இந்தக் கதையை ஜாக் லண்டன் இரண்டு பதிப்புருக்களாக எழுதுகிறார்.
பெரியவர்களுக்கய் எழுதப்பட்ட இரண்டாவது பதிப்புரு.
By Jack London
First published in The Century Magazine, v.76, August, 1908
NOTE: This is the famous, second version of a story first published in a more juvenile treatment for the Youth's Companion on May 29, 1902.
DAY HAD BROKEN cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland. It was a steep bank, and he paused for breath at the top, excusing the act to himself by looking at his watch. It was nine o'clock. There was no sun nor hint of sun, though there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun. This fact did not worry the man. He was used to the lack of sun. It had been days since he had seen the sun, and he knew that a few more days must pass before that cheerful orb, due south, would just peep above the sky-line and dip immediately from view.
