Again and again he scraped wood dust and tiny splinters from a piece of soft wood with his flint knife, then bent5 over them with two fire stones, learning the art of striking the sparks so that they would leap from the stones into the powdered wood and immediately start glowing. But finally he achieved what to him was perfection in the art of fire building and he was extremely happy.
The fire, of course, was a mystery to the tree[116] people. That was evident from the way they gathered about the entrance of the canyon6 and watched it curiously7. Some of them even overcame their fear of the canyon and the hairy boy to the extent of coming well inside the rocky declivity8 and sitting there among the bowlders for long periods, just blinking solemnly at the flames and chattering10 softly among themselves. Chief among those who mustered11 courage enough to come close to the flames was old Scar Face. He finally reached the point where he would sit for hours there and stare first at the fire and then at the hairy boy with an expression of profound thought.
Indeed, so often did Scar Face and certain others gather in a circle about Og’s fire, that after a time there developed a certain intimacy12 between the hairy boy and the ape men. They lost their fear of this mighty13 one who had slain14 the great cave tiger and who had proved himself master of the Fire Demon15, and in its place developed a wholesome16 respect for him and his ability. Scar Face and all of his lusty fighting men would often gather in a semi-circle at a respectful distance from Og, and watch him with a strange expression in their eyes, which Og gradually perceived was admiration17, the admiration of loyal subjects to a[117] chieftain, and Og soon realized that, if he cared to, he could be the ruler of the tree people, with Scar Face and his warriors18 as his devoted19 henchmen.
But for some strange reason this did not appeal to Og. To be ruler of the tree people was not to his liking20. He had watched them closely during the time he had been among them and he had found them tremendously interesting. So like the hairy men they were in many ways, and yet so different.
Og had always looked upon them as animals, but he perceived now, as a result of his intimacy with Scar Face, that they were not, yet they were not men as he knew them. They had a language that consisted of grunts21 and querulous chattering but it was so crude that Og could see that they had great difficulty in expressing even the simplest thought. They could think. Og realized this when he analyzed22 their reasons for bringing him to the canyon a prisoner. Scar Face, who represented the height of development among them, had doubtless thought out the idea of making him a sacrifice to the cave tiger. They built tree top homes for themselves especially in mating time, and though they were crude structures they[118] showed a homing instinct. And some among them, notably23 Scar Face and his warriors, occasionally carried weapons in the form of clubs, though they often forgot that they possessed them, as they forgot many other things.
Here Og could see was one of two distinct differences between the tree people and his own race. Most hairy men (although there were still many who were not capable) followed an idea or a task to its conclusion. If a hairy man wanted to find a smooth round stone for a new stone hammer-head, he usually set about searching for it and searched until he found it, although there were some even among his people who could be turned aside from such a quest and made to forget all about the object they had started after by a bit of bright quartz24, or the discovery of a bird’s nest or something else that might amuse them.
This was the way of all the tree people. They no sooner found one thing that interested them, than they dropped it for another. Og perceived, however, that this was not entirely25 true of some of them, especially old Scar Face, who seemed to have more steadfastness26 of purpose than most of his kind.
Og marked another difference between the tree[119] people and the race of hairy men. It was a physical difference. Under his own long hair Og knew that his skin was a yellowish white. The skin under the hair of the tree people was dark; in truth it was quite black. Og, thinker though he was slowly growing to be, noted27 this with only passing interest, for he could not know that this was the key to the whole mystery, and this difference in skin color marked the ape men as a different race, a race that even at that early date was still thousands of years behind his own people. Nor could he understand that a million years hence, when his race should have achieved the heights of civilization, the offsprings of the tree people would still be savages28.
Yet Og could see that some of them, especially their leader, were making slow progress. Their interest in his fire and all that he did was evidence of this to him. The fact that Scar Face imitated him in everything he did, to the best of his ability, also helped Og in this conclusion. The scarred one walked more upright than the rest of his kind. He carried a club for a weapon more frequently than the rest and he always watched Og’s stone hammers with interest whenever he came close to his fire. Og noted this fact and one day,[120] more out of curiosity than anything else, he gave Scar Face one of his best weapons.
Og needed no interpreter to understand from the grunts and gibberish that Scar Face was grateful. Indeed, he was so delighted that his antics were childish. He paraded before his warriors with the hammer over his shoulder, and smote29 trees and bushes for no other reason than just to show off his weapon, and his warriors were duly impressed.
Scar Face watched with interest, too, Og’s handling of the fire, and often when he sat near it he would toss a stick onto the flames, and chatter9 excitedly when he saw the flames consume his contribution. The fact that Og always carried a smoking and flaming firebrand about with him wherever he went impressed old Scar Face, too, for he perceived that that was equally as important a weapon as the stone hammer.
First he had a wholesome respect for the fire, although for some reason he did not fear it as many of his people did. This respect for the flames increased when he inadvertently stepped on a hot coal that had popped some distance from Og’s stone fireplace. But he could appreciate its virtues30, too. Its biggest appeal to him was the[121] fact that it dispelled31 the darkness of night, the darkness which he and his people feared. It gave light and he knew that monsters like the sabre-toothed tiger, the cave-lion, and other beasts of prey32 shunned33 light and hunted only during the hours of darkness.
