The first morning, after my night’s sleep with Lop-Ear, I learned the advantage of the narrow-mouthed caves. It was just daylight when old Saber-Tooth, the tiger, walked into the open space. Two of the Folk were already up. They made a rush for it. Whether they were panic-stricken, or whether he was too close on their heels for them to attempt to scramble4 up the bluff5 to the crevices6, I do not know; but at any rate they dashed into the wide-mouthed cave wherein Lop-Ear and I had played the afternoon before.
What happened inside there was no way of telling, but it is fair to conclude that the two Folk slipped through the connecting crevice into the other cave. This crevice was too small to allow for the passage of Saber-Tooth, and he came out the way he had gone in, unsatisfied and angry. It was evident that his night’s hunting had been unsuccessful and that he had expected to make a meal off of us. He caught sight of the two Folk at the other cave-mouth and sprang for them. Of course, they darted7 through the passageway into the first cave. He emerged angrier than ever and snarling9.
Pandemonium10 broke loose amongst the rest of us. All up and down the great bluff, we crowded the crevices and outside ledges12, and we were all chattering13 and shrieking14 in a thousand keys. And we were all making faces—snarling faces; this was an instinct with us. We were as angry as Saber-Tooth, though our anger was allied15 with fear. I remember that I shrieked16 and made faces with the best of them. Not only did they set the example, but I felt the urge from within me to do the same things they were doing. My hair was bristling17, and I was convulsed with a fierce, unreasoning rage.
For some time old Saber-Tooth continued dashing in and out of first the one cave and then the other. But the two Folk merely slipped back and forth18 through the connecting crevice and eluded19 him. In the meantime the rest of us up the bluff had proceeded to action. Every time he appeared outside we pelted20 him with rocks. At first we merely dropped them on him, but we soon began to whiz them down with the added force of our muscles.
This bombardment drew Saber-Tooth’s attention to us and made him angrier than ever. He abandoned his pursuit of the two Folk and sprang up the bluff toward the rest of us, clawing at the crumbling21 rock and snarling as he clawed his upward way. At this awful sight, the last one of us sought refuge inside our caves. I know this, because I peeped out and saw the whole bluff-side deserted22, save for Saber-Tooth, who had lost his footing and was sliding and falling down.
I called out the cry of encouragement, and again the bluff was covered by the screaming horde23 and the stones were falling faster than ever. Saber-Tooth was frantic24 with rage. Time and again he assaulted the bluff. Once he even gained the first crevice-entrances before he fell back, but was unable to force his way inside. With each upward rush he made, waves of fear surged over us. At first, at such times, most of us dashed inside; but some remained outside to hammer him with stones, and soon all of us remained outside and kept up the fusillade.
Never was so masterly a creature so completely baffled. It hurt his pride terribly, thus to be outwitted by the small and tender Folk. He stood on the ground and looked up at us, snarling, lashing25 his tail, snapping at the stones that fell near to him. Once I whizzed down a stone, and just at the right moment he looked up. It caught him full on the end of his nose, and he went straight up in the air, all four feet of him, roaring and caterwauling, what of the hurt and surprise.
He was beaten and he knew it. Recovering his dignity, he stalked out solemnly from under the rain of stones. He stopped in the middle of the open space and looked wistfully and hungrily back at us. He hated to forego the meal, and we were just so much meat, cornered but inaccessible26. This sight of him started us to laughing. We laughed derisively27 and uproariously, all of us. Now animals do not like mockery. To be laughed at makes them angry. And in such fashion our laughter affected29 Saber-Tooth. He turned with a roar and charged the bluff again. This was what we wanted. The fight had become a game, and we took huge delight in pelting30 him.
But this attack did not last long. He quickly recovered his common sense, and besides, our missiles were shrewd to hurt. Vividly31 do I recollect32 the vision of one bulging33 eye of his, swollen34 almost shut by one of the stones we had thrown. And vividly do I retain the picture of him as he stood on the edge of the forest whither he had finally retreated. He was looking back at us, his writhing35 lips lifted clear of the very roots of his huge fangs36, his hair bristling and his tail lashing. He gave one last snarl8 and slid from view among the trees.
And then such a chattering as went up. We swarmed37 out of our holes, examining the marks his claws had made on the crumbling rock of the bluff, all of us talking at once. One of the two Folk who had been caught in the double cave was part-grown, half child and half youth. They had come out proudly from their refuge, and we surrounded them in an admiring crowd. Then the young fellow’s mother broke through and fell upon him in a tremendous rage, boxing his ears, pulling his hair, and shrieking like a demon11. She was a strapping38 big woman, very hairy, and the thrashing she gave him was a delight to the horde. We roared with laughter, holding on to one another or rolling on the ground in our glee.
