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diff --git a/old/61061-0.txt b/old/61061-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 329df29..0000000 --- a/old/61061-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4350 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Og--Son of Fire, by Irving Crump - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Og--Son of Fire - -Author: Irving Crump - -Illustrator: Charles Livingston Bull - -Release Date: December 31, 2019 [EBook #61061] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OG--SON OF FIRE *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - -OG—SON OF FIRE - - - - -[Illustration: Beside him, shivering and whimpering, were two wolf cubs] - - - - - OG—SON OF FIRE - - BY - IRVING CRUMP - - AUTHOR OF “THE BOYS’ BOOK OF FIREMEN,” - “THE BOYS’ BOOK OF RAILROADS,” ETC. - - _Editor, Boys’ Life, The Boy Scouts’ Magazine_ - - ILLUSTRATED BY - CHARLES LIVINGSTON BULL - - [Illustration] - - NEW YORK - DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY - 1946 - - Copyright, 1921, 1922 - BY IRVING CRUMP - - Printed in U. S. A. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I THE CALL OF COOKED MEAT 1 - - II THE FIRE DEMON 10 - - III THE CRACK IN THE EARTH 19 - - IV THE FIRST CAMP FIRE 31 - - V IN WHICH THE WOLF BECOMES DOG 41 - - VI AT BAY WITH THE WOLF PACK 55 - - VII A CAPTIVE OF THE TREE PEOPLE 61 - - VIII SCAR FACE THE TERRIBLE 74 - - IX SACRIFICED TO SABRE TOOTH 86 - - X IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT 97 - - XI FIRE 106 - - XII STOLEN FLAMES 115 - - XIII THE WRATH OF THE FIRE MONSTER 126 - - XIV THE PYTHON’S COILS 136 - - XV SMOTHERING DARKNESS 146 - - XVI WAB IS CARED FOR 156 - - XVII THE FIRE LIGHTER 161 - - XVIII GOG’S TREACHERY 177 - - XIX GOG PASSES ON 190 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - Beside him, shivering and whimpering, were two wolf cubs _Frontispiece_ - - PAGE - - Og squatted down close at hand and watched them 48 - - The pack stopped. Og and his fire arrested them 56 - - Og beheld in the lower branches three big forms 64 - - The great creature carried him as easily as Og would have carried - a young goat 76 - - It was trying to trace the direction of an odor 94 - - The boulder, with a crunching noise, came out of its insecure - resting place 100 - - Then he proceeded with his skinning, while the wolf cubs looked - silently on 102 - - Great bats, almost as big as Og himself 138 - - The huge serpent raised its head and shining neck aloft and - glared about the cavern 142 - - - - -OG—SON OF FIRE - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE CALL OF COOKED MEAT - - -The earth rocked. The sky was of purple blackness. The nauseating -stench of burning sulphur filled the air. Thunder rumbled, and growled -constantly under the earth crust to be answered by shattering crashes -that seemed to come from the heavens, and with each terrific impact a -mountain vaguely outlined in the distance trembled and shook and huge -fissures opened down its side from which bubbled out great clots of -lurid red molten lava, the light of which reflected on the billowing -clouds of thick yellow smoke vomiting from the crater. Off through the -night like giant reptiles of fire these streams of lava flowed, crawling -slowly down the mountain side, sliding around great bowlders, or pausing -a moment to fill huge cracks in the earth’s crust before proceeding on -their serpentine way into the valley, where a veritable molten lake of -lava was slowly forming. A great volcano after a lifetime of slumber had -awakened. - -Cowering, wild-eyed with fear, under the sheltering overhang of a rugged -cliff on a hillside far beyond the valley that was slowly filling with -lava, was a boy,—the sole human witness to this terrible cataclysmic -disturbance. Beside him shivering and whimpering were two hairy, dog-like -creatures, wolf-dog cubs, who, like the boy, had sought the shelter of -this massive rock hoping that here they would in some way find a measure -of protection in the face of this horrible disaster. The boy was the only -survivor of a colony of cliff dwelling humans who had lived in the caves -near by, but who had fled the section in panic when the Fire Demon in the -mountain had begun to blast the earth by letting loose his fiery serpents -from the mountain. The wolf-dog cubs were all that were left of a pack of -gray-black hunters caught in the valley with the first outburst of the -eruption, and unable to gain the hillside where the cubs had been left by -their wary mother. - -For the space of two suns and two starlights they had crouched there. The -boy guessed it was that long. They had seen neither sun nor stars. Night -and day had been the same under that curling yellow smoke pall. Perhaps -the Fire Demon had put out both the sun and the stars and they would -never shine again. The boy did not know. He did know that he was tired -and that he had missed many sleeps. Despite his fear, which still gripped -him, his eyes would close and his head would fall forward even though -he fought to keep awake. If he had to die he wanted to see death come. -He did not want it to stalk upon him while he slept. But despite his -overwhelming fear, and his will power, which was strong for one of his -kind, sleep mastered him and finally in the face of this tornado of smoke -and fire that seemed to threaten destruction to the very earth itself, -his head dropped forward, his eyes closed and he slept the dull, heavy -sleep of utter physical exhaustion. - -He slept in a very strange manner. He did not lie down flat as human -beings do to-day, nor did he curl up on his side as did the wolf cubs. -Instead he slept sitting on his haunches, his body drawn in and his -drooping though muscular shoulders hunched over his knees. His head had -dropped forward between his knees and his big, long-fingered hands were -clasped across the back of his neck. Why he slept thus he did not know. -It seemed to him the most natural and most comfortable position. He could -not understand that he was obeying the protective instincts of Nature; -that his big hands were clasped about the back of his neck to protect -the arteries and nerve centers there, and that the long hair on the back -of his hands and forearms and upper arms grew in a manner that made all -hairs point downward when his arms were in this position, thus shedding -rain or moisture. It would require a long stretch of the imagination to -connect this being with the humans of to-day, 500,000 years removed. -His legs were short, being but a few inches longer than his very long -and very strong arms. His head was set on a pair of sloping shoulders, -massive for one of his short stature, and his neck was thick and corded -with muscles. His ears were small and he had perfect control over them, -for this hairy boy had very acute senses. His nose he controlled the same -way, his nostrils dilating or contracting to gather in new odors, or shut -out those that were strong and offensive to his delicate sense of smell. -His mouth was strong and well armed with short, strong teeth. His jaw was -broad and massive; a trifle too large for his head it seemed. His eyes -were brown and set far apart under almost shaggy, bushing brows, and his -forehead was broad and high for one of his race. - -For hours this primitive boy slept, and although his quick ears and -sensitive nose gathered in every new sound and odor, they failed to -register on the dulled brain, so great was his exhaustion. Likewise the -two wolf-dog cubs, snuggled close to his hairy hips for warmth, slept, -for they, too, were worn out beyond the point where they could control -their physical selves. And as they slept the clash of the elements grew -less violent. The thunder claps and rumblings beneath the earth’s surface -became less frequent and gradually ceased entirely, the sulphuric yellow -smoke pall thinned out enough to let the sun, a huge round ball of fire -it seemed through the thick yellow mist, shine dimly. The volcano now -threw out great plumes of white steam. The lava ceased to bubble over -the sides of the crater, and the lurid red streams that coursed down its -sides began to lose their color and likewise their motion. They were -cooling into solid masses. - -It was hunger that finally awoke the hairy boy. For many days and -nights he had been without food. The first day of his refuge under the -overhanging cliff he was secretly glad to find the wolf cubs there. They -insured him against starvation. But during the wild hours that followed -he thought very little of his stomach. Only once did he realize that -he was hungry, but when he faced the situation of killing one of the -cubs he hesitated. Not through any sense of honor, or because of any -sentiment, for as yet he possessed very little of either. He hesitated -at killing either of them for the simple reason that alive they afforded -companionship. Dead and eaten he would be alone and he feared to be alone -in the face of this overpowering disaster that seemed to threaten him. - -Awakening, however, and noting with a sense of relief that the -disturbance was over and that the volcano was slowly settling back to -normal, his fear began to leave him and he began to pay more attention -to the hunger pangs that assailed his gaunt stomach. He looked down at -the wolf cubs, still sleeping, huddled close to his side; then lest they -awaken, because his eyes were on them, as he knew they would, he reached -out swiftly with two hairy hands and grabbed the cubs by the nape of the -neck. They awoke with frightened yelps and forthwith began kicking and -snapping. - -The hairy boy lifted them into the air and watched them struggle while -just the ghost of a grim smile puckered the corners of his mouth and -eyes. He needed but to close the grip of his strong fingers on their -throats and in a few minutes they would be choked to death. Then he would -tear the hide from their bodies with the aid of his teeth and a sharp -stone or two, and his meal would be ready. Many times before had he -gnawed the flesh of wolf cubs from the bone, and while he did not like -it as well as he did the flesh of the wild horse, or the great moose, or -bison, that had been the meat of his people, he knew that it would taste -wonderful under the circumstances. - -But while he sat there holding the squalling, kicking cubs at arm’s -length his attention was suddenly arrested by an odor that was almost -overpowering in its appeal. Instead of the acrid stinging smell of the -sulphur smoke there came to him an odor that was laden with the meat -scent, yet it was so subtly different, so irresistible, that his mouth -began to drool water from the corners, while his eyes grew big and round. -Transfixed he slowly dropped the wolf cubs to the stone ledge, although -he kept restraining fingers wound in the hair of their necks. He did not -mean to lose a possible meal by letting them get away but he did not -want to eat them if he could possibly find the origin of this delightful -hunger smell. For a long time he sat there under the cliff, his nostrils -working furiously to catch every subtler scent of this enticing odor. -His ears were cocked forward as if he hoped that they too might help him -locate the source of this wonderful food smell. - -As for the wolf-dog cubs, they were famished too, and the odor was just -as overpowering to them. Their feet once more on the ground, they paid -small heed to the restraining fingers about their necks. Their black -noses were pointed up the wind and they were sniffing eagerly and whining -too and saliva was dripping from their mouths. - -Although none of the three knew it, they were for the first time smelling -roasted meat. Somewhere down there in the valley animals had been trapped -in the lava, killed and cooked, but since no one of the hairy boy’s tribe -had ever mastered fire he did not know what cooked meat really was. He -did know, however, as he sat there on the ledge, that never in his life -had he smelled anything that made him so hungry as this odor did; indeed -it was so overpowering that it presently made him forget the wolf cubs, -the danger of the Fire Demon in the volcano, the fear that was always -constant in his people of going very far from the cave or sheltering rock -save in packs or droves, and everything else, and almost before he knew -what he was about he began to climb from the shelf or rock under the -cliff and make his way down the hillside into the steam filled valley -of the hot lava, a place where he never in the world would have had the -courage or temerity to venture were it not for that intoxicating odor -that grew stronger and stronger into his nostrils as he descended the -hillside. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE FIRE DEMON - - -The hairy boy followed the wolf cubs. These half famished animals, once -released, were even quicker than he was in scrambling off of the ledge -and down the hillside. The boy watched them go and followed after them -at a remarkably swift pace considering his short legs. He walked stooped -over as if his massive shoulders and head were too heavy for his stocky -legs to carry, and when he scrambled over rocks he occasionally stooped -very low and used his long arms as forelegs, resting the weight of his -body on clenched hands, the knuckles of which were used as the soles of -his forefeet. But this was only occasionally. He preferred to walk on two -feet, although it did seem to be an effort. He did not know, of course, -that he was only a few thousand years removed from ancestors who walked -on four feet and lived in trees and that his group of hairy men were only -just learning, comparatively speaking, to stand erect. - -As he shambled down the hill other sensations besides that of hunger -began to manifest themselves. He realized that he was approaching the -domains of the Fire Demon. The atmosphere grew warmer, which troubled him -a little. Then as he got further down the hillside he found clouds of -white steam swirling about on the wind. These struck fear to his heart. -Smoke or steam were agents of the Fire Demon and to be avoided. He paused -in his hurry and wondered whether it was safe to go further. But still -the intoxicating odor assailed him and urged him on. He crouched beside -a big rock and watched with eager eyes the progress of the wolf cubs who -were making their way through the steamy mist with caution. Yet they -kept on, and the hairy boy seeing that nothing had yet happened to them -screwed up his courage and followed after them, always watchful and alert. - -The fog grew thicker. Ahead he seemed to hear a soft hissing sound. There -was an occasional subterranean rumble too. This made cold chills race up -and down his spine and the hair between his shoulders began to bristle, -a sign that fear was making him ready for fight. He stopped now and -crouched irresolutely beside a stone for a long time, so long that the -wolf cubs became lost to him in the mist. He debated in his slow brain -whether he should go on or turn back. Thinking was a hard process for -him. It took him a long time to come to a decision. Presently, however, -he found himself reasoning thus: he was hungry, near to starving; he was -foodless now because the wolf cubs were gone, but they had gone on into -the mist and until he had lost sight of them nothing had happened to -them. If nothing had happened to them perhaps it was safe for him to go -on,—then too that enchanting odor was strong, very strong. That in the -end mastered his fears and he pushed on. - -Deeper and deeper into that mysterious and awesome steam blanket he -penetrated, his courage screwed up to its highest notch. He felt he was -very brave; indeed he knew he was most brave for he knew that none of -the other hairy people would dare venture so far into the domains of the -terrible Fire Demon. But then he had the example of the wolf-dog cubs, -his terrific hunger and that overpowering odor to carry him on. Presently -he discovered that the ground was quite warm even to his feet that had -protective pads of callous skin nearly an inch thick. Some of the rocks -were hot. He stepped on one, and with a grunt of surprise jumped aside. -Had one of the Fire Demon’s evil spirits bitten him! That burn took a -great deal of courage out of him and it was some time before he could -force himself to go on. When he did start forward he avoided every stone -and trod the ground with care. - -Suddenly through the mist he heard a sharp yelp. It was one of the -wolf-dog cubs. The hairy boy knew their language. This was the yelp of -one cub driving the other away from something to eat. The boy rushed -forward determined that if there was food to be had he wanted it before -the cubs devoured it. A moment later he saw a body prone on the ground. -One of the wolf cubs was standing on it and tearing great strips of flesh -from it which it devoured with great gusto. But there were other forms on -the ground. The hairy boy saw them everywhere. A band of horses had been -caught in the valley by the eruption of the volcano and killed by the -terrific heat. They were little horses with thin legs that ended in three -toed feet. - -With a cry of joy the all but famished boy hurried forward for he -recognized in the dead horses a treat that rarely fell to the hairy -people. It was only by means of the greatest skill in hunting and the -concerted effort of the whole colony that one of these horses, veritable -antelopes, was ever killed or captured, and when this happened the whole -colony had a feast for the flesh was the most desirable meat attainable -then. - -But when the boy reached the nearest of the band of dead horses he -stopped and fear showed in his eyes. The horse was dead, smitten by -the hand of the Fire Demon. Its flesh and hide looked far different -from that of any horse he had ever seen. Something had happened. But -whatever that something was the hairy boy knew it was also responsible -for that delectable odor that he had trailed down the hillside. He could -not understand that the horse, in fact all of the horses of the band, -for there were several hundred scattered about, had been killed by the -intense heat of the lava and roasted to a turn. - -He circled the first horse suspiciously and looked it over thoroughly. It -was the one on the top of which the wolf-dog cub was standing and tearing -away luscious morsels. The boy watched the cub. It ate and ate like a -veritable glutton, yet nothing strange or out of the ordinary seemed to -happen to it. The feast of the cub and the odor of roasted horse were -too much for him. He approached the carcass and reached over to where the -cub was feasting. The cub growled and snarled at him. This made the hairy -boy angry and he cuffed it so hard that he knocked it to the ground. Then -he tore off a strip of flesh that the cub had been chewing at and tasted -it. - -Never in all his life had anything passed his lips that gave him greater -pleasure. Horse meat had always seemed wonderful but this horse meat upon -which the hand of the Fire Demon had been laid was beyond anything he -had ever tasted. Fear, superstition and all else were dominated by his -overpowering hunger and he crouched beside the cooked horse and glutted -himself; indeed even when his paunch was distended so that his hairy -skin was tight, he still pulled off shreds of meat and chewed on them. -And as he sat there he felt very comfortable and very happy despite the -fact that steam clouds swirled about him. At this he wondered and as he -wondered his primitive brain began to reason. - -It was a long slow process then and very hard. Sometimes when his -reasoning got too deep or too complex he found his thoughts wandering -and it was always with an effort that he brought his mind back to the -problem of why he was so comfortable. In doing this the hairy boy was -perhaps the first of us humans to mentally discipline himself and solve a -problem. There were only a few thinkers among the hairy people and their -thoughts did not go beyond the making of a stone hammer. They could not -even think to the point of providing clothing to help keep themselves -warm. - -But gradually the hairy boy worked it out. Heat was the reason for his -comfortable feeling. The atmosphere was delightfully warm, the ground was -warm; so wonderfully warm that he stretched himself at full length upon -it. The food he had eaten was warm. Assuredly heat was the reason. The -only warmth he had ever known was the warmth of the sun, but never had he -been able to get as close to real warmth as here. And only occasionally -of late years was the sun so warm as the old men of the colony said it -used to be, while the cold had gone on year after year being more bitter -until the hair of the hairy folk grew thicker and thicker. The boy did -not know that a great change was in process; that the earth’s axis had -swung slowly out of position and that year after year the great ice -caps about the poles were edging their way toward the equator and that -centuries later great glaciers would cover the land miles deep with ice. -Neither did he know that the volcanic eruption he had witnessed was a -forerunner of this great change. - -He did know though that the nights were very cold and that the days were -not the tropical days the old and weazened hairy men told about and as he -lay there prone on the warm earth struggling with this new found power -of reason, he wondered after all whether the Fire Demon was the fearsome -thing the hairy people believed it to be. Here was good that it gave him: -the good of warm food, warm air, warm ground to put his back against—yet, -and he realized it with a shudder, here were these hundreds of dead -horses on which he and the wolf-dog cubs had feasted, mute testimony of -the wrath of the Fire Demon. Why was it that one who possessed so much -good could be so fearful? Why was it—but here the problem became too -perplexing for even the hairy boy and, being full of stomach and warm of -body, he fell asleep, probably the first human being to sleep prone and -lying on his back. - -And as he slept the wolf cubs, seeing strange shapes in the swirling -steam clouds, and hearing strange guttural sounds as of huge animals -eating, searched him out and crept closer to him. They were frightened at -these menacing apparitions, and being motherless they looked to the hairy -boy for protection, for somehow they felt that it was his presence that -had kept them safe from harm up there on the hillside under the cliff. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE CRACK IN THE EARTH - - -It seemed strange to the hairy boy that he should awaken with the same -thoughts in his brain that he had gone to sleep with. Why did they -persist? He could not understand, yet his brain still turned over the -problem of why the Fire Demon, who could give so much that was good, -could also destroy hundreds of horses, the fleetest and wariest of the -animals he knew. He could not answer the question but as he pondered it -he began to understand that if all the good of warmth could be had from -the Fire Demon perhaps it would be possible to make friends with him and -not fall a victim to his wrath. The hairy boy did not know just how this -could be done but his interest was stirred beyond anything heretofore. - -He got up, and although still bloated with food, he could not resist -tearing off a strip or two more of the roasted horse, then munching on -one of these he began wandering through the swirling steam, the wolf -cubs following him. - -Presently he found himself walking through a layer of black ash that -was still warm and felt very comfortable to his feet. He knew as he -recalled the valley before the eruption that this had been a huge forest. -The heat from the hot lava lake somewhere down there in the bottom of -the valley had fired this and burned it to cinders. Only an occasional -rampike, charred and gaunt and weird looking in the blowing steam, told -of the forest that grew there before. The hairy boy looked at these -mute monuments to the wrath of the Fire Demon with a mingled feeling of -awe and wonder. To see these tree giants charred and blackened, their -twisted limbs shorn from them and scattered half burned on the ground, -revived to a certain extent the fear that he had had. He stood and stared -at the charred mass a long time before going on, and then not until he -had broken himself a stout knotted club from one of the fire hardened -rampikes, as if to provide himself with some sort of a weapon with which -to face the mysterious danger of the Fire Demon. - -Yet, despite his fear and trepidation, the hairy boy was enough a master -of his will power to force himself into exploring the valley further. -Deeper