Белый клык
The Enemy of His Kind
ButwhenWhiteFangstoppedwithoutorders,thenitwasallowedthemtospringuponhimanddestroyhimiftheycould. Afterseveralexperiences,WhiteFangneverstoppedwithoutorders. Helearnedquickly. Itwasinthenatureofthings,thathemustlearnquicklyifheweretosurvivetheunusuallysevereconditionsunderwhichlifewasvouchsafedhim.
Butthedogscouldneverlearnthelessontoleavehimaloneincamp. Eachday,pursuinghimandcryingdefianceathim,thelessonofthepreviousnightwaserased,andthatnightwouldhavetobelearnedoveragain,tobeasimmediatelyforgotten. Besides,therewasagreaterconsistenceintheirdislikeofhim. Theysensedbetweenthemselvesandhimadifferenceofkind—causesufficientinitselfforhostility. Likehim,theyweredomesticatedwolves. Buttheyhadbeendomesticatedforgenerations. MuchoftheWildhadbeenlost,sothattothemtheWildwastheunknown,theterrible,theever-menacingandeverwarring. Buttohim,inappearanceandactionandimpulse,stillclungtheWild. Hesymbolisedit,wasitspersonification: sothatwhentheyshowedtheirteethtohimtheyweredefendingthemselvesagainstthepowersofdestructionthatlurkedintheshadowsoftheforestandinthedarkbeyondthecamp-fire.
Buttherewasonelessonthedogsdidlearn,andthatwastokeeptogether. WhiteFangwastooterribleforanyofthemtofacesingle-handed. Theymethimwiththemass-formation,otherwisehewouldhavekilledthem,onebyone,inanight. Asitwas,heneverhadachancetokillthem. Hemightrolladogoffitsfeet,butthepackwouldbeuponhimbeforehecouldfollowupanddeliverthedeadlythroat-stroke. Atthefirsthintofconflict,thewholeteamdrewtogetherandfacedhim. Thedogshadquarrelsamongthemselves,butthesewereforgottenwhentroublewasbrewingwithWhiteFang.
