“Ugh! What Are You Doing There?”
“Ugh! What Are You Doing There?”
“Ugh-h! What are you doing there?” he demanded in a deep guttural voice. The rock was poised threateningly over the Mammoth’s head.
Hairi was too startled by the suddenness of it all to speak or move. Wulli’s eyes sparkled. He was taking note of the Cave Man’s resolute bearing and the huge rock held aloft with such seeming ease. He was amazed that the Cave Man was prepared to defend himself and at the great physical strength which could lift a stone of such size and weight. No fear that it might at any moment come tumbling down upon his own head disturbed Wulli’s trend of thought.
The stranger had spoken words that neither of his hearers could grasp, the man-language which in their ears was a confused jabber of meaningless sounds. But his look and actions were enough. He had not flinched from even such a formidable pair as the Mammoth and Woolly Rhinoceros; and then as though realizing that he had none but brutes to deal with, he burst forth into the Mother Nature tongue:
“By the Lion’s tooth! What are you doing there?”
Hairi shrank back amazed. He now heard and saw familiar sounds and gestures—the beast-talk which all creatures could understand. Never had he thought Trog-men capable of talking sense—thesestrange beings who huddled together in caves and made no friends among the beasts about them.
“The Cave Lion—where is he?” was all the Mammoth could say.
“Gone. What do you want of him?”
“We came to fight,” replied the Elephant who by this time was fast recovering from his first astonishment. “He lives in that cave; so we have been told.”
The other lowered his arms and tossed the rock to one side. “Then you did not come here to fight me?” he demanded.
“As you please,” snorted the Rhinoceros. “But we must attend to Grun Waugh first. Then you may have your turn.”
The Cave Man smiled. Beasts never more than snarled and showed their teeth; and in their hideous mouthings was none of the joy and sunshine which now softened that friendly face. The smile was a revelation. Both the Mammoth and Rhinoceros unconsciously felt its warmth. Unkind thoughts were for the moment cast aside. After much effort, they dragged their great bodies up the steep face of the terrace. Seeing that the two beasts were peaceably inclined, the Cave Man stepped back and permitted them a foothold upon the rock-platform. As they scrambled up and found room for themselves, he stood fearlessly beneath the mighty Mammoth’strunk and curling tusks; unabashed within thrusting range of the Rhino’s horn. With a confidence born only of the moment, he unhesitatingly placed himself at the mercy of his visitors, a situation which they were quick to see and appreciate.
“Oo-wee! No teeth nor claws and yet you do not fear us,” Wulli could not help saying. “But all is well; we wish you no harm.”
“Who are you?” Hairi asked.
“Pic.”
The Mammoth frowned. “None but leaders and fighters have names,” he said sternly. “You are but one of the poor Trog-folk as we can plainly see. We are Hairi the Mammoth and Wulli the Rhinoceros——”
“And I am Pic,”—said the other boldly. He hesitated a moment, then added—“the Ape Boy.”
“Ape Boy?” Wulli asked. “What is that?”
“A boy is a young man. As for the ape part I do not know, nor am I so sure I would like it if I did know. The Cave Lion, even men call me that.”
“Owk, the Cave Lion,” said the Mammoth, suddenly remembering what he was there for. “Where is he? How did you come here?”
“I live here,” was the answer. “I have lived in this valley ever since I can remember. Do you see that cave?”—the Ape Boy pointed to the darkopening in the rock-wall,—“It is mine. I sleep there.”
“Then we have come to the wrong place.”
“Yes and no. The Cave Lion lived there too but that was when I was away. When the cold weather came, I had to find shelter, so I drove him out.”
Hairi and Wulli pricked up their ears at this. Of all animals, Grun Waugh was a tough customer, as they well knew. As experts they took no small pride in their ability to tame him. But lo and behold! here was a puny Trog Boy who spoke of ousting him from his den as though that were a simple matter indeed.
“Drove him out, did you?” the Rhinoceros snorted. “Oo-wee! How did the Cave Lion like that?”
“He was angry,” replied the Ape Boy with a bland smile; “Arrah, so angry! He absolutely refused to be driven away at first; but I was determined that he must go. The air became so cold, I had to find shelter. You would not expect me to stay there with him in it, would you?” he demanded.
By this time Wulli’s professional pride was deeply wounded.
“We came to rid that den of its owner, Grun Waugh,” he said. “But now that he is gone, you who can manage the brute so easily may serve ourpurpose even better.” In spite of his endeavor to appear calm, Wulli’s voice jerked perceptibly.
The Ape Boy set his jaws tightly together and glared at the Rhinoceros.
