After an unrelenting journey, the team arrives in Skaguay. Buck is worn down, having lost weight, and the team is exhausted. In Skaguay, two new men—Hal and Charles—buy Buck and his team from the Scotsman. Accompanying the men is a woman, Mercedes—Charles’s wife, and Hal’s sister. Buck notices that the new group is not familiar with the wilderness like his previous masters. They struggle to fold their tent, have too many supplies, and argue amongst themselves about how to treat the dogs. Before the team can leave, the sled topples over. They’re forced to leave goods behind, leading Mercedes to cry over her lost possessions, and to buy more dogs. Hal tries to break in the new dogs, but the harsh North has made them downtrodden. Buck senses the journey will be bleak: “With the newcomers hopeless and forlorn, and the old team worn out by twenty-five-hundred miles of continuous trail, the outlook was anything but bright” (26). The team sets out, but none of the dogs have faith in their masters.

Travel is slow, and the team never meets its daily goals. Hal and Charles over-feed the dogs, but the animals need rest more than anything else.