he pushed his way through the misty, swirling steam, realizing -the while that the air and the earth were growing hotter. From this he -understood that he was approaching what had appeared to him from the -hilltop to be a red hot lake where the lava had gathered in the valley -bottom. - -The steam grew thicker and hotter and ahead of him and on either hand -he heard peculiar hissing noises, that agitated him a great deal, for -he could not know that it was the hot lava cooling off by its contact -with the cold and moist earth. He went on but he went with great stealth -and caution, always peering through the steam with club raised as if -expecting at any moment to come face to face with the Demon that made the -fire. - -Suddenly the hissing grew more intense and the air very much hotter. At -the same time loomed through the steam a vast stretch of smooth, black, -polished rock that took queer forms as if it were so much soft dough that -had been poured over the ground and allowed to harden. All about its -edges, where it came into contact with the ground, jets of steam were -spurting out, each hissing and curling like huge evanescent reptiles. The -hairy boy gasped and drew back. Then he stopped and stood staring, club -upraised. He was alert and ready for danger, but he was frankly curious -too. He could not understand why this black rock that never had been in -the valley before could give out such intense heat and cause the snaky -spouts of steam that hissed so ominously and lingered in the air like a -swamp fog. He crouched on his haunches and stared for a long, long time -while the wolf-dog cubs, crowding close to him, looked at the black rock -curiously while their tongues lolled because of the intense heat. - -Finally the hairy boy got to his feet. His curiosity was mastering his -fear and suspicion. He began to approach the edge of the hot lava bed -very cautiously. As he advanced the heat grew more intense until his -hairy coat dripped perspiration and water from the condensing steam. -Closer and closer he moved until he was almost within touching distance -of a big black globule of the cooling lava that was detached from the -main mass. Then he reached out with the stick he still carried and tapped -it curiously. - -A strange thing happened. Each time the stick came into contact with the -hot rock a wisp of blue smoke went up as the heat scorched the wood. -This was puzzling to the hairy boy. Why did this happen? He tapped and -tapped again; then he examined the scorched end of the stick and felt of -it. It was very hot. It burned him. He grunted and pulled his hand away. -Then he sat and thought for a long time until his slow brain reasoned -that the rock burned the stick, and the heat that the stick carried from -the rock burned his hand. The stick carried the heat from the rock for a -little while; then the heat mysteriously disappeared. - -Still he sat and thought and slowly a question took shape in his mind. -If the stick carried the heat for a little while just by tapping on the -rock, why wouldn’t it carry heat for a long while if he held the stick -onto the rock a long time? Perhaps it would, then that would be a way of -taking with him the good of the Fire Demon and leaving behind the bad. He -wanted the heat the Fire Demon could give but he wanted to leave behind -the power it had to kill and destroy. - -He decided to try an experiment. He reached forth and held the stick -against the rock. Slowly the blue smoke appeared. It grew and grew in -quantity; then suddenly a tiny red flame began to lick at the end of the -stick, for the lava had set the pitchy knot on fire. - -When the hairy boy saw the flame he grunted in terror, dropped the stick -and leaped backward in fear. Of course, the tiny flame went out. The boy -sat and watched the stick for a long time, and his brain was so busy that -his round head positively hurt. What were these sinister red and orange -things that had licked at the end of the stick? Were they the fingers -of the Fire Monster? If they were, why had they not held the stick and -consumed it? - -He picked up the stick and tried the experiment again. Once more the -flames appeared, but went out when the stick was dropped. Again he tried, -but this time he held the stick longer. While he held it he found that -the flames waxed stronger and grew bigger. He studied them curiously, -holding the stick at arm’s length, and, while he watched, he wondered -whether, after all, these flames were not the beneficial thing that the -Fire Monster had to give him. They were hot. He could carry them by -carrying the stick away. Yet he could kill them by merely dropping the -stick or tapping it on the ground. He tried it again and again, and each -time he lit the stick and put it out he sensed a feeling of elation -within him. He felt as if he were doing a masterly thing. He could awaken -or conquer the Fire Monster at will. It was wonderful; almost a triumph. -The hairy boy felt as proud as he had the day he had leaped out from -behind a rock and slain his first wild goat with a stone hammer that he -had borrowed from his father’s cave. - -He was so elated by the knowledge that he was master of the fire that -he began to dance up and down in a peculiarly weird sort of a way and -drum on his chest with his fists, chanting the while, “Og, og, og, og, -og,” which to him meant “I am a great man now; no longer a boy. I am the -conqueror; Og, the conqueror.” And thus it was that he gave himself a -name, after the manner of the hairy folk. Og he was to be thenceforth, -for he felt that he had won this name, for among the hairy men only the -people who had achieved something notable were entitled to a name. - -After that for almost an hour he amused himself by lighting and putting -out the stick and slowly a sense of self-confidence grew within him, -and he no longer had the awe and fear of the Fire Demon. Indeed he held -the burning end of the stick quite close to him, watched the flames -curiously, felt their heat, broke off slivers from the other end of the -club, lit them and knocked them out. Once he breathed hard upon one of -these splinters and it went out. Here was a discovery, indeed. With his -very breath he could kill the Fire Demon. He blew hard upon the flames -that curled about the pitchy knots of his club to prove it and they went -out too. After that he lost all fear of the Fire Monster. Anything so -weak that he could conquer it with his breath was not at all to be feared. - -He held the stick to the lava to light it again, his mind intent on what -he was doing; indeed he had been so fascinated with his experiments that -he had forgotten everything, even the wolf-dog cubs. He had not noticed -how the hair on the back of their necks bristled or how they cowered with -tails between their legs while they looked furtively into the swirling -steam behind them. In truth, the first that he realized that anything was -amiss was when both cubs with a frightened snarl tried to crowd between -his legs for protection. At the same moment a snort sounded behind him, -followed by a strident trumpeting. - -Og, flaming stick in hand, jumped up with a start to behold but vaguely -through the steam a massive hairy and tusked head with upraised trunk -and sinister little eyes, looming above him. Og knew only too well -what it was and his heart all but stopped when he saw the evil thing. -His people called it The Mountain That Walked, the great shaggy haired -mammoth. They were so big and so strong and so fearless that even Sabre -Tooth, the great cave tiger, slunk from them. - -For one horror-fraught second the hairy boy stared at the terrible, -massive head and trunk that waved slowly back and forth above him. He -knew the great beast had marked him as an enemy. He knew that the curled -trunk would strike swiftly and surely, that the great coils would close -about him and that with one powerful toss he would be hurled skyward to -fall and be trampled under the heavy feet of the ponderous beast. It was -a terrible death to face and Og shrank back and shuddered as he watched -the great trunk. He was so frightened he was no longer master of himself. -It was as if the wicked little eyes had hypnotized him and held him -spellbound. Slowly, with a weaving motion, a sinister swaying from side -to side, the great trunk bent toward him, ready to strike. - -Suddenly the boy thought of the stick; the fire brand that he held in -his hand. It gave him courage. With a wild yell he leaped and whirled the -burning club above his head aiming a blow at the big beast. The flaming -end swept within a foot of the great animal’s face and with a snort it -drew back. In that instant the hairy boy, still clinging to the lighted -stick, bolted off through the fog of steam, the wolf cubs at his heels. - -As swift as the wind he ran, and the giant mammoth, now thoroughly -aroused, vented a thunderous trumpet and raced after him with an awkward -shambling gait. - -Although he was clumsy and ponderous the mammoth covered the ground as -swiftly as Og did, his long trunk reaching out before him ready to seize -his victim the instant he came within reach. - -Had it been a long race Og most certainly would have been captured. -He knew this too and he fled with swiftness borne of utter panic for -he could hear the heavy thuds of ponderous feet close behind him, and -the whistling, snorting of its breath seemed almost at his back. But -fortunately as he raced on through the steam fog there suddenly appeared -before him a great crevice rent in the hillside by the earthquake that -had attended the volcanic eruption. It was like a deep but narrow wound -in the hill, and Og knew that if he climbed into this the great mammoth -could not follow. True, his snake-like trunk could reach inside but Og -felt that if he could crawl beyond its length the animal could not force -his body into the narrow opening. - -With safety in sight Og leaped forward with renewed speed and literally -hurled himself into the crevice, the wolf-dog cubs falling over each -other to scramble in behind him. In a panic all three struggled, stumbled -and crawled over rocks and earth clods and forced themselves back into -the deepest, narrowest confines of this crack in the earth. There in the -darkness that was lighted only by the tiny flames of the still burning -torch that Og had clung to, they waited. - -Presently The Mountain That Walked, with thunderous tread and whistling -breath, reached the crevice. For a moment the great beast stopped and -peered inside. Then scenting his enemy within he reached his snaky trunk -into the earthy cave, and groped about. - -The hairy boy and the wolf cubs shrank back trembling. To have this -horrible thing within a few feet of their faces, was a terrible -experience and for a time it shattered the courage of the trio. But when -it became apparent that the animal could not reach them Og grew braver, -so brave in fact that presently he fell to shouting terrible insults at -the beast and brandishing his fiery stick. Indeed he mustered the courage -to crawl close enough to the twisting trunk to jam the fire stick into -its folds. - -With a roar the trunk was withdrawn immediately and the hairy boy, -laughing with glee, turned toward the cowering wolf cubs as if seeking -their approval for his brave deed. - -But the smile on his face was transformed into an expression of -horror, for as he looked toward the end of the crevice he saw to his -consternation that the walls on either side were slowly drawing closer -together. Clods of earth and heavy stones were falling, jarred loose by -the slow but irresistible movement of the walls. The earth that had been -pushed upward by volcanic action was slowly settling again. The crevice -was closing and they would be buried alive. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE FIRST CAMP FIRE - - -All the horrors of such a terrible death were apparent to Og and the -two wolf cubs. The hairy boy stood with staring, fear-bulged eyes and -watched the slow, irresistible movement of the earthy walls as they came -together. He could feel the movement of the ground beneath his feet as -it began to sink downward and he could feel the vibration of a rumbling -thunderous noise that came up from the nethermost depths of the earth. -A great fear clutched his heart; a fear that somehow he and the now -whimpering wolf cubs had put themselves into the clutches of a great and -evil spirit who owned this cave; this huge wound in the hillside. - -Yet though almost paralyzed with fear Og’s brain worked. The Mountain -That Walked had been defeated. He had withdrawn. Perhaps he was waiting -outside in the steam fog or perhaps he had gone back down into the -valley. If he were waiting outside, to go out meant death. But to stay -in here meant death too, the horrible death of being buried alive. -Outside death was uncertain. Then too he had a marvelous new weapon in -this fiery stick of his. Perhaps with its aid and his swift legs he -could defeat the mammoth. It was worth trying. They were deep inside -the crevice. They would have to move quickly to get out in time for the -walls were closing fast. Already one of the wolf cubs had started for -the opening. Og turned and called to the other one. It was struggling -under a heavy clod of earth that had fallen upon it and held it down. Og -saw its plight. He was about to turn and bolt and leave it to its death. -But something made him hesitate. He could not understand this strange -feeling. He did not know that within him was growing a sense of loyalty -and unselfishness that the hairy people never knew. He did not realize -that this marked him as being a higher type of human than any hairy man -had ever been, but he did know that an overmastering desire to help the -struggling wolf dog swept away any selfish thoughts of his own safety, -and he sprang back toward the rear of the crevice, dug the wolf dog from -beneath the caved-in earth, then, gathering it under one arm and with -the burning resinous torch in the other hand, he began a mad scramble for -the opening of the crevice. - -The rumbling beneath his feet grew louder and more ominous. Earth and -rock broke loose from the walls above and fell about him and on him. One -huge stone struck him on the shoulder and its jagged corners cut deep -through his hair and flesh. Og cried out with pain and staggered under -the impact. Yet he stumbled and struggled onward while great beads of -perspiration stood out on his low forehead, and his eyes dilated with -fear. On and on he pushed, while the rumbling beneath him grew to an -angry growl and the earthy walls on either hand and overhead rocked and -swayed dizzily. The opening was only a little way ahead now. The first -wolf cub had gained it and scrambled out into the steam filled air. Og -envied him his salvation. He wondered vaguely whether he could make it or -whether, there within a few short paces of freedom, he would be caught -between the crunching, caving walls of earth and crushed to death. - -He made a mighty effort to gain the opening. His great muscles swelled -under the strain. Blood leaped through his arteries, the cords of his -neck stood out and his breath came in great sobs as he struggled toward -the air and light. One leap more and he would be free, one stride and -he would be out of that terrible cave of grumbling noise, and crumbling -walls. Og leaped. - -At the same instant the rumbling developed to a roar, and a grinding -crash, as the wall on either side of the crevice caved in and the earth -settled. Og reached the air in a cloud of dust and a shower of earth and -stones, and, in a perfect avalanche of debris, rolled over and over down -the hillside, until he stopped with stunning impact at the foot of a huge -bowlder. For the space of several seconds he and the wolf cub lay there -in a semi-conscious condition. Then slowly Og came to and sat up. And the -first thing that he looked for when he became himself again was his fire -stick. He found it close at hand for he had clung to it even in his mad -plunge down the hillside. But of course its flames were out. - -Og picked it up and viewed this fact with disappointment. The knotty end -was a mass of glowing smoking coals but the flames were gone. Og crouched -beside the bowlder and looked at the hot end of the stick turning it over -and over, and wondering the while how to rekindle it. He began to blow -upon it softly. Why he did this he could not tell. But as he breathed -upon it the coals grew redder and hotter and suddenly a tiny flame -appeared, then another and another until the torch was rekindled. - -Og gave a grunt of surprise at this and his low forehead wrinkled into -a perplexed frown. Here was a thing that he could slay with his breath -yet he could bring it to life again by breathing upon it. It was strange -indeed, a thing he would have liked to puzzle over, for he had found that -thinking was a strange and fascinating game. But he realized that the -daylight hours were waning. Night was coming on and he knew now that with -the Stalking Death abroad and probably many other animals down there in -the valley feeding on the roasted horses, it would not be safe for him to -linger. He thought of the cave under the cliff where he and the wolf cubs -had taken refuge first and he decided to go there for the night. - -Both cubs were close at hand, though the one he had rescued was unable to -walk. Og gathered this one under his arm and calling to the other started -out of the valley and toward the towering cliffs that he could see in the -distance through the steam. As they made their way forward Og glanced at -the hill where the crevice had been. What had been the crown of it was -now a deep depression still filled with dust clouds. Og turned his head -away for the thoughts that he and the cubs might even now be buried under -that mass of rock and dirt were very unpleasant. - -They were a long way from their refuge and Og hurried for he feared to -be caught down there in the valley at nightfall. Night was the time when -all the great beasts hunted and feasted and he knew that he would make a -choice meal for the Stalking Death, the great panther, or Sabre Tooth, -the huge cave tiger, as had many another hairy man in the past. Indeed, -it was with a sense of relief that the hairy boy scrambled up the steep -mountain side and crawled in under the shelter of the overhanging cliffs, -for already the terrific hunting roar of the giant cave tiger was waking -the echoes and in the gathering twilight this was a blood chilling sound -to hear for the hairy men of that age. - -Shelter gained, Og’s attention came back to the fire stick which he -still carried. It was then that he noticed for the first time, and with -consternation, that the stick, once as long as his arm, was now less than -a quarter its original size. Here was another perplexing phase of this -new thing that he thought he had mastered but which he now found he could -not at all understand. Why had the stick grown shorter? Where had the -rest of it gone? Did this thing devour the wood? Was that what it ate? - -Crouched up there on the shelf under the cliff Og experimented anew. He -tried to see if the thing ate wood. He found another stick and held it -into the flame. The red fingers reached out and took hold of it and, -because this was soft wood, the fire consumed it quickly; ate it all so -fast that Og had to drop it before it burned his fingers. There on the -stone ledge it burned itself out. Og tried to feed the flames leaves. -These were eaten up so swiftly that the hairy boy was frightened for a -moment. He tried more sticks and more leaves, then he tried to feed it a -stone. This it would not eat and Og marveled, for had he not got it from -a stone originally?—yet here it refused to eat other stones. This red -thing, this animal that could be slain or brought to life with a breath, -that came from stone yet would not eat stone, was indeed a mystery. - -Og held the fast shortening pitchwood torch in his hand and pondered. -He saw the charred remains of the stick and leaves he had burned lying -about him on the ledge. From these he gleaned still a new idea. He -gathered more sticks and leaves in a pile, then laid the burning torch -among them. And presently he had a fire that delighted him; a fire that -gave him warmth and light and which he could keep alive so long as he fed -it sticks and leaves. - -Thus was born five hundred thousand years ago up there on the ledge below -the cliff the first campfire and as this hairy boy crouched before it -and watched it with consuming interest while he basked in its warmth and -light, he chanted softly to himself,“Og, Og, Og, Og,” which was his way -of telling himself and the wolf cubs that he was a great man, that he -had made a wonderful discovery and that he well deserved the name he had -given himself. - -And as he crouched there the roar of Saber Tooth, the tiger, and the wail -of the Stalking Death, the giant panther, floated up to him through the -night, from the valley below where they quarreled over the cooked horses, -but somehow Og felt strangely happy and comfortable by his fire. The -light and the heat and the flickering flame tongues gave him a sense of -protection in the night, a sense of protection that no other hairy man -had ever felt; and the wolf cubs, sprawled in the warm glow, gave him an -added feeling of companionship. He was happy, so happy that he wanted -other hairy people to know about it; to see what he had achieved; to -witness his triumph over the Fire Demon. - -He began to think then of the other hairy people who had fled from the -wrath of the volcano. He thought of Wab, his father, who was a mighty -hunter with the stone hatchet. Og had a vague feeling that he was even a -greater man than his father now. - -He thought of Gog, the fierce old warrior with the scarred face and ugly -disposition who was chief of the hairy people because no one had the -courage to dispute it. Og hated him for many a hard cuff and unnecessary -beating. He was a greater man than Gog now and he found malicious -pleasure in the thought of taking his fire animal among his people and -making Gog jealous with the flame that would be his. If he could conquer -the Fire Demon assuredly he could conquer Gog. The old chief would never -dare come near him while he held a fire brand in his hand. - -Og decided to set out to find the hairy people again since the roars and -wails that came up from the steaming valley told him all too plainly that -it was no longer safe for him to remain in that vicinity. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -IN WHICH THE WOLF BECOMES DOG - - -All through the night Og cared for his fire. It was to him a new kind -of animal; a strange pet that he must needs feed at intervals else it -would disappear. Og was afraid that it would eat up all its food and go -out. This he did not want to happen for he dared not go back into the -valley for more flame because of the danger lurking there. If the fire -should burn out he did not know how to get more of it. For that reason he -watched over it as a mother wolf over a cub. At regular periods he awoke -and got up from his cramped and huddled sleeping position and searched -around in the dark for more wood to feed it. - -During this very first night at fire guarding the hairy boy learned a -lesson that has been carried down through thousands of generations of -camp fire watchers ever since. About the fifth or sixth time he had -aroused himself and searched about for wood he got an idea. Forthwith -he squatted down and started thinking again. The result was that he did -not stop in his wood gathering when he had enough to replenish the flame. -Instead, he kept on gathering wood which he piled up on the shelf of -rock. After that each time he awoke he had only to reach over and take a -few sticks from the pile, replenish the fire and fall off to sleep again. -His wood pile lasted him until morning. - -With the coming of dawn Og began preparation for his search for the -colony of hairy men and women who had fled the valley at the first signs -of eruption. First of all he made certain of his fire. His original fire -stick had long since burned, so he gathered together a bundle of fagots -of the hardest and most knotted and pitchy sticks he could find. These -he bound round with bark, and lighted from the fire. Thus he purposed -carrying his new found treasure, determined to guard it with his life, -for he knew full well if the flames went out he could never replenish -them again. - -This done, he squatted down to think. First he would need a stone hammer; -the first and only implement the hairy men had invented. He searched up -and down the shelf and scrambled over the cliffs and hillside