t PRIMORDIAL BEASt

    t primordial beast rong in Buck, and under tions of trail life it gre it  groing o to feel at ease, and not only did  pick fig ain deliberateness cerized titude.  prone to rasate action; and in tter red betience, ss.

    On tz never lost an opportunity of seet out of o bully Buck, striving constantly to start t wher.

    Early in trip t aken place  not been for an uned accident. At t cut like a  t and Francois o make tself. tent t Yea in order to travel ligicks of drift to eat supper in the dark.

    Close in under tering rock Buck made . So snug and , t o leave it ed t t urned,  occupied. A old  trespasser z. till no too muc in z z particularly, for o teac imid dog,  and size.

    Francois oo,  in a tangle from ted nest and rouble. quot;A-a-a; o Buck. quot;Give it to  to y t;

    Spitz ious, as age. But it  ted ed truggle for supremacy far into ture, past many a rail and toil.

    An oat, t of a club upon a bony frame, and a so be alive arving ed t in out clubs teet back. t found one  ribs, and tant a score of tes  struggled none till t crumb had been devoured.

    In time toniseam-dogs  out of ts only to be set upon by t seemed as t tons, draped loosely in draggled  terrifying, irresistible. team-dogs  back against t t onset. Buck  by trice ful. Billee s neck eet a frot, and eetaste of it in o greater fierceness.  time felt teeto . It z, treactacking from the side.

    Perrault and Francois,  t of to save ts rolled back before t is . to run back to save turned to ttack on team. Billee, terrified into bravery, sprang t of team beogeto spring after t of tail of z rus intention of overt and under t mass of  o tzs c out on the lake.

    Later, team-dogs gatoget ser in t. t. t one eam at Yea, orn t; Joe  an eye;  to ribbons, cried and . At daybreak to camp, to find tempers. Fully , notter ely eatable, en a pair of Perraults moose- of traces, and even t of lasemplation of it to look over his wounded dogs.

    quot;A; ly, quot;mebbe it make you mad dog, tes. Mebbe all mad dog, sacredam!  you t?quot;

    trail still bet to siffened team ruggling painfully over t part of trail t encountered, and for t matter, t bethem and Dawson.

    ty Mile River s er defied t, and it  places t t all. Six days of exing toil o cover ty terrible miles. And terrible t of t to dog and man. A dozen times, Perrault, nosing t it fell eacime across t a cold snap er registering fifty below zero, and eacime o build a fire and dry s.

    Noted  ed   courier. ook all manner of risks, resolutely ting tle o t and struggling on from dim dao dark. ed t bent and crackled under foot and upon  droime t. to save ted solidly  ting and t the flames.

    At anotime Spitz  team after o Buck, rengt beraining backward, and beill endons cracked.

    Again, t up t scaled it by a miracle,  miracle; and  bit of o a long rope, ted, one by one, to t. Francois came up last, after to descend, imately made by t found ter of a mile to t.

    By time talinqua and good ice, Buck . t of tion; but Perrault, to make up lost time, puse and early. t day ty-five miles to t day ty-five more to ttle Salmon; ty miles, ohe Five Fingers.

    Bucks feet  so compact and  of tened during tions since t or amed by a cave do receive ion of fiso bring to  for  after supper, and sacrificed tops of o make four moccasins for Buck. t relief, and Buck caused even t to t itself into a grin one morning,  o budge  ter  grerail, and t footgear hrown away.

    At t suddenly mad. Sion by a long, -breaking  every dog bristling raigo fear madness; yet   in a panic. Straiging and frot o to anoto tion started to cross it. And all time, t look,  one leap beo er of a mile aing all  Francois  he axe crashed down upon mad Dollys head.

    Buck staggered over against ted, sobbing for breatzs opportunity. o ing foe and ripped and tore to tisfaction of cz receive t ered to any of team.

    quot;One devil, dat Spitz,quot; remarked Perrault. quot;Some dam day  Buck.quot;

    quot;Dat Buck t; ;All de time I c Buck I knoz all up and spit  on de sno;

    From t z, as lead-dog and acknoer of team, felt ened by trange Soutrange Buck o  one rail. too soft, dying under toil, t, and starvation. Buck ion. crengterful dog, and  ter  of ery. ly cunning, and could bide ime ience t ive.

    It able t ted it. ed it because it race--t pride o t gasp, s if t out of trengt laid  break of camp, transforming tes into straining, eager, ambitious creatures; t spurred t pitc nigting to gloomy unrest and discontent. t bore up Spitz and made races or  ime in t  made oo.

    ened tely. One nig appear.  under a foot of snofully t Pike heard and shivered in his hiding-place.

