The other dogs finished eating the rabbit

The other dogs finished eating the rabbit They travelled eighty kilometres the first day， and the same the second． But it was difficult work for Francois． Buck and Spitz hated each other， and the other dogs were not afraid of Spitz any more． One night Pike stole half a fish from Spitz，and ate it standing next to Buck． And every time Buck went near Spitz， he growled and the hair on his back stood up angri-ly． The other dogs fought in their harnesses and Francois often had to stop the sledge．He knew that Buck was the problem，but Buck was too clever for him and Francois never saw him actually starting a fight．

One night in camp， the dogs saw a snow rabbit and in a sec-ond they were all chasing it， with Spitz in front． Nearby was another camp， with fifty dogs， who also Joined the chase． The rabbit was running fast on top of the snow， but the snow was soft， and it was more difficult for the dogs． When Spitz caught the rabbit， throwing it in the air with his teeth， Buck was just behind． Spitz stopped， and Buck hit him， very hard． The two dogs fell in the snow． Spitz bit Buck very quickly， twice， and then jumped away， watching carefully．

The time had come， and Buck knew that either he or Spitz must die． They watched one another， circling slowly． Themoon was shining brightly on the snow， and in the cold still air not a leaf moved on the trees． The other dogs finished eating the rabbit and then turned to watch．