Chapter 6 For the Love of a Man

John Thornton had bad feet from an accident in the winter before Buck came. So his friends made a camp for him, and they left him by the river.

" We're going to Dawson. But we'll be back for you when the weather's warmer. Have a long rest here and get better, " they said.

In the camp, Buck sat and watched the river. He listened to the songs of the birds, and he slowly got stronger and stronger. They all got stronger—Buck, Thornton, and his other dogs, Nig and Skeet—and they waited for Thornton's friends. Skeet was a small, friendly dog, and she was a little doctor to Buck. Every morning, after breakfast, she carefully washed Buck's cuts. Nig was a very large, black dog and he was also friendly. They were good friends and they played games every day.

And Buck slowly learned a new lesson. He learned about love. For the first time in his life, he felt strong love—for Thornton. This wonderful man took him away from Hal, and he helped him. He was kind and friendly, and he never hit him. Thornton's dogs were his children and he talked to them every day. Buck loved Thornton's talks with him. He barked at him.

" Wow, Buck, " Thornton laughed. " I think you can speak! "

Buck's love for Thornton got stronger and stronger. He loved Thornton more than anything in life.

Thornton's friends, Hans and Pete, arrived in the camp with their boat.

In the beginning, Buck didn't like these strange men, but then he saw Thornton's love for his friends.

So Buck walked to them when they called him. And he didn't bark angrily at them. But Buck's love was only for Thornton, and Hans and Pete could see this.

One day, the two men watched Thornton and Buck.

" Buck really loves Thornton, " Pete said. " But I'm afraid. You know the men in the North. Sometimes they get angry easily and some men like to fight. And when somebody hurts Thornton, Buck will go crazy."

" Yes, " answered Hans. " In Thornton's next fight, Buck will kill the other man."

It was at Circle City, in December, when Pete remembered those words. Thornton and his friends were in a bar. " Black" Barton was in the bar, too. He was a large, angry man. Barton wanted to fight with somebody, so he started to speak angrily to a smaller man. The man was afraid.

Thornton watched the two men. " Oh, no, there's going to be a fight, " he thought. " And this won't be a good fight, because Barton is bigger than that other man. I'll have to do something."

So Thornton went to Barton and spoke quietly to him. Barton turned around and hit Thornton very hard in the face.

The people in the bar heard a loud angry bark. Then a large dog quickly jumped up and ran at Barton. Barton put up his arm and Buck attacked it. Buck and Barton fell to the floor. Buck was on top of the man. He was very angry, and he attacked Barton again. This time, he hurt his neck very badly and Barton shouted with pain. Then some men pulled Buck off Barton and they took the dog outside.

A doctor came and looked at Barton's neck.

" He's got a very bad cut, but he's going to live, " he said.

A man said, " Yes, but Buck's dangerous. He almost killed that man! We'll have to kill him."

" No, we can't do that! " said another man. " Buck attacked Barton because Barton hit Thornton. He's a good dog, and he helped his friend."

So nobody was angry with Buck. But other people in Alaska heard about this wonderful, strange dog and his great love for Thornton.

At the end of the next summer, Buck showed his love for Thornton again. Hans, Pete, and Thornton wanted to take their boat down a fast river. Hans and Pete stood next to the river when Thornton was in the boat. Buck didn't like this river, and he watched Thornton very carefully.

Suddenly, the boat moved very quickly through the water and it hit a rock. The boat turned over and Thornton fell into the cold river. He quickly went under the fast water, and the river carried him away.

Buck jumped into the water and swam to his friend. When he came near, Thornton put his arms around Buck's neck. Then Buck tried to swim to Hans and Pete. They could pull Thornton out. But the water was very fast, and it pushed Thornton and Buck quickly down the river.

" You can't pull me to Hans and Pete! " Thornton shouted to Buck. He caught a large rock and pushed Buck away. " Go Buck! Go! You have to get out of the river! "

Buck didn't want to leave his friend, but he slowly swam to Hans and Pete.

