it unhesitatingly against Matthewson s six hundred.
The team of ten dogs was unhitched, and Buck, with his own harness, was
put into the sled. He had caught the contagion of the excitement, and
he felt that in some way he must do a great thing for John Thornton.
Murmurs of admiration at his splendid appearance went up. He was in
perfect condition, without an ounce of superfluous flesh, and the one
hundred and fifty pounds that he weighed were so many pounds of grit
and virility. His furry coat shone with the sheen of silk. Down the
neck and across the shoulders, his mane, in repose as it was, half
bristled and seemed to lift with every movement, as though excess of
vigor made each particular hair alive and active. The great breast and
heavy fore legs were no more than in proportion with the rest of the
body, where the muscles showed in tight rolls underneath the skin. Men
felt these muscles and proclaimed them hard as iron, and the odds went
down to two to one.
Gad, sir! Gad, sir! stuttered a member of the latest dynasty, a king
of the Skookum Benches. I offer you eight hundred for him, sir, before
the test, sir; eight hundred just as he stands.
Thornton shook his head and stepped to Buck s side.
You must stand off from him, Matthewson protested. Free play and
plenty of room.
The crowd fell silent; only could be heard the voices of the gamblers
vainly offering two to one. Everybody acknowledged Buck a magnificent
animal, but twenty fifty-pound sacks of flour bulked too large in their
eyes for them to loosen their pouch-strings.
Thornton knelt down by Buck s side. He took his head in his two hands
and rested cheek on cheek. He did not playfully shake him, as was his
wont, or murmur soft love curses; but he whispered in his ear. As you
love me, Buck. As you love me, was what he whispered. Buck whined with
suppressed eagerness.
The crowd was watching curiously. The affair was growing mysterious. It
seemed like a conjuration. As Thornton got to his feet, Buck seized his
mittened hand between his jaws, pressing in with his teeth and
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