A True Love of Life Learn English through story level 2

two men moved painfully down the bank

and fell among the rocks that were

scattered everywhere

they were tired and weak

their faces showed an ancient appearance

that results from

difficulty long endured

they were heavily burdened with blanket

packs which were tied to their shoulders

each man carried a gun

they walked in a leaning position the

shoulders forward the head farther

forward

the eyes fixed upon the ground

i wish we had a couple of those

cartridges that are lying in our cash

said the second man

his voice was completely without

expression

and the first man walking into the milky

stream that flowed over the rocks made

no reply

the other man followed at his heels

they did not remove their shoes although

the water was icy cold

it was so cold that their feet soon were

without feeling

in places the water dashed against their

knees

and both men found it difficult to

remain standing

the man who followed slipped upon a

smooth rock and nearly fell

he recovered his footing with great

effort at the same time uttering a sharp

cry of pain

he seemed faint

and stretched one hand forward seeking

support against

the air

when he had steadied himself he stepped

forward

but he slipped again and nearly fell

then he stood still and looked at the

other man who had never turned his head

the man stood still for fully a minute

as if you were deciding something

then he called out

i said i say bill i hurt my foot

bill struggled to head through the milky

water

he did not look around

the man watched him go and although his

face lacked expression as before

his eyes

and the look of a wounded animal

the other man climbed the farther bank

of the stream and continued straight

ahead

without looking back

the man in the stream watched him

his lips trembled a little

bill

he cried

it was the despairing cry of a strong

man in trouble

but bill’s head did not turn

the man watched him go struggling

forward up the hill toward the skyline

he watched him go until he passed over

the hilltop and disappeared

then he turned his gaze and slowly

examined the circle of the world that

remained to him

now that bill was gone

the sun was low in the sky almost hidden

by a cover of clouds

the man looked at his watch while

supporting his weight on one leg

it was four o’clock in the afternoon

the season was near the end of july or

first of august

he did not know the exact date within a

week or two

but that was enough to know that the sun

marked the northwest

he looked to the south and decided that

somewhere beyond those hills lay the

great bear lake

also he knew that behind the same hills

the arctic circle cut its way across the

plains of northern canada

called the barrens

this stream in which he stood flowed

into the copper mine river

which in turn flowed north

and emptied into the arctic ocean

he had never been there but he had seen

it once on a map

again his gaze completed the circle of

the world about him

it was not a cheerful sight

everywhere was soft skyline

the hills were all low-lying

there were no trees

no grasses

there was nothing but a vast emptiness

that brought fear into his eyes

bell

he whispered once

and twice

ill

he stood trembling in the milky water

feeling the vastness pressing in upon

him with great force

he began to shake as with a disease

until the gun falling from his hand into

the stream

brought him back to reality

he fought with his fear and regained his

self-control

he recovered the gun from the water

he pushed his pack more toward his left

shoulder

this helped to take a portion of its

weight off the foot he had hurt

then he proceeded slowly and carefully

in great pain at the bank of the stream

he did not stop with a worry that was

madness unmindful of the pain

he hurried up the hill to the top over

which his companion had disappeared

but at the top he saw a valley empty of

life

he fought with his fear again and won

then once more he moved the pack farther

toward his left shoulder and struggled

down the hill

the bottom of the valley was very wet

thick plant life held the moisture close

to the surface and the water flowed from

under his feet at every step

he picked his way carefully across the

valley and followed the other man’s

footsteps along the rocks

which made small islands in the sea of

white plant life

although alone he was not lost

farther on he knew he would come to

where dead pine trees bordered the shore

of a little lake

in the language of that country was

called

the land of little sticks

into that lake flowed a small stream

water of which was not milky

there was grass along that stream but no

trees

he would follow the stream until it

divided

he would cross this place of dividing to

