A« last G re y Beaver w ith h eld h is h a n d
ly. co n tin u ed to cry.
W h ite Fan g, h a n g in g lim p ­
This seem ed to satisfy h is m aster, w h o (lu n g h in t
d o w n ro ugh ly in th e b o tto m o ! th e ca n o e
d rifted d ow n the stream
In th e m e a n tim e th e c a n o e h ad
Grey Beaver p icked up th e p ad d le
W h ite Fang
w as in h is way. H e spurned h im savagely w ith ht» lo o t. In th at m o m e n t
W h ite Fang's free nature flash ed lo rth again , an d h e san k h is te e th in to th e
m occasin cd fo ol
The beatin g that h ad g o n e b efo re w a s as n o th in g c o m p u te d w ith th e
beatin g he now received . G r e y Beaver's w rath w a s terrible; lik e w is e w a s
W h ite Fang's frigh t
N ot o n ly th«- h an d, but the h ard w o o d en p a d d le w a s
u sed u p o n him ; an d h e w as b ru ised an d sore in all h is sm all b o d y w h e n h e
w as again Hung d o w n in th e ca n o e. A gain , an d th is tim e w ith p u rp o se , d id
G re y Beaver k ic k him . W h ite Fang d id n ot repeat h is attack o n th e lo o t.
H e h ad learned an o th er lesson o f h is b o n d a g e
N ever, n o m atter w hat th e
circu m stan ce, m uvt h e d are to bite th e g o d w h o w av lo rd a n d m a s te r o v e r
him ; th e b o d y o f th e lo rd an d m aster wav sacred , n ot to b e d efiled by th e
teeth o f such a s he. That w a s e v id en tly th e crim e o f crim e s, th e o n e o tfc n c e
there w a s n o co n d o n in g n or o verlo o k in g .
W h en the ca n o e to u ch e d th e shore. W h ite Fang lay w h im p e rin g an d
m otionless, w aitin g th e w ill o f G rey Beaver. It w a s G r e y Beaver's w ill th at
he sh ould g o ashore, for ash ore h e w a s llu n g. s trik in g h eavily o n h is side
and h u rtin g h is bruises afresh
sto o d w h im p erin g
H e cra w le d trcm h ltn glv to h is Icc t and
Lip-lip. w h o h ad w a tch ed th e w h o le p ro c e e d in g Horn
th e ban k, now rush ed up on h im . k n o c k in g h im o v e r an d u n k in g h is teeth
in to h im
W h ile Fang wav to o h elpless to d e fe n d h im self. an d it w o u ld
have gone hard w ith h im h ad n ot G re y Beaver's fo ot shot o u t. liltin g L ip -lip
in to the air w ith its vio len ce so that he sm ash ed d o w n to e arth a d o z e n Icct
aw ay
This w a s th e m an -an im a ls tu stk e; an d e v e n th en , in htv o w n p itia ­
ble p ligh t. W h ite Fang exp erien ced a little gra ietu l th rill. A t G re y Beaver v
heels h e lim ped o b ed ien tly th ro u gh th e villa ge to th e tepee. A n d s o it ca m e
that W h ile Fang learned that th e righ t to p u n ish w a s so m e th in g th e g o d s
reserved fo r th c m s c h c s and d e n ied to th e lesser creatu res u n d e r th em
That n igh t, w h en all w a s su ll. W h ite F an g re m em b ere d h is m o th e r
and so rro w ed fo r her. H e so rro w e d to o lo u d ly an d w o k e u p G r e y Beav er,
w h o beat h im
A lte r th at h e m o u rn e d gently w h e n th e g o d s w e re a r o u n d .
But so m etim es, stra yin g o ff to th e ed ge o f th e w o o d s b y h im v c ll. h e ga ve
vent to h is grief, an d c n e d it o u t w ith lo u d w h im p e rin g s an d w aitin gs.
It w as d u rin g th is p e rio d that h e m igh t h av e h a tk c n c d to th e m e n to ­
n e s o f th e lair an d th e stream an d ru n b a ck to th e W ild
68
Wha* Fong
But th e m e m o r y
ot hi» mother h<W him A* the hunting man .minul» »»ent out and came
back. so »he would come back to the village some lime. So he remained in
hi» bondage »»ailing for her
Bui II wa» not altogether an unhapp bondage There was much to
interest him Something wa.» always happening Ihere was no end to the
strange things these gods did. and he wax alwav» curious to see. Besides,
he wax learning how to get along with lires1 Bcaser Obedience, rigid,
undesiating obedience, was what was exacted Ы him; and in return he
escaped heatings and his existence was tolerated
Nay, Grey Bcaser himxclt sometimes tossed him a piece ot meat and
detended him against the other dogs in the eating ot it And such a piece
of meat was ot value It was worth more, in some strange way. then a
dozen pece» ot meat Irom the hand ot a squaw tires' Bcaser never piled
nor caressed Perhaps it was the weight of his hand p rh a p his lusticc
perhaps the sheer power ot him. and prhap» it wa» all these things that
influenced White Fang, for a certain lie ot attachment wa» lorming be­
tween him and hie surly lord
Insidiously, and by remote wavs, as well as bv the p»wer ol stak and
stone and clout ol hand, were the chackles of White Fangs bondage being
riveted up>n him The qualities in his kind that in the beginning made it
possible lor them to come in to the tires ol men. were qualities capable ot
dexeUspmcnt lhcy were developing in him. and the cam)' lile, replete with
misery as it was. was secretly endearing itself to him all the time But White
Fang was unaware ot it. He knew only grid tor the loss ol Kiche hop tor
her return, and a hungry seaming lor the tree lile that had been hi»
CHAPTER III
THE OUTCAST
Lip-lip continued so to darken his days that White Fang became wickeder
and more ferocious than it was his natural right to be. Savagencxx was
a part of his malv-up. but the savagenev» thus dcxelopd exceeded his
make-up. He acquired a reputation tor wtckcdncsc amongst the man an­
imals themselves. Wherever there was trouble and upoar in camp, light­
ing and squabbling or the outcry ol a squaw over a bit ot stolen meat the»
were sure to find White Fang mixed up in it and usuali» at the bottom of it
They did not bother to look after the causes ol his conduct. They caw only
the effects, and the effects were bad He was a sneak and a thiel. a mixPART III CHAPTÍR ill—The OiAOII
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69