lay down in the snow. When they were whipped, they stood and tried to pull again.
One day Billee fell and could not stand up. Halkilled him and threw him into the snow. Buck and the other dogs knew that soon they were going to die, too. On the next day Koona died, and there were only five dogs left: Joe, Pike, Sol-leks the one-eyed, Teek, and Buck.
It was beautiful spring weather. The snow and ice were melting, the plants were growing, and the forest animals were waking from their winter sleep. It was a lovely morning when the two men, and the five dogs pulling Mercedes on the sledge, came into John Thornton's camp at White River. They stopped, and the dogs dropped down immediately to rest.