Identifier: callofwild02lond (find matches)
Title: The call of the wild
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: London, Jack, 1876-1916 Frank Tirro Collection. NcD
Subjects: Animal welfare Feral dogs Pet theft Sled dogs Dogs
Publisher: New York London : The Macmillan company
Contributing Library: Duke University Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Duke University Libraries

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he had seenand the breaths he had drawn. He linked thepast with the present, and the eternity behindhim throbbed through him in a mighty rhythmto which he swayed as the tides and seasonsswayed. He sat by John Thorntons fire, abroad-breasted dog, white-fanged and long-furred ; but behind him were the shades of allmanner of dogs, half-wolves and wild wolves,urgent and prompting, tasting the savor of themeat he ate, thirsting for the water he drank,scenting the wind with him, listening with himand telling him the sounds made by the wildlife in the forest, dictating his moods, directinghis actions, lying down to sleep with him whenhe lay down, and dreaming with him and be-yond him and becoming themselves the stuffof his dreams. So peremptorily did these shades beckonhim, that each day mankind and the claims ofmankind slipped farther from him. Deep inthe forest a call was sounding, and as often ashe heard this call, mysteriously thrilling andluring, he felt compelled to turn his back upon
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FOR THE LOVE OF A MAN 171 the fire and the beaten earth around it, and toplunge into the forest, and on and on, he knewnot where or why; nor did he wonder where orwhy, the call sounding imperiously, deep inthe forest. But as often as he gained the softunbroken earth and the green shade, the lovefor John Thornton drew him back to the fireagain. Thornton alone held him. The rest ofmankind was as nothing. Chance travellersmight praise or pet him ; but he was cold underit all, and from a too demonstrative man hewould get up and walk away. When Thorn-tons partners, Hans and Pete, arrived on thelong-expected raft, Buck refused to noticethem till he learned they were close to Thorn-ton ; after that he tolerated them in a passivesort of way, accepting favors from them asthough he favored them by accepting. Theywere of the same large type as Thornton, liv-ing close to the earth, thinking simply andseeing clearly; and ere they swung the raftinto the big eddy by the saw-mill at Dawson,they under

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