CHAPTER TWENTY

Love and Kindness

Twenty-four hours passed since White Fang bit Weeden Scott's hand. In the past, White Fang was always beaten after he hurt a person. Therefore, White Fang still expected punishment. He did not understand why the man had not beaten him yet.

Weeden Scott walked to White Fang and sat on the ground. He did not hold a gun or a club. He held nothing. It was strange. Also, White Fang did not have a chain on his neck. He could walk or run anywhere that he wanted. He was not used to this type of situation, so he decided not to run away. He wanted to see what the man would do.

The man was quiet. He did not move. He began to talk. His voice was very soft and gentle. No one had ever gently talked to White Fang before. It made White Fang feel very good. He started to feel safe with the man.

After a while, the man got up. He went inside the house. Then he came outside again. He had a piece of meat in his hand. White Fang wanted to eat the meat, but he wasn't sure if he should. He looked at the meat and the man at the same time. The man held the piece of meat by White Fang's nose. He smelled the meat. It seemed okay to eat. Finally, the man put the meat on the ground near White Fang's feet. He carefully smelled the meat again. White Fang decided that the meat was safe. Then, he ate the meat. Nothing happened. The man wanted to give him another piece of meat. The man put it on the ground again. White Fang ate the meat again.

Weeden Scott repeated this many times. Finally, he did not put the meat on the ground. The meat stayed in his hand. Because the other meat was okay, White Fang decided to trust Weeden Scott. White Fang ate the meat from Weeden Scott's hand. Nothing bad happened. Again, White Fang ate meat from Weeden Scott's hand.

The man then began talking again. His voice was very kind and gentle. Then, the man moved his hand to White Fang's head. He kept on talking. The hand moved closer and closer. White Fang was nervous, but he let the man touch him. His body was very tense. His ears lay flat on his head and he growled, but the man kept touching him.

Weeden Scott moved his hand up and down on White Fang's fur. White Fang kept growling. His body was still very tense. Weeden Scott kept gently talking. He began to relax his body. When the man touched his fur, it was actually pleasant. White Fang was experiencing two opposite feelings. He was afraid and expecting the man to harm him. Yet, at the same time, he enjoyed the man's kindness.

Suddenly, Matt came outside. He saw Weeden Scott touching White Fang. He was very surprised. "Wonderful!" he shouted.

When Matt spoke, it frightened White Fang. White Fang jumped. He quickly ran from Weeden Scott. He growled at Matt. Matt looked at Weeden Scott. Then Weeden Scott walked to White Fang. At this time, White Fang continued to look at Matt and growl. He again touched White Fang's head. This time, White Fang was not afraid.

White Fang started a new life with Weeden Scott. It was the first time a person was kind to him. Weeden Scott was very patient. It took a long time, but White Fang came to trust Weeden Scott. Weeden Scott never put a chain on White Fang. He allowed him to walk freely near the house. White Fang liked Weeden Scott, so he did not run away. His new life was much better than life with Beauty Smith.

Because he liked Weeden Scott so much, White Fang guarded Weeden Scott and his house. At night, while the other dogs slept, White Fang would stay awake. He would walk near the house all night. If a person came to visit Weeden Scott at night, White Fang attacked the person. Then Weeden Scott would have to rescue the visitor. Over time, however, White Fang understood which people were visitors and which people were thieves. If the man walked loudly and confidently, then the man was a visitor. If the man walked quietly and nervously, then the man was a thief.

Weeden Scott pitied White Fang. He knew that his past master was very cruel. Therefore, Weeden Scott was very kind to White Fang. Everyday, he spent a lot of time with White Fang. He often gently touched White Fang's fur. White Fang learned to enjoy this activity.

Over time, White Fang began to love Weeden Scott. Therefore, when he was with Weeden Scott, he was extremely happy. When he was not with Weeden Scott, he was extremely sad. Weeden Scott became the most important thing in White Fang's life. He was the center of White Fang's world. Every morning, White Fang waited for Weeden Scott to come out of the house. Every night, when Weeden Scott returned home, White Fang would run to greet him.

White Fang learned to not attack Weeden Scott's other dogs. The dogs, on the other hand, learned to live with White Fang. They knew he was stronger than them. Therefore, he became their leader. They always obeyed and respected him.

