The Toil of Trace and TrailThirty days from the time it left Dawson, the Salt Water Mail, withBuck and his mates at the fore, arrived at Skaguay. They were in awretched state, worn out and worn down. Buck's one hundred andforty pounds had dwindled to one hundred and fifteen. The rest of hismates, though lighter dogs, had relatively lost more weight than he.

　　Pike, the malingerer, who, in his lifetime of deceit, had oftensuccessfully feigned a hurt leg, was now limping in earnest. Sol-lekswas limping, and Dub was suffering from a wrenched shoulder-blade.

　　They were all terribly footsore. No spring or rebound was left inthem. Their feet fell heavily on the trail, jarring their bodies anddoubting the fatigue of a day's travel. There was nothing the matterwith them except that they were dead tired. It was not the dead-tiredness that comes through brief and excessive effort, from whichrecovery is a matter of hours; but it was the dead-tiredness that comesthrough the slow and prolonged strength drainage of months of toil.

　　There was no power of recuperation left, no reserve strength to call upon.

　　It had been all used, the last least bit of it. Every , every fibre,every cell, was tired, dead tired. And there was reason for it. In lessthan five months they had travelled twenty-five hundred miles, duringthe last eighteen hundred of which they had had but five days' rest.

　　When they arrived at Skaguay they were apparently on their last legs.

　　They could barely keep the traces taut, and on the down grades justmanaged to keep out of the way of the sled.

　　"Mush on, poor sore feets," the driver encouraged them as theytottered down the main street of Skaguay. "Dis is de las'. Den we getone long res'. Eh? For sure. One bully long res'."The drivers confidently expected a long stopover. Themselves,they had covered twelve hundred miles with two days' rest, and in thenature of reason and common justice they deserved an interval of loafing.

　　But so many were the men who had rushed into the Klondike, and somany were the sweethearts, wives, and kin that had not rushed in, thatthe congested mail was taking on Alpine proportions; also, there wereofficial orders. Fresh batches of Hudson Bay dogs were to take theplaces of those worthless for the trail. The worthless ones were to begot rid of, and, since dogs count for little against dollars, they were to be sold.

　　Three days passed, by which time Buck and his mates found howreally tired and weak they were. Then, on the morning of the fourthday, two men from the States came along and bought them, harness andall, for a song. The men addressed each other as "Hal" and "Charles."Charles was a middle-aged, lightish-colored man, with weak and wateryeyes and a mustache that twisted fiercely and vigorously up, giving thelie to the limply drooping lip it concealed. Hal was a youngster ofnineteen or twenty, with a big Colt's revolver and a hunting-knifestrapped about him on a belt that fairly bristled with cartridges. Thisbelt was the most salient thing about him. It advertised his callowness--a callowness sheer and unutterable. Both men were manifestly out ofplace, and why such as they should adventure the North is part of themystery of things that passes understanding.

　　Buck heard the chaffering, saw the money pass between the man andthe Government agent, and knew that the Scotch half-breed and themail-train drivers were passing out of his life on the heels of Perrault andFrancois and the others who had gone before. When driven with hismates to the new owners' camp, Buck saw a slipshod and slovenly affair,tent half stretched, dishes unwashed, everything in disorder; also, he sawa woman. "Mercedes" the men called her. She was Charles's wifeand Hal's sister--a nice family party.

　　Buck watched them apprehensively as they proceeded to take downthe tent and load the sled. There was a great deal of effort about theirmanner, but no businesslike method. The tent was rolled into anawkward bundle three times as large as it should have been. The tindishes were packed away unwashed. Mercedes continually fluttered inthe way of her men and kept up an unbroken chattering of remonstranceand advice. When they put a clothes-sack on the front of the sled, shesuggested it should go on the back; and when they had put it on the back,and covered it over with a couple of other bundles, she discoveredoverlooked articles which could abide nowhere else but in that very sack,and they unloaded again.

　　Three men from a neighboring tent came out and looked on, grinningand winking at one another.

　　"You've got a right smart load as it is," said one of them; "and it's notme should tell you your business, but I wouldn't tote that tent along if I was you.""Undreamed of!" cried Mercedes, throwing up her hands in daintydismay. "However in the world could I manage without a tent?""It's springtime, and you won't get any more cold weather," the man replied.

　　She shook her head decidedly, and Charles and Hal put the last oddsand ends on top the mountainous load.

　　"Think it'll ride?" one of the men asked.

　　"Why shouldn't it?" Charles demanded rather shortly.

　　"Oh, that's all right, that's all right," the man hastened meekly to say.

　　"I was just a-wonderin', that is all. It seemed a mite top-heavy."Charles turned his back and drew the lashings down as well as hecould, which was not in the least well.

　　"An' of course the dogs can hike along all day with that contraptionbehind them," affirmed a second of the men.

　　"Certainly," said Hal, with freezing politeness, taking hold of the ustn't," as shecaught hold of the whip and wrenched it from him. "The poor dears!

