Зов предков
The Toil of Trace and Trail
OnthenextdayKoonawent,andbutfiveofthemremained: Joe,toofargonetobemalignant;Pike,crippledandlimping,onlyhalfconsciousandnotconsciousenoughlongertomalinger;Sol-leks,theone-eyed,stillfaithfultothetoiloftraceandtrail,andmournfulinthathehadsolittlestrengthwithwhichtopull; Teek,whohadnottravelledsofarthatwinterandwhowasnowbeatenmorethantheothersbecausehewasfresher; andBuck,stillattheheadoftheteam,butnolongerenforcingdisciplineorstrivingtoenforceit,blindwithweaknesshalfthetimeandkeepingthetrailbytheloomofitandbythedimfeelofhisfeet.
Itwasbeautifulspringweather,butneitherdogsnorhumanswereawareofit. Eachdaythesunroseearlierandsetlater. Itwasdawnbythreeinthemorning,andtwilightlingeredtillnineatnight. Thewholelongdaywasablazeofsunshine. Theghostlywintersilencehadgivenwaytothegreatspringmurmurofawakeninglife. Thismurmurarosefromalltheland,fraughtwiththejoyofliving. Itcamefromthethingsthatlivedandmovedagain,thingswhichhadbeenasdeadandwhichhadnotmovedduringthelongmonthsoffrost. Thesapwasrisinginthepines. Thewillowsandaspenswereburstingoutinyoungbuds. Shrubsandvineswereputtingonfreshgarbsofgreen. Cricketssanginthenights,andinthedaysallmannerofcreeping,crawlingthingsrustledforthintothesun.
