Part 3

Again the strange stick was hurled toward the river, and once more it returned. And all the Cave People marveled and were afraid. For they could not understand a stick that returned when it was thrown.

Strong Arm only was brave enough to touch it with his fingers. His face bore a strange wonder that such things could be possible to a mere stick. And he carried it to his cave, where he hid it among the rocks, under the dead leaves.

But when the nuts were gone and the season of plenty had passed away, and there was need for the Cave People to hunt, he brought it forth again. After many seasons, a flat stick, curved in the manner of the one first found by Laughing Boy, came to be used as a weapon by the Cave People.

Perhaps you have seen the painted boomerangs sold in some of our stores to-day. They are the same shape as those first used by the ancient Cave Dwellers. A small pasteboard boomerang, cut the right size and shape will interest the children. When struck with a lead pencil, it will whirl through the air and return, just as the larger and more formidable boomerangs did when thrown at their enemies by the Cave Dwellers many thousands of years ago.

After a time the alarm and excitement caused by Laughing Boy’s discovery of the first rude boomerang, died away. The strange stick no longer menaced them, and the Cave People returned to their feasting and their slumbers. And Laughing Boy and his young friend, The Fish, resumed their play.

They chased each other up and down the Hollow or concealed themselves in the long grass that lined the river bank. At each discovery they tossed and rolled over and over again, like puppies, wild with the exuberance of young blood.

It was one of their great pleasures to lie chattering in the grass on the top of the river bank and roll, tumbling, down into the clear waters. Then, amid a great splashing and much laughter, to clamber out and up the slope again. Thus the children of the Cave Dwellers romped and grew strong, during the season of plenty, in the days of old.

One day it chanced that Laughing Boy stumbled over a large cocoanut, during his frolics with his young friend. He seized it in his arms and danced about, jabbering with glee, that his friend might know the treasure he had found.

In an instant The Fish was upon him, but Laughing Boy rolled over in the grass and bounded away, with squeals of delight. Then, for no reason in the world, save that the blood pounded riotously in his veins, he darted into the wood, bearing his prize.

The Fish followed, close on his heels, as Laughing Boy threw shrill mocking cries over his shoulder. The Fish gave answer with a whirling stone, while more mocking cries from Laughing Boy announced that his aim was bad. And, O, the fun of the chase through the deep woods! The rollicking laugh and the deep shouts of The Fish as they startled the birds from their nests in the old forest!

The brush grew thicker with every step and the trees locked branches more closely with their neighbors for want of room to stretch them freely toward the sun.

When he reached the tall lautania palm which marked the point beyond which it was unsafe for the children of the Cave People to go alone, Laughing Boy concealed himself in the brush. He thought to be able to elude his brown playmate, and while The Fish sought him beyond the bunya-bunya, to dash backward, toward the Hollow.

In a moment came The Fish. But the deep breathing of Laughing Boy and a rustling of the bushes made known his hiding place. As his friend parted the thicket, Laughing Boy had time only to crawl out on the opposite side and dart onward ere he was caught. A shout and a shrill chattering told his victory, and he disappeared again. The Fish grunted his displeasure, but he was not far behind.

In the tall bambusa Laughing Boy again hid himself, and it was by the tripping of The Fish over a creeping vine that he escaped. But his foot blundered on a cone from the bunya tree and the cocoanut slipped from his hands. The two boys threw themselves downward and rolled over each other in their eagerness to recover it.

The Fish gave a shout of joy and made away, holding the cocoanut above his head for Laughing Boy to see. A warm sweat covered their bodies and their bronze skins shone like burnished copper.

On and on they ran. Further and still further they plunged into the depths of the forest. They forgot the dangers that lurked there and the wise warnings of the Cave People. They forgot their playmate, Crooked Leg, who had wandered into the wood and vanished from the face of the Hollow. Fears they had none, only laughter and the joy of abundant youth!

All this time the grown members of the tribe of the Cave People slept securely in the cool of the hollow. Their protruding bellies told of continued eating and no one among them marked the absence of The Fish and Laughing Boy.

Thicker and more dark grew the forest which the boys penetrated. The way grew rough, and the tough vines trailing through the undergrowth often tripped them. Still they lunged forward with no thought of turning their faces toward the Hollow.

It was a crackling in the brush that warned them. The cocoanut rolled from the hands of The Fish and the boys crouched low together. No sound they made, save the breath in their throats which struggled to be free. Couchant, they strained their bodies into an attitude of listening. Came again a soft rustling in the thicket. This time nearer. And then—through the long bambusa, they saw the head and throat of a grey hyena.

For a moment they paused while the sweat froze on their brown skins. Their lips drew back in a snarl of helpless rage. But the hyena covered the ground with great bounds, and they flung their arms about a tall sapling. Their breath burst from them in quick gasps, for they were near spent with running.

