“It’s about time he were returning,” Hairi remarked. “I hope when he does come back he will be all rested and warm. What a pity he cannot learn to fancy the cold weather as we do.”
“Here he comes now,” said the Rhinoceros.
Both animals possessed6 keen ears and noses, but their eyesight was not at all good. They saw a blurred7 figure coming toward them through the snow, but neither one of them could have distinguished8 a man from an elk9 at that distance. The figure moved in a most peculiar10 manner. It walked on its hind11 legs, but as it approached them the two friends saw, to their astonishment12, that it was not a man.
“A bear,” muttered Wulli.
“Yes, it looks like a bear,” said the Mammoth; “but did you ever see one behave like that?”
The creature was in truth performing most strangely. Its movements were those of one intoxicated13, a condition that neither of the pair had[186] ever observed in a bear or any one else, for that matter. It seemed to be having great difficulty managing its legs and feet. These tripped over and interfered14 with one another in an astonishing way. The big body heaved and tossed about because of its unreliable support. Finally, when several rods distant, it stumbled and fell sprawling15 in the snow. Hairi and Wulli looked on in amazement16 as the creature floundered helplessly upon its back like a turtle. After much puffing17 and grunting18, it righted itself and again assumed an upright position.
A bear was nothing to be afraid of; so thought the Mammoth and Rhinoceros; but this one’s behavior mystified them. Once on its feet again, it lurched and lumbered19 forward, waving both paws as if in greeting. “Hi-yo, Hairi! Hi-yo, Wulli!” it cried.
The two friends jumped. They were trembling now and too scared to move. The words and voice sounded strangely familiar. They were those of a human being, but the creature was a bear. Then more surprising still, its head fell back and a man’s face appeared. The mouth was grinning as though it would split.
The Mammoth was on the point of beating a hasty retreat when Wulli suddenly squealed20, “Pic! that is his face. What has become of the rest of him?”
[187]
Pic Astonishes His Friends
[188]
Hairi’s eyes opened wide. “Pic, sure enough. But his body; where is that? The bear must have eaten it.”
“Perhaps he ate the bear,” whispered Wulli, clutching at a small ray of hope. “Let’s ask him.”
“Ho-ho!” laughed the unknown. “Did I frighten you? Now don’t run away, Hairi, for there is nothing to worry about. Nobody has eaten anybody.”
The voice was reassuring21 and it belonged to Pic without question. The Mammoth breathed more freely. He advanced a few steps and touched the other with the tip of his trunk. “Fur, long and thick like a bear’s.” He turned to the Rhinoceros and said, “I told him to do it and he has done it. But who would believe that he could grow so much hair and in so short a time?”
Sounds of muffled22 laughter greeted this last remark. Wulli now came forward to investigate the reason for this unseemly mirth. He sniffed23 at the bearskin, then suddenly backed away squealing24 with alarm. “Oo-wee! Blood! I smell it! Oo-wee; somebody has been killed.”
The two animals might have bolted then and there, had not Pic put an end to the farce25. He threw the skin from his body and it fell in a heap about his legs.
“It is I; all of me,” he said. “Somebody has been killed but I was not the one. I slew26 the bear, otherwise he would have slain27 me. With my flint-blade I cut his pelt28 from him and now it is mine.”
“And so you did not grow it,” said the Mammoth,[189] somewhat crestfallen29. “At any rate, you did your best to do as I told you.”
Wulli took an entirely30 different view of the matter. He could appreciate a good fighter. “Only a big man could kill such a big bear,” he remarked thoughtfully.
“And a smaller bear would not have been much use to him,” Hairi sagely31 remarked. “He could never have gotten in its skin. I say he did right.”
“And now I am clad as warmly as you are,” said Pic. “It will be better for all of us, for we can travel as fast as we please. The skin will keep me warm. This makes us three instead of two Tundr-folk.”
The new arrangement was a success from the very start. The bearskin had its drawbacks, but they detracted only in a small measure from the main point. Pic could not make much headway in it traveling on foot; furthermore, the Mammoth was obliged to lift him to his seat when he vainly endeavored to mount. Pic was no more able to help himself than a turkey tied up in brown paper. However, when once astride Hairi’s neck, he was in the height of his glory. His new garment was impervious33 to wind and cold, and having nothing to do but sit and think, he felt thoroughly34 comfortable and contented35. The two animals shared his good spirits. From then on the party got along finely and proceeded at a great rate.
[190]
The Ebro River soon appeared upon their left. It was fed by many smaller streams flowing into it from the mountains. The latter were frequently cleft36 by deep passes or defiles37 running through them from south to north. After crossing the headwaters of the Ebro the trio came in sight of another mountain pass traversed by a modest stream. This latter was partly frozen over, but the Mammoth and Rhinoceros were powerful cold-water swimmers and found little trouble in breaking their way through the ice to the opposite side. As they climbed the bank and halted to shake the water out of their shaggy coats, Pic saw before him a lofty peak in whose side, five hundred feet or more above the level on which he stood, loomed38 a dark spot. His trained eye immediately recognized it as a cave. It must be in or near the zone of human occupancy if what the snow-grouse had said was true. Now was the time to cut through the mountain range to the northern side.