In spite of the reign39 of fear under which we lived, the Folk were always great laughers. We had the sense of humor. Our merriment was Gargantuan40. It was never restrained. There was nothing half way about it. When a thing was funny we were convulsed with appreciation41 of it, and the simplest, crudest things were funny to us. Oh, we were great laughers, I can tell you.
The way we had treated Saber-Tooth was the way we treated all animals that invaded the village. We kept our run-ways and drinking-places to ourselves by making life miserable42 for the animals that trespassed43 or strayed upon our immediate44 territory. Even the fiercest hunting animals we so bedevilled that they learned to leave our places alone. We were not fighters like them; we were cunning and cowardly, and it was because of our cunning and cowardice45, and our inordinate46 capacity for fear, that we survived in that frightfully hostile environment of the Younger World.
Lop-Ear, I figure, was a year older than I. What his past history was he had no way of telling me, but as I never saw anything of his mother I believed him to be an orphan47. After all, fathers did not count in our horde. Marriage was as yet in a rude state, and couples had a way of quarrelling and separating. Modern man, what of his divorce institution, does the same thing legally. But we had no laws. Custom was all we went by, and our custom in this particular matter was rather promiscuous48.
Nevertheless, as this narrative49 will show later on, we betrayed glimmering50 adumbrations of the monogamy that was later to give power to, and make mighty51, such tribes as embraced it. Furthermore, even at the time I was born, there were several faithful couples that lived in the trees in the neighborhood of my mother. Living in the thick of the horde did not conduce to monogamy. It was for this reason, undoubtedly52, that the faithful couples went away and lived by themselves. Through many years these couples stayed together, though when the man or woman died or was eaten the survivor53 invariably found a new mate.
There was one thing that greatly puzzled me during the first days of my residence in the horde. There was a nameless and incommunicable fear that rested upon all. At first it appeared to be connected wholly with direction. The horde feared the northeast. It lived in perpetual apprehension54 of that quarter of the compass. And every individual gazed more frequently and with greater alarm in that direction than in any other.
When Lop-Ear and I went toward the north-east to eat the stringy-rooted carrots that at that season were at their best, he became unusually timid. He was content to eat the leavings, the big tough carrots and the little ropy ones, rather than to venture a short distance farther on to where the carrots were as yet untouched. When I so ventured, he scolded me and quarrelled with me. He gave me to understand that in that direction was some horrible danger, but just what the horrible danger was his paucity55 of language would not permit him to say.
Many a good meal I got in this fashion, while he scolded and chattered56 vainly at me. I could not understand. I kept very alert, but I could see no danger. I calculated always the distance between myself and the nearest tree, and knew that to that haven57 of refuge I could out-foot the Tawny58 One, or old Saber-Tooth, did one or the other suddenly appear.
One late afternoon, in the village, a great uproar28 arose. The horde was animated59 with a single emotion, that of fear. The bluff-side swarmed with the Folk, all gazing and pointing into the northeast. I did not know what it was, but I scrambled60 all the way up to the safety of my own high little cave before ever I turned around to see.
And then, across the river, away into the northeast, I saw for the first time the mystery of smoke. It was the biggest animal I had ever seen. I thought it was a monster snake, up-ended, rearing its head high above the trees and swaying back and forth. And yet, somehow, I seemed to gather from the conduct of the Folk that the smoke itself was not the danger. They appeared to fear it as the token of something else. What this something else was I was unable to guess. Nor could they tell me. Yet I was soon to know, and I was to know it as a thing more terrible than the Tawny One, than old Saber-Tooth, than the snakes themselves, than which it seemed there could be no things more terrible.
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1
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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preying
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| v.掠食( prey的现在分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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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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pandemonium
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| n.喧嚣，大混乱 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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ledges
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| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
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13
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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14
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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20
pelted
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| （连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮 | |
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21
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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25
lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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26
inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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derisively
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| adv. 嘲笑地，嘲弄地 | |
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28
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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29
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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30
pelting
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| 微不足道的，无价值的，盛怒的 | |
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31
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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32
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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33
bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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34
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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35
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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36
fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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37
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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38
strapping
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| adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式 | |
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39
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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40
gargantuan
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| adj.巨大的，庞大的 | |
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41
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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42
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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43
trespassed
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| （trespass的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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44
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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45
cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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46
inordinate
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| adj.无节制的；过度的 | |
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47
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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48
promiscuous
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| adj.杂乱的，随便的 | |
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49
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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50
glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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51
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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52
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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53
survivor
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| n.生存者，残存者，幸存者 | |
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54
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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55
paucity
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| n.小量，缺乏 | |
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56
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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57
haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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58
tawny
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| adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色 | |
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59
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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60
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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