“Take care,” he growled. “You see that I wear the skin of a hyena—my own killing. I have disposed of the Cave Lion for all of his sharp teeth and claws. You two—horns, tusks and everything—can be dealt with in the same way.”
Wulli promptly accepted this threat as a challenge. He trotted to the cave mouth and backed into the dark opening until only head and horn protruded. The Mammoth lumbered after and strove to imitate him. When about half-way in, he came to a sudden stop. His shoulder-hump had bumped against the roof and he could proceed no farther.
“Owk, owk; this hole is too small,” he bellowed. “What shall I do?”
“Be quiet,” sounded Wulli’s muffled voice behind him. “You are a cave-lion; so am I. Now let us see if he can drive us out.”
After waiting until the pair were firmly intrenched, the Ape Boy left them to their own devices for the moment while he darted about the rock-platform, picking up such dry leaves, sticks and brush as lay there fallen from above. These he piled in front of the two animals, now playingthe parts of a pair of fierce cave-lions about to be driven forth into the cold world by the third and star performer—himself. The Mammoth and Wulli—peering between his partner’s forelegs—looked on, curious rather than fierce. They saw the Ape Boy glide away and disappear in a cleft behind a projection in the back wall. They were preparing to claim a well-earned victory when the youth suddenly reappeared with a smoking firebrand in one hand. As the odor of burning wood reached their nostrils, Hairi and Wulli coughed and stamped their feet uneasily. They saw the Ape Boy kneel down and thrust the brand into the mass of twigs and leaves. Then came a strange crackling sound followed by a sight fearful to behold.
From the pile arose red writhing tongues which leaped and lashed with burning breath. White cloud-puffs scattered by the breeze, curled about in all directions and filled the eyes and nostrils of the now terrified animals. Retreat was impossible; advance hopeless. Solid rock behind; red tongues and white clouds in front. Amid a chorus of frantic squeals and trumpetings, a voice rang out loud and clear from behind the red tongues and white curling clouds:
“Ya-ya, hi-yi! Come out of my cave or stay in and choke.”
But by this time, the two animals were in a panicof fear and took no heed. Nothing, not even the nearness of death, could have induced them to dash through the scorching heat and suffocating smoke. The Ape Boy saw their terror and decided that he had done enough. His heart softened. With one well-directed kick, he sent the burning embers flying across the ledge in all directions.
Out dashed the two would-be cave-lions in mad haste and raced along the platform until the grotto was hidden from their view by a projecting portion of the back-wall. Here they paused to gather breath and calm their nerves. Their eyes and noses still smarted from the irritating smoke.
“Kerchoo! I have had enough of that Ape Boy and his little red and white animal,” said the Mammoth.
“And I; oo-oo, my nose!” the Rhinoceros wailed. “Let us climb down again.”
So the two friends labored sideways down the steep terrace incline and were preparing to retreat along the main slope when a rustling sounded upon the rock-platform. There stood the Ape Boy watching them. His knees were bent forwards. His arms dangled with the palms of his hands turned backwards.
“Wait. Don’t go. Do come back.” He spoke so earnestly that the two animals paused. They saw him squat on the very edge of the terrace, perchedlike a bird with feet tightly gripping the shelving ledge. Each big toe was separate from its mates like a thumb. This peculiar arrangement enabled him to grasp the edge of the rock and hold himself securely anchored. No trace of red tongues or white clouds were to be seen about him. Hairi and Wulli made certain of this. They sniffed and sniffed but detected no alarming signs.
“What has become of the red animal with the bad, hot breath?” the Mammoth inquired.
At first the Ape Boy failed to understand, then his face expanded in an amused smile: “You mean fire and smoke. It is asleep now and I will not awaken it again if such is your wish.”
“It is,” declared Wulli emphatically. “I will not face it again.”
“I know,” the Ape Boy laughed. “All animals are afraid of fire. That is why I use it to fight them. The Cave Lion fears it too. Without it, I could never have driven him away. He could crush me with one blow of his big paw; but heat and smoke are too much for him.”
At this account of Grun Waugh’s discomfiture, the two animals were much interested.
“Tell us about him,” Wulli asked.
“And of yourself,” the Mammoth added. “Why do you live here alone?”
“Alone? Yes; why?” The youth’s face soberedin an instant. “Because I have no friends; that is why. You would not understand. None but men know what it means to live forever alone.”
The great Mammoth trembled. His ears fluttered like fans. Yes, he knew. Solitude was his own greatest dread. No lone beast or man need call vainly upon his sociable nature. The Ape Boy’s words and manner now impressed him more profoundly than even his first glimpse of the friendly, grinning face.