Pic glanced at the sky. The sun was hidden in the west. Before long, all would be dark. The party must wait until morning before proceeding39, and so they began to look about for a convenient spot to halt and rest. Pic resolved to spend his night in the cave, assuming it to be vacant. No fire burned upon its threshold. And yet, it might be the home of a man who could be forced to give information that might prove valuable.
The trio advanced to the mountain. It appeared near, but appearances were deceiving, and[191] it was quite dark when they drew up at the foot of the steep slope. Here Pic and his friends parted; the former to climb upward, the latter to proceed a short distance, browsing40 as they went.
Pic discovered the cave to be a small one and unoccupied. However, it had been a man’s home and probably still was, for the human odor still clung to it. This was interesting and important, for it was reasonable to suppose that other human beings lived somewhere near. Pic glowed all over with the pleasure and excitement this thought aroused in him. The long climb too had warmed him, particularly as he was now attired41 in his bearskin suit. The latter was cumbersome42, but it would make a comfortable sleeping bag, and for that reason he had been loth to leave it behind. Before settling down upon the threshold to rest he examined the cave. There was little to see, for it was a small and simple hollow in the rock and absolutely bare except for a single flat stone lying upon the floor. Pic lay down in the cave-entrance, gathered his robe about him and was not long in drifting to the land of rest and forgetfulness.
In the morning’s small hours he suddenly awakened43. A low scraping noise sounded from behind him—from the floor of the cave. It continued with fits and starts. Still lying motionless, he turned his head around far enough to view the cave interior. He saw nothing there—nothing but the stone upon the floor. “Probably some small animal stirring,” he thought and then—the stone moved. For a[192] moment he was startled, to say the least. No stone ever shifted about of itself. Something must be pushing it. He looked on dumbfounded as the stone hitched44 itself almost imperceptibly along the cave-floor. It appeared bewitched; and then, as he watched its strange motions while uneasiness and fear of the unknown began to creep over him, a vent45 appeared beneath the stone and from it issued a human hand.
A man! The mystery was now explained.
The cave-owner was concealed46 in a hole in the floor and was removing the stone which covered the entrance to it. Pic gathered his feet together under him, laughing softly to himself. What was there to fear from one man? He rose to a crouching47 position, relieving himself of the bearskin as he did so. Leaving this in a heap where he had lain, he crawled to the rear of the grotto48 and kneeled behind the hole in the floor, his arms outstretched—and waiting. The mysterious hands—there were now two of them—sank within the cavity and a head appeared. It rose until its eyes were above the level of the cave-floor. The eyes stared at the bearskin robe a few seconds, then the head settled down and again the hands reached upward to grasp the stone.
[193]
[194]
Quick as lightning Pic pounced50 upon the hands, locking both wrists in his iron grip. One heave and the unknown was plucked from his burrow like a rabbit, struggling and yelling like fury at finding himself so suddenly caught. A boy and a stout51 one, too, for he fought like a wildcat; but he was as helpless as a kitten in the clutches of the giant Mousterian. Pic held him fast and dragged him to the outside light. “Agh, little rascal52!” he said. “And so you were the one who disturbed my night’s rest.”
At the sound of his voice, the boy gave a loud cry that made his captor’s heart leap within his chest:
“Father!”
Pic seized the lad’s head between his hands and turned it so that he could peer into the face. His knees trembled, his whole body shook as with ague.
“Kutnar! Boy, is it you?”
For an instant each face stared at the other as in the waking moments of a dream. Then came light and understanding and in a moment father and son were locked tightly in each other’s arms.
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1
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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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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4
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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6
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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7
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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8
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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9
elk
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| n.麋鹿 | |
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10
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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11
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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12
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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13
intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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14
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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15
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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16
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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17
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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18
grunting
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| 咕哝的，呼噜的 | |
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19
lumbered
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| 砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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20
squealed
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| v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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22
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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23
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；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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24
squealing
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| v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 ) | |
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25
farce
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| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
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26
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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27
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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28
pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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29
crestfallen
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| adj. 挫败的，失望的，沮丧的 | |
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30
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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31
sagely
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| adv. 贤能地，贤明地 | |
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32
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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33
impervious
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| adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的 | |
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34
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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35
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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36
cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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37
defiles
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| v.玷污( defile的第三人称单数 )；污染；弄脏；纵列行进 | |
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38
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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39
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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40
browsing
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| v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息 | |
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41
attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
cumbersome
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| adj.笨重的，不便携带的 | |
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43
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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44
hitched
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| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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45
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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46
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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47
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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48
grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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49
burrow
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| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
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50
pounced
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| v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击） | |
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52
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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