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1 To the north
1 北部之旅
Buck did not read the newspapers．
巴克不曾讀過報紙，
He did not know that trouble was coming for every big dog in California．
他不知道人們需要高大強壯能夠在北方的嚴寒和冰雪中工作的狗。
Men had found gold in the Yukon， and these men wanted big， strong dogs to work in the cold and snow of the north．
人們在育空河發現了金礦，因此對加利福尼亞的每一條大狗來說都在劫難逃。
Buck lived in Mr Miller's big house in the sunny Santa Clara valley There were large gardens and fields of fruit trees around the house， and a river nearby．
在陽光明媚的桑塔·克拉拉山谷中，巴克的家就在米勒先生的大房子里。房子的周圍是開闊的莊園和種滿了果樹的田野。一條小河從附近流過。
In a big place like this，of course， there were many dogs There were house dogs and farm dogs， but they were not important．
這樣一個遼闊的地方，是狗的樂園。諸如看門狗和牧羊犬，但他們是無足輕重的。
Buck was chief dog；he was born here， and this was his place ．
真正的狗的首領是巴克；他生于斯長于斯，這兒簡直就是他的天下。
He was four years old and weighed sixty kilos ．
他4歲，體重60公斤。
He went swimming with Mr Miller's sons，and walking with his daughters．
他同米勒先生的兒子一起游泳，也陪著他的女兒們一起去散步，
He carried the grandchildren on his back，and he sat at Mr Miller's feet in front of the fire in winter．
有時他還會給米勒先生的孫兒們當馬騎。冬天到了，他就偎著爐火蹲坐在米勒先生的腳邊。
But this was 1897， and Buck did not know that men and dogs were hurrying to north-west Canada to look for gold．
然而到了1897年，巴克不知道這一年人們都帶著狗蜂涌到加拿大西北部尋找金礦。
And he did not know that Manuel， one of Mr Miller's garden－ers， needed money for his large family．
他更不知道，米勒先生的一個園丁曼紐埃勒需要錢養活他的一大家子。
One day，when Mr Miller was out， Manuel and Buck left the garden together．
有一天，米勒先生出去了，曼紐埃勒帶著巴克離開了莊園。
It was just an evening walk， Buck thought．
對于巴克來說，他還以為這只是傍晚的散步。
No one saw them go， and only one man saw them arrive at the railway station．
沒有人看到他們，只有一個人看見他們到了火車站。
This man talked to Manuel， and gave him some money ．
這個人同曼紐埃勒說了什么，然后塞給他一些錢，
Then he tied a piece of rope around Buck's neck．
隨后他將一條繩子系到巴克的脖子上。
Buck growled， and was surprised when the rope was pulled hard around his neck．
巴克咆哮起來，卻吃驚地發現脖子上的繩索勒得緊緊的。
He jumped at the man．The man caught him and suddenly Buck was on his back with his tongue out of his mouth．
他跳起來直撲向那個人。那人一把抓住了巴克，突然巴克就被仰面朝天摔在地上，舌頭也被拽了出來。
For a few moments he was unable to move， and it was easy for the two men to put him into the train．
過了好一會兒他都動彈不得，于是兩個人輕而易舉地把他送上了火車。
When Buck woke up， the train was still moving．
當巴克醒過來的時候，火車仍然在開。
The man was sitting and watching him， but Buck was too quick for him and he bit the man's hand hard．
那人坐在那兒注視著他，然而巴克卻更加迅疾，狠狠地咬住了那人的手。
Then the rope was pulled again and Buck had to let go．
但脖子上的繩索又一次勒住了他，巴克不得不松了口。
That evening， the man took Buck to the back room of a bar in San Francisco．
那天晚上，那個人把巴克帶到舊金山一間酒吧的后屋里。
The barman looked at the man's hand and trousers covered in blood．
酒吧老板看了看那人血跡斑斑的手和長褲。
‘How much are they paying you for this？’he asked．
“他們付你多少錢？”他問。
‘I only get fifty dollars．’
“我只掙50美元。”
‘And the man who stole him—how much did he get？’ asked the barman．
“那么那個偷狗的人——他又賺多少？”酒吧老板問道。
‘A hundred． He wouldn't take less．’
“100美元。他不肯少一個子兒。”
‘That makes a hundred and fifty．
“也就是說150美元。
It's a good price for a dog like him ．Here，
對于這樣一條狗可真是個好價錢。這邊來，
help me to get him into this．’
幫我把他弄到這里去。”
They took off Buck's rope and pushed him into a wooden box．
他們解開巴克的繩索然后把他推進一只木箱。
He spent the night in the box in the back room of the bar．
他在酒吧的后屋里在那個木箱中過了一夜。
His neck still ached with pain from the rope， and he could not understand what it all meant．
他的脖子仍然因為繩子勒過而疼痛不已，而且他對于所有的一切都如墜五里云中。
What did they want with him， these strange men？
