illustrated jack CALICO London’s CLASSICS White Fang Adapted by Lisa Mullarkey Adapted by Lisa Mullarkey Illustrated by Illustrated by Anthony VanArsdale Anthony VanArsdale
1 The Trail of the Meat The dark spruce forest frowned on both sides of the frozen waterway The trees had been stripped of their snow by a biting wind They now leaned toward each other in a black mass The land itself was deserted and lifeless There was no movement If you listened closely there was a laughter that could be heard Not a laughter of happiness Rather the evil laughter of the Wild But there was life in the land Defi ant life in the wolfi sh dogs near the waterway Their fur was covered with frost Their breath froze in the air as it left their mouths A leather harness was on the dogs and leather traces attached to a sled that was 4
dragged behind them The sled was without runners On the sled was a long narrow box Also found on top was an ax blankets a coffee pot and a frying pan But occupying most of the space was the box In front of the dogs as well as in the back was a man On the sled in the box lay a third man A man whom the Wild had conquered He was beaten down until he would never struggle or move again The Wild does not like movement The Wild aims to destroy movement and life It freezes the water to prevent its way to the sea It drives the sap out of trees till they are frozen And man It destroys man to the core But at the front and back of the sled worked two men who were not yet dead Their bodies were covered in fur and soft-tanned leather Their eyelashes cheeks and lips were so coated with crystals from their frozen breath that you could not tell who was who They looked like ghosts But underneath their white masks two 5
