Hiss8! something whistled past. One of the on-rushing horde9 reeled and fell. Pic turned and saw the boy standing10 toe to the ledge11-coping beside him. Already the sling12 was reloaded and whirling for a second cast. Hiss, again! Another man dropped back, holding his arm and screaming like a hurt beast. The stones flew fast, with few misses, for there was little need of accurate shooting at such a mass of men. Almost every shot left an enemy accounted for. The cave-men wavered as they witnessed the havoc13 wrought14 among them by the deadly sling. They might have fled, but Totan was there to drive on the laggards15 and strike down any man who attempted to run away. Kutnar strove to single him out, but one man was hard to distinguish in the ruck and the hetman escaped unscathed.
[203]
“Hiss! Something Whistled Past”
[204]
To Pic, his son’s prowess was a revelation. Never was known such stone-throwing. “It is one thing to hit a rabbit and another to hit a man coming at you with a club,” he thought. “The boy is a prodigy16; may he live through this day.” The men of Castillo were now closing in. Pic’s powerful arm reached out and swept the lad behind him, for the time was near at hand for closer work with the flint-ax. “Well done,” he muttered. “My turn now. Stand well back and give me plenty of arm room to fight these wolves. Be ready with your ax, for if I break or lose mine, I will need another.”
Kutnar fell back obediently. His jaws17 were clenched18 tightly together and the grip on his ax-handle was even tighter as he awaited his chance to help when most needed.
From his rock-roost, Gonch was an awed19 witness of the boy’s deadly marksmanship. The sling suddenly ceased its work, for now the cave-men were coming to grips with those hidden from his sight. He saw Totan detach himself from the man-pack and fall back, permitting the yelling horde to sweep past him. To the hetman’s credit be it said that he who feared no man, now disdained[205] casting the balance of his great strength into such a one-sided contest. He stood with arms folded, watching and shouting commands, but offering to take no more active part where he considered himself so little needed. Gonch observed Totan’s inaction. The time had come when he might rid himself of his two worst enemies at one fell stroke. He leaned far out from the rock-wall and howled furiously: “He has come as I promised. Up and strike before another wins the glory. It is Pic, the Lion Man himself.”
The giant hetman bristled20 as he heard. The blood of the pit-fighter surged through his veins21 like molten steel. In an instant his calm was transformed into a tempest.
“The Lion Man?” he roared, tearing through the crowd to the foot of the ledge. “And so he has come to me at last. He is mine, I say, and my hand alone shall do the butchering. Stand back, every one of you. The man who raises a club to strike him, dies.”
The cave-men stopped short, falling over one another in their anxiety to keep out of the hetman’s way. Totan turned from them to him who stood upon the ledge. Pic had seen and heard all. He shook his ax-blade defiantly22 in the other’s face.
“Butcher me?” he screamed. “You; ugly beast? Come and try, here where there is room for both of us.”
Totan answered with a thunderous roar. He clambered up the ledge. Pic fell back several paces,[206] permitting his rival a foothold upon the rock-platform. This gave the hetman a moment to prepare himself—a bit of chivalry23 he failed to appreciate. Men who gave ground or hesitated were afraid of him—that was all. “Ar-r-r death!” he snarled24 like a mad tiger and flung himself upon the Mousterian champion.
“Death, so be it,” and Pic sprang forward to meet him. So fierce was the onslaught that the two giants came breast to breast before either had a chance to strike. Quick as a cat, Pic dropped his ax and grappled with his burly opponent, throwing both arms about him, bear-fashion. Finding himself at a disadvantage, Totan too let fall his weapon, roaring with rage and pain and fighting like a demon25 to break the other’s crushing grip.
But Pic had the under hold. With arms clamped around his rival’s midriff, and face beneath the hetman’s chin beyond the reach of tearing fingers and snapping bull-teeth, he held him as in an iron vise, from which there was no escape. The Mousterian made not a sound. He did not seem to even move, but slowly the Castillan giant’s head with nose and mouth gushing26 blood, fell back. A dull crunch27, and before the cave-men realized what had happened, their chieftain was borne to the edge of the rock-platform and cast down among them, a bloody28, lifeless thing. In a flash, Pic recovered his ax and was again upon the defensive29. The rabble30 recoiled31 in terror from the fierce Lion Man. Gonch gazed down into the face of the dead Totan. “Good,” he croaked32. “Now for the other,” and from his safe perch33 he gave frantic34 commands for his minions35 to renew the attack. “Kill the man!” he screeched36. “Capture the boy alive. He is our last chance for flints and food. At them, wolves. A whole tribe will come down upon you if they escape.”
[207]
The Battle of the Giants
[208]
Thus urged, the cave-men rallied and rushed again to the assault. The giant Mousterian’s ax cut them down like straws, but the living climbed over the dead and carried the ledge by sheer weight of numbers. Pic was forced back against the wall, still fighting furiously, although bleeding from a dozen wounds. His ax was shattered, but the boy was ready with another. Pic seized and wielded37 it with deadly effect until it too was gone. Then grappling with the man nearest him, he fastened his teeth in his throat. The mob surged over him. Kutnar struggled desperately38, but was soon overpowered.
At that moment, a loud snorting and thumping39 of heavy feet sounded from below, followed by squeals40 of rage, and two monstrous41 beasts came charging up the slope. “The Mammoth42! the Woolly Rhinoceros43!” yelled the cave-men nearest them and away they scampered44, howling with fear. The alarm spread like wildfire to their companions upon the ledge and they too scattered45 in all directions, the rearmost barely escaping with their lives. Even Gonch shared their panic, for he made all[209] haste to climb higher, forgetting that he was quite safe and that no beast could reach him.
Hairi and Wulli halted at the foot of the ledge and looked about them. The Castillans had fled and in all of that gore46 and slaughter47, only one semblance48 of life remained. Kutnar the boy was kneeling over a prostrate49 form and wiping the blood from its face. The form was that of the Mousterian weapon maker50, lying where it had fallen. The Castillan jackals had borne down Pic the Lion by their overwhelming numbers, but were now in their turn fleeing in disorder51 along the mountain side. It had devolved upon the Mammoth and Rhinoceros to rush to their friends’ assistance and strike the decisive blow, thereby52 terminating this most desperate of unequal conflicts—the bloody battle of the Scarp.
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1
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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2
allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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3
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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4
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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5
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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6
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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7
cub
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| n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人 | |
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8
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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9
horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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10
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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11
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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12
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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13
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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14
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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15
laggards
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| n.落后者( laggard的名词复数 ) | |
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16
prodigy
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| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
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17
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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18
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
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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20
bristled
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| adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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21
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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22
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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23
chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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24
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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25
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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26
gushing
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| adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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27
crunch
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| n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声 | |
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28
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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29
defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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30
rabble
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| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
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31
recoiled
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| v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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32
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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33
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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34
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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35
minions
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| n.奴颜婢膝的仆从( minion的名词复数 )；走狗；宠儿；受人崇拜者 | |
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36
screeched
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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37
wielded
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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38
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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39
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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40
squeals
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| n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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41
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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42
mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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43
rhinoceros
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| n.犀牛 | |
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44
scampered
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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46
gore
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| n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶 | |
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47
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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48
semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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49
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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50
maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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51
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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52
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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