another stream flowing to the west

this he would follow

until it emptied into the river dece

here he would find a cache under an

upturned boat

covered with many rocks

in this cash there would be cartridges

for his empty gun

and fish hooks lines

everything he needed for catching food

would be there

also he would find flour a little meat

and some beans

bill would be waiting for him there

and they would find a boat

and rose south down the beast to the

great bear lake

and south across the lake they would go

ever south

until they came to the mackenzie river

and south always south they would go

while the winter raced after them

and the ice formed in the streams

the days grew cold

south they would go

to some warm place where the trees grew

tall

full

and there was food without end

these were the thoughts of the man as he

struggled forward

but as strongly as he struggled with his

body

he struggled equally with his mind

he tried to believe that bill had not

deserted him

surely bill would wait for him into cash

he was forced to think this thought

otherwise

it would not be any reason to continue

and he would

lie down and die

as the ball of the sun sank slowly into

the northwest

he recalled every inch of his and bill’s

flight south ahead of the oncoming

winter

and he thought again and again of the

food in the cash

it had been two days since he had

anything to eat

it was a far longer time since he had

had enough to eat

often he picked muskeg berries put them

into his mouth and ate them

a muskeg berry is a small seed and a

drop of water

in the mouth the water melts away and

the seed tastes bitter

the man knew there was no real food

value in the berries but he ate them

patiently with a hope greater than his

experience

at nine o’clock that night he hit his

toe on a rocky surface

and from weakness and tiredness he fell

to the ground

he lay for some time without movement on

his side

he took his pack from his back and

dragged himself into a sitting position

it was not yet dark

while some light remained he felt among

the rocks for pieces of dried plants

when he had gathered a pile he built a

fire

and put a tin pot of water on it to boil

he unwrapped his pack

the first thing he did was to count his

matches

there was 67

he counted them three times to be sure

he divided them into several portions

wrapping them in paper

he put one portion in his empty tobacco

pack

another in the inside band of his hat

and a third under his shirt against his

flesh

this accomplished he began to worry

whether he had counted correctly

he unwrapped them all and counted them

again

yes

there were 67

he dried his wet shoes and socks by the

fire

the moccasins were badly torn

his socks were worn through in places

and his feet were bleeding

the area between his foot and leg the

ankle

very painful

he examined it

it had swelled until it was as large as

his knee

he cut a long strip from one of his two

blankets and bound the ankle tightly

he cut other strips and bound them about

his feet to serve both for moccasins and

socks

then he drank the pot of hot water

wound his watch

and pulled his blankets around him

he slept like a dead man

the brief darkness at midnight came and

went

then the sun rose in the northeast

it can be better said that day dawned in

that quarter of the sky because

the sun was

hidden by gray clouds

at six o’clock in the morning he waked

quietly lying on his back

he gazed straight up into the gray sky

and knew that he was hungry

as he lifted himself on his elbow he was

frightened by a loud noise

there was a caribou looking at him

curiously

the animal was not more than 50 feet

away

and instantly into the man’s mind came

the picture of

caribou meat hooking over a fire

from habit

he reached for the empty gun and aimed

it

the caribou leaped away and disappeared

across the rocks

the man cursed

threw the empty gun on the ground

he uttered a cry of pain as he started

to drag himself to his feet

it was a slow task

when he finally stood on his feet he

needed another minute or two to

straighten himself

so that he could stand as a man should

stand

he climbed a small hill and looked about

there were no trees no bushes there was

nothing but grassy gray plants and

some gray rocks and

gray streams

the sky was gray there was no sun or

promise of son

he had no idea where north was

and he had forgotten how he had come to

this spot the night before

but he was not lost he knew that soon he

would come to the land of the little

sticks

he felt that glade to the left somewhere

not far

possibly it was over the next low hill

he returned to prepare his pack for

traveling

he assured himself of the existence of

his three separate portions of matches

although he

did not stop to count