He wheeled and scrambled up to the rock-platform. “Come, Wulli,” he said. “The little red beast sleeps. We must remember our manners and show some courtesy to one who bears himself so boldly before the Rhinoceros, the Mammoth and Grun Waugh.”
When on the rock-platform once more, Hairi and Wulli proceeded to make themselves at home. They settled down comfortably upon the rear cushions provided them by Nature and the Ape Boy squatted before them. The Mammoth’s attention was now attracted by the sight of those things which had first impressed him.
“Why do you beat those rocks together?” he inquired, pointing his trunk at the chips and flakes about him.
“The round stone is a hammer,” the Ape Boy replied. “The ragged ones are flints. I make them into weapons and tools. I leave one surface smooth and chip the other to form the cutting edges.”
“Why use flint, as you call it?” Hairi asked. “And why leave one side smooth? Oomp! Why do you bother with them at all?”
“Why Do You Beat Those Rocks Together?” The Mammoth Inquired
“Why Do You Beat Those Rocks Together?” The Mammoth Inquired
“Flint is hard and tough,” was the answer. “Of all stone it is the best for my work. I leave one surface smooth because I know of no other way to make straight, sharp edges. These are turtle-backs;flat and smooth on one surface, chipped round on the other. What do you think of them?”
The great Mammoth gazed helplessly at the flakes and broken chips scattered thickly over the ledge. The Ape Boy’s explanation added but little to his store of knowledge. All rocks seemed to him cold and lifeless objects; sharp and unpleasant to the touch.
“But why beat them together?” he asked much puzzled. “Do you eat them?”
“Eat flints? What an odd question,” the Ape Boy chuckled. “Whoever heard of any man or animal doing anything like that? They are tools and weapons just as I told you. This one,”—he stooped and picked up a large almond-shaped flake—“is an ax-head. That”—pointing to another of no definite form—“is a scraper. Here is another kind”—he selected a broad blade and held it up to the Mammoth; “the finest I have. Do you know what it is?”
Hairi shook his head vigorously. He was growing weary of rocks. Now he knew all that was to be learned of them,—and they were but commonplace things as he could see. His first curiosity was doomed to further disappointment. The Ape Boy pounded flints but did not eat them as the Mammoth half hoped he might. Tools and weaponswere beyond his power of understanding. He lost interest.
“Perhaps the little fat one knows,” the Ape Boy continued. “Do you?” and he held the flint in front of Wulli’s nose.
A spasm of rage seized the Rhinoceros on hearing himself addressed in such a disrespectful manner. “Oo-wee! No,” he squealed angrily.
“Never fear,” laughed his tormentor; “this cannot harm you. It is only a knife;” and he made a pretense of cutting the tip of Wulli’s horn.
The Rhinoceros could only glare at him who dared take such liberties. Never had he been so teased.
“We have had our fill of rocks,” he said coldly. “Where did you leave the little red animal. You say it is asleep.”
“Yes. Only when I blow in its face to feed it, will it awaken.”
“What does it eat?” Hairi asked.
“Sticks and leaves; the drier the better. Green ones make it sick.”
“How odd,” the Mammoth remarked. “A grass-eater and yet green things make it sick. Where does it sleep?”
“In the cleft—the Cave Lion’s path. He is afraid of it and will not return while it is there.”
“Then he stays away most of the time?” said the Mammoth.
“He comes here much more than I like,” the Ape Boy replied. “I often leave for food and water—and flints too. I leave my fire burning but sometimes it goes out. Then, like as not, I find the Cave Lion all settled here when I return. If so, I smoke him out again. He goes away growling and waits around for another chance.”
“To step in when you step out,” chuckled the Mammoth who was beginning to understand this novel see-saw arrangement.
“Exactly. You see there are not enough caves for everybody,—that is, men and animals. When a cave-man leaves his home, even for a short time, he is liable to find some animal occupying it when he returns. We have fierce battles sometimes. I cannot fight the Lion with a flint-ax. He is too big and strong; so I use fire.”
“Are you a cave-animal?” the Mammoth asked.
“Not a really true one. I live in a cave half of the time and am half animal so that makes me only half a cave-animal.”
“What is the other half?” inquired Wulli suddenly becoming interested.
“Man, I guess;” the Ape Boy looked thoughtfully at the ground and began twisting a stick with his toes.
“What is a man? Why is he not an animal?” the Mammoth demanded.
“I scarcely know, myself; but man is different. He walks on his hind legs, hunts, lives in a cave and——”
“The Bear does all that,” Wulli interrupted. “What else?”
