CHAPTER V A Long Search and What Came of It

Many days went by and still Stitcher did not come back to the Valley of Caves. One Eye took his bow and arrows and went here and there among the hills, but nothing could he find of either Stitcher or little Antelope¹. He was very sad, for he remembered how pretty little Antelope used to run out to meet him when he came home after a hunt, and what fine shirts of reindeer² and wolf-skins Stitcher made for him. One day he came back to the caves after being gone a long time. He threw himself wearily down and said very sadly:

 

“They are dead. I will search no more.”

 

But Bolo did not believe his mother was dead.

 

“I am going to try to find them,” he said. “Make me a strong bow and a quiver full of fine arrows, for I may be gone a long time.”

 

One Eye shook his head mournfully.

 

“You will only die, too,” he said.

 

But Bolo brought some flint stones and set to making his arrows. Then One Eye sat down to show him how to make them more keen and beautiful than any he had ever made. He took a curved piece of bone and chipped off the large flakes⁴. Then he pressed off smaller flakes one by one, working very carefully, until he had made a fine, keen point. Bolo watched his father and worked[24] in the same way, and soon they had a nice lot of arrows. Bolo made a new head for his spear, too, and bound it on with a fresh cord of reindeer sinew.

 

At last all was ready. One Eye brought a great, hollow bone that he had taken from the leg of a mammoth⁵ years before and fastened a wooden base to it. He drilled holes in the upper edge and strung thongs⁶ through them so that Bolo could carry it over his shoulder. Then he put the arrows into the hollow of the bone. It made a good quiver.

 

Bolo carried his bow over one shoulder and his quiver full of arrows over the other. He carried his spear in his hand, and at his side he hung a heavy hammer made of stone. One Eye wanted him to leave the hammer and take a great club that he had made from the jawbone of a cave bear, to which one long, sharp tooth was still attached. But Bolo was afraid of this club. He was afraid it would make the cave bears angry with him. So he did not take it. Fisher wanted to go with Bolo, but Flame said “No.” She had grown very feeble and she was afraid she might die. If both boys went away and never came back there would be no one to talk to the Fire-god. So Fisher stayed to help Flame tend the Great Fire.

 

For three days Bolo wandered about over the hills. At night he tied himself to the branch of a tree, safely out of the reach of harm, and slept soundly. He shot a rabbit now and then for food, and sometimes caught a fish. One day he found himself suddenly surrounded by a pack of snarling⁷, hungry hyenas⁸, but a few well-aimed arrows[25] sent them scurrying⁹ off into the hills. How glad Bolo was that they were not wolves!

 

One day Bolo climbed a tall tree that stood alone on a hill. He hoped he might be able to find some trace of those he sought. He looked slowly about in every direction. On one side the hills lay like great, rounded billows, many of them covered with trees. On the other side wound the river, in some places between sloping shores, in others between steep banks. Off toward the north it disappeared behind a jutting¹⁰ cliff. It was a long way from Bolo’s tree, but he thought he could see something moving along the river bank. He looked again eagerly. Perhaps that might be his mother and little Antelope.

 

He climbed down the tree and ran across to another hilltop closer to the river. Here he climbed another tree, and from that he saw something so strange that he held his breath in terrified surprise.

 

Great, lumbering¹¹ creatures were moving about along the edge of the river. They had heavy, swinging snouts, and from their enormous heads rose in great curves immense, yellowish things that looked like queer horns. Bolo had never seen any animals like these before. He watched them with fascinated eyes, wondering what they could be. Sometimes one of them would reach up into a tree with its great snout and pull a branch down. Two of them appeared to be quarreling, and one thrust its shaggy head and wicked looking tusks¹² against the side of the other and made him stagger. Another waded¹³ out into the river and appeared to be drinking. In a minute[26] he threw his trunk over his back and out spouted¹⁴ a stream of muddy water. There were fully³ twice as many of these animals as there were fingers on both of his hands.

 

At last Bolo thought again of his mother and little Antelope. How he hoped they had not been trampled¹⁵ to death by these dreadful beasts. He had almost given up finding them now, for he was sure that even if they had not been drowned or killed by wild beasts they must have starved. So, sad at heart, he started on the long journey back to the Valley of Caves.