but he did pause trying to decide

what to do about a bag made from mu skin

it was not large

it could be covered by his two hands

but he knew it weighed 15 pounds

as much as all the rest of the pack

this worried him

he finally set it to one side and

proceeded to roll the pack

he paused again

gaze at the moosekin bag

he picked it up quickly with a quick

glance around him

it was as if he thought the cruel

wasteland was

trying to steal it

when he rose to his feet the bag was

included in the pack on his back

he started walking to the left

stopping now and again to eat

muskegberries

his ankle had stiffened but the pain of

it was

nothing compared with the pain of his

stomach

his hunger was so great he could not

keep his mind steady on the course he

had to follow to arrive at the land of

the little sticks

the berries did not help his hunger

their bitter taste only made his tongue

and mouth soar

he came to a valley where some birds

rose from the rocky places

was the sound of their cry

he threw stones at them but could not

hit them

he placed his pack on the ground and

followed them as a cat advances on a

bird

sharp rocks cut through his trousers

until his knees left a trail of blood

but the hurt was

lost in the pain of his hunger

he moved his body through the wet plants

becoming

wet and cold in the process

but he did not notice this so great was

his desire for food

always the birds rose before him

their cry of

sounded as if they were laughing at him

he cursed them and cried aloud at them

with their own cry

once he came upon one that must have

been asleep

he did not see it until it flew up in

his face from behind some rocks

he grasped the air as suddenly as the

rise of the bird

and there remained in his hand

three tail feathers

as he watched its flight

he hated it

he felt it

it had done him some great wrong

then he returned to where he had left

his pack

and lifted it again to his back

as the day continued he came into

valleys where game was more plentiful

twenty or more caribou passed by with an

easy shooting distance of a gun

he felt a wild desire to run after them

certain that he could catch them

a small black animal came toward him

carrying a bird in his mouth

the man shouted

it’s a fearful cry but

the animal leaping away in fright

did not drop the bird

late in the afternoon he followed a

stream which flowed through some thick

grass

he grasped these grasses firmly near the

root and pulled up what looked like a

vegetable

it was round

white

eagerly he sank his teeth into it

it was tender on the outside and gave

the promise of food

but its inside was hard and stringy

and like the berries

it had no food value

nevertheless he threw off his pack and

went among the grasses on his hands and

knees

eating the grass like a cow

he was very tired and often wished to

rest

to lie down and sleep

but he was led on not so much by his

desire to find the land of the little

sticks

as by his hunger

he looked into every pool of water

searching without success for things to

eat

then

as the night darkened

he discovered a single small fish

in one of these

pools he plunged his whole arm in

but the fish escaped his grasp

he reached for it with both hands and

stirred the mud at the bottom of the

pool

during his excitement he fell in getting

wet as high as his shoulders

then the water was too cloudy with mud

to allow him to see the fish

he was forced to wait until the mud had

again settled to the bottom

then he tried again until the water was

again filled with mud

but he could not wait

he took a tin container from his pack

and began to empty the water from the

pool he threw it out wildly at first and

so short a distance that it flowed into

the pool again

he worked more carefully

trying to be calm

but his heart was pounding and his hands

were trembling

at the end of a half an hour the pool

was nearly dry

not a cup full of water remained

and there

was no fish

then he discovered a narrow opening

among the stones through which it had

escaped into a larger pool

a pool which he could not empty in a

night and a day

if he had known of the opening

he could have closed it with a rock

before he began

and the fish

would have been his

thus he thought

and he sank down upon the wet earth

at first he cried softly to himself

and then he cried loudly to the uncaring

wasteland around him

he built a fire and warmed himself by

drinking hot water

then he built a camp on the rocks as he

had done the night before

the last things he did were to be

certain that his matches were dry

and to wind his watch

the blankets were wet

his ankle pained him

but he knew only that he was hungry

through his restless sleep he dreamed of

feasts and food

served in all imaginable manners