　　Now you must promise you won't be harsh with them for the rest of thetrip, or I won't go a step.""Precious lot you know about dogs," her brother sneered; "and I wishyou'd leave me alone. They're lazy, I tell you, and you've got to whipthem to get anything out of them. That's their way. You ask any one.

　　Ask one of those men."Mercedes looked at them imploringly, untold repugnance at sight ofpain written in her pretty face.

　　"They're weak as water, if you want to know," came the reply fromone of the men. "Plum tuckered out, that's what's the matter. They need a rest.""Rest be blanked," said Hal, with his beardless lips; and Mercedessaid, "Oh!" in pain and sorrow at the oath.

　　But she was a clannish creature, and rushed at once to the defence ofher brother. "Never mind that man," she said pointedly. "You'redriving our dogs, and you do what you think best with them."Again Hal's whip fell upon the dogs. They threw themselvesagainst the breast-bands, dug their feet into the packed snow, got downlow to it, and put forth all their strength. The sled held as though it werean anchor. After two efforts, they stood still, panting. The whip waswhistling savagely, when once more Mercedes interfered. She droppedon her knees before Buck, with tears in her eyes, and put her armsaround his neck.

　　"You poor, poor dears," she cried sympathetically, "why don't youpull hard?--then you wouldn't be whipped." Buck did not like her, but hewas feeling too miserable to resist her, taking it as part of the day'smiserable work.

　　One of the onlookers, who had been clenching his teeth to suppresshot speech, now spoke up:--"It's not that I care a whoop what becomes of you, but for the dogs'

　　sakes I just want to tell you, you can help them a mighty lot by breakingout that sled. The runners are froze fast. Throw your weight againstthe gee-pole, right and left, and break it out."A third time the attempt was made, but this time, following theadvice, Hal broke out the runners which had been frozen to the snow.

　　The overloaded and unwieldy sled forged ahead, Buck and his matesstruggling frantically under the rain of blows. A hundred yards aheadthe path turned and sloped steeply into the main street. It would haverequired an experienced man to keep the top-heavy sled upright, and Halwas not such a man. As they swung on the turn the sled went over,spilling half its load through the loose lashings. The dogs neverstopped. The lightened sled bounded on its side behind them. Theywere angry because of the ill treatment they had received and the unjustload. Buck was raging. He broke into a run, the team following hislead. Hal cried "Whoa! whoa!" but they gave no heed. He trippedand was pulled off his feet. The capsized sled ground over him, and thedogs dashed on up the street, adding to the gayety of Skaguay as theyscattered the remainder of the outfit along its chief thoroughfare.

　　Kind-hearted citizens caught the dogs and gathered up the scatteredbelongings. Also, they gave advice. Half the load and twice the dogs,if they ever expected to reach Dawson, was what was said. Hal and hissister and brother-in-law listened unwillingly, pitched tent, andoverhauled the outfit. Canned goods were turned out that made menlaugh, for canned goods on the Long Trail is a thing to dream about.

　　"Blankets for a hotel" quoth one of the men who laughed and helped.

　　"Half as many is too much; get rid of them. Throw away that tent, andall those dishes,--who's going to wash them, anyway? Good Lord, doyou think you're travelling on a Pullman?"And so it went, the inexorable elimination of the superfluous.

　　Mercedes cried when her clothes-bags were dumped on the ground andarticle after article was thrown out. She cried in general, and she criedin particular over each discarded thing. She clasped hands about knees,rocking back and forth broken-heartedly. She averred she would not goan inch, not for a dozen Charleses. She appealed to everybody and toeverything, finally wiping her eyes and proceeding to cast out evenarticles of apparel that were imperative necessaries. And in her zeal,when she had finished with her own, she attacked the belongings of hermen and went through them like a tornado.

　　This accomplished, the outfit, though cut in half, was still aformidable bulk. Charles and Hal went out in the evening and boughtsix Outside dogs. These, added to the six of the original team, andTeek and Koona, the huskies obtained at the Rink Rapids on the recordtrip, brought the team up to fourteen. But the Outside dogs, thoughpractically broken in since their landing, did not amount to much.

　　Three were short-hairegee-pole with one hand and swinging his whip from the other. "Mush!"he shouted. "Mush on there!"The dogs sprang against the breast-bands, strained hard for a fewmoments, then relaxed. They were unable to move the sled.

　　"The lazy brutes, I'll show them," he cried, preparing to lash out atthem with the whip.

　　But Mercedes interfered, crying, "Oh, Hal, you mustn't," as shecaught hold of the whip and wrenched it from him. "The poor dears!

　　Now you must promise you won't be harsh with them for the rest of thetrip, or I won't go a step.""Precious lot you know about dogs," her brother sneered; "and I wishyou'd leave me alone. They're lazy, I tell you, and you've got to whipthem to get anything out of them. That's their way. You ask any one.

　　Ask one of those men."Mercedes looked at them imploringly, untold repugnance at sight ofpain written in her pretty face.

