1906 white fang jack london - pinkmonke - Pink Monkey

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and gods. There were his gods, and there were other gods, and
between them there was a difference. Justice or injustice, it was all
the same, he must take all things from the hands of his own gods.
But he was not compelled to take injustice from the other gods. It
was his privilege to resent it with his teeth. And this also was a law
of the gods.
Before the day was out, White Fang was to learn more about this
law. Mitsah, alone, gathering firewood in the forest, encountered
the boy that had been bitten. With him were other boys. Hot words
passed. Then all the boys attacked Mit-sah. It was going hard with
him. Blows were raining upon him from all sides. White Fang
looked on at first. This was an affair of the gods, and no concern of
his. Then he realized that this was Mit-sah, one of his own
particular gods, who was being maltreated. It was no reasoned
impulse that made White Fang do what he then did. A mad rush of
anger sent him leaping in amongst the combatants. Five minutes
later the landscape was covered with fleeing boys, many of whom
dripped blood upon the snow in token that White Fang’s teeth had
not been idle. When Mit-sah told his story in camp, Gray Beaver
ordered meat to be given to White Fang. He ordered much meat to
be given, and White Fang, gorged and sleepy by the fire, knew that
the law had received its verification.
It was in line with these experiences that White Fang came to learn
the law of property and the duty of the defense of property. From
the protection of his god’s body to the protection of his god’s
possessions was a step, and this step he made.
What was his god’s was to be defended against all the world- even
to the extent of biting other gods. Not only was such an act
sacrilegious in its nature, but it was fraught with peril. The gods
were all-powerful, and a dog was no match against them; yet
White Fang learned to face them, fiercely belligerent and unafraid.
Duty rose above fear, and thieving gods learned to leave Gray
Beaver’s property alone.
One thing, in this connection, White Fang quickly learned, and that
was that a thieving god was usually a cowardly god and prone to
run away at the sounding of the alarm. Also, he learned that but
brief time elapsed between his sounding of the alarm and Gray
Beaver’s coming to his aid. He came to know that it was not fear of
him that drove the thief away, but fear of Gray Beaver. White Fang
did not give the alarm by barking. He never barked. His method
was to drive straight at the intruder, and to sink his teeth in if he
could. Because he was morose and solitary, having nothing to do
with the other dogs, he was unusually fitted to guard his master’s
property; and in this he was encouraged and trained by Gray