when he awakened

he was cold and sick

there was no sun

the gray of the earth and sky had become

deeper

a cold wind was blowing and snow was

whitening the hilltops

the air about him grew white with snow

as he made a fire and boiled more water

but it was wet snow half rain

at first it melted as soon as it hit the

earth

but it continued falling

covering the ground

and destroying his fire

this was a signal for him to put his

pack

on his back

and struggle forward

he knew not where

he was not concerned with the land of

the little sticks

nor was bill and the cash under the

upturned boat by the river dece

he was mad because of hunger

he did not notice the course he followed

except that it led him through the

bottoms of the valleys

he felt his way through the wet snow to

the watery muskeg berries

and was guided by touch as he pulled up

the grass by the roots

but it had no taste

and did not satisfy his hunger

he had no fire that night nor hot water

he pulled his blanket around him to

sleep the broken sleep of hunger

the snow became a cold rain

he awakened many times to feel it

falling on his upturned face

day came

it was a grey day with no sun

it had ceased raining

the sharpness of his hunger had departed

there was a dull pain in his stomach

but it did not trouble him so much

he was more in control of himself

and once again he was interested in the

land of little sticks

and the cash by the river dece

he cut the remains of one of his

blankets into strips and bound his

bleeding feet

he used one of the strips on his swelled

ankle and prepared himself for a day of

travel

when he was ready to pick up his pack

he paused long before deciding to keep

the moose skinned bag

but when he departed

it went with him

the snow had melted under the rain and

only the hilltop showed white

the sun appeared and he succeeded in

locating the way he had been traveling

but now he knew that he was lost

perhaps he had wandered too far to the

left

he now turned to the right to return to

his true course

although the hunger pains were not as

great as they had been

he realized that he was weak

he was forced to pause for frequent

rests

at those times

he ate the muskeg berries and grasses

his tongue felt

dry and large

and it tasted bitter in his mouth

his heart troubled him very much

when he had traveled a few minutes it

would begin pounding

then it would leap in a series of beats

that made him feel faint

in the middle of the day he found two

small fish in a large pool

it was impossible to empty it

but he was calmer now and he managed to

catch them

they were no bigger than his little

finger

but now he was not particularly hungry

the dull pain in his stomach had been

growing duller

it almost seemed that his stomach was

asleep

he ate the fish with great care

the eating was an act of pure reason

although he had no desire to eat

he knew that he must eat to live

in the evening he caught three more

small fish eating two and saving the

third for breakfast

the sun had dried the wet plants

and he was able to build a fire

he had not traveled more than ten miles

that day

the next day traveling whenever his

heart permitted

he went no more than five miles

but his stomach did not give him any

pain

it seemed to be sleeping

he was now in a strange country too

and the caribou were becoming more

plentiful there were wolves also

their howls could be heard across the

land

and once

he saw three of them crossing his path

another night passed

and in the morning

being more reasonable he untied the

leather string that held the moose skin

bag

from its open mouth poured a yellow

stream of gold dust

he divided the gold into two equal parts

one half wrapped in a piece of a blanket

he hid among the other large formation

of

rocks the other half he returned to his

bag

he also began to use strips of the one

remaining blanket for his feet

he still kept his gun

because there were cartridges in that

cache by the river dees

this was a cloudy day and this day

hunger waked in him again

he was very weak

it was no uncommon thing now for him to

fall

once he fell into a bird’s nest

there were four tiny birds

a day or so old

no more than a mouthful

he ate them greedily putting them alive

into his mouth and crushing them like

eggshells between his teeth

the mother bird flew about him with

cries of anger

he used his gun as a club with which to

hit her

flew beyond his reach

he threw stones at her and by chance

broke a wing

she then ran away dragging the broken

wing with him following her

the little birds had not satisfied his

hunger

he jumped along on his painful ankle

throwing stones and screaming loudly at

times

at other times he struggled along

silently

picking himself up patiently when he

fell

