For the Love of a Man by Jack London

4.9

Part I

A party of three men waited for spring, when the river was free of ice. Then they could make a boat and go down the river to look for gold. Thornton was the leader of the party, Hans and Pete helped him. There were three dogs in the party—Buck, Skeet and Nig. They were great friends—the men and the dogs. Buck was friendly with the other two dogs and with Hans and Pete, but he loved only Thornton. Thornton not only gave the dogs food and water, but he talked to the dogs as if they were men. Thornton was kind to the three dogs, but he loved only Buck. He often took the dog’s head between his hands and put his head on Buck’s head. Buck liked to lick Thornton’s hands.

When spring came and the river was free of ice, the men finished the boat. The next morning they began their journey. It was difficult to go down the river as it ran very fast. In some places Hans and Pete and the dogs got out of the boat and on to the bank.

Thornton stayed in the boat, and Pete and Hans tied a rope to it. Then they walked along the bank and pulled the boat. At one such place Thornton fell out of the boat into the river. Buck saw it and jumped quickly into the water.

The dog tried to swim to Thornton, but the river ran so fast that the dog could not get to him. Thornton got on a large stone and stood there. He cried to Buck to swim back to the bank. The dog did not want to leave his friend, but Thornton repeated the command, and Buck swam back to the bank. Then Hans and Pete tied a long rope to Buck and sent him into the river. In a few minutes the water carried him to Thornton. Thornton put his arms round Buck, Hans and Pete pulled the rope and they swam to the bank. The water beat them against the stones, and ran into their noses and ears.

When Hans and Pete pulled the man and the dog on to the bank, Thornton’s eyes were shut, his face was white. When he opened his eyes, he could not speak, but his eyes asked: “Where is Buck?”

Buck was ill for some days. The party stayed there for a month.

Part II

One day Thornton, Hans and Pete had dinner at a cafe. They talked to other men about dogs. Every man said he had the best dog. Thornton said so too. One man said: “I have a dog which can pull a sledge with two hundred and fifty kilograms on it.”

A second man said: “My dog can pull a sledge with three hundred kilograms.” A third man said that three hundred and fifty kilograms was not too much for his dog.

Thornton said: “Buck can pull a sledge with five hundred kilograms.”

Mathewson, one of the men in the cafe, asked: “Can he pull it a hundred meters?”

“Yes, and pull it a hundred meters,” answered Thornton.

“Well,” said Mathewson, “I have a thousand dollars here, and I shall give it to you if the dog does it. Will you give me a thousand dollars if the dog does not do it?”

Thornton did not answer. He had no money. He looked at the men in the cafe and saw an old friend, O’Brien by name.

“Have you a thousand?” he asked O’Brien. “Yes, I have, you can have it,” said O’Brien.

“I have a sledge with twenty bags on it. Each bag is twenty-five kilograms,” said Mathewson.

The men came out of the cafe and stood around the sledge. Thornton tied Buck to the sledge, came to the dog and looked into his black eyes. He thought the dog understood him.

“As you love me, Buck,” he said to the dog, “Now, go!” Buck pulled, but the sledge did not move. Buck pulled again and again, but the sledge did not move. And then Buck pulled first to the left and then to the right. The sledge moved slowly, slowly, and then faster and faster. The men watched the sledge without a word.

When the sledge passed the one hundred meters they began to cry “Good dog” and took off their hats. Mathewson said to Thornton: “Sell me that dog. I’ll give you a thousand dollars for him!” But Thornton did not listen to him. He went up to Buck, took the dog’s head between his hands and put his head on the dog’s head. And Buck licked Thornton’s hands.