But they dug their toes into the rough bark and the strength of The Fish enabled him to speedily mount to the forked branches above. But many moments Laughing Boy clung half-way up the trunk of the tree, with the hyena snapping at his heels. At every leap so near she came, that he curled his feet up under his small body. The teeth of the hyena shone white and her eyes gleamed. A great fear paralyzed him. The Fish danced about on the limbs above, chattering wildly, till Laughing Boy gathered breath and courage to continue his way to safety.

There he sat, huddled among the leaves, close to The Fish and for a long time they gazed, quivering, at the enemy below. But a caution, wholly new, had come to them, and they scrambled into the branches of a neighboring banyan slowly and with care. Thence on through several trees that brought them nearer the homes of the Cave Dwellers. With much shivering they made their way pausing often to mark the progress of the enemy. She moved as they advanced, persistently, like a hungry dog watching a bone.

Slowly and fearfully the boys continued toward the Hollow, through the interlocked limbs of the great trees. But the hyena followed. From a bunya-bunya the boys pelted her with cones which she dodged easily. Unmoved, she continued to gaze longingly upon them, while the slather dripped from her lips.

At one time the boys almost threw themselves into the coils of a huge green snake, that wound itself around the trunk of a cocoanut palm. They were not expecting new dangers. A quick leap and they swung downward, clinging closely to the bough of a neighboring bunya, and then scrambled up to safety once more. Thus they made on, but the distance they had run so joyously a short time before, seemed now to stretch before them without end. Sometimes they paused to rest and gather breath. At these points they huddled together and whimpered very low, or snarled, jabbering at the enemy, as she sat on her haunches, waiting.

But the glad time came when they saw below the familiar berry bushes. Beyond that the arboreal way was not unknown. With a new freedom and ease they flung themselves forward. Their leaps grew daring and their feet more sure, till at last they reached the edge of the wood near the Hollow.

Here they lifted their voices in sharp cries that aroused the Cave People from their torpor. Soon the stalwart members of the tribe had seized their bone weapons and hurried to the rescue.

At first the hyena did not retreat before them, but darted in and out slashing the Cave People with her great fangs. But the fierce stabs of many bone weapons soon sent her fleeing back into the forest. Soon Quack Quack soothed the whimpering of Laughing Boy, holding him close to her breast.

The nut seasons came and the nut seasons passed away and Laughing Boy grew tall and strong. Though his deeds were brave and his arm was long, he hunted with the tribe, for he had learned the wisdom of the Cave Dwellers. He knew that it was not safe for a man or a woman to fight alone. The least of the forest enemies was able to destroy them. Strong men had wandered into the forest to return no more. But when the tribe went forth great deeds were possible, even the sabre-toothed tiger had been destroyed by the thrusts of many. It was the strength of all the Cave People that made safe the lives of every one.

V HUNTING AN ECHO

To the Cave People, dreams were chief among the great mysteries. None of the strange occurrences of the world about them, so filled them with wonder and awe, as the deeds they performed and the adventures they encountered while their bodies lay wrapped in sleep. Often it was difficult for them to separate the dream world from the world of reality. This may account for the reports of those anthropologists who charge savage tribes with being the most amazing liars in the world. It may be that some of these primitive men and women have merely related the remarkable exploits of their dreams which they were not always able to distinguish clearly from their actual experiences.

Often a Cave Man might go forth alone in the night, and after traveling a journey of many suns, slay fearlessly all the members of a hostile tribe, while he slept securely in his cave. But when he reported his dream adventures to his wife, she refused often to believe them. Whenever she stirred during the night, she had found him at her side. Or perhaps she had groaned through the long darkness, with the colic that comes from too much eating of the early fruit. This she made known to the dreamer. Indeed he had slumbered peacefully through all her trouble!

Again, when a Cave Dweller fell asleep beside his brothers and dreamed of dispatching the sabre-toothed tiger with a single blow, the whole tribe was ready to assure him, in the language of the Cave People, that he had not moved from his resting place, but had slept continually. This was all very strange.

When the fire dashed through the sky, during a storm, or the waters of the river climbed up over the banks and flooded the woods, they were not so wonderful as these dream things.

Many men and women of the tribe had closed their eyes in the long sleep, but when the Cave People slumbered, the dead came back again, to journey and hunt the forests with their brothers and sisters. And so, in time, the Cave People came to believe that their friends, who had deserted the body, still lived. That they had, themselves, fought and hunted while their bodies slept, the Cave People well knew, and that the dead come back again, they knew also, for they had seen and spoken with them in their dream journeyings.

This was the origin of the idea of spirit, at first only dim and confused but gathering strength as the years rolled away. The seed of the idea of immortality sprang also from the dreams of primitive man. Though the sabre-toothed tiger devoured a brother he would surely return again. They had seen these things with their own eyes, in dreams.

