The Son of the Wolf

The Son of the Wolf

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Son of the Wolf, by Jack London
#79-87 in our series by Jack London
Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project
Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the
header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the
eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is
important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how
the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a
donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since
1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of
Volunteers!*****
Title: The Son of the Wolf
Author: Jack London
Release Date: October, 2000 [EBook #2377] [This file was last updated
on May 11, 2003]

Edition: 11
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SON
OF THE WOLF ***

The Son of the Wolf Jack London
1900
Contains The White Silence The Son of the Wolf The Men of Forty
Mile In a Far Country To the Man on the Trail The Priestly Prerogative
The Wisdom of the Trail The Wife of a King An Odyssey of the North

The White Silence
'Carmen won't last more than a couple of days.' Mason spat out a chunk
of ice and surveyed the poor animal ruefully, then put her foot in his
mouth and proceeded to bite out the ice which clustered cruelly
between the toes.
'I never saw a dog with a highfalutin' name that ever was worth a rap,'
he said, as he concluded his task and shoved her aside. 'They just fade
away and die under the responsibility. Did ye ever see one go wrong
with a sensible name like Cassiar, Siwash, or Husky? No, sir! Take a
look at Shookum here, he's--' Snap! The lean brute flashed up, the
white teeth just missing Mason's throat.
'Ye will, will ye?' A shrewd clout behind the ear with the butt of the
dog whip stretched the animal in the snow, quivering softly, a yellow
slaver dripping from its fangs.
'As I was saying, just look at Shookum here--he's got the spirit. Bet ye

he eats Carmen before the week's out.' 'I'll bank another proposition
against that,' replied Malemute Kid, reversing the frozen bread placed
before the fire to thaw. 'We'll eat Shookum before the trip is over. What
d'ye say, Ruth?' The Indian woman settled the coffee with a piece of ice,
glanced from Malemute Kid to her husband, then at the dogs, but
vouchsafed no reply. It was such a palpable truism that none was
necessary. Two hundred miles of unbroken trail in prospect, with a
scant six days' grub for themselves and none for the dogs, could admit
no other alternative. The two men and the woman grouped about the
fire and began their meager meal. The dogs lay in their harnesses for it
was a midday halt, and watched each mouthful enviously.
'No more lunches after today,' said Malemute Kid. 'And we've got to
keep a close eye on the dogs--they're getting vicious. They'd just as
soon pull a fellow down as not, if they get a chance.' 'And I was
president of an Epworth once, and taught in the Sunday school.' Having
irrelevantly delivered himself of this, Mason fell into a dreamy
contemplation of his steaming moccasins, but was aroused by Ruth
filling his cup.
'Thank God, we've got slathers of tea! I've seen it growing, down in
Tennessee. What wouldn't I give for a hot corn pone just now! Never
mind, Ruth; you won't starve much longer, nor wear moccasins either.'
The woman threw off her gloom at this, and in her eyes welled up a
great love for her white lord--the first white man she had ever seen--the
first man whom she had known to treat a woman as something better
than a mere animal or beast of burden.
'Yes, Ruth,' continued her husband, having recourse to the macaronic
jargon in which it was alone possible for them to understand each other;
'wait till we clean up and pull for the Outside. We'll take the White
Man's canoe and go to the Salt Water. Yes, bad water, rough
water--great mountains dance up and down all the time. And so big, so
far, so far away--you travel ten sleep, twenty sleep, forty sleep'--he
graphically enumerated the days on his fingers--'all