“He uses fire—those red tongues and white clouds.”
“Polecats make bad smells. There must be something else.”
“He makes flint tools.”
The Rhinoceros had no reply ready for this statement, whereupon Hairi hastened to answer:
“Animals never crack rocks and they are proud of it. I am glad that I am not a man. They hide in caves and are ashamed to show themselves.”
“Flint-making is work to be proud of,” the Ape Boy retorted. “Were it not for that, men would be nothing but beasts.”
Haiti and Wulli both frowned. This last remark seemed to reflect upon themselves.
“So you think yourself better than us because you can crack rocks?” the Elephant sneered.
“Certainly,” was the prompt answer. “Men can rule the world if they will; but only with the flint can they do it. When once they learn to make proper weapons none can withstand them. Theyhave not yet learned; but the time will come;” and the Ape Boy gazed at the blue sky like one inspired.
“Umph! Fine big words,” the Rhinoceros sniffed. “But these same men scatter and run like rabbits whenever we meet. I have no quarrel with them but they are not friends of mine.”
“Nor mine;” the Ape Boy scowled and said this with such emphasis that his visitors stared.
“You say first one thing and then another,” Hairi grumbled. “What do you mean? Are not the Trog-men your friends?”
The question aroused the Ape Boy as if by magic. His deep-set eyes blazed like two coals of fire. His lips parted in a snarling grin, fiercer than that of a mad wolf. Every muscle in his body swelled and quivered.
“I hate them,” was all he said; but every word reeked with loathing and contempt.
“Why?”
“They cast me out,” the youth fairly howled. “It is not enough that I make weapons for hunters and warriors. They would have me be a hunter and warrior too. Men hated me because I would neither hunt nor fight.”
“Can you not fight?” demanded the Rhinoceros scornfully. “Even a squirrel——”
“I can,” the Ape Boy cut him short.
“But I heard you say otherwise,” Wulli snorted.
“I can if I will,” the other corrected. “That is different.”
“Are you afraid to fight?”
“I have held my own against Grun Waugh these many days,” the Ape Boy replied simply. “Have I shown fear of the Mammoth and Rhinoceros?”
“No;” Wulli gave an emphatic grunt. “You have not; but I fail to understand,” and he looked thoughtfully at the ground as though at a loss what to say next.
“When I was young,” the youth continued; “none frowned upon my doing the work I like best—making flint tools and weapons. I could make them well—better than any grown man or woman—although I have always striven to do better. I did little else, but finally the time came when my people thought me big and strong enough to play a man’s part. They gave me an ax and dart and sent me forth with our best fighters.”
“That was right,” Wulli observed with an emphatic shake of his head.
“But I refused to fight.”
“Oo!” The Rhinoceros was greatly distressed.
“And I would not hunt.”
“Hunt what?”
“Animals; the Stag, Horse and other grass-eaters.”
“Um,” Wulli blinked stupidly. “But you refused to fight?”
“Yes, I refused.”
“What did your people say about that?” Hairi asked.
“They were very angry,” the Ape Boy replied. “Had not my father interfered, I would have been killed. But no longer would they permit me to live among them, so I was cast out to live alone, a renegade, enemy of men. Since I would not do just as they wished me to, they said that I was not one of them. I came here, to the only other home I had ever known; and here I have lived until you came, alone and without companions, man or beast.”
“Terrible,” Hairi sniffed, deeply touched by the last sentence of this narrative. “I nearly died of loneliness one cold season when the Tundr-folk went away and left me by myself. I have one good friend; no better can be found. Why not a second—yourself? The Mammoth, Rhinoceros and Ape Boy—we three could rule the world if we willed. Come; join us.”
“But I am a man,” replied the surprised youth. “Men would frown upon me as a beast and traitor.”
“Have they not already done so?”
The Ape Boy’s lips curled in a hideous snarl:“I hate them.” His distorted face expressed only contempt and loathing.
“And you will join us?”
“But you object to my flint-making,” protested the youth; and yet as a recluse and foe of men, he inwardly viewed the other’s suggestion with no little favor. “I cannot give it up. I would rather make flints and abide alone than put them aside for the Mammoth and Rhinoceros.”
“We do not object to your flint-making,” Hairi replied. “We merely cannot see why you choose to do it. Will you join us?”
The Ape Boy looked from one to another of the pair and hesitated. They were huge, superb creatures; his heart warmed.
“Why not?” a voice within him asked. “What friends more wonderful than the Mammoth and Rhinoceros, could a lone man wish? Forget those who drove you into the world an outcast and throw in your lot with this mighty pair.”
