He reached the foot of the slope, ascended4 part way and paused. No dark forms appeared to mock him with their hideous5 laughter; so he went on until he reached the cave. No sound issued from within; only foul6 odors which in themselves were enough to repel7 any less determined8 invader9 than he. The hyenas were gone and now he had the place all to himself. So far, so good; he stepped inside.
The darkness was almost impenetrable so he was obliged to depend upon his sense of touch, groping about the floor with his hands and feet. Bones, bones, everywhere; but no stone. He searched about the entrance, then along the side-walls and finally the rear of the cave, carefully covering every inch of space; but without success. He repeated this performance; going over the ground a second time with the utmost care. Failure again; the stone[228] was nowhere to be found nor the treasure which must be lying beneath it.
Pic’s patience was ebbing10 fast. He had begun this adventure in high spirits but as his quest yet remained barren of results, he grew fearful that it must soon end in total failure.
“My father would not have lied to me,” he strove to reassure11 himself. “Perhaps the stone has been accidentally removed. The treasure if it lies buried here, must be somewhere near the entrance.”
This last thought aroused his fading hopes and he resumed his search along new lines, chopping the dirt floor with his ax until not a spot near the cave-mouth remained untouched. His efforts were of no avail. Neither stone nor treasure came to light. This was the wrong cave.
Nothing remained to be done but leave and rejoin the Mammoth and Rhinoceros13. It suddenly occurred to him that it was high time he was so doing. Night was drawing to a close and the hyenas would soon return. He stepped to the cave-mouth, then as quickly stepped back again at sight of some animals coming up the valley. His foot encountered an obstacle. His ax flew from his hand and he fell heavily upon its upturned edge.
A sharp pain shot through the rear of his thigh14 where the keen flint had inflicted15 a deep gash16. He[229] was up again in a moment, clutching the wound with one hand to stop the flow of blood. His injury although painful was not disabling. The hyenas were returning and it was necessary—for his own safety—that he be not caught intruding17 in their den12.
He descended18 the slope with all possible haste, leaving a trail of blood-stains on the rocks behind him. He arrived at the foot of the slope none too soon. The hyenas were but a few paces distant. They came on growling19 and sniffing20 the air. Pic raised his ax and prepared to defend himself; whereupon they held back and showed no intention of proceeding21 further.
Pic retreated a step; the hyenas followed. He took several more steps and the foul beasts kept pace with him; halting when he halted; advancing as he retreated, threatening but ever hesitating to close in. None of them showed any interest in the cave. Not one climbed up the slope. It might be time to go home; but they were hungry. They smelled blood in the air and on the ground. Pic’s wound was not a dangerous one, but it gave promise; the odor of blood was alluring22 and so the hyenas followed. The Rhinoceros had proven a grievous disappointment; but now the scent23 of an injured man filled them with renewed hope.
Pic’s position was becoming decidedly unpleasant.[230] He was being hounded by a pack of ferocious24 brutes25 who dared not attack him openly but who were prepared to take advantage of any opportunity offered them. He made off up the valley and the hyenas trailed behind at a respectful distance.
Their uncanny attention and particularly their persistence27 filled him with growing alarm. He was beginning to feel weary and faint; but to lie down; to lose his senses even for a few moments, meant death. His enemies were now gradually closing in; behind and on both sides. If they kept on, he would soon be completely surrounded. He must seek refuge among the rocks, in a cave or some place where he could defend himself without danger of attack from the rear. He scanned the cliffs—and there before him loomed28 a great rock which thrust its rugged29 flanks far into the valley. His heart quickened with renewed hope. It was the Rock of Moustier.
“Once I reach the grotto30, I can make a stand against these beasts,” he encouraged himself; “unless”—and his spirits fell again like lead—“the Lion is there.”
However he must take his chance on that score. Things could not long continue as they were. A night of fruitless tramping up and down the valley was rapidly driving his enemies to desperation.[231] Hyenas might be patient but even their patience could not forever endure the protests of empty stomachs. They quickened their pace and pressed on more closely. Some of them grew bold enough to walk ahead of him on either side.