o rubbing his eyes with his hand

when faintness threatened to overpower

him

the bird led him across some wet ground

in the bottom of the valley he

discovered footprints in the wet grasses

they were not his own he could see that

they must be bills

but he could not stop because the mother

bird was running ahead

you would catch her first then he would

return and examine the footprints

he tired the mother bird

but he tired himself also

she lay on her side breathing heavily

he lay on his side a dozen feet away

unable to move toward her

and as he recovered

she recovered

she flew beyond reach as his hungry hand

stretched out to catch her

the hunt started again

night darkened

and she escaped

he fell because of weakness

cutting his face

he did not move for a long time

then he rolled on his side

he wound his

watch and lay there until morning

it was another gray day

half of his last blanket had been used

for foot wrappings

he failed to find bill’s trail again

it was not important

his hunger drove him on

he wondered if bill 2 were lost

by the middle of the day the weight of

his pack became too great again he

divided the gold

this time merely pouring half of it on

the ground

in the afternoon he threw away the rest

of it

there remained now only the half of the

blanket

the tin container

and the gun

hallucination began to trouble him

he felt certain that

one cartridge remained

it was in his gun and he had not seen it

however he knew all the time that the

gun was empty

but the hallucination continued he

fought it for hours

then he opened his gun eagerly

only to find nothing inside

he struggled ahead for half an hour

when the hallucination arose again

again he fought it and still it

continued

to give himself relief he again opened

the gun

and found it empty

at times his mind wandered even further

but these moments away from reality were

brief

because always the pains of hunger

forced him to return

one says his mind was wandering

he was returned to reality by a sight

that almost caused him to faint

before him stood a horse

a horse

he could not believe his eyes

a thick cloud was in his eyes flashing

with points of light

he rubbed his eyes fiercely to clear his

sight

then he saw before him

not a horse

but a great brown bear

the animal was studying him with

curiosity

the man had brought his gun half the

distance to his shoulder before he

realized what he was doing

he lowered it and drew his hunting knife

from its cover

before him was meat and life

he ran his finger along the edge of the

knife

it was sharp

the point was sharp

he would throw himself on the bear and

kill it

but his heart began its pounding

then came its wild leap and he began to

feel faint

his wild courage was replaced by a great

fear

in his weakness

what if the animal attacked him

he drew himself up tall grasping the

knife and

staring hard at the bear

the bear advanced a couple of steps and

stood up

if the man ran

the bear would run after him

but the man did not run

he was alive now

with the courage of fear

the bear moved away to one side with a

threatening noise

he himself was fearful of this strange

creature that appeared unafraid

but the man did not move

he stood still until the danger was

passed

then

he yielded to a fit of trembling and

sank to his knees on the wet grass

he regained control of himself and then

started to move forward

afraid now in a new manner

it was not the fear that he would die

from lack of food

he was afraid that he would be destroyed

by forces other than starving

there were the wolves

across the wasteland their howls could

be heard

making the air itself a threat most real

to him

now and again the wolves in groups of

two and three crossed his path

but they stayed away from him

they were not in sufficient numbers to

attack and besides

they were hunting caribou

caribou did not battle

while this strange creature that walked

on two legs

might bite

in the afternoon he came upon scattered

bones where the wolves had made a kill

what remained had been a young caribou

an hour

before he studied the bones claimed of

any flesh

they were still pink with the life in

them which had not yet died

might he look like that before the day

was done

was this life

a fleeting thing without meaning

it was only life that pained

there was no hurt and death

to die was to sleep

it meant

rest

then why was he not content to die

but he did not think about these things

for very long

he was soon seated in the grass a bone

in his mouth

biting at the bit of life that made it

yet pink

the sweet meaty taste drove him mad

he closed his teeth firmly on the bones

sometimes it was the bone that broke

sometimes his teeth

then he crushed the bones between the

rocks he pounded them into tiny pieces

