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Because the here he had truly found his spirit

He went hunting the next ht a small rabbit He did not shoot or trap it, but si srass with the creatures One of the at hi its nose as it tried to discern his scent Before it could sniff below the pretense, Jack reached out and grabbed the creature, breaking its neck before it kneas happening He experienced a e dislocation as he shed the rabbit senses--it was as if one of his own lay dead in his lap, and a sadness crept over hi the rabbit expertly before spitting it over the fire

As the rabbit cooked, Jack went about tidying the cas scattered arasses, and the detritus of the round He wanted the place to be as far back to nature as was possible before he left, both in honor of the o was no more It was a part of the history of this place now, and the site of its great feeding also had to move on

He left the saddle upon which he had scored that grim epitaph atop the pile of collected debris It seeh it would last no more than a year or two in these harsh climes, in histhe rabbit seeo’s flesh froreasy with cooked er was sated by the tioods and set off for Dawson City He went east and south, determined that the shreds of civilization would be in that direction, and over his shoulders he carried the saddlebags heavy with gold

The previous day’s brief snowstorround here and there, the sun was quicklyit away Autumn had arrived, true, but the harshest weather was still several weeks distant For the first ti while, Jack felt that he was now safe, and that his immediate future was mapped out before him--a return to Dawson, a journey back across the Chilkoot pass to Dyea, then passage south to San Francisco Once there, he would try to track down Jiold he carried over his left shoulder was for theht…that was for his own fah there to cover the money that Shepard had invested in the journey and, if not to get his mother out of debt, at least to stave off the moneylenders for a time It would be plenty Jack had other ideas about how he could benefit from his adventures

His own terrible tales of the north he could never tell But there were surely a million others that he could Stories he had heard Lessons learned Glimpses into the heart of the wild, but not into that wild’s shadows

Around noon of that day he encountered a s north He sat and waited by a rock when he saw the to build a small fire in the hope that they’d have food they would share He kept his guns at the ready, but by the time they drew closer, any worries had evaporated They were sta from their packs--and their ready smiles put him at ease

"Afternoon, friend," one of theThese were the first ordinary people he had spoken to since the Wendigo attack on the ca the time between then and now, but he knew it had been e ti out fro," one of the women said She dropped her pack next to Jack, and he saw the weapons on her belt--knives, and two pistols

"The winters up here don’t lared at hiaze What does she see? Jack thought What stares at her from these eyes?

"Only a short trip, this one," another man said "We been out four times from Dawson now and found nothin’ This is our last try before we head on home"

"Good luck to you," Jack said

"You found any luck?" the wos, then back up at his face He sain He felt that he should not be enjoying such power, but he couldn’t help hiroup, back the way he’d come, and for a moment he pondered on luck and what it ht way?" the first man asked

"No," Jack said "Back that hat little good luck there was found itself outweighed by the bad"

The six people were quiet for a round Two of the the fire, and soon a pot of coffee was brewing Jack handed over his round next to their own Jack nodded his thanks

"You look like you’ve been out there for a while," the same woman said "Seen men like you before Got a wild look in your eyes, like you’ve seen things that shouldn’t be seen"

Jack shrugged and looked into the fire

"Seen men like that ere ain, but this time he let a smile touch his lips Who’s to say? he almost replied, but he didn’t want to alarh, and they were sharing their coffee, but all of theuns And he could see that none of thes out in the wild

They sat together for a couple of hours, drinking coffee and talking about gold, and the wilderness, and the equally wild place that was Dawson One of the rabbed Jack’s attention when he talked of crazy people in Dawson spending their ti monsters and dead men" When Jack asked what they looked like, and whether the man knew their names, the wohed on the atmosphere around the campfire, and it never quite recovered

Jack was the first to rise and wish them well He sensed eyes upon his, but he never once felt any threat fro an adult readying to hunt--ironic, considering his own youth--and Jack felt that the least he could do was spare them a word of advice

"West is best from here," he said "Into the low hills"

"We were told northwest," the woman said "Up into the wild forests and the valleys between lanced at each one of thee across "Those places are cursed" Then, shrugging off the few muttered questions that came after him, Jack turned his back on those naive explorers and went on his way

He walked far that day, and at dusk he camped by a stream where there were the remains of several other ca beneath the stars, he listened to the night sounds closing in None of thehtened him anymore The cry of a wolf acco his own voice to the history of the wild

He walked fro across the remains of several camps, and the farther southeast he went, the more Dawson seeer just that--there was a taint of huh now--and much as he looked forward to his journey and eventual arrival back with his fa of this part of his life It felt as if he were leaving a part of hiht he sat by the campfire and howled, oncecall--the wolves kept far to the north and west of here, away frouns of civilization--but neither was there a reply in his ht, and he carried that sa when he approached Dawson at last

The final sight he’d had of Dawson had been the inside of that wretched hotel room, where Archie and William had come at him with clubs and fists That felt like a lifetiht of Dawson in the distance, huddled beside the river at the botto valley, he knew that places like this would never change Built on ambition and the quest for adventure, they would always be corrupted by greed and cynicism He would enter Dawson noith his eyes open, but he swore that he would maintain hope in his heart Not all men were bad Merritt and Ji as Jack entered, and he drew only a few casual glances He was one of h he had seen more than most, his physical appearance at least seemed unremarkable Indeed, the time he had spent with Lesya--able to shave, wash his clothes, and eat enough food to stave off hunger and illness--seemed to have fended off some of the worst effects of the wilderness, and so skeletons