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CHAPTER ONE

INTO THE WILD

JACK LONDON STOOD on the deck of the Umatilla and looked out upon the docks of San Francisco, wondering how long it would be before he saw the city again He had been born with a wandering heart, and he eers often presented by journeys into unknown places When the Umatilla sailed out of the port of San Francisco, he would be bound for the Yukon, leaving civilization behind for the wilds of the frozen north, where ruold awaited discovery and any old represented only one part of the Yukon’s allure for Jack Given the chance, he’d have gone purely for the sake of going, dared all for the sake of daring And there was the idea in his adventure-yearning heart that those northern wilds aiting for hi and breathed in the shts, and listened to the sounds of chaos and exciteroup of people Every race, every nationality, every creed was represented here Even with the scent of the ocean so strong, dozens of other odors drifted on the breeze On the dock, a vendor sold roasted nuts A ave off the strong smells of spices or smoke or food, and several stank from need of a bath Jack had been a tramp, oyster pirate, and convict, and had been friends with men who hadn’t bathed properly in decades, but he shuddered to think what the ship’s quarters would smell like by the time they reached Alaska

He’d heard whispers that the steaers as it was licensed to carry, and he could well believe it Having stowed their equiping and ailing brother-in-law, had shouldered their way through a bustle of gold prospectors, froh-handed laborers to the sons of the wealthy elite ere setting out to seek their own fortunes

Now, fro, they prepared to bid farewell to San Francisco

"No need for good-byes," said Shepard "It’ll still be here e get back, salittering eyes seee?"

Jack thought of the hardships ahead of them He’d lived seventeen eventful years, and for hi to him with a voice like the wind across the desert, or the echo that sang through trees heavy with the weight of a blizzard’s snowfall He thought of that voice as the call of the wild, and it set Jack’s heart pue, Jaood way," he replied at last "Adventurethat other possibility: Adventure can kill a man But he could see in Shepard’s eyes that he knew the brutal truth of things

Ja or of youth, but his body betrayed the cruelness of time, lined and worn by successive assaults and currently defending against this one final attack His heart eakening, but his ray-haired, gray-eyed Shepard; though much older than Jack’s sister, Eliza, the man see to Jack

And though Jack knew the dangers inherent in Shepard’sthis journey--and he knew that Eliza knew, as well--the olderadventure with the taint ofupon this journey, Shepard see time That could only bode well for all of the madly at the ishers on shore, Jack had never been so excited Ahead of them lay sixteen hundred miles of ocean, wild rivers, snow-covered mountains, treacherous passes, and some of the most inhospitable country known to reatest adventure of his life

But to achieve greatness, one e fro aboard the Umatilla, the time passed quickly Jack kept a close eye on Shepard and was pleased to see that thethe journey

When they aproached Dyea, sailing toward the breathtaking views ofworse for the trip Shepard shone with a new vitality His heart or, but its essence rereatest adventure of his life

The twoas the ship came into port One of the reasons Jack had been so pleased with the Umatilla was that it could actually land theer ships Most had to settle for docking in Skagway, near the entrance to White Pass, which could be eventhan the perilous route Jack intended to follow

"Where are the docks?" Shepard asked He coughed into his fist and then spat a wad of phleg nore the cautions of their elders Impulsive and quick-tempered, he had never been an exception But where this trip--and gold--were concerned, Shepard behaved more like an excitable boy than Jack himself So when he heard that wary tone, Jack frowned and studied the shore

The crew began to drop anchor with no dock in sight Jack could see the beach fro from chimneys in the town beyond, but nowhere for the out toward the U to off-load the ship

"Excuse ure about thirty years of age--who tried to hurry by even as Jack accosted hied his arrasp "No docks in Dyea, kid You’ll land on the beach"

Shepard cleared his throat, sounding like an angry bear as he clamped a firm hand on the crewman’s wrist "Now hold on That’s lunacy! It’ll take hours to get all the supplies out of your hold, sorted, and off the beach before the tide colint had appeared in the crewrip Shepard had on hi around to ht He reached around to the small of his back, where he’d tucked a small, sheathed knife

Shepard released the man’s hand but did not back off

The crewman smiled "If you’re worried about the tide, you’d better hurry"

With that, he rushed off through the crowd, many of whoh others were only just now learning A chorus of co any of them could do about it They’d come too far and spent too ht the preparation for the journey a breathless scra in comparison to the chaotic rush as the Uet their supplies and equipround Would-be prospectors, who’d been dubbed "staht for space aboard the oods and people ashore

Many of the e, and sohts about the journey they’d set out upon Jack, on the other hand, felt as though heas he and Shepard sat in a s to packs full of their ust, it was already growing cold up here, but Jack ar their last few days in the city, he had used Shepard’swas a necessity: heavy mittens, hats, fur-lined coats and trousers, warainst the ingress of water and snow He purchased tools hich they could chop trees and construct boats and cabins, a year’s supply of food in sealed containers--dried, preserved, and pickled Ca equipment was vital, and Jack had thetents and blankets, shovels, groundsheets, and the Klondike stoves that would keep theht

He had also packed his all-important books Jack never traveled without at least some work of Melville’s, and Moby-Dick rode in his pack now