and ate them

he was in such a hurry that he pounded

his fingers too

he felt surprised at the fact that his

fingers did not hurt much when they were

caught under the rock

then came frightful days of snow and

rain

he did not know when he made camp and

when he broke camp

he traveled in the night as much as in

the day

he rested whenever he fell

moving ahead

whenever the dying life in him started

up again

he as a man no longer struggled

it was the life in him unwilling to die

that drove him on

he did not suffer nor feel pain

but his mind was filled with

hallucinations and wild dreams

but he still ate the crushed bones of

the young caribou

which he had gathered and carried with

him

he crossed no more hills

but followed a large stream which flowed

through a wide valley

he did not see this stream

nor this valley

he saw nothing except hallucinations

one morning he awakened with his mind

clear

lying on his back on a rocky surface

the sun was shining bright and warm

far away he heard the noises made by the

young caribou

he remembered rain and wind

and snow

but whether he had been beaten by the

storm for two days

or two weeks

he did not know

for some time he lay without movement

the friendly sun poured down upon him

and filled his body with its warmth

a fine day he thought

perhaps he could succeed in locating

himself

by a painful effort

he rolled on his side

below him flowed a wide river

its unfamiliarity puzzled him

slowly he followed it with his eyes as

it curved among the bare hills

they were more bare and lower than any

hills he had yet seen

slowly without excitement

he followed the course of the strange

stream toward the skyline

and saw that it emptied into a bright

and shining sea

he was still unexcited

most unusual he thought

it was probably a trick of his mind

he was certain of this when he also saw

a ship floating in the shining sea

he closed his eyes for a while

then opened them

it was strange how the sight continued

yet it was not

strange

he knew there were no seas or ships in

the middle of this land as he had known

there was no cartridge in the empty gun

he heard a noise behind him

it seemed like the dry sound that comes

from the throat when air is forced out

in a cough

very slowly because of his weakness and

stiffness

he rolled to his other side

he could see nothing near but

he waited patiently

again came the cough

and there between two rocks

he saw the gray head of a wolf

the sharp ears did not stand up as

straight as he had seen them on other

wolves

the eyes were dull

and the head seemed to hang

the animal opened and shut its eyes

frequently in the sunshine

it seemed sick

as he looked

it coughed again

this was real he thought

he turned on the other side to see the

reality of the world which had been

hidden from him before by his

hallucination

but the sea still shone and the ship was

still there

was it

reality

he closed his eyes for a long while and

thought

and then he remembered

he had been traveling north by east

away from the dece divide and into the

copper mine valley

this wide river was the copper mine

that

shining sea was the arctic ocean that

ship was

a fishing boat which had wandered east

from the mouth of the mackenzie river

now it was lying in coronation golf

he remembered the map that he had seen

long ago and it was

all clear and reasonable to him

he sat up and turned his attention to

immediate affairs

he had worn holes through the blanket

wrappings

and his feet were like

shapeless pieces of meat

his last blanket was gone

his gun and knife were both lost

he’d also lost his hat somewhere

the matches and the band

the matches against his chest was safe

and dry inside the paper

he looked at his watch

it marked 11 o’clock and was still going

this proved that he had kept it wound

he was calm

although very weak he had no feeling of

pain

he was not hungry

the thought of food was

not even pleasant to him

he did was done entirely by reasoning

he tore off the legs of his trousers to

the knees and bound them about his feet

somehow he had succeeded in keeping the

tin container

he would have some hot water before he

began what he knew was to be an awful

journey to the ship

his movements were slow he shook as if

with the disease

when he started to gather dried grasses

he found

he could not rise to his feet

he tried again and again

then he contented himself with moving

about on his hands and knees

once

he went near the sick wolf

the animal dragged itself out of the way

licking its face with the tongue which

seemed hardly to have the strength to

curl

the man noticed that the tongue was not

the customary healthy red

but was a

yellowish brown and covered with

a half dried coating

after he drank some hot water the man

