Chapter 1 To the north
第一章 北部之旅
Buck did not read the newspapers.
巴克不曾读过报纸,
He did not know that trouble was coming for every big dog in California.
他不知道人们需要高大强壮能够在北方的严寒和冰雪中工作的狗。
Men had found gold in the Yukon, and these men wanted big, strong dogs to work in the cold and snow of the north.
人们在育空河发现了金矿,因此对加利福尼亚的每一条大狗来说都在劫难逃。
Buck lived in Mr Miller's big house in the sunny Santa Clara valley.
在阳光明媚的桑塔?克拉拉山谷中,巴克的家就在米勒先生的大房子里。
There were large gardens and fields of fruit trees around the house, and a river nearby.
房子的周围是开阔的庄园和种满了果树的田野。一条小河从附近流过。
In a big place like this,of course, there were many dogs There were house dogs and farm dogs, but they were not important.
这样一个辽阔的地方,是狗的乐园。诸如看门狗和牧羊犬,但他们是无足轻重的。
Buck was chief dog;he was born here, and this was his place .
真正的狗的首领是巴克;他生于斯长于斯,这儿简直就是他的天下。
He was four years old and weighed sixty kilos .
他4岁,体重60公斤。
He went swimming with Mr Miller's sons,and walking with his daughters.
他同米勒先生的儿子一起游泳,也陪着他的女儿们一起去散步,
He carried the grandchildren on his back,and he sat at Mr Miller's feet in front of the fire in winter.
有时他还会给米勒先生的孙儿们当马骑。冬天到了,他就偎着炉火蹲坐在米勒先生的脚边。
But this was 1897, and Buck did not know that men and dogs were hurrying to north-west Canada to look for gold.
然而到了1897年,巴克不知道这一年人们都带着狗蜂涌到加拿大西北部寻找金矿。
And he did not know that Manuel, one of Mr Miller's garden-ers, needed money for his large family.
他更不知道,米勒先生的一个园丁曼纽埃勒需要钱养活他的一大家子。
One day,when Mr Miller was out, Manuel and Buck left the garden together.
有一天,米勒先生出去了,曼纽埃勒带着巴克离开了庄园。
It was just an evening walk, Buck thought.
对于巴克来说,他还以为这只是傍晚的散步。
No one saw them go, and only one man saw them arrive at the railway station.
没有人看到他们,只有一个人看见他们到了火车站。