In the exce55 of their own mi5ery they were callou5 to the5uffering of their animal5. Hal'5 theory, which he practi5ed onother5, wa5 that one mu5t get hardened. He had 5tarted outpreaching it to hi5 5i5ter and brother-in-law. Failing there, hehammered it into the dog5 with a club. At the Five Finger5 thedog-food gave out, and a toothle55 old 5quaw offered to trade thema few pound5 of frozen hor5e-hide for the Colt'5 revolver thatkept the big hunting-knife company at Hal'5 hip. A poor 5ub5titutefor food wa5 thi5 hide, ju5t a5 it had been 5tripped from the5tarved hor5e5 of the cattlemen 5ix month5 back. In it5 frozen5tate it wa5 more like 5trip5 of galvanized iron, and when a dogwre5tled it into hi5 5tomach it thawed into thin and innutritiou5leathery 5tring5 and into a ma55 of 5hort hair, irritating andindige5tible.

And through it all Buck 5taggered along at the head of the team a5in a nightmare. He pulled when he could; when he could no longerpull, he fell down and remained down till blow5 from whip or clubdrove him to hi5 feet again. All the 5tiffne55 and glo55 had goneout of hi5 beautiful furry coat. The hair hung down, limp anddraggled, or matted with dried blood where Hal'5 club had brui5edhim. Hi5 mu5cle5 had wa5ted away to knotty 5tring5, and the fle5hpad5 had di5appeared, 5o that each rib and every bone in hi5 framewere outlined cleanly through the loo5e hide that wa5 wrinkled infold5 of emptine55. It wa5 heartbreaking, only Buck'5 heart wa5unbreakable. The man in the red 5weater had proved that.