The first example of Buck's new masters' ineptitude is the tent, which is awkwardly assembled. In addition, the dishes are packed unwashed, and no one has any concept as to how to load and pack the sled. Furthermore, when the three attempt to leave, the dogs are unable to budge the sled; ignorantly, Hal assumes that this is merely incompetence on the part of the dogs, and he beats them severely, lashing them viciously with his whip. A man from a neighboring tent attempts to defend the dogs, claiming that "they are plumb tuckered out," and another incensed onlooker tells the three that the sled runners are frozen fast in the snow; this is the reason why the dogs cannot budge the sled. Here again is more proof of the trio's ineptitude — and what is far worse is their basic ignorance of the techniques of dealing with the conditions of the great North. Throughout the beatings of the dogs, Mercedes objects strongly, but at the same time, she is resentful of the fact that some of the things which she has packed must be tossed off the sled. During the course of this trip, we will discover why Mercedes changes as drastically as she does; eventually, however, her present concern for the dogs will be replaced by a concern for only herself.
The sled's runners are finally freed from the frozen snow, but the dogs still have to struggle with all their might in order to pull the sled even a short distance, and when the path becomes uneven, the sled overturns and spills most of the load, which, as we know, has been improperly loaded. Once the dogs are freed from the excess weight, they flee without heeding the calls of their "new masters." Buck and his comrades look upon these people with a great deal of suspicion.