He hesitated. “But the Rhinoceros; are his wishes the same as yours? He has not yet spoken.”
“He and I think as one,” Hairi answered quickly. “Is it not so, Wulli?”
But the Rhinoceros failed to respond. Wearied by the conversation, he had fallen asleep with head hung low upon his ample chest.
The Ape Boy peered into his face and grinned:“Doesn’t he look odd that way; so big, fat and peaceful? We might do something; just to tease him; run away and hide. We can go down into the valley and be back in time to find him wondering what has become of us. He will be surprised when he awakens.”
“He may be vexed as well,” the Mammoth replied gravely. “Wulli is odd about some things; a bit too serious-minded. He might take offense.”
“Then we must make him change his ways. We will be gone but a short time. He can easily find us if he tries.”
Hairi yielded reluctantly, for a prank at his friend’s expense filled him with misgiving. The Ape Boy tip-toed to the edge of the terrace, then suddenly turned and came back.
“He might think we have fallen from the Rock, when he awakens. This will teach him better.”
So saying, he picked up a chunk of rotten wood—short and hollow through the center. This he jammed over the tip of Wulli’s horn firmly and yet so quietly that the sleeper merely groaned but did not open his eyes. He then hurried away with the Mammoth and both descended into the valley. They talked and tramped about, looking at this and that but taking no heed of passing time and the twilight fast gathering about them. Finally the Ape Boy turned and looked up at Moustiernow dim and hazy above him in the dusk.
“It is growing late,” he said anxiously; “too late for us to find our way up in the dark. What shall we do?”
“I fear that we must stay where we are,” the Mammoth replied. “I know that I could never climb up there in the dark.”
“What if the Cave Lion returns?”
“Wulli can manage him alone, although I would not wish to have it so; but how are we to mend matters?”
Nothing more could be done so the pair proceeded to make themselves comfortable for the night. The Ape Boy snuggled up against the Mammoth’s warm coat and was soon asleep, which latter example his companion was not slow to follow.
All this time the Rhinoceros remained asleep upon the Rock of Moustier, unconscious of his own solitude. Oncoming night cast its first twilight shadows over the valley and highlands. The bats came forth from their hiding-places and fluttered about the cliffs and ledges on nimble wings. Not until the chirping of crickets and distant cries of night-roving animals heralded the fast-gathering dusk did he awaken, yawn and look about to find himself alone.
It took him but a moment to see how very muchalone he was. As he gazed wildly about him, he saw that the Mammoth and Ape Boy were gone. He ran to one side of the terrace and looked down into the dark depths; not a sign. A quick dash to the other side produced no better results. The Mammoth had disappeared. Gloomy thoughts tormented the Rhinoceros; he became frantic.
“Oo-oo-oo! he has fallen from the rock or something terrible has happened. Hairi would not have left me alone unless——” He stopped, for at that moment he caught sight of the chunk of rotten wood firmly wedged on the tip of his horn. He gasped, sniffed and his brows contracted with terrible rage. For the second time, his glossy weapon had been the sport of others; once by the Ape Boy, now by——
“This is the Mammoth’s work,” he squealed, working himself into a frenzy. “He shall pay dearly when I meet him again.”
He strove to shake loose the offending object but it stuck tight in spite of all he could do. Wulli’s rage passed all bounds. It was too late for a descent or search for his missing companions. In a storm of fury at his own helplessness, he again stepped to the edge of the terrace and peered into the black depths. A single misstep might mean a fall and a broken neck. He shivered at the thought. The clammy night mists came floating about hisears. They enveloped the terrace in a hazy fog. He was cold, lonesome and beside himself with rage. A dark shapeless blotch on the rock-wall suddenly attracted his attention,—the grotto whose dark entrance offered him its shelter. With bitterness in his heart, Wulli backed away from the ledge into the gloomy hole. Here he stood stamping his feet until mind and body yielded beneath the strain and once more he fell into a sound sleep.
The first rays of the morning sun penetrated the grotto and awoke the sleeping Rhinoceros. For a moment he gazed about him, wondering where he could be. Voices sounded outside—whispers. Slowly his senses returned, and with them remembrances of the previous night’s unpleasant experience. Aha! so the Mammoth and Ape Boy had returned. Now for his part. With deadly calmness, he stepped to the mouth of the grotto.
A most unexpected sight met his gaze. The Mammoth and Ape Boy had not returned at all. In their stead, a fierce group sprawled upon the rock platform. Their backs were turned toward him; but Wulli knew them at once as the beasts of prey, the flesh-eaters of the caves. Stretched at full length, lay Grun Waugh the Cave Lion with a Lioness seated by his side. A little apart squatted the Hyena and Cave Wolf.