這些陌生人他們想讓他做什么呢？
And where was Mr Miller？
米勒先生又在哪里呢？
The next day Buck was carried in the box to the railway station and put on a train to the north．
第二天巴克被關在木箱里運到火車站，送上了北去的列車。
For two days and nights the train travelled north, and for two days and nights Buck neither ate nor drank．
火車向北開了兩天兩夜。這兩天兩夜，巴克忍饑挨餓，滴水未進。
Men on the train laughed at him and pushed sticks at him through the holes in the box．
火車上的人們嘲笑他，把木棍從箱子上的洞中伸進去捅他。
For two days and nights Buck got angrier and hungrier and thirstier．
這兩天兩夜，巴克越來越怒火中燒，也越來越饑渴難忍。
His eyes grew red and he bit anything that moved．
他紅著眼睛，撕咬所有移動的東西。
In Seattle four men took Buck to a small， high－walled back garden，
在西雅圖，四個人把巴克抬進一座小小的但卻有高高院墻的莊園里。
where a fat man in an old red coat was waiting．
一個身著舊紅外套的肥胖男人等在那里。
Buck was now very angry indeed and hejumped and bit at the sides of his box．
這當口兒巴克已經憤怒到了極點。他跳著，咬著木箱的邊緣。
The fat man smiled and went to get an axe and a club．
那胖子微微一笑，拿來一把斧子和一根木棍。
‘Are you going to take him out now？’ asked one of the men．
“你打算現在就把他放出來嗎？”其中一人問道。
‘Of course，’ answered the fat man， and he began to break the box with his axe．
“當然。”胖子說。他開始用斧子劈開木箱。
Immediately the four other men climbed up onto the wall to watch from a safe place．
立即，另外4個人爬到院墻上去，從安全的地方觀望著。
As the fat man hit the box with his axe，Buck jumped at the sides， growling and biting， pulling with his teeth at the pieces of broken wood．
當那個胖子用斧頭劈開木箱時巴克在邊緣處跳著，咆哮著、撕咬著，用牙齒扯著碎木片。
After a few minutes there was a hole big enough for Buck to get out．
一會兒，就有一個洞，大到足可以讓巴克鉆出來。
‘ Now， come here， red eyes，’ said the fat man， dropping his axe and taking the club in his right hand．
“現在，過來，你這急紅了眼的。”那胖子說著扔下斧頭，右手抄起木棍。
Buck jumped at the man， sixty kilos of anger， his mouth wide open ready to bite the man's neck．
巴克60公斤的憤怒之軀撲向那人，他大張著嘴準備一口咬住那人的脖子。
Just before his teeth touched the skin， the man hit him with the club．
就在他的牙齒剛剛碰到皮膚的時候，那人用棍子給了他一下，
Buck fell to the ground．
巴克摔倒在地。
It was the first time anyone had hit him with a club and he did not understand．
這還是頭一次有人用棍子打他，他不知所措。
He stood up， and jumped again．
他站起來，再次猛撲過去，
Again the club hit him and he crashed to the ground．
木棍再次擊中了他使他癱倒在地。
Ten times he jumped at the man， and ten times the club hit him．
他撲了10次，木棍就打他10次。
Slowly he got to his feet， now only just able to stand．
他慢慢地站起來，現在他僅能勉強站住。
There was blood on his nose and mouth and ears．
鮮血從他的口鼻和耳朵中涌出來。
Then the fat man walked up and hit him again， very hard， on the nose．
然后那人走上前又打了他，狠狠地擊中了他的鼻子。
The pain was terrible．
劇痛襲來，
Again， Buck jumped at the man and again he was hit to the ground．
巴克再一次撲向那人，但他又被打倒在地。
A last time he jumped， and this time， when the man knocked him down， Buck did not move．
最后一次他撲上去，而這一次，當那人把他打倒時，巴克再也沒有動彈一下。
‘He knows how to teach a dog a lesson，’ said one of the men on the wall．
“他可知道如何把狗制得服服帖帖的，”墻上的一個人說。
Then the four men jumped down and went back to the station．
然后這4個人跳下來，回車站去了。
‘His name is Buck，’said the fat man to himself， reading the letter that had come with the box．
“他的名字叫巴克。”那胖子自言自語道，讀著寫在木箱上的字母。
‘Well， Buck， my by，’he said in a friendly voice，‘we've argued a little， and I think the best thing to do now is to stop．
“咳，巴克，我的孩子，”他用友好的語氣說道。“我們有個小小的爭斗，現在我想我們最好停戰。
Be a good dog and we'll be friends．
做一只好狗，我們會成為朋友的。
But if you're a bad dog， I'll have to use my club again．Understand？’
但是你若使壞，我就不得不用棍子對付你了，明白嗎？”
As he spoke， he touched Buck's head， and although Buck was angry inside， he did not move．
他一邊說，一邊撫摸著巴克的頭。雖然巴克憤恨難平，他卻沒有再反抗。
