came into his eyes, and, as the whipping continued, he arose and walked
irresolutely up and down.
This was the first time Buck had failed, in itself a sufficient reason
to drive Hal into a rage. He exchanged the whip for the customary club.
Buck refused to move under the rain of heavier blows which now fell
upon him. Like his mates, he was barely able to get up, but, unlike
them, he had made up his mind not to get up. He had a vague feeling of
impending doom. This had been strong upon him when he pulled in to the
bank, and it had not departed from him. What of the thin and rotten ice
he had felt under his feet all day, it seemed that he sensed disaster
close at hand, out there ahead on the ice where his master was trying
to drive him. He refused to stir. So greatly had he suffered, and so
far gone was he, that the blows did not hurt much. And as they
continued to fall upon him, the spark of life within flickered and went
down. It was nearly out. He felt strangely numb. As though from a great
distance, he was aware that he was being beaten. The last sensations of
pain left him. He no longer felt anything, though very faintly he could
hear the impact of the club upon his body. But it was no longer his
body, it seemed so far away.
And then, suddenly, without warning, uttering a cry that was
inarticulate and more like the cry of an animal, John Thornton sprang
upon the man who wielded the club. Hal was hurled backward, as though
struck by a falling tree. Mercedes screamed. Charles looked on
wistfully, wiped his watery eyes, but did not get up because of his
stiffness.
John Thornton stood over Buck, struggling to control himself, too
convulsed with rage to speak.
If you strike that dog again, I ll kill you, he at last managed to
say in a choking voice.
It s my dog, Hal replied, wiping the blood from his mouth as he came
back. Get out of my way, or I ll fix you. I m going to Dawson.
Thornton stood between him and Buck, and evinced no intention of
getting out of the way. Hal drew his long hunting-knife. Mercedes
screamed, cried, laughed, and manifested the chaotic abandonment of
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