“A wonderful place,” the Lioness was saying. “None but an eagle would presume to choose a home so high above the valley.”
“None but me you mean, my dear,” Grun Waugh gently but firmly corrected.
“Yes, none but you, of course,” the Lioness replied. “Is the cave unoccupied?”
“Hagh-gh-h!” Grun Waugh turned his head away and licked his singed whiskers. “That miserable Ape Boy I told you of, has taken to coming here. Between the two of us—you and I—we should now be able to keep him and his little hot beast away.”
“We might choose another home,” said the Lioness; “one that requires less climbing. There is Sha Pell—a charming cave and empty too or at least it was when I last passed that way.”
“Full now,” the Wolf humbly ventured to remark. “A man has just moved in—a man blind in one eye. He looked sick to me.”
“A sick man you say—and blind?” the Hyena asked. “That interests me. There was a blind man, leader of the Ape Men whom I have often seen while waiting around their camp for scraps of meat and other good things. I remember him well. He was old. He had grey hair. I had hoped soon to know him better. And so he is sick. If my lord will excuse me, I will now take my humble leave and pay my respects to this man who lives alone in Sha Pell and who is old, sick and blind in one eye.”
He was slinking away when Grun Waugh stopped him.
“Hold!” he growled. “I will go with you. Man’s flesh would be a welcome change. There will be enough left for you when the carcass grows cold. Stay here, my dear,” he said to the Lioness. “You and the Wolf can have the Ape Boy for your portion—when he returns.”
The Hyena who had been listening to his master’s bidding with a thwarted hang-dog air suddenly raised his head and began sniffing vigorously in all directions. Finally his twitching nose pointed towards the grotto and held still. His ears stood erect. He burst into an uproarious mirthless laugh:
“Hee-hee, ha-ha, wah-ho!” The other three animals looked around to seek the cause of his hilarity and were amazed to see the head of a rhinoceros protruding from the mouth of the grotto.
A scene of wild confusion followed. Grun Waugh sprang snarling to his feet while the Lioness made ready to dash in when he gave the signal.
The Rhinoceros saw in a moment that he was the surprise of the party; that his presence was neither welcome nor expected. He settled back again into his refuge, with horn lowered, legs squared and fully prepared to give a good account of himself.
Grun Waugh Sprang Snarling to His Feet
Grun Waugh Sprang Snarling to His Feet
Grun Waugh snarled angrily as he observed how securely the Rhinoceros was placed. No way tooverpower him by numbers. The grotto protected his flanks and rear. His horn guarded the entrance. The matter was one requiring serious thought. He ceased snarling. To him, the Woolly Rhinoceros was a well-known character; an animal to be treated with the utmost caution and respect. He closed his jaws so that Wulli’s suspicions might be lulled by the concealment of red mouth and threatening teeth. His great claws withdrew into their sheath-pads. In a twinkle, the Cave Lion, according to his own ideas, was transformed into a lamb; but his tail writhed and squirmed—a fact which had not escaped Wulli’s notice. Beasts with squirming tails were not to be trusted.
“Prrr, prr, prr: there stands our old neighbor the Woolly Rhinoceros,” he purred in his most friendly manner. “I never knew you could climb mountains. How did you get here?”
“We walked,” the Rhino replied in a chilly voice. His piggy eyes kept close watch and he refused to move an inch from his secure retreat.
“We?” Grim Waugh pricked up his ears and looked nervously about him. “Who? Where?” he asked.
The question reminded Wulli of the wrong done him the evening before.
“The Mammoth. He ran away and left mealone,” was his sullen response. “But my turn will come next. Wait and see.”
“Oho!” thought the Lion. “The Mammoth and this rascal have quarrelled.” Of course Hairi must be somewhere near. Grun Waugh had almost forgotten him, although fully aware of the friendship between the pair which did not meet with his approval. Either the Rhinoceros or Mammoth was a difficult proposition for the strongest flesh-eater to contend with. Combined, they were invincible. He saw that Wulli was cherishing some grudge against his partner and inwardly vowed that the breach must be widened at any cost. Once divided, the pair could be dealt with, singly, thereby insuring greater chance of success.
“Hagh! I am not surprised that you are vexed,” he said with an effort to instil a bit of sympathy into his voice. “No animal could endure what he says about you.”
This was going a trifle too fast. Wulli preferred fighting his own battles.
“Oo-wee!” he squealed; “I have not asked your advice. Fun is fun and hurts nobody.”
