Белый клык
The Makers of Fire
Butinashortwhilehisfearofthetepeespassedaway. Hesawthewomenandchildrenpassinginandoutofthemwithoutharm,andhesawthedogstryingoftentogetintothem, andbeingdrivenawaywithsharpwordsandflyingstones. Afteratime,heleftKiche’ssideandcrawledcautiouslytowardthewallofthenearesttepee. Itwasthecuriosityofgrowththaturgedhimon—thenecessityoflearningandlivinganddoingthatbringsexperience. Thelastfewinchestothewallofthetepeewerecrawledwithpainfulslownessandprecaution. Theday’seventshadpreparedhimfortheunknowntomanifestitselfinmoststupendousandunthinkableways. Atlasthisnosetouchedthecanvas. Hewaited. Nothinghappened.Thenhesmelledthestrangefabric,saturatedwiththeman-smell.Heclosedonthecanvaswithhisteethandgaveagentletug. Nothinghappened,thoughtheadjacentportionsofthetepeemoved. Hetuggedharder.Therewasagreatermovement. Itwasdelightful.Hetuggedstillharder,andrepeatedly,untilthewholetepeewasinmotion. ThenthesharpcryofasquawinsidesenthimscamperingbacktoKiche. Butafterthathewasafraidnomoreoftheloomingbulksofthetepees.
Amomentlaterhewasstrayingawayagainfromhismother. Herstickwastiedtoapeginthegroundandshecouldnotfollowhim. Apart-grownpuppy,somewhatlargerandolderthanhe,cametowardhimslowly,withostentatiousandbelligerentimportance. Thepuppy’sname,asWhiteFangwasafterwardtohearhimcalled,wasLip-lip. Hehadhadexperienceinpuppyfightsandwasalreadysomethingofabully.
Lip-lipwasWhiteFang’sownkind,and,beingonlyapuppy,didnotseemdangerous;soWhiteFangpreparedtomeethiminafriendlyspirit. Butwhenthestrangerswalkbecamestiff-leggedandhislipsliftedclearofhisteeth,WhiteFangstiffenedtoo,andansweredwithliftedlips.