until he -found a stone of the proper shape, round and smooth and water worn, yet -rough enough to permit a grip for the lashings of bark that would bind it -to the haft. Several times Og found stones that would almost do, and each -time he squatted down and examined them. In the back of his brain he felt -that he could make them satisfactory if he only knew how, yet his brain -was not developed enough to invent the simple method of chipping them -into the proper shape. The hairy folk had not yet progressed so far that -they could with their own handicraft make things to serve them. They must -needs find the stones ready to be tied into war hammers else they went -without or used clubs instead. - -Og was particular. Half the morning he searched until he found what he -wanted. Then taking it back to the ledge, he selected a tough stick for -the haft and with bark lashed the two together. When he had finished it -he surveyed it with pride. Crude though it was, it was far better than -any he had ever seen, even better than the one his father took so much -pride in, and that was the best hammer among the hairy men. - -This done Og sat and thought longer. He would need throwing stones; five -round ones that his long sinewy arms could snap out with deadly speed and -accuracy. Some of the hairy folk had learned to be expert at throwing -stones. Og was among the best of them. - -Several good stones he piled up with his fagots and his stone hammer. -Then he spent more time in thinking. Gradually he worked out the idea -that it would be a good thing if he could carry some provisions with -him. This was an entirely new thought for a hairy man; never before -had one of the race ever had intelligence enough to think ahead to the -extent of providing for the future. They lived from day to day, feasting -while food was before them and hunting only when they grew hungry again. -With watering mouth Og thought of his feast of the day before; of the -abundance of roast horse meat down in the valley of steam, traces of -which were still wafted to his sensitive nostrils. But he dared not go -back into the valley again. The presence of the Mountain That Walked and -Sabre Tooth forbade this. - -Og’s eyes brightened as he saw the wolf cubs still sprawled beside the -fire. But as he looked at them they looked up at him and their tails -wagged with pleasure. Og could not understand the strange feeling that -swept over him, but he knew then that he could never bring himself to -kill them. He would go hungry rather than slay them and cheat himself -of their companionship. Og’s sense of loyalty had grown out of all -proportion to anything of the sort that had ever been possessed by a -hairy man before. And so he gave up the idea of carrying food with him, -but he stored the thought away in his brain for future use. - -Although Og had been out hunting when the hairy folk had fled the valley -at the first rumble of the volcano he knew well which way they had -traveled. No hairy man of late years ever journeyed north. Always there -was a cold, ominous spirit in the Northland who killed with icy breath -and numbing pain and left his victims stark and stone-like; at least, -that is the story that a hairy man had brought to the tribe years ago -when he staggered among the cave dwellers and besought some to take -him into their cave and wrap their arms around him and draw him close -to their bodies as the hairy folk did to keep each other warm. He was -the last of as many men as he had fingers who had traveled into the -Northland. The rest, he said, were dead and turned to stone. - -So Og knew that the hairy folk had not gone north. Nor had they gone -east, for that was where night came from. Hairy men feared the hours of -night for it was then that Sabre Tooth and the Stalking Death hunted. The -volcano was in the west, so the only road that lay open was southward. -Og knew the tribe had gone southward. He knew it because of his crude -reasoning as well as by a pack instinct fully developed in him. - -And so Og faced southward, and as he picked his way up the cliff and -along the face of the rugged, rock strewn and partially wooded hillside -he was indeed a strange sight, one big hand clutching his stone hammer -and the other carrying his flaming fagots and his supply of throwing -stones, while the two wolf cubs romped ahead and in front of him. The -crest of the hill finally gained Og found that his way lay in a deep -forest, a forest of such tremendous trees that Og looked like a dwarf -among them. They were the giant sequoia, the ancestors of the few -remaining big trees still left, and in Og’s day they clothed a greater -part of the entire earth. They were so tall that their tops were brushed -by low hanging clouds, and so big at the base that Og knew that every -man, woman and child in his colony, by joining hands, could not encircle -them and Og’s tribe was a big tribe composed of almost a hundred people. -Og had seen the trees before and did not stand in awe of them. - -For hours he swung along among the big trees, his eyes, ears and nose -alert as always. Once the wolf cubs started two rabbit-like animals -from their cover. Og saw them as quickly as the wolf cubs and as they -whisked across an open space he dropped his hammer, shifted a throwing -stone to his right hand and whipped it after one of the scurrying beasts -with the speed of a bullet. Og heard with satisfaction the thump as it -thudded against the rabbit’s ribs. Then, as the animal leaped into the -air, and fell to the ground kicking, Og gave voice to a hunting yell of -triumph. He was about to rush forward and seize his kill when he noticed -the wolf cubs. Both had given chase to the other rabbit, and so close -had they been to that animal when they started it that it had to take to -another cover immediately, which it did by dodging into a hollow under -some rocks. The wolf cubs were working frantically to dig it out when -Og caught sight of them. He watched them with interest for a moment. -Then his eyes brightened with a new thought. Hastily he secured his own -prize, then hurried over to where the wolf cubs were digging, throwing a -veritable shower of earth between their legs as they dug their way deeper -and deeper under the rocks. Og squatted down close at hand and watched -them. Soon they had dug a hole deep enough for one cub to squeeze into. -The more active of the two shouldered his companion out of the way and -wriggled in. Deeper and deeper he went until just the tip of his tail -showed. Then Og heard a growl, a shrill frightened squeak that was cut -short by the crunching of breaking bones. - -[Illustration: Og squatted down close at hand and watched them] - -Presently the wolf cub began backing out. Og watched his progress and -as his head came to view with the limp form of the rabbit dangling from -his jaws Og seized him by the scruff of the neck and wrenched the rabbit -from his mouth. With a growl the wolf cub sprang at him. But Og was -waiting for just this and as he leaped Og’s hand shot out and cuffed -him so hard that he was knocked heels over head and sent sprawling into -the rock pile. Og looked at him and smiled. Then as he came whimpering -back toward him, Og tore off a leg of the rabbit and tossed it to him. -He did likewise for the other cub. Then he squatted down and tearing the -rest of the animal to pieces he ate the choicest parts and tossed the -scraps to the wolf cubs. And as he crouched there eating the raw flesh of -the rabbit his brain was still very busy (as the brightness of his eyes -attested) with the discovery that the wolf cubs could be made capital -hunting companions. He reasoned that he could teach them to hunt and give -over their kill to him if he went about it properly and once trained they -would be invaluable, for they were swifter of foot and keener of eye and -of nose than he was. - -Just how he was to go about this work of making them understand that he -was their master and that they must do as he willed, Og was not sure. -Being primitive, as they were, Og and the cubs were closer to a common -ground of understanding than are humans and animals to-day. Og could -read a great deal from their attitude and demeanor and he could see that -already he had impressed upon them that he was wiser and stronger than -they were, and thus their master. He realized that this was the first -step in their training. He had a vague feeling, too, that the next step -was the development of a spirit of camaraderie; a friendly sharing of -everything, food, hardships and troubles. In that way he could help them -and they would not get discontented and run away. He looked back to the -occurrence of the day before when he had rescued the one cub from death -in the crack in the earth, and he realized that already this spirit had -begun to develop, and he marveled that these things could come about. - -So interested was he with his thoughts that he had consumed the rabbit -and was licking the blood from his fingers when he thought of his fire, -and of the miracle that fire worked with food. He experienced a sense of -disappointment that he had not thought of this sooner and tried to cook -the rabbit. But he realized that he had still another left and he decided -to experiment with that. - -All eagerness and enthusiasm, he began to gather great armfuls of wood -until he had a huge pile stacked up in front of a towering bowlder -that had a sheltering overhang, which Og, wise woodsman that he was, -recognized as a capital place for a night’s camp. With his back to this -he began to build his fire, lighting it from his still flaming bundle of -fagots. - -After he had a scorching blaze well under way, Og took the remaining -rabbit, which he had slung over his shoulder by a bark sling, and with -the dangling form in his hands crouched before the fire and studied -the situation for a long time, while the wolf cubs sat and looked on -expectantly. Truly he was at a loss to know just how to proceed with -what was to be the first meal ever cooked by a human being. Finally the -obvious and most simple method seemed to appeal to him and he dropped -the rabbit into the flames and watched it eagerly. He crouched as close -to the fire as he dared to watch the transformation of the rabbit into -cooked food. But presently he began to cough and spit, and hold his -sensitive nose with his fingers. The odor of burning fur was nauseating -and for a moment discouraging. Og could not understand it. He hauled the -blackened animal from the fire and held it at arm’s length, while with -his fingers still on his nose he looked at it ruefully. Then his eyes -brightened with a new thought. It was the hair that caused the stench; -the fur. Then why not take it off? He never ate the skin and fur of -animals anyway. - -With his fingers and sharp sticks (the hairy men had not yet discovered -the use of flint knives) he began skinning the rabbit, until presently he -held in his hand a tempting chunk of raw meat. Og was of a mind to forego -the cooking of it and eat it as it was, as he had always eaten rabbit. -Yet the memory of the savory odor and flavor of the cooked horse remained -with him and he put the rabbit again in the fire. Forthwith a most -delightful odor began to assail his nostrils, and the wolf cubs began to -get uneasy and crowd forward, their mouths dripping saliva. - -So tempting and insistent was the odor that long before the rabbit was -properly cooked Og dragged it from the fire to eat it. But when he tried -to break the tender steaming flesh apart he grunted with irritation. It -was so hot it burned. He laid it on a cool stone and waited impatiently -for he knew now that things cooled off and lost heat when no flame showed. - -What a feast that was. Og tore the flesh from the bones and ate with -great gusto, making a loud smacking sound. But he did not feast without -sharing with the wolf cubs. Many a savory lump went to them and all the -bones that Og’s strong teeth could not crack were theirs also. And as Og -ate, his fast developing brain made note of the fact that wherever the -flames had touched the rabbit it was blackened and burned. This meat did -not taste as good as the meat that had laid on the coals and was cooked -to a rich brown. Og decided that he would lay his meat on the coals -after the flame had burned out thereafter. - -So intent was the hairy boy at his feast that for a time he forgot to be -alert. Indeed the need for caution was only recalled to him by a growl of -one of the wolf cubs, as both of them got up and came around to his side -of the fire, the hair on their backs bristling. Og, startled, looked up -inquiringly. He neither saw, smelled nor heard any real reasons for fear, -yet he sensed from the wolf cubs that something ill was in the wind. - -While they were feasting twilight had come on. The sun had gone down and -a blue half light of evening overcast the sky save in the west where -great crimson and orange streaks were splashed across the horizon. But -there among the giant trees where Og and the wolf cubs were, a really -heavy darkness had settled down; a darkness that was thick and ominous to -Og as night always was. Instinctively the hairy boy crept nearer the fire -and moved his stone hammer closer to him as he peered with anxious eyes -among the giant tree trunks any one of which he knew was big enough to -hide the slinking form of Sabre Tooth the tiger, or the big cave leopard, -or any other of the many evil monsters of the forest. - -Suddenly Og knew the danger that threatened him and he grew cold. From -far down the night came a weird blood chilling call, that grew and grew -in intensity until it seemed as if a thousand voices were howling in the -dark. It was the pack call of the wolves and Og knew that this was the -great pack, the pack of a thousand fanged jaws and sinister gleaming -eyes. And they were coming in his direction. