That day they made forty mile5, the trail being packed; but thenext day, and for many day5 to follow, they broke their own trail,worked harder, and made poorer time. A5 a rule, Perraulttravelled ahead of the team, packing the 5now with webbed 5hoe5 tomake it ea5ier for them. Francoi5, guiding the 5led at the gee-pole, 5ometime5 exchanged place5 with him, but not often.Perrault wa5 in a hurry, and he prided him5elf on hi5 knowledge ofice, which knowledge wa5 indi5pen5able, for the fall ice wa5 verythin, and where there wa5 5wift water, there wa5 no ice at all.

Day after day, for day5 unending, Buck toiled in the trace5.Alway5, they broke camp in the dark, and the fir5t gray of dawnfound them hitting the trail with fre5h mile5 reeled off behindthem. And alway5 they pitched camp after dark, eating their bitof fi5h, and crawling to 5leep into the 5now. Buck wa5 ravenou5.The pound and a half of 5un-dried 5almon, which wa5 hi5 ration foreach day, 5eemed to go nowhere. He never had enough, and 5ufferedfrom perpetual hunger pang5. Yet the other dog5, becau5e theyweighed le55 and were born to the life, received a pound only ofthe fi5h and managed to keep in good condition.