The party drew up before the base of Moustier. Pic took a deep breath, grit31 his teeth and began the ascent32. The hyenas hesitated, then followed after him. As he neared the middle terrace and came within sight of the grotto, he paused. For him, this was the turning-point—a situation fraught33 with fearful consequence. If the Lion were at home, he was lost—caught between two fires and hopelessly overmatched; but if the cave were unoccupied, he could make his stand in the entrance and fight off those who trailed behind him. All depended upon whether the grotto was or was not now occupied by its fierce tenant34.
While he hesitated, one of his trackers, a huge beast with a ghoul-grinning face, lunged forward and snapped at his wounded limb, so closely that Pic felt the brute26’s hot fetid breath. He turned like a flash just as the hyena1 sprang upon him a second time. A quick swing-back; and the blade of Ach Eul descended in a wide arc with all the power of arm and shoulder behind it. A terrible howl and the brute fell crashing down the slope with half of the flint buried in his skull35. The other half and[232] handle yet remained in Pic’s grasp; but the blade of Ach Eul was lost forever—shattered, destroyed by the violence of the blow.
Its owner gazed at the broken ax in dismay. He stood defenceless—armed only with a flimsy stick. Discarding his now useless weapon, he seized a jagged rock and raised it above his head, just as the other hyenas turned tail and scrambled36 down the steep slope after their stricken comrade. In a few moments, Pic heard them growling and snarling37 horribly as they fought and struggled over the dead body. Then sounded the ripping and tearing of flesh, followed by a more subdued38 clatter39 as of snapping and slopping jaws40.
Pic was left alone. Below him, his enemies were devouring41 the one of their number he had slain42. Now for the Cave Lion. With the rock still raised above his head, he took a last step upward and stood upon the platform fronting the grotto. No response came from within—no low growls43 nor angry snarls44. He could see beyond the entrance and make out the interior, free of dark form and fiery45 eyes. The Lion was not inside. Pic glanced fearfully about him, then glided46 to the cave-mouth. It exuded47 no foul odor common to dens48 habitated by beasts of prey49. The place was untenanted; and from all appearances it had been so for a considerable time.
[233]
Pic breathed more freely. Nothing was to be feared at the moment from the Lion. After assuring himself on that point, he stole across the rock-platform and peered down at the hideous group below. Already the dead hyena was but a framework of white bones and his fellows were straggling away down the valley. He returned to the cave and stepped boldly within.
Apparently50 the Lion had abandoned his winter quarters at the approach of Spring. His nest remained as he left it—a broad, shallow depression scooped51 from the floor. The brute had clawed out the dirt to the bare rock leaving the debris52 piled around the sides, thus forming a crater53 or enclosed receptacle shaped to his curled form. Its sides were covered with spiders’ webs and fungus54 growth. A single mushroom sprouted55 from the bottom—from the rock laid bare by the Lion’s claws. Pic looked curiously57 at this mushroom which could sprout56 from the hard limestone58. He sank to his knees and bent59 low to examine it.
The stone from which it grew was not limestone but granite60—a material foreign to the surrounding rock—of substance unlike that composing the cave-walls and roof; furthermore, the mushroom grew not from the stone but from a crack extended around it. The crack was filled with dirt and the mushroom sprang from the dirt.
[234]
Pic gazed thoughtfully at the mushroom, the dirt-filled crack and the granite stone. How did these three come there? Answer: because of the stone itself and no other reason; because of a stone in the floor—near the entrance—of a cave—on a mountain.
Pic trembled as this chain of circumstances ran through his mind. He reached down with shaking hand and scraped out the dirt which filled the encircling crack.
In a short time he had deepened it sufficiently61 to insert his fingers. One mighty62 heave—the stone yielded and came free. He raised it from the depression and tossed it to one side.
The hollow in which the stone had lain embedded63, was filled with dirt. Pic set about to remove this by loosening and scraping it out with his fingers. While so doing, his knuckles64 encountered something hard and sharp. He pried65 the dirt from around the object, plucked it forth66 and held it to the light.
The object was a large flint-blade, flaked67 and chipped with edges so straight and keen, Pic could only stare and marvel68. His experienced eye noted69 not the large flaking70 but the fine marginal chipping which gave the flint its finely-finished lines. It was a counterpart—a duplicate of his own ax so recently destroyed—the blade of Ach Eul.
Pic’s breath came loud and fast. The hot blood[235] mounted to his temples. He set the flint carefully down beside him and turned once more to the hollow from whence it came. The dirt was soft and easily removed with his fingers. The ground beneath where the stone had lain, was a cavity filled with loose earth—and other objects as he discovered when once the loose material was removed.
