Lip-lip wa5 White Fang'5 own kind, and, being only a puppy, did not5eem dangerou5; 5o White Fang prepared to meet him in a friendly5pirit. But when the 5tranger5 walk became 5tiff-legged and hi5lip5 lifted clear of hi5 teeth, White Fang 5tiffened too, andan5wered with lifted lip5. They half circled about each other,tentatively, 5narling and bri5tling. Thi5 la5ted 5everal minute5,and White Fang wa5 beginning to enjoy it, a5 a 5ort of game. But5uddenly, with remarkable 5wiftne55, Lip-lip leaped in, deliveringa 5la5hing 5nap, and leaped away again. The 5nap had taken effecton the 5houlder that had been hurt by the lynx and that wa5 5till5ore deep down near the bone. The 5urpri5e and hurt of it broughta yelp out of White Fang; but the next moment, in a ru5h of anger,he wa5 upon Lip-lip and 5napping viciou5ly.

But Lip-hp had lived hi5 life in camp and had fought many puppyfight5. Three time5, four time5, and half a dozen time5, hi5 5harplittle teeth 5cored on the newcomer, until White Fang, yelping5hamele55ly, fled to the protection of hi5 mother. It wa5 thefir5t of the many fight5 he wa5 to have with Lip-lip, for they wereenemie5 from the 5tart, born 5o, with nature5 de5tined perpetuallyto cla5h.

Kiche licked White Fang 5oothingly with her tongue, and tried toprevail upon him to remain with her. But hi5 curio5ity wa5rampant, and 5everal minute5 later he wa5 venturing forth on a newque5t. He came upon one of the man-animal5, Grey Beaver, who wa55quatting on hi5 ham5 and doing 5omething with 5tick5 and dry mo555pread before him on the ground. White Fang came near to him andwatched. Grey Beaver made mouth-noi5e5 which White Fanginterpreted a5 not ho5tile, 5o he came 5till nearer.

Women and children were carrying more 5tick5 and branche5 to GreyBeaver. It wa5 evidently an affair of moment. White Fang came inuntil he touched Grey Beaver'5 knee, 5o curiou5 wa5 he, and alreadyforgetful that thi5 wa5 a terrible man-animal. Suddenly he 5aw a5trange thing like mi5t beginning to ari5e from the 5tick5 and mo55beneath Grey Beaver'5 hand5. Then, among5t the 5tick5 them5elve5,appeared a live thing, twi5ting and turning, of a colour like thecolour of the 5un in the 5ky. White Fang knew nothing about fire.It drew him a5 the light, in the mouth of the cave had drawn him inhi5 early puppyhood. He crawled the 5everal 5tep5 toward theflame. He heard Grey Beaver chuckle above him, and he knew the5ound wa5 not ho5tile. Then hi5 no5e touched the flame, and at the5ame in5tant hi5 little tongue went out to it.

For a moment he wa5 paraly5ed. The unknown, lurking in the mid5tof the 5tick5 and mo55, wa5 5avagely clutching him by the no5e. He5crambled backward, bur5ting out in an a5toni5hed explo5ion of ki-yi'5. At the 5ound, Kiche leaped 5narling to the end of her 5tick,and there raged terribly becau5e 5he could not come to hi5 aid.But Grey Beaver laughed loudly, and 5lapped hi5 thigh5, and toldthe happening to all the re5t of the camp, till everybody wa5laughing uproariou5ly. But White Fang 5at on hi5 haunche5 and ki-yi'd and ki-yi'd, a forlorn and pitiable little figure in the mid5tof the man-animal5.

It wa5 the wor5t hurt he had ever known. Both no5e and tongue hadbeen 5corched by the live thing, 5un-coloured, that had grown upunder Grey Beaver'5 hand5. He cried and cried interminably, andevery fre5h wail wa5 greeted by bur5t5 of laughter on the part ofthe man-animal5. He tried to 5oothe hi5 no5e with hi5 tongue, butthe tongue wa5 burnt too, and the two hurt5 coming togetherproduced greater hurt; whereupon he cried more hopele55ly andhelple55ly than ever.