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -AT BAY WITH THE WOLF PACK - - -Og trembled with the inborn fear of the hairy men who knew that to be -caught alone at night by the wolf pack was certain and horrible death. -Despite the knowledge that he had a mighty weapon in his fire Og felt -this fear and he crouched lower and shuddered as he peered among the -trees for the searching, gleaming eyes of the first of the pack hunters. - -Yet with his fears he did not lose his new found interest in mental -speculation. He watched the wolf cubs with great curiosity. Here was -coming a horde of their kind; would they listen to the pack call and -desert him, or would they be urged on by the presence of a great number -to turn and attack him? Og knew he could prevent this now with a blow -of his stone hammer. Yet he forbore, for he had confidence in them and, -for some reason he could not understand, he wanted his confidence tested -out. So far he had been to them a master and a companion helping them -and sharing their hardships. Here was to be a test of their loyalty. He -wondered how it would work out. - -On came the giant pack, their terrible chorus now echoing through -the night. They were following a scent Og knew by the directness and -swiftness of their coming. Og thought a moment and then he knew. They -were headed for the Valley of the Stream. From afar they too had caught -the odor of the dead horses and they were coming to the feast. Presently -Og heard the soft pad-padding of many feet. Then in the blackness among -the trees he caught the gleam of eyes, many of them, hundreds of them, -thousands of them, as the big pack flowed among the giant sequoias. Og -could see their sinister shapes vaguely as they loped along through the -darkness, and as he watched them come he could hardly believe there were -so many wolves in the world. - -[Illustration: The pack stopped. Og and his fire arrested them] - -The pack stopped. Og and his fire arrested them. They stopped their -calling too, and in the gloom among the trees they began encircling the -campfire, drawing closer and closer. Og watched them fearfully and he -knew that he would stand little chance in the face of that horde if they -were to plunge in upon him. He knew that the fire held them from an -immediate attack. How long this would keep them off he could not guess. -Eventually, he knew, he would have to fight for his life. How long he -could stand up under the wolf pack was a question. Grimly he determined -to sell his life dearly. He stood up, and grasped a fiery brand in either -hand, and flattened himself against the big bowlder, alert and ready for -the attack when it should come. - -Closer and closer crept the wolves. Bold yet cautious with their -boldness. Some came fully into the firelight and lay there and snarled -and glared at him. Og shifted his fire brand and whipped stone upon stone -at them. Some leaped back with snarls. Others stood their ground. One -hit fairly between the eyes, fell, kicked convulsively for a moment and -lay still. Og knew that he had killed him, and despite his situation the -hunting yell of triumph of the hairy men leapt to his lips and echoed -through the night. It was an achievement for a hairy man to kill a wolf -under any circumstances. - -The call seemed to affect the wolf pack like a challenge, and one, a -scarred and savage looking old warrior, the leader of the pack, stalked -so close to the fire that Og could have reached over and touched him -with his fire brand. There he stood and snarled at the hairy boy, and Og -read in that snarl certain death. The hairy boy knew his time was at hand. - -With a mighty leap the old wolf hurled himself clear over the fire and -with eyes blazing and fangs opened and ready to set in the hairy boy’s -throat he bore down upon the valiant figure who leaned back against the -rock. - -Og saw him coming, saw him leap, saw the evil light in his eyes, the -set of his powerful jaws, and the long yellow fangs. He was frightened; -terribly frightened, and he shrieked with terror as he lunged forward -with one of his fire brands. But his fear did not affect his aim. The -blazing stick was jammed squarely into the big wolf’s mouth and down -his throat, and with a gurgling snarl of rage and fear the beast fell -struggling at Og’s feet. Swiftly the hairy boy reached for his stone -hammer. But quickly as he moved two other forms moved quicker. With -snarls that were ugly the wolf cubs leaped upon the fallen leader of the -pack and burying their teeth into his hairy throat held him struggling -and kicking on the ground until Og with his stone hammer crushed in his -skull. - -Again the triumphant hunting call of the hairy men echoed through the -night, and this time the pack did not creep closer, for Og, elated at his -victory, seized fiery brand after fiery brand and hurled them blazing at -the slinking forms. The wolves leaped back snarling. Og knew he had them -cowed. He knew, too, he had them puzzled. They could not understand why -two young wolves should be on the boy’s side of the fire and should help -to pull down their leader. The pack snarled at the cubs and the young -wolves hurled defiance back. - -But the call of the cooked meat; the feast awaiting the pack in the -valley of the stream was too strong for the wolf horde. True they had -smelled cooked meat here,—a little of it, and here, too, was some food. -But their leader was gone and there was small use in lingering facing -a puny human being made strong by some mysterious power in blazing -sticks, when the air was heavy with the scent of much meat not far away. -Gradually the pack began to melt into the blackness as group after group -impatiently started up wind toward the feast. Soon only a few stragglers -were left to snarl across the camp fire at the hairy boy and the, to -them, renegade wolves. And before long these, too, followed the big pack -northward. - -Og stood at bay until the last gleaming eye had disappeared from the -blackness in front of him. Then he put his fire brands into the flames -once more and crouching down drew the body of the old wolf to him. Long -he gazed at this and at the two wolf cubs and gradually he realized that -the young wolves had stood the test. They had been loyal to him. They had -repaid him for his care of them. Og began to have a feeling of gratitude -that he sought to express. And his method of expression took a strange -form. As he had chanted “Og, Og, Og,” in The Valley of the Stream when -he had conquered fire, now he began to chant, “Ru, Ru, Ru, Ru,” rocking -eagerly back and forth and pointing to the two wolf cubs who watched him -curiously. He was giving them a name, the highest honor a hairy man could -bestow. “Ru” was their name and to Og it meant, “the beast that repays -loyalty with loyalty.” And thus did the wolves that renounced the pack -become “Ru” the dog, the enemy of the lawless and the companion of man. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -A CAPTIVE OF THE TREE PEOPLE - - -The hairy people had not yet developed to the state where they possessed -knives. True they had learned the use of sharp stones for cutting -purposes. Their method was to take a jagged piece of rock and with the -object to be cut laid upon another rock, beat it until it was worn or -chewed into the required pieces. Then the rocks were cast aside. None had -yet had the forethought to keep a sharp stone in his possession to be -used as a knife. They had not progressed far enough up the scale to be -able to think ahead. Meeting the future was not to be considered. - -Og suddenly found himself greatly handicapped because of this trait of -his people. He wanted to skin the two wolves that had been killed the -night before; the grizzled old leader of the pack and the one he had -dispatched with a thrown stone. The hairy men used teeth, fingers, sharp -sticks and stones in their skinning. They did not remove the skin to -preserve it. They pulled it off in strips and threw it away. Their chief -desire was to get at the meat. They had not the ingenuity to make use of -the hairy coat. They had not yet thought of wearing clothing for warmth. - -Og did not at first have any other idea than that of tearing the skins -from the wolves, so that he could eat them. But the skins were tough -and his teeth and fingers were inadequate. He needed a sharp stone. But -there were no sharp stones to be had. Here in the forest there were few -stones, and those that he did find were worn smooth and round by weather -and water. Og searched and searched till the sun had climbed high in the -sky and still he was unrewarded. And as he searched he perforce thought -of many another good sharp stone he had used in the past and had thrown -away. He wished now that he had one at hand. - -This wish made an impression on him. Indeed, he stopped short in his -searching and turned the idea over in his mind. Why had he not saved one -of those sharp stones; carried it with him as he did his stone hammer? -It would be available now and worth a great deal to him. He stored this -thought in a recess of his brain where was slumbering the idea he had -had when he first started this journey; the idea that it would be a good -thing to carry food or provisions with him. - -This thought had come to his mind as he surveyed the two dead wolves that -morning. Here was more than enough food for him and the wolf cubs. Any -other hairy man would have stayed and camped there until the food was -all eaten. But Og did not intend to do this. He was traveling. He meant -to go on in search of his people as soon as he could start, but he hated -the thought of leaving so much good food behind. Then out of the corner -of his brain had come the suggestion: why not carry it along! Og had -pondered over this idea for a long time. It was a good thought, he could -see. But to carry the two wolves as they were would weigh him down. There -was a great deal on each wolf that he could not eat, the head, the feet, -the heavy bones, the skin. Why not remove them and take only the meat! -That he would do, but first he must needs find a sharp stone with which -to skin the beasts. - -The hairy boy searched for that stone and wandered far away from the big -bowlder beside which his camp fire burned. Each time he found a stone, -he examined it carefully for a sharp edge. He would sit on his haunches -and turn it over and over, while back in his brain was the same thought -that he had had when he was searching for hammer stones and that was that -if he only knew just how he was certain that he could put a sharp edge on -to it. Presently he got the idea that perhaps the sharp edge was inside -the stone. He would break it open and see. He had broken stones before by -hitting them against other stones. He would try to break this one open. - -[Illustration: Og beheld in the lower branches three big forms] - -With all the force