CHAPTER V
My vision of the scene came abruptly, as I emerged from the forest. Ifound myself on the edge of a large clear space. On one side of thisspace rose up high bluffs. On the other side was the river. The earthbank ran steeply down to the water, but here and there, in severalplaces, where at some time slides of earth had occurred, there wererun-ways. These were the drinking-places of the Folk that lived in thecaves.
And this was the main abiding-place of the Folk that I had chanced upon.This was, I may say, by stretching the word, the village. My mother andthe Chatterer and I, and a few other simple bodies, were what might betermed suburban residents. We were part of the horde, though we lived adistance away from it. It was only a short distance, though it had takenme, what of my wandering, all of a week to arrive. Had I come directly,I could have covered the trip in an hour.
But to return. From the edge of the forest I saw the caves in the bluff,the open space, and the run-ways to the drinking-places. And in the openspace I saw many of the Folk. I had been straying, alone and a child,for a week. During that time I had seen not one of my kind. I hadlived in terror and desolation. And now, at the sight of my kind, I wasovercome with gladness, and I ran wildly toward them.
Then it was that a strange thing happened. Some one of the Folk sawme and uttered a warning cry. On the instant, crying out with fear andpanic, the Folk fled away. Leaping and scrambling over the rocks, theyplunged into the mouths of the caves and disappeared...all but one, alittle baby, that had been dropped in the excitement close to the baseof the bluff. He was wailing dolefully. His mother dashed out; he sprangto meet her and held on tightly as she scrambled back into the cave.
I was all alone. The populous open space had of a sudden becomedeserted. I sat down forlornly and whimpered. I could not understand.Why had the Folk run away from me? In later time, when I came to knowtheir ways, I was to learn. When they saw me dashing out of the forestat top speed they concluded that I was being pursued by some huntinganimal. By my unceremonious approach I had stampeded them.
As I sat and watched the cave-mouths I became aware that the Folk werewatching me. Soon they were thrusting their heads out. A little laterthey were calling back and forth to one another. In the hurry andconfusion it had happened that all had not gained their own caves. Someof the young ones had sought refuge in other caves. The mothers didnot call for them by name, because that was an invention we had not yetmade. All were nameless. The mothers uttered querulous, anxious cries,which were recognized by the young ones. Thus, had my mother been therecalling to me, I should have recognized her voice amongst the voices ofa thousand mothers, and in the same way would she have recognized mineamongst a thousand.
This calling back and forth continued for some time, but they were toocautious to come out of their caves and descend to the ground. Finallyone did come. He was destined to play a large part in my life, andfor that matter he already played a large part in the lives of all themembers of the horde. He it was whom I shall call Red-Eye in the pagesof this history--so called because of his inflamed eyes, the lidsbeing always red, and, by the peculiar effect they produced, seeming toadvertise the terrible savagery of him. The color of his soul was red.
He was a monster in all ways. Physically he was a giant. He must haveweighed one hundred and seventy pounds. He was the largest one of ourkind I ever saw. Nor did I ever see one of the Fire People so largeas he, nor one of the Tree People. Sometimes, when in the newspapersI happen upon descriptions of our modern bruisers and prizefighters, Iwonder what chance the best of them would have had against him.
I am afraid not much of a chance. With one grip of his iron fingersand a pull, he could have plucked a muscle, say a biceps, by the roots,clear out of their bodies. A back-handed, loose blow of his fist couldhave smashed their skulls like egg-shells. With a sweep of his wickedfeet (or hind-hands) he could have disembowelled them. A twist couldhave broken their necks, and I know that with a single crunch of hisjaws he could have pierced, at the same moment, the great vein of thethroat in front and the spinal marrow at the back.
He could spring twenty feet horizontally from a sitting position. He wasabominably hairy. It was a matter of pride with us to be not very hairy.But he was covered with hair all over, on the inside of the arms as wellas the outside, and even the ears themselves. The only places on himwhere the hair did not grow were the soles of his hands and feet andbeneath his eyes. He was frightfully ugly, his ferocious grinning mouthand huge down-hanging under-lip being but in harmony with his terribleeyes.
This was Red-Eye. And right gingerly he crept out or his cave anddescended to the ground. Ignoring me, he proceeded to reconnoitre. Hebent forward from the hips as he walked; and so far forward did he bend,and so long were his arms, that with every step he touched the knucklesof his hands to the ground on either side of him. He was awkward in thesemi-erect position of walking that he assumed, and he really touchedhis knuckles to the ground in order to balance himself. But oh, I tellyou he could run on all-fours! Now this was something at which we wereparticularly awkward. Furthermore, it was a rare individual among us whobalanced himself with his knuckles when walking. Such an individual wasan atavism, and Red-Eye was an even greater atavism.
That is what he was--an atavism. We were in the process of changing ourtree-life to life on the ground. For many generations we had been goingthrough this change, and our bodies and carriage had likewise changed.But Red-Eye had reverted to the more primitive tree-dwelling type.Perforce, because he was born in our horde he stayed with us; but inactuality he was an atavism and his place was elsewhere.
