It was the Irish Elk5 who one day came dashing up to inform Hairi and Wulli of his narrow escape from a pack of cave-beasts who had sprung out upon him as he journeyed through the hill country. They were gathered in front of a grotto6. A man was standing7 in the entrance fighting them off with a stone tied to a stick. He was standing behind a pile of something which gave off thick white clouds. The mention of white clouds set the Mammoth and Rhinoceros to thinking. They knew of but one who fought that way. As they glanced at each other, the same thought was in the minds of both.
“Whenever you are ready,” said Wulli and so off they went. The hill country lay to the east. It was after a long walk that, at a signal from the[71] Mammoth, both stopped to listen. In the distance sounded a confused babel of howls and roars.
“Cave-beasts,” muttered Hairi and they moved on again. The sounds grew louder and more distinct—barks and roars of beasts among which a peculiar8 hoarse9 cry could be plainly heard. A hill rose up before them. A path wound and disappeared around its base. The two friends followed this and on rounding the hill, were confronted by a remarkable10 scene.
The path led to a grotto in the hillside. In front of the grotto, tiny smoke-wreaths arose from a fire’s last smouldering embers. Behind the heap of ashes, crouched11 a man almost in the cave-entrance, whirling a flint-ax above his head and shouting at the top of his lungs. Before him glided12 Grun Waugh, the Hyena13 and other beasts of prey14 awaiting their chance to spring. The Cave Man’s fierce attitude alone held them at bay, now that they had lost all fear of the rapidly fading fire. His manner was no less animal-like than that of the savage15 beasts gathered about him. His bared teeth, blazing eyes and furious howls were enough to make even the Cave Lion hold back dismayed. Deprived of the protection of his fast-dying fire, he raged and tore in such wild frenzy17 that none dared rush in and grapple with a creature so furious and desperate.
For an instant, the Mammoth and Rhinoceros[72] looked on dismayed by the terrible sight. But there was no mistaking that squat18, powerful frame nor the face even when distorted by fiendish rage. The mad fury was their former acquaintance, Pic the Ape Boy of Moustier.
It took the two friends but a moment to see how matters stood. The Ape Boy was in trouble—fighting for his life and in great need of their assistance. Side by side, they bore down upon the group; not in a blind charge but grimly determined19 and keeping close watch as they advanced.
The Hyena was the first to observe their approach. Skulking20 behind the others as was his custom and interested only in seeing that his line of retreat was kept open, he espied21 the oncoming pair and gave the alarm. With a howl of terror, he dashed off in the opposite direction and thus gave warning to his companions.
The Cave Beasts faced about like a flash. In their blind rage at finding themselves interfered22 with, matters looked dark for a moment. The Mammoth and Rhinoceros came grimly on, shoulder to shoulder like a pair of trained gladiators. Except for the Hyena now rapidly disappearing, the Cave Beasts, in their turn held firm.
But Hairi and Wulli were not to be denied. They meant business; not the wild hit-or-miss variety but the plain step-up-and-have-it-out kind. Even Grun[73] Waugh found himself unequal to such a cold-blooded way of doing things. He stepped back. This was the signal for a general retirement23. His companions abandoned their attack upon the Ape Boy and retreated along the hillside, followed by the Lion who never ceased snarling24 with baffled hate at being thus forced to give ground. At last with a parting screech25 he turned tail and crawled rapidly away after his more timid companions. As he disappeared in the thicket26, Hairi called a halt:
“Enough; we may fall into an ambush27 and spoil all.”
So the pair turned back to the Ape Boy who was staring at them almost overcome with astonishment28.
“Whoow!—where did you come from?” he finally managed to stammer29.
“We came to see what all the noise meant,” Hairi replied. “Oomp! It is well for you, we did.”
“You arrived at just the right time,” said Pic. “A little later and you would have found Grun Waugh gnawing30 my bones.”
“Why did you leave us on the Rock without saying a word?” Hairi grumbled31. “You have given us much worry and trouble.”
[74]
Pic at Sha Pell
“He was vexed32 with Grun Waugh,” Wulli now put in. “Grun Waugh called him an Ape Boy—a[75] little tree-beast without a tail, hiding in a man’s skin.”