of his long strong arm and heavy shoulders he hurled -the stone against a boulder. It rebounded with a sharp crack and Og -hastily retrieved it. It had not smashed, but its force had broken loose -from the boulder a big scale of stone with a capital cutting edge on it. -Og picked up the scale and examined it. It was just what he needed. He -gave a grunt of triumph as he felt of the edge. Then he went over and -looked at the scar it had left on the boulder. And as he examined this -scar a crude thought took shape. Why could he not make a stone knife -by breaking round stones with other stones until they were the shape -he wanted them to be? Indeed, why could he not break stone with other -stones into hammer heads or throwing stones or anything else that he -wanted? The suggestion was fascinating. The idea of making anything -to suit a given purpose was born in Og. He was the first of the hairy -people to conceive this possibility and it stirred in him almost as much -interest as had his discovery of fire. He was inspired by a new desire. -He would try to make a knife out of a round stone, some day. It would be -an achievement to make a stone, the hardest substance he knew, into any -shape he wanted just by chipping it with other stones. He would—— - -Og’s thought was not completed. As he stood there by the big rock a -heavy club whizzed through the air, crashed against the boulder just -over his head and rebounded with a sharp crack. Instinctively Og ducked -and scuttled behind the stone, looking up with startled eyes into the -direction whence the club had come. - -A loud chattering gibberish of sounds greeted his curiosity and at the -same time Og beheld in the lower branches of the trees over his head -three big forms, that stormed at him a perfect tirade. They were the tree -people. - -Og looked at them and uttered a grunt of contempt. Then he came out from -behind the boulder, and searching out a throwing stone he hurled it up -at them with whistling swiftness. It hit the biggest of the ape-like men -a resounding thump in the chest and with a squeal of rage and pain the -big form, followed by his companions, scrambled up the tree, and made -off through the forest, swinging from limb to limb but making a terrible -din at their going. Og heard their cries, and vaguely understood them. -They were showering imprecations upon him and threatening dire things in -tree folk talk. Og cried his defiance back at them for he held them in -contempt, as cowards. They were the tree people; the tribes of the woods -whom his people centuries before had vanquished and driven out wherever -they came in contact with them. - -Og looked upon them as beneath the hairy people in every way. True, they -were strong, but they did not know their strength. They were not flesh -eaters and so they were not really dangerous. And they were great cowards -too, except when they traveled in hordes. - -Og chuckled softly to himself as he thought of how he had served these -three and driven them away, and after he had seen them out of sight he -turned back toward the boulder where he had left the wolf cubs and his -fire, dismissing them from his mind entirely. - -But hardly had he come within sight of his camp fire again, when he heard -far off a hollow booming as of many sticks being beaten on hollow logs. -Og stopped and listened and understood. It was the war noise of the tree -people and he smiled grimly. He knew what had happened. Somewhere there -was a tribe of tree people. Why they were so far north he could not -understand for their dwelling place was south of the domains of the hairy -people. They were somewhere in the great sequoia forest now, however, -and the three he had seen and beaten off with stones had probably been -detached from the drove. Doubtless they had hurried back to the main -group and communicated the fact to all that one of their number had been -injured by a hairy boy. That had made them all angry. So angry that they -beat their chests in rage. That was the hollow booming sound. Og knew -that they were beating their chests to try and work up their courage -to the point of attacking him. He knew that this was the way of the -tree people. They always grew terribly enraged but they were such great -cowards that they dared not attack even one single hairy man, though -they always tried to work up their own courage by beating their chests -and making terrible faces and raising hideous yells. But nothing usually -came of their effort. - -Og went to his camp fire, the booming noise still sounding through the -forest. It lasted much longer than the hairy boy had expected and after -a time he gave ear to it again and a slightly worried look came into -his brown eyes. Was the sound drawing nearer? The hairy boy peered off -among the giant trees. He could see forms moving among them. He could -hear branches swishing and leaves rustling and always the booming sound -persisted. Was the horde coming to attack him? For a moment Og was -troubled. But the traditions of his people soon banished this. Never had -the tree people had the courage to attack even a single hairy man. They -raved and shrieked frightful names and made hideous faces and a great -pretense at war, yet one hairy man, with a stone hammer or handful of -throwing stones, could drive them off. - -Og smiled. Here was he not only armed with stone hammer and backed by -two valiant allies in the form of wolf cubs, but he had at his command -a great new powerful weapon—fire; a weapon that had driven off The -Mountain That Walked and held the wolf pack at bay. Why should he -fear the tree people though the forest was full of them? He grunted -contemptuously and set about skinning the dead wolves, heedless of the -forms in the trees all about him—great sinister forms that swung from -branch to branch or leaped from tree to tree, watching him the while and -making hideous grinning faces at him. But there was one among them—one -huge ponderous beast with tremendously long arms and a deep chest and a -face that was well nigh hideous with battle scars—who swung closer to -the lonesome camp beside the boulder than any other. He was the leader -of the horde and a brute to be reckoned with. His great strength alone -gave him more courage than any of the others. Indeed, he had more courage -than any other tree man had ever had, and he somehow imparted his courage -to others of his clan. This tree tribe was different in spirit from the -horde that the hairy men had coped with in the past and doubtless they -would have attacked Og on sight had their big leader led them. But he -hesitated, not because of the boy or his hammer or the wolf cubs that -snarled up at him, but because of a strange thing with red and orange -tongues that snapped and crackled beside the boy and sent wisps of blue -fog up among the trees that got into his nose and made him cough and gag. -The fire was the thing that held him back. It struck fear to his usually -strong heart and made him hesitate. So long as the fire burned there he -had not the courage to lead his band to attack. - -Secure in his belief that all tree people were cowards and dared not -attack him, and this security made doubly certain by the fact that the -horde swarmed about in the trees above him, yet not one dared to come -down to the ground, Og worked on skinning and tearing the meat from the -dead wolves. He was longer at his task than he had thought he would be. -Twilight came on ere he finished. And by that time he was very hungry -despite the fact that all during the time he was skinning and cutting up -the wolves he had been licking the blood from his fingers or dividing -with the wolf cubs succulent scraps of flesh that appealed to him. From -the pile of meat he had wrapped in one of the wolf skins he selected a -choice chunk or two, and scraping live coals from the fire he put them -over the heat to broil. - -Darkness had settled down in the sequoia forest by the time he had eaten; -the heavy ominous darkness of a starless and moonless night that always -struck terror to the hearts of the hairy men. Despite the comfort and -cheer of the fire and the companionship of the wolf cubs Og felt the -vague mysteries of the blackness that caused his people to huddle into -the farthest corners of their caves and wait for the coming of dawn. He -felt uneasy and dreadfully lonely and the vague forms that he could see -swinging about in the trees above him, chattering or beating their chests -or glaring down at him, did not add to his comfort at all. - -Yet Og was courageous. He would not let his fears master him. He watched -the swinging chattering forms above him for a long time. He even shouted -names at them, sent stones hissing among them, and cried out derisively -that they had not the courage to come down and attack him. Indeed Og’s -procedure was not unlike that of the tree people in a sense. He reviled -and insulted them and depreciated their courage to such an extent that he -succeeded in instilling in himself an overbalanced sense of confidence -which permitted him in the end to heap a few sticks into the fire, move -his stone hammer within easy reach, then huddle up in a ball and fall -asleep. - -How long he slept Og never knew. He was aroused by a strange uncanny -sense of imminent danger. But while he was still coming out of the stupor -of sleep the sharp yelps of the wolf cubs brought him to his feet like -a flash. The first thing that he realized, and this was impressed upon -him with a shock, was that the fire was out. Only one dully glowing coal -remained to pierce the terrible, oppressive, horror-laden darkness about -him. But other impressions followed swiftly. He knew he was not alone. -Other forms, scores of them, swarmed about him in the blackness. He -could see their eyes; he could hear the sobbing of their breath; their -gibberish, and a hollow beating sound seemed to come from every quarter. -He could feel them moving swiftly about him. Their hands reached out -towards him and tried to clutch him. He could hear the clicking of their -teeth. - -For a moment Og was paralyzed with fear. Then the skin between his -shoulders tightened and his hair began to bristle. With this his courage -came back to him swiftly, and with a wild, almost fiendish yell he began -to lay about him with his stone hammer. But despite his valiant efforts -the forms in the dark were too many for him. They pressed in about him -so close that he could scarcely swing his hammer. They clutched at him -on all sides. Big powerful hands gripped his wrists. Sinuous arms were -entwined about his body. Sharp teeth were imbedded in his flesh. - -Still he fought—fought like a mad man. He threw them off, beat them -back, trampled them down, wrestled, struggled, struck, kicked and bit. -But to no avail. The clutches tightened on his wrists and arms. His legs -and body were made helpless and then, spelling the end, a pair of huge, -powerful paw-like hands closed slowly but irresistibly about his throat -and choked him—choked him until his tongue hung out, until his eyes -bulged from their sockets, until his lungs pained for want of air and -his head throbbed with the pent-up blood in the arteries there. Og knew -it was the end, yet he kicked and fought, though his efforts grew very -feeble. Slowly he became unconscious. A blackness not of night was upon -him. Yet before all his senses left him he could feel that many hands -had lifted him from the ground and that he was being carried upward in -a halting, jerky fashion. He knew he was in the trees because of the -swishing of bending branches. After that he heard no more. