The Call of the Wild: Klondike Cannibals, Vol. 2 by Herbert Ashe

the Argo .
    Jack turned around to look at it. There were a couple of men aboard, although in the darkness it was hard to tell exactly how many. As soon as the guard shouted they began rowing away. Jack figured they must be thieves, looking to sneak aboard and steal grubstaking supplies, or anything else they could get their hands on.
    But the guard—and his rifle—seemed to have scared them off.
    Somehow the guard did not see Jack, hanging there on the ladder right below him. After a few moments more, the lantern light moved off, and the guard walked away.
    Jack forced himself to wait, perfectly still, for a minute or two.
    Then he continued up the ladder.

*  *  *  *  *
    Once Jack was on deck he crouched low, so that his silhouette couldn’t be spotted above the railing.
    The good news was that there were a hundred places to hide: there were stacks of boxes and crates everywhere, wrapped in tarps, chained and locked with iron padlocks.
    He waited , watching until the guard’s lantern drew close to the bow of the ship. Then he began moving swiftly in the other direction, towards the stern, where he’d tossed his bundle of clothes.
    But his mind was already running ahead of itself. Once dressed, h ow exactly he was going to get below decks and find Dr. Fiddler? And what on Earth would he do when he found him?
    H e heard something, close by, so h e froze in his steps.
    He ducked and crept behind a stack of crates labelled “Tinned Beef.” He listened hard for a minute. He could hear waves gently lapping against the side of the boat, and the pounding of his heart in his ears.
    N othing else.
    After a few moments, he decided that his mind was playing tricks on him. He was about to start moving when he heard the sound again.
    Footsteps. Real close.
    The night was dark: the thin cre scent moon cast a ghostly light. He squinted, but saw nothing except the dim forms of the stacks…
    Then Jack spotted a figure, just a couple of feet away. It was a small Asian boy. About thirteen or fourteen, at most.
    Who is that? Jack wondered. A passenger? A stowaway? He didn’t look like a member of the gang—
    Acting on a sudden impulse, Jack reached out and grabbed the boy’s wrist as he passed by. Who knew? he might provide Jack with invaluable information about the gang or the ship.
    But Jack’s impulsive move proved to be a mistake. As soon as the boy felt Jack’s hand touch him, he shrieked in terror, and leapt backwards, falling over in the process.
    “ Shhh!” Jack hissed, scrambling forward. He covered the boy’s mouth with his hand. “I’m not gonna—”
    R ed-hot agony shot through his fingers.
    Jack jerked his hand away instinctively. Suddenly the boy managed to twist out of his grip, and dive into a small gap between some nearby crates, disappearing.
    Jack stared down as his bleeding fingers in disbelief. The boy had bitten him!
    In the distance, a dog began barking .
    He clenched his hand into a fist, and felt a wet squishing between his knuckles. The boy’s teeth had broken through his skin in a number of places.
    He stayed where he was, crouching and listening. The boy hadn’t begun yelling or making any noise. From this, Jack figured he wasn’t with the gang after all, or he would be calling out for help. Not that it really mattered, now that the general alarm had been raised.
    Jack hurried on towards the stern.
    He wouldn’t be able to hide anywhere on deck for long, not with a dog sniffing him out. As soon as he found his clothes he’d try to head below deck. Perhaps in the confusion—
    He spotted the bundle next to some crates. It was wedged between them and the inner side of the ship’s hull. He crouched down beside it, and had just begun unwrapping it when he felt the cold press of steel against his throat.
    He froze.
    “Stand up,” a voice hissed. “Slowly.”
    The tip of the blade dug, ever so slightly, into the tender skin of his throat. One push, and his windpipe would split right open.
    He