"Call Of The Wild, The" - читать интересную книгу автора (London Jack)

Alice, the Judge's daughters, on long twilight or early
morning rambles; on wintry nights he lay at the Judge's feet
before the roaring library fire; he carried the Judge's
grandsons on his back, or rolled them in the grass, and
guarded their footsteps through wild adventures down to the
fountain in the stable yard, and even beyond, where the
paddocks were, and the berry patches. Among the terriers
he stalked imperiously, and Toots and Ysabel he utterly
ignored, for he was king--king over all creeping, crawling,
flying things of Judge Miller's place, humans included.
His father, Elmo, a huge St. Bernard, had been the Judge's
inseparable companion, and Buck bid fair to follow in the
way of his father. He was not so large--he weighed only
one hundred and forty pounds--for his mother, Shep, had been a
Scotch shepherd dog. Nevertheless, one hundred and forty
pounds, to which was added the dignity that comes of good
living and universal respect, enabled him to carry himself
in right royal fashion. During the four years since his
puppyhood he had lived the life of a sated aristocrat; he had
a fine pride in himself, was even a trifle egotistical, as
country gentlemen sometimes become because of their insular
situation. But he had saved himself by not becoming a mere
pampered house dog. Hunting and kindred outdoor delights had
kept down the fat and hardened his muscles; and to him,
as to the cold-tubbing races, the love of water had been a
tonic and a health preserver.
And this was the manner of dog Buck was in the fall of
1897, when the Klondike strike dragged men from all the world
into the frozen North. But Buck did not read the newspapers,
and he did not know that Manuel, one of the gardener's
helpers, was an undesirable acquaintance. Manuel had one
besetting sin. He loved to play Chinese lottery. Also, in
his gambling, he had one besetting weakness--faith in a
system; and this made his damnation certain. For to play a
system requires money, while the wages of a gardener's helper
do not lap over the needs of a wife and numerous progeny.
B The Judge was at a meeting of the Raisin Growers'
Association, and the boys were busy organizing an athletic
club, on the memorable night of Manuel's treachery. No one
saw him and Buck go off through the orchard on what Buck
imagined was merely a stroll. And with the exception of a
solitary man, no one saw them arrive at the little flag
station known as College Park. This man talked with Manuel,
and money chinked between them.
"You might wrap up the goods before you deliver them," the
stranger said gruffly, and Manuel doubled a piece of stout
rope around Buck's neck under the collar.
"Twist it, and you'll choke him plenty," said Manuel,
and the stranger grunted a ready affirmative.
Buck had accepted the rope with quiet dignity. To be