Very circumspect and very alert, he moved here and there about the openspace, peering through the vistas among the trees and trying to catcha glimpse of the hunting animal that all suspected had pursued me.And while he did this, taking no notice of me, the Folk crowded at thecave-mouths and watched.
At last he evidently decided that there was no danger lurking about. Hewas returning from the head of the run-way, from where he had taken apeep down at the drinking-place. His course brought him near, but stillhe did not notice me. He proceeded casually on his way until abreast ofme, and then, without warning and with incredible swiftness, he smote mea buffet on the head. I was knocked backward fully a dozen feet before Ifetched up against the ground, and I remember, half-stunned, even asthe blow was struck, hearing the wild uproar of clucking and shriekinglaughter that arose from the caves. It was a great joke--at least inthat day; and right heartily the Folk appreciated it.
Thus was I received into the horde. Red-Eye paid no further attentionto me, and I was at liberty to whimper and sob to my heart's content.Several of the women gathered curiously about me, and I recognized them.I had encountered them the preceding year when my mother had taken me tothe hazelnut canyons.
But they quickly left me alone, being replaced by a dozen curious andteasing youngsters. They formed a circle around me, pointing theirfingers, making faces, and poking and pinching me. I was frightened, andfor a time I endured them, then anger got the best of me and I sprangtooth and nail upon the most audacious one of them--none other thanLop-Ear himself. I have so named him because he could prick up only oneof his ears. The other ear always hung limp and without movement. Someaccident had injured the muscles and deprived him of the use of it.
He closed with me, and we went at it for all the world like a couple ofsmall boys fighting. We scratched and bit, pulled hair, clinched, andthrew each other down. I remember I succeeded in getting on him what inmy college days I learned was called a half-Nelson. This hold gave methe decided advantage. But I did not enjoy it long. He twisted up oneleg, and with the foot (or hind-hand) made so savage an onslaught uponmy abdomen as to threaten to disembowel me. I had to release him inorder to save myself, and then we went at it again.
Lop-Ear was a year older than I, but I was several times angrier thanhe, and in the end he took to his heels. I chased him across the openand down a run-way to the river. But he was better acquainted with theloc
ality and ran along the edge of the water and up another run-way.He cut diagonally across the open space and dashed into a wide-mouthedcave.
Before I knew it, I had plunged after him into the darkness. The nextmoment I was badly frightened. I had never been in a cave before. Ibegan to whimper and cry out. Lop-Ear chattered mockingly at me, and,springing upon me unseen, tumbled me over. He did not risk a secondencounter, however, and took himself off. I was between him and theentrance, and he did not pass me; yet he seemed to have gone away. Ilistened, but could get no clew as to where he was. This puzzled me, andwhen I regained the outside I sat down to watch.
He never came out of the entrance, of that I was certain; yet at the endof several minutes he chuckled at my elbow. Again I ran after him, andagain he ran into the cave; but this time I stopped at the mouth. Idropped back a short distance and watched. He did not come out, yet, asbefore, he chuckled at my elbow and was chased by me a third time intothe cave.
This performance was repeated several times. Then I followed him intothe cave, where I searched vainly for him. I was curious. I could notunderstand how he eluded me. Always he went into the cave, never did hecome out of it, yet always did he arrive there at my elbow and mock me.Thus did our fight transform itself into a game of hide and seek.
All afternoon, with occasional intervals, we kept it up, and a playful,friendly spirit arose between us. In the end, he did not run away fromme, and we sat together with our arms around each other. A little laterhe disclosed the mystery of the wide-mouthed cave. Holding me by thehand he led me inside. It connected by a narrow crevice with anothercave, and it was through this that we regained the open air.
We were now good friends. When the other young ones gathered aroundto tease, he joined with me in attacking them; and so viciously did webehave that before long I was let alone. Lop-Ear made me acquainted withthe village. There was little that he could tell me of conditions andcustoms--he had not the necessary vocabulary; but by observing hisactions I learned much, and also he showed me places and things.
He took me up the open space, between the caves and the river, and intothe forest beyond, where, in a grassy place among the trees, we made ameal of stringy-rooted carrots. After that we had a good drink at theriver and started up the run-way to the caves.
It was in the run-way that we came upon Red-Eye again. The first I knew,Lop-Ear had shrunk away to one side and was crouching low against thebank. Naturally and involuntarily, I imitated him. Then it was that Ilooked to see the cause of his fear. It was Red-Eye, swaggering down thecentre of the run-way and scowling fiercely with his inflamed eyes. Inoticed that all the youngsters shrank away from him as we had done,while the grown-ups regarded him with wary eyes when he drew near, andstepped aside to give him the centre of the path.
As twilight came on, the open space was deserted. The Folk were seekingthe safety of the caves. Lop-Ear led the way to bed. High up the bluffwe climbed, higher than all the other caves, to a tiny crevice thatcould not be seen from the ground. Into this Lop-Ear squeezed. Ifollowed with difficulty, so narrow was the entrance, and found myselfin a small rock-chamber. It was very low--not more than a couple of feetin height, and possibly three feet by four in width and length. Here,cuddled together in each other's arms, we slept out the night.