found he was able to stand

he could even walk as well as a dying

man might be supposed to walk

but every minute or two he was forced to

rest

his steps were unsteady as were the

steps of the wolf behind him

that night when the shining sea was

hidden in the blackness

he knew he was nearer to it by no more

than four miles

through the night he heard the cough of

the sick wolf

now and then the noises of the young

character

there was life all around him

but it was strong life

very much alive and

well he knew the sick wolf was following

the sick man’s steps in the hope that

the man would die first

in the morning when he opened his eyes

he saw it looking at him with a hungry

stare

it stood with its tail between its legs

like an unhappy dog

the sun rose brightly and all morning

the man headed toward the ship on the

shining sea

the weather was perfect

it was the brief return of summer which

was usual in that country

might continue for a week

or tomorrow or the next day it might be

gone

in the afternoon the man came to a track

it was that of another man who did not

walk but who dragged himself on his

hands and knees

the man thought

it might be bill

but he thought about it without any

interest

he had no curiosity

feeling an emotion

left him

he was no longer able to feel pain

yet the life that was in him drove him

ahead

he was very tired but it refused to die

it was because it refused to die that

still ate musket berries and small fish

drank his hot water and kept a careful

eye on the sick wolf

he followed the track of the other man

who dragged himself along

soon he came to the end of it

there were a few freshly cleaned bones

where the grass was marked by the

footprints of many wolves

he saw a moose skinned bag

exactly like his own

it had been torn by sharp teeth

he picked it up

although its weight was almost too much

for his weak fingers

bill had carried it to the end

now he would have the last laugh

he would live and carry it to the ship

in the shining sea

he laughed aloud making an inhuman sound

and the sick wolf howled with him

the man ceased suddenly

how could he laugh at bill

if that were bill

if those bones so pinky white and clean

were bill

he turned away

bill had deserted him but he would not

take the gold nor would he eat bill’s

bones

bill would have done so however had

their situations been exchanged

he came to a pool of water bending over

it in search of fish he threw his head

back as if he had been struck

he had caught sight of his face in the

water

so awful was it that his feelings were

stirred long enough to be shocked

there were three fish in the pool which

was too large to empty

after several attempts to catch them in

his tin container he stopped

he was afraid because of his great

weakness that he might fall and sink

into the water

it was for this reason too

that he did not trust himself to ride

down the river atop one of the many logs

to be found along its banks

that day he lessened the distance

between him and the ship

by three miles

the next day he traveled only two miles

because he was now dragging himself on

his hands and knees as bill had done

at the end of the fifth day the ship was

still seven miles away

he was unable to travel as much as a

mile a day

however the summer weather continued

and he continued to move toward the ship

and always the sick wolf

coughed at his heels

his knees had become red meat like his

feet

although he bound them with the shirt

from his back

it was a red track he left behind him on

the grass and stones

once glancing back

he saw the wolf licking his bloody track

hungrily

he saw clearly what his own end might be

unless he could kill the wolf

then began as awful an event as has ever

been told

two sick creatures

dragging their dying bodies across a

wasteland and hunting each other’s lives

had it been a well wolf it would not

have mattered so much to the man

but the thought of feeding the mouth of

that nearly dead

thing was hateful

his mind had begun to wander again and

he was troubled by hallucination

his reasonable moments grew shorter

he was awakened once from a faint sleep

by a cough close to his ear

the wolf leaped back losing its footing

and falling in its weakness

it was a funny sight

but he could not laugh

nor was he afraid

he was too far gone for that

but his mind was for the moment clear

and he lay

and considered

the ship was no more than four miles

away

he could see it quite well when he

rubbed his eyes

he could also see the white sail of a

small boat cutting the water of the

shining sea

but he could never drag himself those

four miles

he knew that

and was very calm about the fact

he knew that he could not travel another

half a mile

and yet

he wanted to live

