The call of the wild

get to the bank quickly enough，so he let go of Buck，held on to a rock in the middle of the water，and shouted，‘Go，Buck，go！’

巴克立即跃入水中，游了300米才到桑顿的身边。然后他转过身，让桑顿抓住他的尾巴，巴克向河岸游去。但是他们游的很慢，河水始终冲着他们向一个急流漂去，那个急流从20米高的地方掉到下面的岩石上去。桑顿知道他们大概不能很快到达岸边，就松开了巴克，抓住水中的一块岩石喊着，“走，巴克，快走！”

Buck swam as hard as he could to the bank，and Pete and Hans pulled him out． 巴克使尽全身的力气向岸边游去，皮特和汉斯把他拉了上来。

It was hard for Thornton to hold on to his rock in that wild water，and his friends knew they had only a few minutes to save him．They tied their rope round Buck，who at once jumped into the river and tried to swim to Thornton．The first time，the water took him past the rock，and Pete and Hans had to pull him back The second time，he swam higher up the river，and the water brought him down to Thornton．Thornton held on to Buck，and Hans and Pete pulled the rope as hard as they could．Man and dog disappeared under the water，banging into rocks，turning over and over，sometimes with Buck on top，sometimes Thornton．When Hans and Pete finally pulled them out，both seemed more dead than alive But after a while their eyes opened and life returned

在那样湍急的水流中抓住一块岩石对桑顿来说恐怕艰辛异常，他的朋友们知道他们只有几分钟的时间来营救他。他们把绳索系在巴克身上，他立刻又跳到水中用力向桑顿游去。第一次，水把他冲过了岩石，皮特和汉斯不得不把他拽回来。第二次，他从河的上游游过去，河水把他带到桑顿那里。桑顿抓住巴克，汉斯和皮特用尽力气拉着绳索。人和狗一会儿消失在水下，撞进岩石中，在水中翻上翻下。有时巴克在上面，有时桑顿在上面。当汉斯和皮特最后把他们拉上来的时候，人和狗都几乎死过去了。但是不一会儿他们的眼睛睁开了，身上恢复了生命力。

That winter，at Dawson，Buck did something that made him even more famous in the north．It was also very helpful to the three men．They wanted to make a journey to look for gold in the east，and they needed money．They were in a bar one day when some of the men started to talk about dogs．One man said that he had a dog who was strong enough to pull a sledge with two hundred kilos on it．Another said his dog could pull two hundred and fifty．A third man，called Matthewson，said his dog could pull three hundred kilos．

那个冬天，在道桑，使巴克在北方更加闻名遐尔的是他干的另一件事。对3个人来说也受益不浅。他们打算到东部去旅行寻找金矿，但他们缺钱。一天他们在酒吧的时候有一些人开始谈论狗。有一个人说他有一只狗强壮得能拉200公斤重的雪撬。另一个人则夸耀他的狗能拉250公斤。第三个人叫马修逊，他甚至说他的狗可以拉得动300公斤。

‘That's nothing，’said Thornton．‘Buck can pull three hundred and fifty．’ “那算什么，”桑顿说。“巴克能够拉350公斤。”

‘ Can he break the sledge out when it's frozen to the ice and then start it moving？And pull it a hundred metres？’ asked Matthewson．

“他能够把冻在冰上的雪撬拉动吗？再拉100米远？”马修逊问道。

‘He can break it out，and start it，and pull it a hundred metres，said Thornton． “他能破冰拉动雪撬，而且能拉100米远。”桑顿答道。

‘Well，’said Matthewson，speaking slowly and loudly．‘I've got a thousand dollars here，and I say he can't．’ As he spoke，he took a bag of gold and put it down on the table． “好，”马修逊说，他的声音又慢又响亮，“我有1000美元，我打赌他办不到。”他一边说，一边掏出一袋金子放在桌上。

Suddenly Thornton was worried．He knew Buck was strong，but was he strong enough？ Now ten men were watching him and waiting．He didn't have a thousand dollars，and neither did Hans or Pete．

突然桑顿开始担心了。他知道巴克是健壮的。可是他真的如他所说的那样强壮吗？现在10个人都盯着他等待着。他没有1000美元，汉斯和皮特也没有。

‘I've got a sledge outside with three hundrd and fifty kilos on it，’said Matthewson．‘So it's easy if you want to try．’

“我外面的雪撬上有350公斤的东西。”马修逊说。“如果你想试一下的话，很容易。”

Thornton didn't know what to say．He looked at the other men in the bar．One of them was an old friend，Jim O’Brien．

桑顿不知说什么好了。他巡视了一下酒吧里的人。其中一个是他的老朋友，吉姆·奥布赖恩。

‘Can yon lend me a thousand dollars，Jim？’he asked softly． “你能借我1000美元吗，吉姆？”他轻声问到。

‘Sure，’said O’Brien，putting another bag of gold next to Matthewson's．‘But I don't think the dog can do it，John．’ “没问题，”奥布赖恩说，拿出另一袋金子搁在马修逊的金子旁边。“不过我觉得你那狗办不到，约翰。”

Everybody went out into the street．There were two or three hundred men around Matthewson's sledge．The sledge had been outside the bar for two hours，and it was frozen to the ice，in a temperature of 50°below zero．Most of the men thought that Buck was not strong enough，and Matthewson smiled happily．

每个人都跑到街上。大约有两三百人围着马修逊的雪撬。雪撬已经在外面停了两个小时。在零下50°的气温中，牢牢地冻结在冰上。大部分人都认为巴克不会有这么大的力气，马修逊得意地笑着。