When the man brought him water and meat， Buck drank and then ate the meat， piece by piece， from the man's hand．
當那人給他拿來水和肉時，巴克喝了水，又從那人的手上一片又一片地吃著肉。
Buck was beaten but he was not broken．
巴克挨了打，但他并未就此垮掉。
He had learnt that a man with a club was stronger than him．
他知道那個拿棍子的男人比他強大。
Every day he saw more dogs arrive， and each dog was beaten by the fat man．
每一天他都看見許多狗被送進來。每條狗都被那胖子痛打過。
Buck understood that a man with a club must be obeyed， although he did not have to be a friend．
巴克明白他雖然不必成為那人的朋友，卻必須聽從他。
Men came to see the fat man and to look at the dogs．
人們來找胖子看狗。
Some-times they paid money and left with one or more of the dogs．
有時他們付了錢牽走一只或更多的狗。
One day a short， dark man came and looked at Buck．
一天一個黑矮的人來了，他看見了巴克。
‘That's a good dog！’ he cried．‘How much do you want for him？’
“那可是條好狗！”他叫道。“你賣多少錢？”
‘Three hundred dollars． It's a good price， Perrault，’said the fat man．
“300美元。這是個好價錢，佩諾特，”那胖子說。
Perrault smiled and agreed that it was a good price．
佩諾特笑了，他知道這價錢合適。
He knew dogs， and he knew that Buck was an excellent dog．
他是狗的行家里手，他明白巴克是一條優秀的狗。
‘One in ten thousand，’ Perrault said to himself．
“千里挑一”，佩諾特心里說。
Buck saw money put into the fat man's hand， and he was not surprised when he and another dog called Curly were taken away by Perrault．
巴克看見那胖子收了錢，并且當他和另一條叫科莉的狗被佩諾特帶走時他對此已經不足為奇了。
He took them to a ship， and later that day Buck and Curly stood and watched the coast get further and further away．
他把他們帶上船，那天不久巴克和科莉站在那兒看著越來越遠的海岸，
They had seen the warm south for the last time．
這是他們最后一次看見溫暖的南方了。
Perrault took Buck and Curly down to the bottom of the ship．
佩諾特把巴克和科莉帶到船尾，
There they met another man， Francois．
在那里他們見到另一個人，弗朗索瓦斯。
Perrault was a French－Canadian， but Francois was half－Indian，tall and dark．
佩諾特是法國與加拿大的混血兒，弗朗索瓦斯則有一半印第安人的血統，又黑又高。
Buck learnt quickly that Perrault and Francois were fair men，calm and honest．
巴克很快就了解佩諾特和費朗索瓦斯為人不錯，沉穩可靠。
And they knew everything about dogs．
他們對于狗的習性可謂了如指掌。
There were two other dogs on the ship．
船上還有兩只別的狗。
One was a big dog called Spitz， as white as snow．
其中有一只大狗叫斯皮茲，渾身雪白。
He was friendly to Buck at first， always smiling．
他起初對巴克倒挺友好，時時沖他微笑致意。
He was smiling when he tried to steal Buck’ s food at the first meal．
但吃第一頓飯時，他就企圖偷吃巴克的食物，而臉上居然微笑著。
Francois was quick and hit Spitz before Buck had time to move．
在巴克還來不及采取任何行動之前，弗朗索瓦斯就迅速給了斯皮茲一下。
Buck decided that this was fair， and began to like Francois a little．
巴克覺得這事處理得挺公道，他對弗朗索瓦斯有了一點兒好感。
Dave， the other dog， was not friendly．
另一只狗戴夫并不友善。
He wanted to be alone all the time．
他喜歡獨自呆著。
He ate and slept and was interested in nothing．
他除了吃就是睡，對一切都漠不關心。
One day was very like another， but Buck noticed that the weather was getting colder．
有一天一切如常，但巴克留意到天氣漸漸地在變冷。
One morning， the ship's engines stopped， and there was a feeling of excitement in the ship．
一個早晨，船的馬達終于停止了，船上有一種令人興奮的氣氛。
Francois leashed the dogs and took them outside．
弗朗索瓦斯用繩子拴出狗，把他們帶出船艙。
At the first step Buck's feet went into something soft and white．
巴克一邁腳就陷進一種輕軟潔白的東西里，
He jumped back in surprise．
他驚恐地跳了回去。
The soft， white thing was also falling through the air， and it fell onto him．
那輕軟潔白的東西也正從空中飄下來，落在他的身上。
He tried to smell it， and then caught some on his tongue．
他嘗試著嗅嗅它，然后又用舌頭舔舔它，
It bit like fire， and then dis appeared．
那東西嚼起來像火一樣灼燒，但轉瞬就無影無蹤了。
He tried again and the same thing happened．
他又試了試，還是同樣的結果。
People were watching him and laughing， and Buck felt ashamed，although he did not know why．
人們看著他笑了起來。雖然巴克不知道為什么，但他害了羞。
It was his first snow．
這畢竟是他第一次接觸到雪。
