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“ That’s because you’re not a fool , I suppose , ” said Hal . “ All the same , we’re going on to Dawson . ” He picked up his whip . “ Get up there , Buck ! Mush on ! ” The whip came down again and again . Sol - leks crawled to his feet first , then Teek , then Joe , crying with pain . Pike fell twice and got up on the third try . But Buck lay quietly where he had fallen . The whip bit into him , but he did not whine or struggle . Thornton started to speak and then stopped . His eyes grew wet , and he got up and walked up and down . This was the first time Buck had failed , and Hal flew into a rage . He took the club . Buck still did not move . All day he had felt the thin , rotten ice under his feet , and he sensed that something terrible was waiting out there . The blows hardly hurt now . He felt strangely numb and far away , and the spark of life inside him was almost out . And then , suddenly , with a cry like an animal’s , John Thornton jumped at Hal . Hal was thrown backwards as if a falling tree had hit him . Mercedes screamed . “ If you hit that dog again , I’ll kill you , ” Thornton said at last in a choking voice . “ It’s my dog , ” Hal replied , wiping blood from his mouth . “ Get out of my way . I’m going to Dawson . ” Thornton did not move . Hal pulled out his long hunting knife . Thornton hit Hal’s fingers with the axe handle , and the knife fell to the ground . Then he picked it up himself and with two strokes cut Buck free of the harness . Hal had no fight left in him . A few minutes later the sled pulled away from the bank and out onto the river . Buck raised his head to watch . Pike was leading , Sol - leks was nearest the sled , and Joe and Teek were between them . Mercedes was riding on the sled , and Charles stumbled along behind . Thornton knelt beside Buck and gently felt him for broken bones . By then the sled was a quarter of a mile away . Suddenly man and dog saw the back of the sled drop down . They heard Mercedes scream . They saw Charles turn and take one step back . Then a whole section of ice gave way , and dogs and humans disappeared . Only a black hole was left . John Thornton and Buck looked at each other . “ You poor devil , ” said John Thornton , and Buck licked his hand . X . For the Love of a Man John Thornton had frozen his feet the December before , and his partners had left him in camp to get well while they went up the river for a raft of logs . Now , through the long spring days by the river , Buck slowly got his strength back . He lay in the sun , watched the running water and listened to the birds . Day by day his wounds healed , and flesh came back to cover his bones .
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