The Cave People saw also their shadows that followed where they went, moving slowly when they walked, and swiftly when they ran, keeping ever at their sides.

When a Cave Man gazed into the river, always a face looked back at him, and the other members of the tribe told him he saw his own image. This also was very strange. If he journeyed as far as the great canyon, and sent his voice echoing among the big rocks, a call came bounding back to him, although there was no other man there. Gradually he came to believe the cry was the voice of a spirit and that the face he had seen in the waters of the river was the face of a spirit also.

To all things the Cave People attributed animation. To them everything was alive. Young trees were the children of big trees and great stones were the fathers of small stones. Little they spoke of these things, for their words were few and it is impossible to tell many things in a gesture language. Danger and confusion they saw everywhere, for the whole world was filled with happenings they could not understand.

Many seasons had passed since they had found the Fire beast eating up the trees in the woods. The small blaze they had kept alive in the Hollow had died long before, when Quack Quack forgot to feed it. In these days the Fire flashed only through the heavens during a storm. Strong Arm had been able to call it by striking a sharp stone against the rock before his cave. When the darkness came on and he struck the rock swiftly, a small spark fell. Again and again the Cave People saw these sparks. But so quickly were they gone that no man or woman was able to catch them, or to feed them the dead leaves they had brought.

At this time Big Nose made a great discovery. He had chased a fat lizard over the rocks and had seen it disappear into the hollow of a tree that lay prone on the river bank. Immediately he poked violently with a long rod of bamboo, in order to drive the lizard out. To him the fresh flesh of the lizard was sweeter than any other meat.

On removing the rod, Big Nose found the end of it warm. From one side to the other, Big Nose tipped his brown head, like a great monkey, in an effort to understand this new experience. Then he trotted off to make known these things to the tribe.

Soon all the Cave People gathered around the dead tree, chattering curiously. Big Nose thrust the bamboo rod into the hollow trunk and pulled it out again. But this time it was not warm. The friction of the bamboo rubbed violently against the dry wood of the tree had caused the heat before, but Big Nose did not know this.

For a long time the Cave People chattered and gesticulated about the tree while Big Nose continually made the fire sign, waving his fingers upward, like smoke arising. One by one all the Cave People threw themselves upon their bellies and gazed into the hollow trunk. But they saw nothing.

At last Big Nose again thrust the bamboo into the tree, this time angrily, jamming it in and out with all the strength of his great arms. And the end of the rod came forth warm again. Then every member of the tribe must have his turn in thrusting. Each one sought to outdo his fellows in the frenzy of his movements.

Meanwhile the end of the rod had worn away, leaving a soft inflammable saw-dust in the old tree. And when Light Foot sent the rod in and out sharply with her strong, brown arms, the end of the bamboo came forth smoking.

A flood of excited chatterings greeted her success and the Cave People cried “Food! Food!” which was the word they used for “eat” also. For they thought the Fire (within the tree) had begun to eat the bamboo rod. Many of them ran about gathering dry leaves to feed the Fire.

When the rod came forth at last, with its end a dull glow, Light Foot laid it on the rocks in the dead leaves. A soft breeze came from the river and coaxed the embers into a blaze. And the Cave People jabbered frantically as they gathered brush and wood.

Often they threw themselves on the rocks to gaze in wonder into the hollow tree. But many of them believed Light Foot had driven the Fire from the tree trunk, just as they had often forced out the lizard.

Thus for the first time in the memory of the tribe, a fire was kindled. And the hand of the maiden, Light Foot, had worked the miracle. The Cave People laughed and danced and sat in the Hollow long into the darkness; for security came with the Fire and their forest enemies were afraid.

But a time came when great rains fell and the Fire died away with every drop. And Strong Arm gathered a brand and carried it into his cave. But the smoke from the burning choked him and forced him out. Then he carried the Fire to the hollow of a tree that towered very high, and he fed the Fire in this hollow. There it lived for many suns, eating slowly into the tree trunk on one side.

* * * * *

The Sun saw many strange mysteries on the day when the Cave People first came upon the great canyon. It was during the period of the year that comes before the season of plenty.

Keen hunger assailed every living thing and sent them forth, sharp-eyed into the forest. The wild hog grew strong and wary from the struggles of the hard and meagre days. The green snakes hidden away, waited continually for the small forest folk to run into their coils. The lank black bear grew bold and desperate with the hunger passion and the Cave People acquired a new skill in hunting.

Beside the strength of their forest enemies, they were weak indeed. But armed with their long, sharp bone weapons, and a wonderful cunning, they fought in all their numbers and were able to triumph over the animals of the forest.

