At this point, the crowd suddenly gives way to two men who appear on the scene. Because betting on arranged dog fights is illegal, the crowd assumes immediately that these two men are associated, somehow, with the civil authorities. Only Beauty Smith attempts to stop the men from ending the dog fight, but he is quickly knocked away, yet these two men are still unable to separate the two dogs, and one of the men, Weedon Scott, calls for his friend, Matt, to place a gun between the bulldog's teeth and pry the dog's jaws open. Then, once they have extracted White Fang's mangled neck from Cherokee's jaws, it is discovered that White Fang is, indeed, nearly dead, yet he is still breathing. Weedon Scott then instructs Tim Keenan to take his bulldog away, and he gives Beauty Smith one hundred and fifty dollars for White Fang. When Beauty Smith tries to protest, Weedon Scott reminds Beauty Smith that he could have him arrested if he makes any trouble.
With the appearance of Weedon Scott, we have a total contrast with Beauty Smith. White Fang, however, has almost been driven mad by Beauty Smith's wickedness and maltreatment. Thus, at the beginning of White Fang's relationship with Weedon Scott, White Fang can feel nothing but hatred and contempt for all living human beings. It will take a great deal of patience on the part of Weedon Scott to transform White Fang from a wild savage dog into a civilized dog. This, of course, will be the concern of the rest of the novel.
When Weedon Scott and his friend, Matt, return to their cabin with White Fang, they are, at first, unsuccessful in calming the dog, and White Fang has to be chained. For two weeks, the men examine the dog and discuss his merit. They notice certain signs that indicate that he seems to have been, at one time, a dog trained for the harness, and they both realize that he is a dog of great intelligence. It is decided, finally, that they will take a chance and unchain White Fang and see what happens. When Matt throws White Fang a piece of meat, another dog, Major, jumps at it, and White Fang immediately kills Major. Incensed, Matt attempts to kick White Fang, but instead, Matt is bitten in the leg by White Fang. Weedon Scott is ready to kill White Fang, but Matt convinces him that it was Matt's own fault that the dog bit him. When Weedon Scott approaches White Fang in an attempt to pet him, White Fang instinctively recoils and bites Scott in the hand. At this point, Matt comes out with a rifle, planning to shoot the dog. Seeing the gun, White Fang immediately hides behind the house, an act which convinces Scott and Matt of White Fang's supreme intelligence and civilized ways. Thus, they decide not to kill White Fang because "he's got intelligence, and we've got to give that intelligence a chance." Yet whereas Gray Beaver was not actually cruel to White Fang, Weedon Scott and Matt are the first compassionate people whom White Fang has ever encountered; thus, since Weedon Scott is determined to tame White Fang, he proceeds to do so by bringing White Fang chunks of meat and offering them to the dog. At first, though, White Fang does not sufficiently trust Scott enough to come and take the meat from his hand. But after some time, and also some patience on Scott's part, White Fang gradually learns to take meat from Scott's hand. Later on, when Weedon Scott attempts to pat White Fang on the head and shoulders, it is "distasteful to [White Fang's] instinct," and yet he finally allows the man to do so, even though he growls while he is being petted.