Grun Waugh saw that he must begin again. He caught sight of the wood-chunk on Wulli’s horn and took a shot at random:
“Hagh! even so. You could not find the heart to be angry even though somebody fastened a piece of wood on the end of your horn.”
The Rhino winced and bit his lips. He was hard hit. The shot had told.
“Perhaps the Mammoth meant no harm,” the Lion continued much pleased with the rapid progress he was now making; “but little things often hurt; the things he says about you.” Grun Waugh shook his head sadly and glanced at the sky.
“Umph; what does he say?” Wulli demanded irritably. “Nothing that I know of.”
Grun Waugh turned to his mates with an air of: “There, I told you so. He doesn’t know.”
The Lioness licked her lips and assumed an expression of mysterious wisdom. The Hyena leered and ducked his head. The Cave Wolf doubled up to kick at a flea on his neck as he always did when noticed by his superiors.
“It is not for me to conceal the truth,” the Cave Lion replied. “The Mammoth says that you are an inferior animal—a Moo Hoo. It seems a strange thing to say.”
“Inferior animal?” Wulli cried. “He never said that to me.”
“He would be a Moo Hoo himself if he did,” said the Lioness with a leer.
“Quite right, my dear,” observed Grun Waugh with an approving nod. “We must credit the Mammoth with some sense. He waits until the Rhinocerosis beyond his hearing when he speaks of the fat little creature he has made friends with.”
“And horned pig—do not forget that,” added the Cave Wolf; and once more be doubled up to claw the back of his head. The Hyena emitted a fiendish laugh; in fact all viewed these tributes to the Rhinoceros with the utmost good-nature; all but Wulli. He was simply furious. He remembered well that the Mammoth always treated him in a free-and-easy manner—but friendly too, so he had not objected. The remarks he had just heard might have sounded differently if delivered to him first hand; but they were absolutely insulting in the mouths of others. He bit the ground with rage. The Cave Beasts exchanged satisfied glances. Things were progressing finely. No need of pushing matters too fast.
“I suppose the Ape Boy too has been annoying you,” purred Grun Waugh. “None but his paw could have fastened that piece of wood on the tip of your horn.”
Wulli’s ears pricked up quickly then flopped down again. “Umph,” was all he said.
“Mischievous little animal—that Ape Boy,” said Grun Waugh. “He was even worse before he had his tail pulled off when he jumped around in the trees.”
“Ho-ho, haw-haw-haw!” howled the Hyena infiendish glee. “Lost his tail; he-he! Now he has to stay on the ground.”
“And now he is pretending to be a man,” the Lioness sniffed. “Miserable ape-beast hiding in a man’s skin. Hagh-h! Who would associate with him?”
“Too bad that the Rhinoceros has such untrustworthy friends,” said the Cave Lion in a choking voice. “We like him personally but he chooses bad company.”
These remarks were coldly received. Wulli remained stubbornly on his guard and the terrible nose-horn ever covered his enemies ranged about the mouth of the cave. “You attend to your own affairs. I will manage mine,” was his grim response.
Grun Waugh ground his teeth. He longed to spring upon the Rhinoceros and tear him to shreds but hesitated to impale himself upon that terrible nose-horn. He bit his lips perplexed and wondered what course to pursue. His associates fidgeted uneasily. They were unaccustomed to seeing their leader at a loss before any mere grass-eating animal. The fierce King of Beasts felt that his honor and dignity were at stake. He must act promptly to clear himself in the eyes of his friends.
Grun Waugh nodded to those behind him and settled down until his chest and stomach touchedthe ground. He was about to give the signal for attack by dashing upon the Rhinoceros, when a faint thump, thump, sounded below the terrace. He pricked up his ears and glanced in that direction. The other Cave Beasts too had heard. They faced about and stood motionless, listening intently to the sound of heavy feet plodding up the slope. Suddenly a wind-puff wafted an odor to their nostrils, clear and unmistakable to all:
“The Mammoth! The Hairy Elephant! Here he comes.”
“To the ledge,” whispered the Cave Lion. “Hagh! Take your places quick, before he sees us.”
Without a sound, the four animals glided to the edge of the terrace and took positions commanding the Mammoth’s point of approach. Here they crouched low and watched the approaching Elephant without themselves being seen.
To Wulli, these queer actions were of no great interest as they did not seem to concern himself. However it might all mean some trickery to coax him from his refuge. “When in doubt, play safe,” was his motto for the time being, so he refused to budge.