With eyes keen and tense hands gripping their weapons, they followed the trail of the black bear which led them through strange ways. At the breaking of a twig, they paused. And no falling leaf escaped them. Sounds they made none, as they slipped through the deep woods, one before the other.

At last they came to an open space, where the trees ceased to grow and where the tracks of the bear were lost in a rocky way. Beyond them lay the canyon, which had been once the bed of a river. Only the waters of the spring rains lay in the hollows of the rocks that lined its bottom.

Here the Cave People halted, for they knew not which way the black bear had taken, nor how to follow her. As they separated to seek further for her tracks, no word was spoken. Only Strong Arm gave a low grunt of approval, as his comrades departed.

Then, in the silence of the old world, it came, the strange voice echoing down the great canyon, grunting in the tones of Strong Arm! The whole tribe heard it and they paused, motionless, while their eyes swept the canyon for him who had spoken. But they saw no one.

Silently they gathered together, with weapons raised. But the stillness remained unbroken. Then Strong Arm raised his voice in a soft “Wough!” And in his own tone, the Echo answered him, “Wough!”

It was very strange. The Cave People could not understand. But they forgot the black bear and sent their voices ringing down the great canyon. Came again the echo, in many tones, back to them.

Then a great chattering arose among them, and even as they spoke, the chatterings of many voices arose from the canyon.

“Wough-ee!” said the Cave People. And they gave a sign in the gesture language, for they thought the sounds were the voices of their enemies, the Hairy Folk.

With great caution they departed to the point whence the sounds had come. Not boldly, but by varied paths they made their way, slowly, concealing themselves behind the rocks and the trees as they progressed. Long they hunted, one and all, but no man they found, nor any signs of man, and they returned at length to the mouth of the great canyon.

Again their voices rang down the bed of the old river, this time defiantly. And the Echoes replied once more, challenging them. The Cave People grew angry and the search was continued, but they found no one. And they were compelled to return to their caves in the Hollow with hearts heavy with wrath against the Hairy Folk.

Often they returned to the great canyon, bearing their bone weapons. There they remained long in hiding, awaiting the advent of the enemy, till at last they learned no one was there. Then the mystery grew more strange, for no man could tell whence came the voices that replied to them.

But there came a time when the Cave People believed that these cries were the voices of the spirits that came to hunt with them, in their dream journeyings. No longer were they afraid. Only a great awe filled them and much wonder concerning these things.

VI THE FLOOD

Early in the spring the snows began to melt on the mountain tops, many miles above the Hollow, and to run down into little streams that lost themselves in the great river. Day by day the waters of the river arose along its banks. The Cave People gave little heed, for they had much to do at this time, to satisfy their hunger. Only the Old Woman bent her eyes on the whirling waters with fear and dread in her heart.

Long before the memory of the other members of the tribe, she recalled a time when the waters had clambered over the river banks and spread many a day’s journey into the deep forests. Many of her brothers and her sisters had been swallowed up by the angry waters. The members of her tribe had been scattered and joined new tribes. Since those days, she had always feared the river, when it rose in the spring.

When she warned the Cave People, one and all, they listened to her words, but they knew not what to do. And always the river rose higher and higher and its current grew more swift, tearing away the young saplings that grew low down, and bearing them swiftly away.

But the Cave People had need of great skill these days to satisfy the hunger of the tribe. A new activity seemed born unto them. Eyes grew keen for the tracks of the wild boar and their ears were open for a sound of the foot of the forest enemies.

Sharp eyes everywhere pierced the woods and glanced from the branches of trees, for man and beast had need to be ever alert and watchful to survive the dreary period of the hard seasons. The black bear appeared, thin and dangerous. But the Cave People eluded and outwitted her. Across yawning cracks in the ground or over great hollows, they threw branches of trees. And upon these branches they threw dead fish and smeared the blood of the wild duck.

Through the woods the smell of fresh blood reached the keen nose of the bear and she made her way thither to satisfy the hunger that gnawed her continually. But the branches gave way under her great bulk and she fell crashing into the pit below, where the Cave People killed her with their long bone weapons.

It was after one of these great bear feasts, when the Cave People had fed the Fire into a roaring blaze to protect them from the animals that grew over-bold at this season of the year, that the Old Woman renewed her warnings. The waters of the great river continued to climb upward and there remained but a little way before they should overflow the banks.

Then the Old Woman gathered the members of the tribe together and told them the story of her childhood days. The new words of the tribe came stumblingly to her lips, therefore she made known her thoughts chiefly in the gesture language.

First she pointed to the land across the river, waving her wrinkled hands northward. That way lay the home of her birth. Many, many years before—she held up both hands to indicate the time was beyond the power of counting—she had lived with her fathers and mothers, on a river bank. Very small she was in those days. Her head came only to the thigh of a man.