‘Shall we make it two thousand dollars？’he asked． “我们打2000美金的赌怎么样？”他问。

Thornton，Hans and Pete talked for a minute．They had only four hundred dollars，but they

added this to O’Brien's thousand．Matthewson，very sure of winning．also put down another four hundred dollars． 桑顿，汉斯和皮特交谈了一会儿。他们只有400美元，他们把这加到奥布赖恩借的1000美元上。马修逊感觉会稳操胜券，也加了400美元。

Matthewson's ten dogs were taken away，and Buck，who could feel the excitement in the air，was harnessed to the sledge．Buck was，without question，a very fine animal—bright-eyed，intelligent，his thick coat shining with health．And he looked as strong as a horse．

马修逊的10条狗被牵到一边。巴克，嗅到空气中弥漫的兴奋，被套上了雪撬。毫无疑问，巴克是非常出色的——双眼炯炯有神，机智伶俐，一身浓密油亮的皮毛闪着健康的光泽，他就像一匹马一样健壮。

One man went up to Thornton．‘I'll buy him now，’he said．‘I’11 give you eight hundred dollars for him．’

一个人走上前对桑顿说：“我买他，我给你800美元。”

Thornton shook his head and sat down on the snow next to Buck．He held Buck's head in his hands and spoke softly into his ear．‘If you love me，Buck．If you love me．’

桑顿摇了摇头，然后就坐在巴克旁边的雪地上。他把巴克的头捧在手中在他耳边轻声说：“如果你爱我，巴克，如果你爱我。”

Buck took Thornton's hand between his teeth，then let go，and Thornton stood up and stepped back．

巴克把桑顿的手含在嘴里，然后松开了，桑顿站起来并走了回去。

‘Ready，Buck，’he said． “准备，巴克，”他说。

Buck pulled on the harness a little， getting ready． 巴克拉紧了挽具，做好了准备。

‘Right！’cried Thornton． “向右！”桑顿喊道。

Buck pulled to the right，hard，stopped suddenly，and the ice under the sledge began to break．

巴克向右使劲拉了一下，突然停住，雪撬下的冰开始碎了。

‘Now，left！’called Thornton，and Buck pulled to the left，breaking more of the ice． “现在，向左！”桑顿喊道。巴克向左拉去，弄碎了更多的冰。

‘Now，pull！’ “现在，拉！”

Buck threw himself against his harness，and pulled．He held his body low to the ground，his head down and forward，and his feet dug into the hard snow．Harder and harder he pulled．Suddenly，the sledge moved a centimetre?two?three?and，little by little，it started to go forward across the snow．With each second it went a little faster，and Thornton ran be hind，calling to Buck as he pulled the sledge towards the end of the hundred metres．The watching men were shouting and throwing their hats in the air；Buck had won．

巴克用力抵住挽具，拉着。他的身子低低地向地面弯着，头向前埋着，脚用劲蹬住坚硬的雪地越来越使劲地拉着。突然，雪撬移动了一厘米，??两厘米??三厘米??渐渐地，雪撬开始沿着雪地移动了。每一秒钟都移得快一点，桑顿跟在后面跑，当巴克拉至100米的终点时喊住他。围观的人们欢呼起来，把帽子扔到空中，巴克赢了。

Then Thornton was on the snow next to Buck again，talking to him，and Buck had Thornton's hand in his teeth．

然后桑顿再次坐到巴克旁边的雪地上，和他说话，巴克含着桑顿的手。

7 The call of the wild

7 野性的呼唤

In five minutes Buck had made fourteen hundred dollars for Thornton and his friends．The money made it possi ble for them to travel east，where they wanted to look for a lost gold mine．Men said that this mine had more gold than any other mine in the north． Many had looked for it，and some had died looking for it．The only men who knew where it was were now dead．

不过5分钟，巴克就为桑顿和他的朋友们赚了1400美元。他们有足够的钱去东部旅行，他们想在那里寻找一座下落不明的金矿。人们传说那座金矿比任何一座北方的金矿都富足。许多人都在寻找它，有一些人为了寻找它而命丧黄泉。那唯一知道金矿下落的人已经死了。

Thornton，Pete and Hans，with Buck and six other dogs，started off to the east in the spring．They travelled up the Stewart River and crossed the Mackenzie Mountains．They did not move quickly；the weather was good，and！the men shot animals for food when they needed it．Sometimes they travelled for a week，and sometimes they stopped for a week and searched for gold in the ground．Sometimes they were hungry，and sometimes they had lots of food．They spent all the summer in the mountains，carrying everything they needed on their backs，sometimes making boats to go down rivers or across lakes．

桑顿，皮特和汉斯，带着巴克和另外6条狗，在春天向东方启程了。他们渡过了斯塔沃特河，翻过了麦肯瑟山脉。他们走的并不快。天气很不错。有时人们就打点野味来充饥。有时他们连续走一星期，有时他们会逗留一星期在地下寻找金矿。有时他们忍饥挨饿，有时又食物丰足。他们在山区里度过了夏天，背着所有必需品，有时他们制造小船沿河漂流或者横渡湖泊。

In the autumn they came to a strange，flat country，with many lakes．They travelled on through the winter and met nobody，but once they found an old wooden house，with an old gun in it．

秋天的时候他们来到一个奇特而平坦的国度，有许多湖泊。他们跋涉了整整一个冬天，没有碰到一个人。但是他们曾经发现过一座古式的木屋，还有屋内一杆旧枪。