His ears suddenly caught the sound of ponderous feet laboring up the slope. His nostrils swelled and sniffed in that direction as he waited with legsstiffly braced, tail rigid for the something about to happen. In a moment the peak of a great shaggy head thrust itself above the ledge followed by an uplifted trunk and long curling tusks rising higher with every step.
Like a flash, the sight of the Mammoth brought back to Wulli the memory of his wrongs. Once more the fires of wrath burned fiercely within his breast. He took a deep breath, lowered his horn and emerged from the grotto fully prepared and determined to give his partner a warm reception. Then his heart gave a great bound as a loud scuffling sounded upon the terrace—a bedlam of cries and rushing feet. He saw the Cave Beasts lying in ambush, rise from their places of concealment and dash upon the Mammoth. He heard the latter’s terrified bellows, the snarls of the Wolf, the Hyena’s laughing howl mingled with human cries and the roaring of lions.
Wulli looked down at his fore-feet much disturbed. The Cave Beasts seemed determined to interfere in his own personal affair. Hairi must be punished, of course, but this was his quarrel and one not to be entrusted to meddling strangers. The tumult was increasing in violence with every passing moment and still he remained motionless, debating within his mind what was to be done next.
The sudden attack of the Cave Beasts fell upon the Mammoth like lightning from a clear sky. In a moment he perceived his danger. Retreat was impossible before such active enemies; further advance equally so. Above and in front of him, crouched the Lion and Lioness while the Hyena and Cave Wolf hovered upon his flanks. The slightest misstep would have sent him tumbling down the slope. Finding himself unable to watch all of his enemies at once, he ignored the Wolf and Hyena and devoted his entire attention to the pair of big cats snarling and roaring above his head.
This left his rear entirely exposed. The Cave Wolf, a gaunt long-legged brute of almost bear-like size, now dashed in and attempted to seize the Mammoth’s hind leg. This move might have brought about Hairi’s undoing had it succeeded. A moment’s distraction,—a turn of the head would have exposed his neck and shoulder to the two furies in front. But the Wolf’s cunning strategy was met by the prompt action of one whom until this time the Cave Beasts had entirely ignored.
A squat, powerful figure suddenly darted from behind the Mammoth and faced the Cave Wolf with all teeth bared and eyes flashing like coals of fire from the bottom of two deep pits. It was Pic the Ape Boy, his face distorted with furious rage. Like a flash, he sprang between the Mammoth and Wolf and before the latter could close in, he had seized a jagged rock and raised it threateningly aloft. The huge Wolf snarled and gnashed his teeth, but he advanced no farther.
In spite of this diversion, the Mammoth was in a truly desperate plight. He seemed to have lost all power of resistance. The Hyena now sought to turn the scale by stealing around upon the Ape Boy from behind. The Mammoth observed and gave up all hope. Surrounded by enemies and unable to employ his great weight and strength to any advantage, he raised his head like one drowning and bellowed in his dire distress:
“Wulli! Help! Oh Wulli!”
From his refuge in the grotto, the Rhinoceros heard; and the call for aid changed the trend of his thoughts like magic. Hairi, his partner, was being hard pressed by a horde of Cave Beasts seeking to destroy him. In an instant, all enmity for the Mammoth fled from his breast. He proceeded to act. With a bound, he cleared the grotto and bore down upon the Cave Beasts in a furious charge,thundering, roaring, squealing, tail straight out behind and the fire of battle in his eyes.
All heard, saw and felt him coming. The Mammoth groaned as he espied the strange figure—supposedly some new enemy—speeding across the ledge; then his heart gave a great leap as Wulli completed his meteoric dash and halted on the edge of the terrace with a jolt that shook the rock.
His dramatic arrival threw consternation into the ranks of the Cave Beasts. The Hyena fled in terror and the Wolf raced down the slope lickety-split with his tail between his legs. Grun Waugh growled angrily at the sudden turn of affairs. As he crouched with tail lashing from side to side, the eyes of the Rhinoceros fell upon him. Wulli uttered a shrill squeal and charged with the swiftness of thought. The Cave Lion took one look at the oncoming horn and waited to see no more. With a blood-curdling screech, he sped along the ledge like a streak of yellow light with the Rhinoceros at his heels. For an instant it seemed as though he must surely be impaled upon the horn threatening his rear. The fear of such a catastrophe lent him wings. A fresh burst of speed and his lead was increased to a more comfortable margin. All his dignity was cast aside in a frantic effort to put the greatest possible space between his hindquarters and the Rhino’s horn. He reached the edge of the terrace and shot down the slope never stopping until all possibility of his being overtaken was beyond the shadow of a doubt.