At a severely cold midnight in the North, fatigue Jack Westondale continues his journey after having a good rest in the cabin where the men of trails are sharing tales of past adventure over drink. Later, it turns out that he has hold up forty thousand, being chased by two policemen. However, Malemute Kid, the cabin owner, refuses to help the law-executors coming from behind. Why? Read To the Man on the Trail and you will find the answer. Dutch courage refers to courage gained from intoxication of alcohol. Is wine so magic and powerful as to inspire courage? As the last work of Jack London, Dutch Courage, a story on Gus Lafee and Hazard Van Dorn successfully going right up "Half Dome" without taking a sip of the whisky carried, will tell you that "there is not very much in Dutch courage". Both stories talks about wine; while the former informs us of the inner world of the travelers on the trail, the latter expresses the adventurers' boldness and courage.
这两篇故事都与酒有关。《为赶路的人干杯》讲述了午夜里马尔穆特•基德正与其他赶路人在小木屋喝酒聊天的时候，杰克•威斯顿德尔闯了进来。得到充足休息之后，杰克继续赶路。虽然从尾随而来的两个警察口中，大家得知杰克抢劫了四万块钱，但是却都为杰克举杯祈福。原因到底是什么？也许基德的解释会给我们答案。 《酒后之勇》讲述了格斯•莱夫和哈泽德•范多恩为救人爬上峭壁，喝酒壮胆的格斯没有胆量爬上峭壁，反倒是不喝酒让他轻盈地爬了上去。这是杰克•伦敦的最后一篇作品，一直到最后，他的作品都能让我们深刻体验到那种生气勃勃，粗犷强烈的冒险生活。