In December, Gray Beaver plans a trip up the Mackenzie River, and in order to carry all of his possessions, he gives to his son, Mit-sah, a small sled and tells him to have all of the puppies pull it. Because White Fang has seen other dogs pulling sleds, he does not resent being harnessed to the sled. The seven puppies for Mit-sah's sled are arranged in a fan-shaped team because they are too inexperienced to run in regular dogsled fashion, which is, of course, in single file. Interestingly, in Mit-sah's training the puppies, there is another advantage to this fan formation: the varying lengths of the ropes prevent the other dogs from attacking the dog immediately ahead of him. Yet Mit-sah, who has often observed Lip-lip's persecution of White Fang, decides to get revenge by placing Lip-lip at the front-at the apex of the fan-shaped team. Not only that, but Mit-sah gives Lip-lip extra meat rations so as to make the other dogs resentful of Lip-lip, and so that the other dogs, out of their extreme jealousy of Lip-lip, will attempt to attack him from the rear; therefore, they will pull the sled faster. Ultimately, though, all of the dogs turn against Lip-lip, mainly because of his mean temperament, and soon White Fang becomes the lead dog, and because of this, he becomes a tyrant over the other dogs.
Even though White Fang has an allegiance to Gray Beaver, and even though he acknowledges Gray Beaver's superiority, there is no love or affection between man and beast. However, at a village at Great Slave Lake, White Fang is foraging for food when he finds a young boy chopping some frozen moose meat. When White Fang begins to eat one of the frozen chips which has flown off the chopping block, the boy pursues White Fang, and he corners him and is about to kill him. Now White Fang must decide: he must either attack the "man-god," which is forbidden, or be killed himself. White Fang's "sense of justice" forces him to bite the boy in order to preserve his own (White Fang's) life. When the boy's family demands vengeance, Gray Beaver, supported by Mit-sah and Kloo-kooch, defends White Fang. It is at this time that White Fang learns that "justice and injustice" vary according to the man-gods.
That same day, White Fang learns more about the man-gods' laws of justice. When Mit-sah is gathering firewood out in the forest near Great Slave Lake, an injured boy and some of his friends descend on Mit-sah and beat him severely. For a while, White Fang does nothing — until he realizes that Mit-sah is being "unjustly" attacked. At that moment, White Fang leaps among the attackers and scatters them, thus saving Mit-sah from any further beating. For this action, for White Fang's having rescued his son, Gray Beaver awards White Fang with an extra ration of fresh meat. From these experiences, White Fang learns about the laws of property and when to defend Gray Beaver's property against other "man-gods." White Fang now realizes that he has made a covenant with Gray Beaver. In exchange for his own liberty, White Fang receives fire, food, companionship, protection, and in return, he gives his complete allegiance to Gray Beaver.
