John Thornton’s were frozen last December, so he and grow stronger together as the becomes warmer. Buck makes friends with Thornton’s other dogs, Skeet and Nig, as they await the raft that will carry them to . They are both friendly dogs, but is very motherly and nurses Buck's wounds. Buck begins to love John , who not only saved him, but is also the ideal . John treats his dogs like they are his . Buck does not want to let John out of his sight, fearing that he will him like all of his other masters before.
Despite this great love, Buck is still a wild dog. He from other camps, even though he leaves John's supplies alone. Buck still gets into , and he knows it is still "kill or be killed”. Each night Buck roams the , and only the love for John Thornton brings him back each morning.
Thornton's partners, Hans and , arrive with the expected raft. Thornton realizes that Buck will literally do anything he says, even jump off a . John eventually gets into a fight in a , and Buck nearly the enemy of John. When John falls into the rapids of a , Buck aids and Pete in rescuing him and breaks three . Later that winter in Dawson, Buck wins a for his master by pulling a sled loaded with a thousand pounds of . After that Buck becomes the most famous dog in . All who see it are astounded, and a man offers to him from John Thornton for $1200 dollars, but Thornton doesn't blink before he says .