Matt and Weeden Scott wanted White Fang to be a sled-dog. Therefore, they prepared a sled and connected White Fang to the sled. Weeden Scott's sled was different from Gray Beaver's sled. It was light and easy to pull. Also, unlike Gray Beaver's other dogs, Weeden Scott's other dogs respected and followed the leader. They ran behind him and did not try to attack him.

White Fang was very dependable. Every day, he pulled the sled. Every night, he guarded and protected Weeden Scott. He was Weeden Scott's best and most valuable dog. He quickly became the leader of the sled-dog team. One day, Matt said, "This is the best sled-dog that I have ever seen. You were very wise to take him from Beauty Smith."

Weeden Scott made an angry and hateful face. "That beast!" he shouted. He hated Beauty Smith.

In the spring, something terrible happened. One day, Weeden Scott disappeared. White Fang saw Weeden Scott leave the house with a suitcase. He did not understand that Weeden Scott was going on a trip. That night, he waited for his master to return. He waited an entire night, but his master never returned. In the morning, Matt opened the door and walked outside. White Fang stared at Matt sadly. He wanted to know where his master was.

After many days, Weeden Scott still did not return. White Fang became seriously ill. It was the first time in his life that he was ill. Matt put White Fang inside the house. He tried to cure White Fang's illness, but he could not. He wrote a letter to Weeden Scott. In the letter, he told him about White Fang. He wrote, "The wolf won't work. He won't eat. He misses you very much. He might die."

White Fang was extremely sad. His master had left him. He gave up. He began to let himself die. He would not eat. He allowed the other dogs to attack him and bite him. All day, he lay near the stove staring at the floor. He waited to die.

One night, as Matt and White Fang sat in the house, White Fang suddenly got up. He began to excitedly cry. He stared at the door. Then, Matt heard someone walking to the door. The door opened. It was Weeden Scott. "Where's the wolf?" he asked.

Then he saw White Fang. He was standing near the stove. Weeden Scott looked at White Fang. He waited for the wolf to come to him.

"Wow!" shouted Matt. "Look at his tail! It's wagging. He's very happy."

Weeden Scott started to walk to White Fang. White Fang quickly ran to him. His eyes were bright and happy.

"He's never looked at me that way!" said Matt.

Weeden Scott did not hear Matt. He was sitting on the floor with White Fang. He was touching White Fang's fur. White Fang was extremely happy. He pleasantly growled. Then, he did something very unusual. Because of his joy, he found a new way to show the master his love. He pushed his body between Weeden Scott's arm and body. He rubbed his head against Weeden Scott's body. He was trying to hug Weeden Scott. Matt was shocked. "Look at him! I always knew he was more dog than wolf!" he shouted.

After Weeden Scott returned, White Fang rested for two more days. He was soon healthy again. Then, he went outside. The other dogs tried to fight with him. Matt watched the fight. He cheered for White Fang, "Go, White Fang! Go!"

White Fang fought the other dogs. Because his master had returned, his spirit was extremely good. There was no stopping White Fang. Finally the other dogs stopped. White Fang was their leader again.

One night when Matt and Weeden Scott sat in the house, they heard a man scream outside. Then they heard White Fang growl. The two men looked at each other and got up. Matt said, "Get a light."

When they went outside, they saw a man laying on the ground. His arms were across his face and neck. He was trying to protect himself from White Fang's teeth. White Fang wanted to bite the man's neck and kill the man. The man's arms were bleeding. There was a lot of blood in the snow surrounding the man.

Weeden Scott took White Fang. He pulled him from the man. White Fang was growling and showing his teeth. Matt helped the man get up. The man took his arms off of his face. It was Beauty Smith. Then, Matt saw two things in the snow. One was a large club. The other was a thick steel chain. Matt showed the things to Weeden Scott. Then, Matt pushed Beauty Smith away from the house. At the time, Weeden Scott was standing with White Fang. He was gently touching him and talking to him. He said, "He tried to steal you, didn't he. Well, that was a mistake!"

White Fang's body was tense. He growled and growled. However, he soon relaxed. His master was protecting him.

(end of section)