and the shirks he should have punished. And he did it
deliberately. One night there was a heavy snowfall, and in the
morning Pike, the malingerer, did not appear. He was securely
hidden in his nest under a foot of snow. Francois called him and
sought him in vain. Spitz was wild with wrath. He raged through
the camp, smelling and digging in every likely place, snarling so
frightfully that Pike heard and shivered in his hiding-place.

But when he was at last unearthed, and Spitz flew at him to punish
him, Buck flew, with equal rage, in between. So unexpected was
it, and so shrewdly managed, that Spitz was hurled backward and
off his feet. Pike, who had been trembling abjectly, took heart
at this open mutiny, and sprang upon his overthrown leader. Buck,
to whom fair play was a forgotten code, likewise sprang upon
Spitz. But Francois, chuckling at the incident while unswerving
in the administration of justice, brought his lash down upon Buck
with all his might. This failed to drive Buck from his prostrate
rival, and the butt of the whip was brought into play. Half-
stunned by the blow, Buck was knocked backward and the lash laid
upon him again and again, while Spitz soundly punished the many
times offending Pike.

In the days that followed, as Dawson grew closer and closer, Buck
still continued to interfere between Spitz and the culprits; but
he did it craftily, when Francois was not around, With the covert
mutiny of Buck, a general insubordination sprang up and increased.
Dave and Sol-leks were unaffected, but the rest of the team went
from bad to worse. Things no longer went right. There was
continual bickering and jangling. Trouble was always afoot, and
at the bottom of it was Buck. He kept Francois busy, for the dog-