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Buck did not read the newspapers. If he had, he would have known that trouble was coming, and not only for himself. It was coming for every strong dog with warm, long hair on the whole Pacific coast. Men in the dark Arctic north had found a yellow metal, and thousands of them were rushing into the far North. These men wanted dogs. They wanted heavy dogs, with strong muscles for hard work and thick coats to protect them from the frost.

Buck lived at a big house in the sunny Santa Clara Valley of California. It was called Judge Miller's place. The house stood back from the road, half hidden among the trees, and a wide, cool porch ran around all four sides of it. Behind it there were great stables, small cottages for the servants, green fields and long rows of fruit trees. There was also a big pool, where the Judge's sons swam in the morning and kept cool in the hot afternoons.