It did not take long. Two minutes from the time Curly went down, the last of her assailants (攻击者) were clubbed off.
But she lay there limp (无力的) and lifeless in the bloody, trampled snow, almost literally torn to pieces, the swart half-breed standing over her and cursing (咒骂) horribly.
The scene often came back to Buck to trouble him in his sleep. So that was the way. No fair play. Once down, that was the end of you.
Well, he would see to it that he never went down. Spitz ran out his tongue and laughed again, and from that moment Buck hated him with a bitter and deathless hatred.
Before he had recovered from the shock caused by the tragic passing of Curly, he received another shock.
Francois fastened upon him an arrangement of straps (皮带) and buckles (皮带扣). It was a harness, such as he had seen the grooms (马夫) put on the horses at home.
And as he had seen horses work, so he was set to work, hauling Francois on a sled (雪橇) to the forest that fringed the valley, and returning with a load of firewood.
Though his dignity was sorely (剧烈地) hurt by thus being made a draught animal (役用动物), he was too wise to rebel.
He buckled down with a will and did his best, though it was all new and strange.
Francois was stern, demanding instant obedience, and by virtue of his whip receiving instant obedience{1}; while Dave, who was an experienced wheeler, nipped (夹；捏，文中可以译成“咬”) Buck's hind quarters (quarter 四肢动物的一肢，复数则指两条后腿) whenever he was in error.
Spitz was the leader, likewise (同样地) experienced, and while he could not always get at Buck, he growled sharp reproof (责备) now and again, or cunningly threw his weight in the traces to jerk Buck into the way he should go.
Buck learned easily, and under the combined tuition of his two mates and Francois made remarkable progress.
Ere (在…以前) they returned to camp he knew enough to stop at "ho," to go ahead at "mush," to swing wide on the bends, and to keep clear of the wheeler when the loaded sled shot downhill at their heels.{2}
"T'ree vair' good dogs," Francois told Perrault. "Dat Buck, heem pool lak hell. I tich heem queek as anyt'ing."{3}
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By afternoon, Perrault, who was in a hurry to be on the trail with his despatches (即 dispatches，急件), returned with two more dogs.
"Billee" and "Joe" he called them, two brothers, and true huskies both.
Sons of the one mother though they were, they were as different as day and night.
Billee's one fault was his excessive good nature, while Joe was the very opposite, sour and introspective (内向的), with a perpetual (不断的) snarl and a malignant (有恶意的) eye.
Buck received them in comradely fashion, Dave ignored them, whilst (同时) Spitz proceeded to thrash first one and then the other.
Billee wagged his tail appeasingly, turned to run when he saw that appeasement was of no avail, and cried (still appeasingly) when Spitz's sharp teeth scored (咬) his flank (侧面).
But no matter how Spitz circled, Joe whirled around on his heels to face him, mane (鬃毛) bristling (竖立的), ears laid back, lips writhing and snarling, jaws clipping together as fast as he could snap, and eyes diabolically gleaming--the incarnation of belligerent (交战的) fear.{4}
So terrible was his appearance that Spitz was forced to forego (放弃) disciplining him; but to cover his own discomfiture (狼狈) he turned upon the inoffensive and wailing Billee and drove him to the confines (边界) of the camp.
By evening Perrault secured another dog, an old husky, long and lean and gaunt (枯瘦的), with a battle-scarred face and a single eye which flashed warning of prowess (英勇) that commanded respect.
He was called Sol-leks, which means the Angry One. Like Dave, he asked nothing, gave nothing, expected nothing; and when he marched slowly and deliberately into their midst, even Spitz left him alone.
He had one peculiarity (特性) which Buck was unlucky enough to discover. He did not like to be approached on his blind side.
Of this offence Buck was unwittingly (不经意地) guilty, and the first knowledge he had of his indiscretion (轻率) was when Sol-leks whirled upon him and slashed his shoulder to the bone for three inches up and down.{5}
Forever after Buck avoided his blind side, and to the last of their comradeship had no more trouble. His only apparent ambition (愿望；志向), like Dave's, was to be left alone; though, as Buck was afterward to learn, each of them possessed one other and even more vital ambition.
That night Buck faced the great problem of sleeping.
The tent, illumined (照明) by a candle, glowed warmly in the midst of the white plain; and when he, as a matter of course, entered it, both Perrault and Francois bombarded (轰击) him with curses and cooking utensils (器皿), till he recovered from his consternation (惊惶失措) and fled ignominiously (不光彩地) into the outer cold.
A chill wind was blowing that nipped him sharply and bit with especial venom (恶意) into his wounded shoulder.
He lay down on the snow and attempted to sleep, but the frost soon drove him shivering to his feet. Miserable and disconsolate (郁郁不乐的), he wandered about among the many tents, only to find that one place was as cold as another.
Here and there savage (野蛮的) dogs rushed upon him, but he bristled his neck-hair and snarled (for he was learning fast), and they let him go his way unmolested (不受烦扰的).
Finally an idea came to him. He would return and see how his own team-mates were making out. To his astonishment, they had disappeared.
Again he wandered about through the great camp, looking for them, and again he returned. Were they in the tent? No, that could not be, else he would not have been driven out.
Then where could they possibly be? With drooping (下垂的) tail and shivering body, very forlorn (孤独的) indeed, he aimlessly circled the tent. Suddenly the snow gave way beneath his fore legs and he sank down.
Something wriggled under his feet. He sprang back, bristling and snarling, fearful of the unseen and unknown. But a friendly little yelp reassured him, and he went back to investigate.
A whiff of warm air ascended to his nostrils (鼻孔), and there, curled up under the snow in a snug ball, lay Billee.
He whined (发呜呜声) placatingly, squirmed (扭动) and wriggled to show his good will and intentions, and even ventured, as a bribe for peace, to lick Buck's face with his warm wet tongue.
Another lesson. So that was the way they did it, eh? Buck confidently selected a spot, and with much fuss and waste effort proceeded to dig a hole for himself.
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In a trice the heat from his body filled the confined space and he was asleep. The day had been long and arduous (艰难的), and he slept soundly and comfortably, though he growled and barked and wrestled with bad dreams.