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before adam-第10章

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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。







CHAPTER VII





Broken…Tooth was another youngster who lived by

himself。  His mother lived in the caves; but two more

children had come after him and he had been thrust out

to shift for himself。  We had witnessed the performance

during the several preceding days; and it had given us

no little glee。  Broken…Tooth did not want to go; and

every time his mother left the cave he sneaked back

into it。 When she returned and found him there her

rages were delightful。 Half the horde made a practice

of watching for these moments。 First; from within the

cave; would come her scolding and shrieking。  Then we

could hear sounds of the thrashing and the yelling of

Broken…Tooth。  About this time the two younger children

joined in。  And finally; like the eruption of a

miniature volcano; Broken…Tooth would come flying out。



At the end of several days his leaving home was

accomplished。  He wailed his grief; unheeded; from the

centre of the open space; for at least half an hour;

and then came to live with Lop…Ear and me。 Our cave was

small; but with squeezing there was room for three。 I

have no recollection of Broken…Tooth spending more than

one night with us; so the accident must have happened

right away。



It came in the middle of the day。  In the morning we

had eaten our fill of the carrots; and then; made

heedless by play; we had ventured on to the big trees

just beyond。  I cannot understand how Lop…Ear got over

his habitual caution; but it must have been the play。

We were having a great time playing tree tag。  And such

tag! We leaped ten or fifteen…foot gaps as a matter of

course。 And a twenty or twenty…five foot deliberate

drop clear down to the ground was nothing to us。  In

fact; I am almost afraid to say the great distances we

dropped。  As we grew older and heavier we found we had

to be more cautious in dropping; but at that age our

bodies were all strings and springs and we could do

anything。



Broken…Tooth displayed remarkable agility in the game。

He was 〃It〃 less frequently than any of us; and in the

course of the game he discovered one difficult 〃slip〃

that neither Lop…Ear nor I was able to accomplish。  To

be truthful; we were afraid to attempt it。



When we were 〃It;〃 Broken…Tooth always ran out to the

end of a lofty branch in a certain tree。  From the end

of the branch to the ground it must have been seventy

feet; and nothing intervened to break a fall。  But

about twenty feet lower down; and fully fifteen feet

out from the perpendicular; was the thick branch of

another tree。



As we ran out the limb; Broken…Tooth; facing us; would

begin teetering。  This naturally impeded our progress;

but there was more in the teetering than that。  He

teetered with his back to the jump he was to make。

Just as we nearly reached him he would let go。  The

teetering branch was like a spring…board。  It threw him

far out; backward; as he fell。  And as he fell he

turned around sidewise in the air so as to face the

other branch into which he was falling。  This branch

bent far down under the impact; and sometimes there was

an ominous crackling; but it never broke; and out of

the leaves was always to be seen the face of

Broken…Tooth grinning triumphantly up at us。



I was 〃It〃 the last time Broken…Tooth tried this。  He

had gained the end of the branch and begun his

teetering; and I was creeping out after him; when

suddenly there came a low warning cry from Lop…Ear。  I

looked down and saw him in the main fork of the tree

crouching close against the trunk。  Instinctively I

crouched down upon the thick limb。  Broken…Tooth

stopped teetering; but the branch would not stop; and

his body continued bobbing up and down with the

rustling leaves。



I heard the crackle of a dry twig; and looking down saw

my first Fire…Man。  He was creeping stealthily along on

the ground and peering up into the tree。  At first I

thought he was a wild animal; because he wore around

his waist and over his shoulders a ragged piece of

bearskin。  And then I saw his hands and feet; and more

clearly his features。  He was very much like my kind;

except that he was less hairy and that his feet were

less like hands than ours。  In fact; he and his people;

as I was later to know; were far less hairy than we;

though we; in turn; were equally less hairy than the

Tree People。



It came to me instantly; as I looked at him。  This was

the terror of the northeast; of which the mystery of

smoke was a token。  Yet I was puzzled。  Certainly he

was nothing; of which to be afraid。 Red…Eye or any of

our strong men would have been more than a match for

him。  He was old; too; wizened with age; and the hair

on his face was gray。  Also; he limped badly with one

leg。  There was no doubt at all that we could out…run

him and out…climb him。  He could never catch us; that

was certain。



But he carried something in his hand that I had never

seen before。 It was a bow and arrow。  But at that time

a bow and arrow had no meaning for me。  How was I to

know that death lurked in that bent piece of wood? But

Lop…Ear knew。  He had evidently seen the Fire People

before and knew something of their ways。  The Fire…Man

peered up at him and circled around the tree。  And

around the main trunk above the fork Lop…Ear circled

too; keeping always the trunk between himself and the

Fire…Man。



The latter abruptly reversed his circling。  Lop…Ear;

caught unawares; also hastily reversed; but did not win

the protection of the trunk until after the Fire…Man

had twanged the bow。



I saw the arrow leap up; miss Lop…Ear; glance against a

limb; and fall back to the ground。  I danced up and

down on my lofty perch with delight。  It was a game!

The Fire…Man was throwing things at Lop…Ear as we

sometimes threw things at one another。



The game continued a little longer; but Lop…Ear did not

expose himself a second time。  Then the Fire…Man gave

it up。  I leaned far out over my horizontal limb and

chattered down at him。  I wanted to play。  I wanted to

have him try to hit me with the thing。  He saw me; but

ignored me; turning his attention to Broken…Tooth; who

was still teetering slightly and involuntarily on the

end of the branch。



The first arrow leaped upward。  Broken…Tooth yelled

with fright and pain。  It had reached its mark。  This

put a new complexion on the matter。  I no longer cared

to play; but crouched trembling close to my limb。  A

second arrow and a third soared up; missing

Broken…Tooth; rustling the leaves as they passed

through; arching in their flight and returning to

earth。



The Fire…Man stretched his bow again。  He shifted his

position; walking away several steps; then shifted it a

second time。  The bow…string twanged; the arrow leaped

upward; and Broken…Tooth; uttering a terrible scream;

fell off the branch。  I saw him as he went down;

turning over and over; all arms and legs it seemed; the

shaft of the arrow projecting from his chest and

appearing and disappearing with each revolution of his

body。



Sheer down; screaming; seventy feet he fell; smashing

to the earth with an audible thud and crunch; his body

rebounding slightly and settling down again。  Still he

lived; for he moved and squirmed; clawing with his

hands and feet。  I remember the Fire…Man running

for

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