungry beasts fled, and for a moment Buck was free. But the two men had to run back to save the food, after which the huskies returned to attack the team. Billee sprang through the circle and fled away over the ice. The rest of the team followed. When Buck wanted to run after them, he saw Spitz rush upon him with the obvious intention of overthrowing him. If he fell under that mass of huskies, there would be no hope for him. But he managed to join the others in the flight out on the lake.