Call Of The Wild Page #3

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such as he'd seen

put on horses at home.

Buck learned to run as a team.

Slowly came to accept

his new station in life.

At night, since the men wouldn't

let him sleep in the warm tent,

he had to learn

from the other dogs

how a Yukon dog prepares

its own cozy bed."

Oh, morning, Bill.

Sorry to bother you so early.

Always happy to see you, Rene.

Um... Heep here says

that you've got his dog.

Well, I don't know about that.

Came 'round a few days ago.

Dr. Spencer said

it was near death.

My granddaughter pretty much

nursed it back to life.

Look, it's a wolf.

Bill, that ain't no pet

for a little girl.

I'm not that little

and you're a liar.

Shh! Ryan.

You better teach that little city

girl here some manners, Bill.

I just want to thank you.

Thank you for taking care

of our dog.

We'll have him back now.

I would need some proof of that.

What kind of proof you want?

We found him.

Now I want...

He's got spirit and that's

how come we want him back.

Anyway, he takes to the boy

more than me. Oswald.

He bonds with the boy.

Is that the kind of proof

you're looking for, Sheriff?

Well, I'm not a judge.

The legal thing to do would be

to put the animal in the pound

until the matter

could be settled in court.

No way.

Buck is ours.

First of all, this girl

doesn't live around here.

Second, I have the best

sled team in this valley

and that'd be a fittin' place

for that dog.

I bet you're not that good.

I bet Jack is better.

If you don't think so,

why don't you race him?

- What?

- Now, there's an idea.

Why don't you two have a race and

the winner takes claim of the animal?

- What kind of race?

- How about the last loop

of the Race to the Sky course?

That's a good couple miles.

- What do you say, Jack?

- I...

Is it OK if Buck

could be on our team?

Oh! It'd take five months

to get that dog sled trained.

Besides, take someone

a hell of a lot better than...

...Jack Ferguson.

Ferguson.

We'll do it.

Two weeks from today.

If you're not too scared.

The winner of the race

takes claim to the dog.

Um, the wolf.

To Buck.

Fair enough.

Move your butt.

Where you think

you're going?

Get in the back.

What for?

'Cause I don't want that

bacon grease all over my seats.

Get in the back!

But, Pa, it's freezing.

It's fine with me.

Walk home then.

Ah...

If you want the dogs to

start running you say, "Hike."

If you want them to go right

you say, "Gee."

If you want them to go left

you say, "Haw."

- How do you say, "Whoa?"

- Whoa!

- When do you say, "Mush?"

- Never. That's only in movies.

You better run.

Gotcha!

Watch it there.

Leave me alone!

- Hey!

- Gotcha!

"In time,

Buck grew strong as iron.

His sight and scent

became remarkably keen.

Instincts,

long dead,

became alive again.

He was growing at home

in his wild surroundings.

And Buck knew that his life...

...would never be the same."

Do you think we

could win the race?

We have to if

I want to keep Buck.

Ry...

You know that's up to

your mother and father.

Even if you win the race,

it may not even be up to them.

It may be up to Buck.

Anyway, we're gonna win.

It's time

for the big test.

A sled dog has to get along

with his teammates.

See him? Huh?

That's our new lead dog.

It's Buck, OK?

Gotta listen to him.

Hike!

I said, "Hike!"

- Way to go, Buck!

- He's making them run.

Well, looks like

he's the leader.

They're really running.

We just might have

a sled dog after all.

Only for the race.

Don't forget,

I'm taking him home to Boston.

Uh-oh. It's Tracy.

She's the prettiest girl

in town.

She takes piano lessons

from my mom.

Hi, Jack.

Hi, Tracy.

We're just training this canine.

It looks like you have

your work cut out for you.

It's a new leash.

- Good luck with your dog.

- It's a new leash.

Do you always act

that weird around her?

Weird?

- She likes you.

- You're crazy.

Hey, Ry.

I've gotta pick up

some supplies in town.

How about I drop you off

so you can do some exploring?

Grandpa, I've already

seen everything in town.

Oh, no, you haven't.

I need a bunch more

of that food, please.

I don't blame you.

I finally tried some myself.

It's delicious.

Hey!

Why are you tracking me?

What are you doing?

A lot of this stuff

is kind of silly.

I never really

noticed it before.

You know what I really need?

A pair of McHenry waterproof

snow boots. Like Jack's.

You aren't afraid

of looking like a local?

I can't train Buck

without some good boots.

OK. Well, we'll see if we can't

find you a pair in town.

Hey! It's story time.

"Over

the next five months

Buck and the dog team

traveled 2,500 miles

in the coldest weather

of the year.

When they arrived at Skagway

the dogs were dead tired.

Fresh dogs were called

to replace them.

And the tired out dogs

were sold.

Buck's team was purchased

by a trio of strangers.

There was Charles,

who grew up working in his father's barber shop.

His wife Mercedes, who has never

done a day of work in her life.

And Mercedes' brother Hal

was a mean cuss

who played cards for a living.

None of them had the slightest

business being in the Yukon.

But they came to Alaska,

like so many others,

expecting to pick up

a fortune in gold nuggets...

...right off the ground.

Buck was unhappy working

for these three greenhorns.

They knew nothing about dogs

and even less

about dog sledding.

They worked the dogs to the

bone and ran out of dog food

when they were still 100 miles

from their destination.

When the dogs stopped pulling,

Hal beat Buck with a stick.

Luckily, they came upon a camp

of a prospector

named John Thornton.

Thornton was a strong man.

But even he was nearly brought

to tears by this scene.

He roared at Hal:

'If you beat that dog again

I'll kill you!'

Thornton cut Buck loose

from the sled.

Terrified,

Hal, Charles and Mercedes pushed

half their supplies off the sled

and proceeded down the trail.

Thornton warned them

not to go further

because the ice on the river

would soon break up.

But they ignored him.

And they were never seen again."

Did Buck finally find the human

he was supposed to be with?

You don't want me to ruin

the rest of the story, do you?

Hey, Grandpa.

What's the deal with that scary

man I saw in town?

Hatcher?

I don't know much about him.

Lives in a cabin up on the

mountain. Keeps to himself.

Some say he's an escaped

convict hiding out.

They say he catches rabbits

with his bare hands

and eats them raw.

When there aren't any rabbits,

he eats rocks.

Every town needs some character

folks can spin rumors about.

Far as I know...

...Hatcher never

bothered anyone.

What's wrong?

Aren't you hungry?

Good morning, Jolene.

Is it?

Go tell that

to my chickens.

If you can find them.

I'm not sure I follow.

Two of my chickens

disappeared last night.

There are feathers

all over the place.

And you suspect foul play.

- How can I help you?

- For starters, Bill,

- you can buy me two chickens.

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