    But  uneartz fle o punised , and so s Spitz ly, took  at tiny, and sprang upon o z. But Francois, c t ion of justice, broug. to drive Buck from rate rival, and tt of t into play. unned by tz soundly punisimes offending Pike.

    In t folloill continued to interfere betz and ts; but  craftily,  mutiny of Buck, a general insubordination sprang up and increased. Dave and Sol-leks ed, but t of team  from bad to  riginual bickering and jangling. trouble , and at ttom of it ant appreruggle betake place sooner or later; and on more t trife among turned  of  Buck and Spitz  it.

    But tunity did not present itself, and to Daernoon  figill to come. less dogs, and Buck found t  seemed t dogs sreet in long teams, and in t till  by. ted up to t a Clara Valley.  Sout in t, regularly, at nine, at ted a nocturnal song, a weird and eerie c, in w was Bucks deligo join.

    itars leaping in t dance, and ts pall of sno  ciculate travail of existence. It self--one of t songs of t ed ions, t by irred.   ery of t o tery. And t irred by it marked teness o the howling ages.

    Seven days from time to Daeep bank by to trail, and pulled for Yea and Salt ater. Perrault c t in; also, travel pride o make trip of t ed t trim. trail to try s of grub for dog and man, and raveling light.

    ty Mile,  day; and to Pelly. But suc  great trouble and vexation on t of Francois. t led by Buck royed ty of team. It no longer races. t Buck gave to all kinds of petty misdemeanors. No more z a leader greatly to be feared. ted, and to cy. Pike robbed , and gulped it doection of Buck. Anot Dub and Joe fougz and made  tured, ured, and z  snarling and bristling menacingly. In fact,  approac of a bully, and o szs very nose.

    ted tions ill at times tered, table by trange barbarous oatamped tile rage, and tore  it ly urned t it again. z eam. Francois kneoo clever ever again to be caugoil  to  it er deligo precipitate a fig es and tangle traces.

    At ta after supper, Dub turned up a sno, and missed. In a second team y dogs,  sped dourned off into a small creek, up t eadily. It ran ligrengty strong, around bend after bend, but  gain. o te moonlig  flashed on ahead.

    All t stirring of old instincts ated periods drives men out from ties to forest and plain to kill ts, t, to kill--all t ely more intimate.  t, to kill eeto the eyes in warm blood.

    tasy t marks t of life, and beyond  comes as a complete forgetfulness t one is alive. tasy, tfulness of living, comes to tist, caug of  of flame; it comes to tricken field and refusing quarter; and it came to Buck, leading training after t  fled sly before . ure, and of ts of ure t o time. ered by tidal  joy of eace muscle, joint, and sine it   deat it , expressing itself in movement, flying exultantly under tars and over tter t did not move.

    But Spitz, cold and calculating even in  t across a narro  still flitting before  o te pat. It z. t could not turn, and as te teets back in mid air it sricken man may s sound of t Bucks .

    Buck did not cry out.  c drove in upon Spitz, so s . tz gained  almost as t been overtogeteel jarap, as ter footing, ing lips t hed and snarled.

    In a flas. time  o t, snarling, ears laid back, keenly cage, to Buck y. o remember it all--te , and ttle. Over teness and silence brooded a gly calm. t test y air. t , t amed ant circle. too, , ting sloo Buck it range, time. It  ed hings.

    Spitz iced figzbergen tic, and across Canada and to mastery over tter rage o rend and destroy,  t o rend and destroy. ill o receive a rustacked till  defended t attack.

    In vain Buck strove to sink eete dog. ruck for ter flesered by tz. Fang clas and bleeding, but Buck could not penetrate z in a ime again ried for te t, ime and every time Spitz slas aook to rus, z, as a ram by  instead, Bucks sime as Spitz leaped lightly away.

    Spitz oucreaming ing  e. And all t and o finis doz took to rus aggering for footing. Once Buck  over, and ty dogs started up; but  in mid air, and ted.

    But Buck possessed a quality t made for greatness--imagination.  by instinct, but  by tempting trick, but at t instant s loo teetzs left fore leg. te dog faced ried to knock ed trick and broke t fore leg. Despite tz struggled madly to keep up.  circle, ongues, and silvery breating upagonists in t. Only time en.

    tler climes. igill z and to eito fall. Every animal ionless as turned to stone. Only Spitz quivered and bristled as aggered back and forto frig; but  squarely met s on tz disappeared from vieood and looked on, t primordial beast w good.