it was unreasonable that he should die

after all he had been through

fate

asked too much of him

and dying he could not accept death

it was madness perhaps

but in the very grasp of death he

refused to die

he closed his eyes and tried to keep

himself calm

he struggled against the awful desire

for sleep that threatened him

it was much like a sea

this deadly sleepiness

it rose and rose mastering his entire

self bit by bit

sometimes he was almost lost swimming

through its waters with a weakening

effort

then by some strange power of the soul

his will would strike out more strongly

against it

without movement he lay on his back

he could hear slowly drawing nearer and

nearer

the sound of the sick wolf’s breathing

it came closer

always closer

and he did not move

it was beside his ear

the dry tongue moved across his face

his hand struck out actually he had

willed them to strike out

the fingers were curved

but they closed on empty air

quickness requires strength and the man

had not his strength

the quiet waiting of the wolf was awful

the man’s waiting was no less awful

for half a day he lay without motion

fighting off sleep he waited for the

thing that was to feed upon him

and upon which he wished to feed

sometimes the sea of sleep rose over him

and he dreamed long dreams

but always through it all waking and

dreaming he waited for the noisy breath

and the feel of the tongue

this time he did not hear the breath

he slipped slowly from some dream to

feel the tongue along his hand

he waited

the teeth pressed softly

then more firmly

the wolf was using its last strength in

an effort to sink its teeth into the

food for which it had waited so long

but the man too had waited long

the hand closed on the wolf’s mouth

slowly while the wolf struggled weakly

the other hand moved across the wolf’s

body

five minutes later the whole weight of

the man’s body was on top of the wolf

the hands had not sufficient strength to

grasp the wolf about the throat until it

died but the face of the man was pressed

close to the throat of the wolf

and the mouth of the man was full of

hair

at the end of half an hour the man felt

some warm drops of blood in his throat

it was not pleasant

it was like hot melted metal being

forced into his stomach

and it was forced by his will alone

later the man rolled on his back

and slept

there were some scientists traveling on

the fishing ship bedford

from where they stood on the ship

they could see a strange object on the

shore

it was moving down the beach toward the

water

they were unable to decide what it was

being men of science they climbed into a

smaller boat and went ashore to examine

it

and they saw something that was alive

but

which could hardly be called a man

it was blind and did not know what it

was doing

its movements produce little effect

but still

it continued to drag itself across the

ground

at the rate of about 20 feet an hour

three weeks later the man lay in a bed

on the fishing boat with tears streaming

down his face he told who he was

and what he had experienced

he also talked without meaning about his

mother and her home in california among

the flowers

the days were not many after that

when he sat at table with the scientists

in the ship’s offices

he delighted in the sight of so much

food

and watched it carefully

as it went into the mouths of others

with the disappearance of each mouthful

an expression of sorrow came into his

eyes

he was not mad however

he hated those men at meal times

he was afraid that there would not be

enough food

he inquired of the cook

the cabin boy the captain concerning the

food supply

they reassured him numerous times

but he would not believe them

and went into the kitchen to see with

his own eyes

it was noticed that the man was getting

fat

he grew bigger with each day

the scientists shook their heads and

gave their opinions on the problem

they limited the amount of food given to

the man at his meals

but still his weight increased

the semen smiled

they knew

and when the scientists decided to

observe the man

they learned the reason

they saw him walk about the ship after

breakfast

like a man begging with an outstretched

hand he approached a semen

the semen smiled and gave him a piece of

bread

he grasped it

and looked at it as a greedy man looks

at gold

then

he put it inside his shirt

he received similar gifts from other

smiling seamen

the scientists were careful

they allowed him to continue

but they secretly examined his bed

it was lined with bread

every inch of space was filled with

bread

yet

[Music]

he was not mad

he was preparing for another possible

famine that was all

he would recover from it the scientists

said

and he did

even before the bedford sailed into san

francisco bay

you