The two men pulled the wet dog out of the river. They had to help Thornton quickly, so they ran fast to a place above Thornton.

Then they put a rope around Buck and he quickly jumped into the cold water again. But the water was too strong and it carried Buck past Thornton. Hans and Pete had to pull Buck out of the river again fast, before he hit the dangerous rocks. When they got Buck out of the water, he looked dead. There was a lot of water in his nose and mouth. Hans and Pete hit the water out of him, but he couldn't see very well.

" Help, help! I'm going down, " shouted Thornton.

Buck heard his friend's cry and jumped up. He felt very bad, but he had to help Thornton. Hans, Pete, and Buck quickly ran back to the place above Thornton. They put the rope around Buck's neck again, and he jumped in.

The water was very strong and very cold, but Buck didn't stop. Buck swam to Thornton, and Thornton caught him around his neck. Hans and Pete pulled the rope very hard, and slowly Buck and Thornton moved nearer to them. But they went under the water many times, and they hit many hard rocks.

Then, suddenly, they were on the ground next to the river. They looked dead and they had a lot of cuts on them. Buck couldn't move and he couldn't open his eyes.

When Thornton woke up, he wanted to see Buck. He sat up and saw his beautiful dog on the ground near him.

" Is he dead? " he quickly asked Pete.

" No, " Pete answered, " but he's in a lot of pain and he can't walk."

" OK, " said Thornton quietly, " we can't go down this river now. We'll stay here. And when Buck's well, we'll take the boat down the river again."

After many weeks, Buck got better and they all went down the river to Dawson.

That winter, at Dawson, Buck did another wonderful thing for Thornton.

Hans, Pete, and Thornton were in a bar, one afternoon, with other men.

Suddenly, one man said, " I have a very strong dog. I think he can pull a sledge with two hundred kilos of sugar on it! "

Another man, Matthewson, said, " Ha! That's nothing. My dog can pull a sledge with three hundred kilos of sugar on it."

" Now that's nothing, " said Thornton. " My Buck can pull a sledge with four hundred and fifty kilos of sugar on it! "

" And walk a hundred meters with it? " asked Matthewson.

" Yes, and walk a hundred meters, " answered Thornton coldly.

" Let's see this, and I'll give you a thousand dollars. Or you have to give me a thousand dollars. OK? " said Matthewson. He put a; large bag of gold on the table. " And here it is. I have a sledge outside, now, and it has four hundred and fifty kilos of sugar on it."

Nobody spoke, and Thornton's face went very red.

" Oh no! " he thought. " Can Buck pull four hundred and fifty kilos of sugar? "

He looked at the faces around him. And then he saw an old friend, Jim O'Brien.

" Can you give me a thousand dollars? " he asked quietly.

" Yes, of course, " answered his good friend.

Everybody walked quickly out of the bar. They were excited. They talked about Buck's test and about the money.

Thornton brought Buck to Matthewson's sledge, and put on his harness. Buck looked beautiful. He was young and strong. Thornton sat down next to Buck and put his arms around his neck. Then he put his hands on Buck's face and looked into his eyes.

" Do this for my love, Buck. Do this for me, " he said quietly.

Then Thornton stood up and walked away from his dog.

" Now, Buck... GO! " he shouted.

Buck jumped up and pulled hard, but it was a very difficult job. Buck pulled and pulled. Nobody spoke. Slowly, the sledge began to move. It moved one centimeter, and then two centimeters. And then it started to move across the snow. Thornton walked behind the sledge and shouted, " That's it, Buck. You're a strong dog. You can do it. Go, go! "

Buck felt tired, but he didn't stop. Slowly, he walked to the end of the hundred meters. Everybody went crazy. They shouted and jumped. They were happy and excited. They talked about Buck, the most wonderful dog in Alaska.

Thornton sat down next to Buck and put his hands on Buck's head.

" I love you, you crazy, wonderful dog, " he said happily.