　　"They're weak as water, if you want to know," came the reply fromone of the men. "Plum tuckered out, that's what's the matter. Theyneed a rest.""Rest be blanked," said Hal, with his beardless lips; and Mercedessaid, "Oh!" in pain and sorrow at the oath.

　　But she was a clannish creature, and rushed at once to the defence ofher brother. "Never mind that man," she said pointedly. "You'redriving our dogs, and you do what you think best with them."Again Hal's whip fell upon the dogs. They threw themselvesagainst the breast-bands, dug their feet into the packed snow, got downlow to it, and put forth all their strength. The sled held as though it werean anchor. After two efforts, they stood still, panting. The whip waswhistling savagely, when once more Mercedes interfered. She droppedon her knees before Buck, with tears in her eyes, and put her armsaround his neck.

　　"You poor, poor dears," she cried sympathetically, "why don't youpull hard?--then you wouldn't be whipped." Buck did not like her, but hewas feeling too miserable to resist her, taking it as part of the day'smiserable work.

　　One of the onlookers, who had been clenching his teeth to suppresshot speech, now spoke up:--"It's not that I care a whoop what becomes of you, but for the dogs'

　　sakes I just want to tell you, you can help them a mighty lot by breakingout that sled. The runners are froze fast. Throw your weight againstthe gee-pole, right and left, and break it out."A third time the attempt was made, but this time, following theadvice, Hal broke out the runners which had been frozen to the snow.

　　The overloaded and unwieldy sled forged ahead, Buck and his matesstruggling frantically under the rain of blows. A hundred yards aheadthe path turned and sloped steeply into the main street. It would haverequired an experienced man to keep the top-heavy sled upright, and Halwas not such a man. As they swung on the turn the sled went over,spilling half its load through the loose lashings. The dogs neverstopped. The lightened sled bounded on its side behind them. Theywere angry because of the ill treatment they had received and the unjustload. Buck was raging. He broke into a run, the team following hislead. Hal cried "Whoa! whoa!" but they gave no heed. He trippedand was pulled off his feet. The capsized sled ground over him, and thedogs dashed on up the street, adding to the gayety of Skaguay as theyscattered the remainder of the outfit along its chief thoroughfare.

　　Kind-hearted citizens caught the dogs and gathered up the scatteredbelongings. Also, they gave advice. Half the load and twice the dogs,if they ever expected to reach Dawson, was what was said. Hal and hissister and brother-in-law listened unwillingly, pitched tent, andoverhauled the outfit. Canned goods were turned out that made menlaugh, for canned goods on the Long Trail is a thing to dream about.

　　"Blankets for a hotel" quoth one of the men who laughed and helped.

　　"Half as many is too much; get rid of them. Throw away that tent, andall those dishes,--who's going to wash them, anyway? Good Lord, doyou think you're travelling on a Pullman?"And so it went, the inexorable elimination of the superfluous.

　　Mercedes cried when her clothes-bags were dumped on the ground andarticle after article was thrown out. She cried in general, and she criedin particular over each discarded thing. She clasped hands about knees,rocking back and forth broken-heartedly. She averred she would not goan inch, not for a dozen Charleses. She appealed to everybody and toeverything, finally wiping her eyes and proceeding to cast out evenarticles of apparel that were imperative necessaries. And in her zeal,when she had finished with her own, she attacked the belongings of hermen and went through them like a tornado.

　　This accomplished, the outfit, though cut in half, was still aformidable bulk. Charles and Hal went out in the evening and boughtsix Outside dogs. These, added to the six of the original team, andTeek and Koona, the huskies obtained at the Rink Rapids on the recordtrip, brought the team up to fourteen. But the Outside dogs, thoughpractically broken in since their landing, did not amount to much.

　　Three were short-haired pointers, one was a Newfoundland, and theother two were mongrels of indeterminate breed. They did not seem toknow anything, these newcomers. Buck and his comrades looked uponthem with disgust, and though he speedily taught them their places andwhat not to do, he could not teach them what to do. They did not takekindly to trace and trail. With the exception of the two mongrels, theywere bewildered and spirit-broken by the strange savage environment inwhich they found themselves and by the ill treatment they had received.

　　The two mongrels were without spirit at all; bones were the only thingsbreakable about them.

　　With the newcomers hopeless and forlorn, and the old team worn outby twenty-five hundred miles of continuous trail, the outlook wasanything but bright. The two men, however, were quite cheerful. Andthey were proud, too. They were doing the thing in style, with fourteendogs. They had seen other sleds depart over the Pass for Dawson, orcome in from Dawson, but never had they seen a sled with so many asfourteen dogs. In the nature of Arctic travel there was a reason whyfourteen dogs should not drag one sled, and that was that one sled couldnot carry the food for fourteen dogs. But Charles and Hal did not knowthis. They had worked the trip out with a pencil, so much to a dog, somany dogs, so many days, Q.E.D. Mercedes looked over theirshoulders and nodded comprehensively, it was all so very simple.

　　Late next morning Buck led the long team up the street. There wasnothing lively about it, no snap or go in him and his fellows. They werestarting dead wea............