The objects were flints—similar in form and finish to the first. The cavity was filled with them. He brought them forth one by one until he had secured more than could be counted upon the fingers of his two hands. Further search disclosed the cavity’s hard bottom but no more flints; nothing but a piece of bone.
“Part of the Cave Lion’s fare,” thought Pic. “It shows his tooth-marks and where he has licked it clean and smooth.” He was about to cast it aside, then checked the impulse and set it on the rock beside him where it soon passed from his thoughts. He turned again to the flints. The treasure of Moustier was now in his possession.
And it was indeed a treasure which had long lain buried in the floor of the grotto. Pic made a grimace71 as he thought of how many times he had stood, squatted72, reclined over the very spot where it lay concealed73. The stone—the guiding mark—had become buried in some unaccountable manner, thereby74 throwing him off the scent. It was but[236] natural, he reflected, that Moustier—his father’s former home—should have been the cave which concealed the treasure; but who would have thought that the stone itself as well as the treasure might be hidden from sight?
Pic chuckled75 softly as he meditated76 over the element of chance that had brought about his good-fortune. But for the Cave Lion, he might have vainly hunted the world over until his dying day. He could thank Grun Waugh for this one thing, if nothing else. The treasure had been laid bare—or rather the stone which covered it—by a scratch of his big paw.
Pic gathered up the flints and carried them to the ledge77 outside. Here he squatted to feast his eyes on a dozen or more of the finest blades ever seen by mortal man—great almond-shaped flints, the size and form of his own hand—a sight to make the hunter and warrior’s heart beat fast with wonder at their great size and beautiful finish. The treasure of Moustier was priceless and beyond compare.
His first excitement having passed, Pic devoted78 himself to a more detailed79 inspection80 of the flints. They were all very much alike—great hand-axes; pointed81 and edged on one end; blunt on the other to accommodate the grip of the hand. They differed little from each other, in size, form, manner of chipping and even the material from which they[237] were made. All bore the same evidence of retouch—the tiny chipping which made the margins82 so straight and keen. In them was none of the rude flaking and that, only on one side as characterized the wavy83, irregular edges of Mousterian blades.
Wonderful indeed! Nothing could be more wonderful; but strange to say Pic turned from them and gazed wistfully at the sky. He sighed. The treasure of Moustier was incomparable with anything in all the world; but its owner now found himself a victim of baffled hope and bitter disappointment.
Why? Simply because they taught him nothing. A knowledge of the art itself and not the finished product was what he sought.
“How were they made?” had been and yet was the question uppermost in his mind; but on this point, the cold lustrous84 flints remained pitilessly silent. Pic was undisputed master of the treasure; but as far as the manner of its making was concerned, he knew no more now than he did before.
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1
hyena
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| n.土狼，鬣狗 | |
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hyenas
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| n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 ) | |
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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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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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invader
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| n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者 | |
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10
ebbing
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| （指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落 | |
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reassure
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| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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rhinoceros
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| n.犀牛 | |
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thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gash
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| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
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17
intruding
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| v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于 | |
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18
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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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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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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29
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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grit
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| n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关 | |
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ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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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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38
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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43
growls
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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44
snarls
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| n.（动物的）龇牙低吼( snarl的名词复数 )；愤怒叫嚷（声）；咆哮（声）；疼痛叫声v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的第三人称单数 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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45
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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46
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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47
exuded
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| v.缓慢流出，渗出，分泌出( exude的过去式和过去分词 )；流露出对（某物）的神态或感情 | |
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48
dens
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| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
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49
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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50
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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51
scooped
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| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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52
debris
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| n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片 | |
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53
crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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54
fungus
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| n.真菌，真菌类植物 | |
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55
sprouted
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| v.发芽( sprout的过去式和过去分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出 | |
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sprout
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| n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条 | |
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57
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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limestone
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| n.石灰石 | |
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59
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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60
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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61
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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64
knuckles
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| n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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65
pried
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| v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的过去式和过去分词 )；撬开 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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flaked
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| 精疲力竭的，失去知觉的，睡去的 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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flaking
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| 刨成片，压成片； 盘网 | |
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71
grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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72
squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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73
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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74
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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78
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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82
margins
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| 边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数 | |
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wavy
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| adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的 | |
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lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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