For an instant, Pic glared at the Rhinoceros, then replied scornfully:
“Agh-h! I know now what the name means. None but enemies would so speak of me. But not because of that did I leave the Rock. It was to help him of whom the Hyena spoke—an old man living alone, sick and blind, in the grotto of Sha Pell. Cave-men will have none of a leader grown old and feeble. This one, their chief, was cast out to die. He came here and then—I came too. He was very sick. I took care of him. Then the Cave Beasts set upon us and I dared not leave him alone to hunt food and water and gather wood for my fire. This man is my father——”
“Father?—Good!” the Mammoth grunted33 approvingly. “Friends should ever help each other. But are you sure he was your father? I cannot see how you remembered him. I could not have done it. Perhaps I never had a father. Had you, Wulli?”
The Rhinoceros cocked his head and looked thoughtfully at the ground.
“Father? Oo-wee! I do not remember that I ever had one. I would not know him even if I saw him.”
“But I know mine,” said Pic. “He was my good[76] friend too or I would never have come here to help him.”
“Where is he now?” asked Hairi gazing up and down the hillside.
“In the cave,” said Pic. “None of us can help him now. He is dying.”
Hairi and Wulli stepped to the grotto’s mouth and peered in. For a moment, they could see nothing; but as their eyes became adjusted to the darkness, they made out the form of a man stretched full length upon the floor. A pile of dried grass and leaves supported the head. A tattered34 fragment of bear-skin partly enveloped35 the body. The figure was that of an old man aged16 by disease and the nearness of death. His eyes were closed. Breath came and went in feeble irregular gasps36. The wide-open mouth was burned and parched37 with wasting fever. Although reduced almost to a skeleton, the short, broad frame showed traces of a once gigantic strength. The protruding38 face, chinless jaws39, eyes buried beneath heavy brows which merged40 into the low sloping forehead, were the same as those of the youth now bending over him.
“You see he is too sick to help himself,” Pic explained. “Once he was the best hunter and warrior41 in our whole band. But the sickness came upon him and when he was dying, his people—my people—drove[77] him away. I kept the Cave Beasts from him but that was all I could do.”
His two hearers gazed intently into the sufferer’s face. They said nothing, only stared; too awed42 by the strange scene to speak a single word.
The whole group was like a strange bit of sculpture:—the grotto and its dying occupant; the Ape Boy crouched over the sick man; the two great brutes43 standing by awed and attentive44; every figure motionless and rigid45 as though cast in bronze.
For a time, all was still and the Cave Man’s feeble gasps could be heard above the low breathing of the three silent spectators. Then the wasted chest heaved and the sick man slowly opened one eye. As it looked upon the Ape Boy’s face, a flash of color lighted the ghastly features and he strove to raise his head. An arm encircled his shoulders, and helped him to rise. He opened his mouth to speak; but the effort was too much and he sank back exhausted46.
The Ape Boy’s body was now thrust between him and the light.
“Stand back,” Pic whispered to his companions. “He must not see you. He would be displeased47 to know that you are with me here.”
Hairi and Wulli retreated several paces. Both obeyed silently and without protest, for reasons they could not understand.
[78]
Slowly the blood returned to the sick man’s pallid48 face. Once more his one good eye opened and gazed at his son. As he struggled to rise, the latter’s powerful arm helped him into a sitting posture49.
“I knew it,” the Cave Man muttered. “My boy is no traitor50; friend of beasts, enemy of men. You fought the flesh-eaters—for your sick old father. I saw—and you fought well.”
These last words were spoken in a scarcely audible whisper—a last outpouring of fast-failing strength. But with his expiring breath, the dying man’s will-power thrust aside, for a moment, the hand of death and summoned strength for words too weighty to be borne unspoken to the grave.
“Listen,” he gasped51. “I am not ungrateful. The treasure—it is yours. High on the mountain side—buried in the cave floor—near the entrance,—beneath a stone.” The voice became stilled, the eyes closed and the body fell back heavily. The Ape Boy bent52 low with one ear against the shrivelled chest. Eyes and mouth remained staring, wide-open, but the heart beats were stilled forever. Death had finally come to free the Cave Man from his sufferings.
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1
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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rhinoceros
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| n.犀牛 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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elk
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| n.麋鹿 | |
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grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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7
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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8
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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9
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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11
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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13
hyena
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| n.土狼，鬣狗 | |
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14
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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15
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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16
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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18
squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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19
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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20
skulking
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
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21
espied
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| v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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23
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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24
snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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25
screech
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| n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
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26
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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27
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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28
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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29
stammer
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| n.结巴，口吃；v.结结巴巴地说 | |
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30
gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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31
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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32
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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33
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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34
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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35
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
gasps
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| v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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37
parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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38
protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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39
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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40
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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41
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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42
awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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44
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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45
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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46
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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47
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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48
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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49
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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50
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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51
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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52
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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