 

Weary and heartsick, he came in sight of the caves. But who was that running up the slope to meet him? Surely it could not be—yes, it was! It was dear little Antelope, holding up her baby hands and shouting his name. Down the hill he ran, forgetting his aching limbs and heavy heart, and how both laughed and shouted for joy as he caught his lost sister up and put her on his shoulder. Together thus, they came to the cave where Stitcher sat, her brown hands for once idle as she leaned wearily against the side of a great rock. She looked very worn and thin, but smiled gladly when Bolo came up and put his arm about her shoulders.

 

“We looked everywhere,” he said. “Where have you been all this time? And how did you live?”

 

“I will tell you another time,” said Stitcher. “I do not like to talk about it now.”

 

How excited Bolo was as he told One Eye and the other cave men about the strange herd¹⁶ he had seen in the distant valley. The whole Clan¹⁷ was at once in a turmoil¹⁸. One Eye gave it as his opinion that the great animals[27] were mammoths, which rarely came into that region, and were very valuable for their meat, their skins, and the ivory in the long tusks. One mammoth would make meat for all the Clan for many days, and they were all eager to start at once on a great hunt for them.

 

“We must take spears and harpoons,” said one.

 

“No, we must take bows and arrows,” said another.

 

“We will go up the river and attack them from the water,” said a third.

 

“No,” objected a fourth, “that would frighten them back into the hills and we could not get them.”

 

In short, each man in the Clan seemed to think he knew just what to do, and would not listen to anyone else. For a while it looked as if the great hunt would have to be given up.

 

“Why not choose someone who is brave and wise to lead you, and then all do as he tells you to?” suggested Bek, the oldest man in the Clan.

 

No one had thought of that.

 

“That is right,” said Flame, who had come up to listen.

 

“But how shall we know who is the wisest?” called several voices at once.

 

“Who has done the most for the Clan?” asked old Bek.

 

“One Eye saved our weapons when the flood came.”

 

“He taught us to make arrows.”

 

“He is not afraid.”

 

“Then let One Eye be the leader,” cried Flame, and to this they all agreed.

 

Such a time as there was then! The cave men ran here and there gathering¹⁹ up spears and arrows and clubs[28] and making themselves ready. The women bound new points on the spears with heavy sinews, and Bolo helped his father prepare a number of torches from wood soaked in fat. Flame brought some other torches made from knotty²⁰ pine limbs. They all knew they would need fire with which to fight the mammoths.

1 antelope   

n.羚羊；羚羊皮

参考例句：

• Choosing the antelope shows that China wants a Green Olympics.选择藏羚羊表示中国需要绿色奥运。
• The tiger was dragging the antelope across the field.老虎拖着羚羊穿过原野。

2 reindeer   

n.驯鹿

参考例句：

• The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。
• The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

5 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

6 thongs   

的东西

参考例句：

• Things ain't what they used to be. 现在情况不比从前了。
• Things have been going badly . 事情进展得不顺利。

7 snarling   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

8 hyenas   

n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These animals were the prey of hyenas. 这些动物是鬣狗的猎物。 来自辞典例句
• We detest with horror the duplicity and villainy of the murderous hyenas of Bukharinite wreckers. 我们非常憎恨布哈林那帮两面三刀、杀人破坏，干尽坏事的豺狼。 来自辞典例句

9 scurrying   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句

10 jutting   

v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出

参考例句：

• The climbers rested on a sheltered ledge jutting out from the cliff. 登山者在悬崖的岩棚上休息。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldier saw a gun jutting out of some bushes. 那士兵看见丛林中有一枝枪伸出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 lumbering   

n.采伐林木

参考例句：

• Lumbering and, later, paper-making were carried out in smaller cities. 木材业和后来的造纸都由较小的城市经营。
• Lumbering is very important in some underdeveloped countries. 在一些不发达的国家，伐木业十分重要。

12 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

13 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

14 spouted   

adj.装有嘴的v.（指液体）喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• The broken pipe spouted water all over the room. 破裂的水管喷了一屋子的水。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The lecturer spouted for hours. 讲师滔滔不绝地讲了几个小时。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

16 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

17 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

18 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

19 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

20 knotty   

adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的

参考例句：

• Under his leadership,many knotty problems were smoothly solved.在他的领导下，许多伤脑筋的问题都迎刃而解。
• She met with a lot of knotty problems.她碰上了许多棘手的问题。