Who Has Won to Mastership"Eh? Wot I say? I spik true w'en I say dat Buck two devils."This was Francois's speech next morning when he discovered Spitzmissing and Buck covered with wounds. He drew him to the fire andby its light pointed them out.

　　"Dat Spitz fight lak hell," said Perrault, as he surveyed the gapingrips and cuts.

　　"An' dat Buck fight lak two hells," was Francois's answer. "An' nowwe make good time. No more Spitz, no more trouble, sure."While Perrault packed the camp outfit and loaded the sled, the dog-driver proceeded to harness the dogs. Buck trotted up to the placeSpitz would have occupied as leader; but Francois, not noticing him,brought Sol-leks to the coveted position. In his judgment, Sol-leks wasthe best lead-dog left. Buck sprang upon Sol-leks in a fury, driving himback and standing in his place.

　　"Eh? eh?" Francois cried, slapping his thighs gleefully. "Look at datBuck. Heem keel dat Spitz, heem t'ink to take de job.""Go 'way, Chook!" he cried, but Buck refused to budge.

　　He took Buck by the scruff of the neck, and though the dog growledthreateningly, dragged him to one side and replaced Sol-leks. The olddog did not like it, and showed plainly that he was afraid of Buck.

　　Francois was obdurate, but when he turned his back Buck againdisplaced Sol-leks, who was not at all unwilling to go.

　　Francois was angry. "Now, by Gar, I feex you!" he cried, comingback with a heavy club in his hand.

　　Buck remembered the man in the red sweater, and retreated slowly;nor did he attempt to charge in when Sol-leks was once more broughtforward. But he circled just beyond the range of the club, snarling withbitterness and rage; and while he circled he watched the club so as tododge it if thrown by Francois, for he was become wise in the way ofclubs. The driver went about his work, and he called to Buck when hewas ready to put him in his old place in front of Dave. Buck retreatedtwo or three steps. Francois followed him up, whereupon he againretreated. After some time of this, Francois threw down the club,thinking that Buck feared a thrashing. But Buck was in open revolt.

　　He wanted, not to escape a clubbing, but to have the leadership. It washis by right. He had earned it, and he would not be content with less.

　　Perrault took a hand. Between them they ran him about for thebetter part of an hour. They threw clubs at him. He dodged. Theycursed him, and his fathers and mothers before him, and all his seed tocome after him down to the remotest generation, and every hair on hisbody and drop of blood in his veins; and he answered curse with snarland kept out of their reach. He did not try to run away, but retreatedaround and around the camp, advertising plainly that when his desirewas met, he would come in and be good.

　　Francois sat down and scratched his head. Perrault looked at hiswatch and swore. Time was flying, and they should have been on thetrail an hour gone. Francois scratched his head again. He shook itand grinned sheepishly at the courier, who shrugged his shoulders insign that they were beaten. Then Francois went up to where Sol-leksstood and called to Buck. Buck laughed, as dogs laugh, yet kept hisdistance. Francois unfastened Sol-leks's traces and put him back in hisold place. The team stood harnessed to the sled in an unbroken line, to the sled.

　　His intention was to rest Dave, letting him run free behind the sled.

　　Sick as he was, Dave resented being taken out, grunting and growlingwhile the traces were unfastened, and whimpering broken-heartedlywhen he saw Sol-leks in the position he had held and served so long.

　　For the pride of trace and trail was his, and, sick unto death, he could notbear that another dog should do his work.

　　When the sled started, he floundered in the soft snow alongside thebeaten trail, attacking Sol-leks with his teeth, rushing against him andtrying to thrust him off into the soft snow on the other side, striving toleap inside his traces and get between him and the sled, and A the whilewhining and yelping and crying with grief and pain. The half-breedtried to drive him away with the whip; but he paid no heed to thestinging lash, and the man had not the heart to strike harder. Daverefused to run quietly on the trail behind the sled, where the going waseasy, but continued to flounder alongside in the soft snow, where thegoing was most difficult, till exhausted. Then he fell, and lay where hefell, howling lugubriously as the long train of sleds churned by.

　　With the last remnant of his strength he managed to stagger alongbehind till the train made another stop, when he floundered past the sledsto his own, where he stood alongside Sol-leks. His driver lingered amoment to get a light for his pipe from the man behind. Then hereturned and started his dogs. They swung out on the trail withremarkable lack of exertion, turned their heads uneasily, and stopped insurprise. The driver was surprised, too; the sled had not moved. Hecalled his comrades to witness the sight. Dave had bitten through bothof Sol-leks's traces, and was standing directly in front of the sled in hisproper place.

　　He pleaded with his eyes to remain there. The driver was perplexed.

　　His comrades talked of how a dog could break its heart through beingdenied the work that killed it, and recalled instances they had known,where dogs, too old for the toil, or injured, had died because they werecut out of the traces. Also, they held it a mercy, since Dave was to dieanyway, that he should die in the traces, heart-easy and content. So hewas harnessed in again, and proudly he pulled as of old, though morethan once he cried out involuntarily from the bite of his inward hurt.

　　Several times he fell down and was dragged in the traces, and once thesled ran upon him so that he limped thereafter in one of his hind legs.

　　But he held out till camp was reached, when his driver made a placefor him by the fire. Morning found him too weak to travel. Atharness-up time he tried to crawl to his driver. By convulsive efforts hegot on his feet, staggered, and fell. Then he wormed his way forwardslowly toward where the harnesses were being put on his mates. Hewould advance his fore legs and drag up his body with a sort of hitchingmovement, when he would advance his fore legs and hitch ahead againfor a few more inches. His strength left him, and the last his mates sawof him he lay gasping in the snow and yearning toward them. But theycould hear him mournfully howling till they passed out of sight behind abelt of river timber.

　　Here the train was halted. The Scotch half-breed slowly retracedhis steps to the camp they had left. The men ceased talking. Arevolver-shot rang out. The man came back hurriedly. The whipssnapped, the bells tinkled merrily, the sleds churned along the trail; butBuck knew, and every dog knew, what had taken place behind the belt ofriver trees.

　　ready for the trail. There was no place for Buck save at the front.

　　Once more Francois called, and once more Buck laughed and kept away.

　　"T'row down de club," Perrault commanded.

　　Francois complied, whereupon Buck trotted in, laughingtriumphantly, and swung around into position at the head of the team.

　　His traces were fastened, the sled broken out, and with both men runningthey dashed out on to the river trail.

　　Highly as the dog-driver had forevalued Buck, with his two devils,he found, while the day was yet young, that he had undervalued. At abound Buck took up the duties of leadership; and where judgment wasrequired, and quick thinking and quick acting, he showed himself thesuperior even of Spitz, of whom Francois had never seen an equal.

　　But it was in giving the law and making his mates live up to it, thatBuck excelled. Dave and Sol-leks did not mind the change inleadership. It was none of their business. Their business was to toil,and toil mightily, in the traces.

　　So long as that were not interfered with,they did not care what happened. Billee, the good-natured, could leadfor all they cared, so long as he kept order. The rest of the team,however, had grown unruly during the last days of Spitz, and theirsurprise was great now that Buck proceeded to lick them into shape.

　　Pike, who pulled at Buck's heels, and who never put an ounce moreof his weight against the breast-band than he was compelled to do, wasswiftly and repeatedly shaken for loafing; and ere the first day was donehe was pulling more than ever before in his life. The first night in camp,Joe, the sour one, was punished roundly-- a thing that Spitz had neversucceeded in doing. Buck simply smothered him by virtue of superiorweight, and cut him up till he cease............