He appreciated its warmth, too, for it was a delightful34 sensation to crouch35 within its circle of radiance and feel the warmth against his hairy coat. The rites36 that Og performed over the flames each time he killed a rabbit or some other small animal, and the transition of the red and bloody37 meat to rich savory38 brown food, was something he could not understand.
He often gnawed39 at the few bones that the wolf cubs40 left and found that the taste was pleasing, and several times Og flung him a small piece of cooked meat, which he sampled and ate with great gusto. Scar Face and his people were not meat eaters like the hairy men, for the chief reason that they had never had the ability or the weapons with which to procure41 this kind of food. They never shunned the contents of birds’ nests, however, and small rodents42 that they were able to catch, they always gobbled down with relish43. Scar Face soon perceived that flesh, and especially[122] cooked flesh, was well worth the eating and, as a result of his introduction to this form of food by Og, he was to become the first meat eater among the tree people.
Soon after he had sampled the cooked food that Og gave him, and some time after he had acquired the stone hammer, he took to hunting as diligently44 as Og did, and the first day he was rewarded by killing45 one of the many rabbit-like animals that were abundant in the pleasant valley. After surprising it and crushing it with a blow of the stone hammer, he brought the mangled46 form to Og and told him gruntingly that he’d like to have the hairy boy cook it for him.
Og obligingly skinned it and cooked it, and Scar Face devoured47 it with much smacking48 and sucking. The bones he tossed to the wolf cubs as he had seen Og do, and when he finished he licked his fingers in imitation of the boy.
After that Scar Face wanted a fire of his own. For some time he tried to make Og understand his desires and finally, when the hairy boy did comprehend him, he flatly refused by a vigorous shaking of his head. The disappointment of Scar Face was very evident. He sulked and grew ugly. He showed his teeth at Og and even[123] clutched the handle of his stone hammer menacingly. It was a show of belligerence49 that the hairy boy could not tolerate for a moment, and angrily Og snatched up a burning fire brand and hurled50 it at the ape man with such accuracy that it hit him in the pit of the stomach and singed51 the hair and burned the flesh until old Scar Face shrieked52 with pain and ran away clutching at his paunch and squealing53.
Og sat by his fire and grinned at the tree man’s discomfort54, for although he was perfectly55 willing to have old Scar Face possess a stone hammer he was not at all inclined to share with him his most valuable of all weapons, the fire brands. Og knew now that he could drive off the fiercest of the hunting animals, even the cave tiger, with the fire brands, and he knew, too, that if it ever became necessary he could hold Scar Face and his whole clan56 at bay. Under those circumstances he was not willing to put any of the tree people in possession of the weapon he depended upon most.
Scar Face, off in the bush, nursed his burns, and later he tried as best he knew how to make a fire for himself. He got stones and a litter of wood, as he had watched Og do, and he clashed[124] the stones together until they broke in fragments, but not a single spark of fire did he ever produce.
Yet the desire to have a fire of his own still persisted, and although the leader of the tree folk never came near Og’s fire again while the hairy boy was present, he watched the actions of Og from a hiding place at the mouth of the canyon. For several days he lurked57 there, hidden even from his own people, and finally the opportunity that he was hoping for arrived.
Og, as was his custom, lighted a fire brand from the flames, and with his stone hammer and some throwing stones in his hands, and the wolf dogs at his heels, started out across the pleasant valley on a hunting trip to replenish58 his larder59, Scar Face, from his hiding place, watched him until he was well out of sight. Then, marking that none of his own people were watching his actions either, he made his way craftily60 into the canyon and, slipping from rock to rock, reached the place where Og’s fire still burned in the rude stone fireplace. From wood that he found there he made himself a torch as he had often seen the hairy boy do, and dipped it into the still smoldering61 ashes, he breathed upon it after the fashion[125] of Og and presently tiny flames appeared at the end of his torch. He had a fire brand, too!
He held it up and watched it with eager, yet fearful eyes. Then he did a curious little dance of elation62, as if he sought to tell himself in that way that he was as great a man as Og. But quite suddenly he stopped dancing, for he realized that the owner of the fire might presently appear again. Then, too, for some curious reason, he did not want even his own people to know that he possessed this fire torch. He glanced about cautiously, and stealthily made his way out of the canyon. Then, holding the burning torch at arm’s length as he had seen the hairy boy do, he slipped into the forests and disappeared.
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1
kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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declivity
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| n.下坡，倾斜面 | |
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chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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11
mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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12
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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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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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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21
grunts
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈 | |
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22
analyzed
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| v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析 | |
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23
notably
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| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
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quartz
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| n.石英 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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steadfastness
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| n.坚定，稳当 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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31
dispelled
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| v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
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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33
shunned
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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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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38
savory
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| adj.风味极佳的，可口的，味香的 | |
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39
gnawed
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| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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40
cubs
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| n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 ) | |
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41
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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42
rodents
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| n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 ) | |
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43
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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44
diligently
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| ad.industriously;carefully | |
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45
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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46
mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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47
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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48
smacking
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| 活泼的，发出响声的，精力充沛的 | |
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49
belligerence
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| n.交战，好战性，斗争性 | |
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50
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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51
singed
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
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52
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
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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54
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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56
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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57
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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58
replenish
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| vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满 | |
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larder
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| n.食物贮藏室，食品橱 | |
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60
craftily
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| 狡猾地，狡诈地 | |
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61
smoldering
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| v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 ) | |
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62
elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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