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -SCAR FACE THE TERRIBLE - - -Only vaguely was Og aware of anything that happened to him during the -rest of the night. Now and then he gained a state of semi-consciousness -and saw dimly that he was part of a weird tree-top procession formed -by the huge band of apish tree people. Hundreds of them were swinging -through the tops of the giant sequoias, and as they traveled their -strange arboreal highway, this army of apish beings reminded Og of a band -of conquerors, such was their demeanor. They swung through the branches, -chanting weird songs, and now and then they uttered strange, deep-voiced, -booming cries that Og guessed were their war cries and shouts of victory; -cheers of conquerors, for this big tree-people band were proud of their -achievement; proud that they had made war against a hairy man and, having -captured him, were carrying him off a prisoner. - -Never in the history of the race of tree men, at least not in the lives -of any of his troupe—and that was as far back as the history of their -race was known to them—had they had the courage to attack even one hairy -man, let alone best him in conquest and carry him off. It was a triumph, -an achievement, and to them, in their elation, it all appeared to be a -great step forward for their kind. - -To be sure this attitude was but a whim of the moment or the hour. -Perhaps had the band suddenly come upon a grove of trees with edible -fruit they would have straight way forgotten their captive and left him -to his own devices while they ate. Indeed this was a rare exhibition of -steadfastness of purpose for the apish folk of the band and doubtless -if it had not been for Scar Face, their leader who really did have more -purpose than the rest of the tribe, they would long ago have strangled Og -or dropped him from a high tree and killed him that way. - -But always had Scar Face been jealous of the prowess of the hairy folk. -Always had he envied them their courage, and their advancement. He had -striven to be like them, to make his people like them but always he had -failed, for the ape men’s brain had not yet developed to the point -where they could think out even the simple problems that the limited -intelligence of the hairy people could master. In truth, they were -several steps below the hairy folk in the scale of intelligence, and -their progress upward was very much slower than that of these men who had -learned to live in caves. - -The light of a new day was filling the eastern sky with its brilliance -when Og gained full consciousness and was able to comprehend the -situation. The army of tree folk was still swinging enthusiastically -onward over its tree-top highway, and Og found that he was still a -prisoner. The giant leader held him captive, and because of his great -strength the ape man handled him as if he were a child. One of the tree -men’s great arms was thrown about Og’s middle and with head and feet and -arms dangling the great creature carried him as easily as Og would have -carried the limp body of a young goat that he had slain. - -[Illustration: The great creature carried him as easily as Og would have -carried a young goat] - -Og was weak, and sore, and passive; passive because he had not the -strength to make an effort to free himself from his captors. He simply -remained inert and limp and permitted himself to be carried in this -awkward fashion wherever the huge tree man chose to take him. - -His captor led the horde; as they swung from branch to branch and from -one tall tree to another. On and on they hurried through the tree tops, -making remarkably swift progress despite the awkwardness of their going. -That they were far from the point where he had camped the night before -and had been captured, Og was certain. Then, too, the character of the -country had changed a great deal. The sequoias were slowly giving way -to trees of new and different type. They were giant trees, tremendously -tall, and growing close together, but instead of branches they had -spreading fronds that reached a great distance upward and outward and -were very strong, despite their graceful appearance. Then there were -other trees, lower and more massive in character, with short thick trunks -and foliage that spread over acres of ground, sending down other stems -that took root and spread onward again. A single tree was a veritable -forest. - -Og did not know that these were giant palms and banyan trees and that -his night’s journey had taken him farther south than any point to -which the hairy folk had yet ventured. He did know that the climate -was perceptibly warmer, and that vegetation familiar to him was fast -disappearing. Several times, from this tree-top highway, he had a clear -vision of the forest floor, and he understood then why the ape people -traveled in the treetops. The vegetation below him was so thick and so -massed and intertwined that no earth could be seen at all, and Og knew -that even the strongest hairy man could never force his way through it. -Only heavy animals like the mammoth, or the hairy rhinoceros would have -the strength to trample a pathway there. - -Whither his captors were taking him Og had not the vaguest idea. For -once these tree people seemed to have a single purpose; a single desire -to get somewhere, for they never ceased going. Og felt sick and sore -and uncomfortable. He made a movement once to change from this hanging -position, but his great captor snarled at him and cuffed him with such -terrible force that he became unconscious again, nor did he regain his -senses until he felt himself being laid prone on the ground. - -He discovered that he was lying on a gently sloping hill, and that he was -surrounded by a circle of crouching, inquisitive tree people. Back of -this first line of apish beings were massed thousands of others. There -were so many that Og could scarcely believe his eyes. They covered the -hillside, they filled the trees, and rocks, all about him, and all were -staring at him as if waiting patiently for him to open his eyes. - -Beyond the mass Og could get a partial view of the valley. It was -surrounded on all sides by towering palm clad mountains, but there were -few trees in the valley bottom. Instead, there was a pleasant meadow -overgrown with lush grass through which a broad, lazy stream slipped -slowly. To Og, used to the ruggedness of the country further north, it -was beautiful and restful. - -But he had little time to take in details, for so soon as he sat up a -great chattering and squalling and taunting began. The tree folk became -tremendously excited and danced up and down, and pointed their fingers at -him, and chattered and grinned and snarled and made ugly faces. Some in -the trees threw sticks at him and great round hard objects that Og had -never seen before. Some stones and clods came from the tree folk on the -ground, many of them hitting him resounding thumps. - -Then suddenly they left off throwing and began a weird sort of dance -that slowly developed into a dizzily whirling mass as the apish beings -joined hands and began capering in a huge circle around him. Og knew from -their manner, and from some of the squeals and calls, that the whole clan -of the tree people were celebrating his capture, and as he sat there -looking at them with senses still dulled from the terrific punishment he -had received, and the hardships of the long journey, he wondered vaguely -what was to be done with him. He knew that had he been one of the tree -people, captured by the hairy men of his kind, he would have been put to -death ere this. Would this be his end? This thought troubled him greatly. - -It was while this strange dance was in progress that Og felt the -presence of a warm body close to him and, looking down, he discovered -with a feeling of gladness that beside him, torn and scratched, and as -hopelessly dazed as he, were the two wolf cubs. They too had been made -captives by the tree people. Og reached out and touched them and in that -action he found as much comfort as they evinced by the feeble motion of -their tails. - -Og’s recuperation was swift, and the wolf cubs seemed to regain their -strength and alertness just as quickly. Indeed, by the time the tree -people had danced themselves tired, and many of them had gone off to seek -other diversion, the trio of captives were almost normal once more and -Og’s brain was working to puzzle out his strange situation and find, if -possible, a way of escape. - -The dancing ceased, the great mass of tree people dwindled, scattering -among the trees on either side of the valley. All, save a group of -formidable looking apish beings, disappeared. Og surveyed with suspicion -those that remained. They were all bigger and stronger than he, and all -bore innumerable scars. Doubtless, they were the warriors of the clan. -And leading them was a huge scar-faced one, whom Og quickly realized was -chief of them all. Spreading out in a semi-circle, with Scar Face in the -lead, they began slowly to advance toward him, at the same time snarling -and showing their teeth and making faces that were indeed hideous. - -Og stood his ground and faced them, the wolf cubs flanking him on either -side and snarling with as much vigor as their enemies. The hairy boy -could not understand it all, but he longed mightily for his stone-headed -hammer, or better still, his more recent weapons, a pair of fire brands. -The fact that he had lost perhaps, forever, the valuable alliance of -the Fire Demon, gave him a feeling almost of despair. The tree men would -never dare venture upon him so boldly were he thus armed. - -Despite the fact that he was unarmed, Og stood his ground, determined to -fight with tooth and nail to his death. He had not the vaguest idea what -was about to happen to him, but he determined to go down fighting. - -His boldness seemed to disturb even these giant warriors of the tree -folk. They did not advance with the courage that they first displayed, -although they did continue to make hideous faces and horrifying noises. -But old Scar Face was not the coward that the others were. When the rest -stopped he came on alone, advancing with a heavy rolling stride, while -his long arms dangled clear to the ground. Stooped as he was, Og could -see that the big ape man was very much taller than he was, and broader of -shoulders and deeper of chest—a formidable antagonist, indeed. Yet such -was the courage of the hairy boy that instead of shrinking from him, he -advanced a step or two toward him, crouching too, with his long arms and -powerful hands spread ready to come to grips. - -With a roar the great tree man charged, and Og leaped forward at the same -instant. They met in mid air and crashed to the ground locked in a combat -that was terrible to witness. What a clash that was. With all the fury -of their primitive natures they fought, for to Og it was life or death. -He felt certain that the scar-faced one meant to kill him, and Og’s -determination was to prevent it if he had in him the strength and courage -to withstand the giant tree dweller. - -Over and over they rolled on the ground, kicking, biting, clawing and -thrashing with all their strength. Og had buried his powerful teeth into -the corded neck of his antagonist, in an effort to reach his windpipe, -while his strong hands tore at the tree man’s stomach, trying to rip open -the flesh and tear at his vitals. It was the primitive man’s method of -combat. He knew no other way to fight, and he pressed his attack with all -the strength there was in his powerful body. The tree man, however, did -not display the same viciousness. Rather he seemed to use his greater -strength in protecting himself than in injuring the hairy boy. Og -realized this and wondered. At first he attributed it to the tree man’s -lack of courage, but presently he knew that this was not so for in the -mêlée the great ape man suddenly shifted his long arms in such a manner -that with a single quick movement he could have broken Og’s back and -left him helpless, yet for some strange reason the tree man restrained -himself. Og was more puzzled than ever. - -Seeing their leader thus locked in combat with the captive seemed to -instill more courage in the hearts of the other warriors of the tree -clan, and suddenly they all closed in on the fighting pair, and Og again -felt many hands gripping him, locking his legs and arms in helpless -grips, and forcing his head and neck backward until he must needs let -go his chewing at the throat of Scar Face, to protect his own neck from -being broken. - -Gradually they pinioned his arms and legs and head and trussed him about -the body with their long strong arms, until he was utterly helpless. -Then, as before, he felt himself being lifted off the ground and carried -he knew not whither. For a long time they carried him and Og realized -that they were taking him up to the upper end of the valley between the -tall mountains. Soon the ground became rocky under foot, and seemed to -slope slightly upward. Og wondered whether they meant to take him to the -top of one of the mountains, and perhaps fling him from a precipice. - -But they did not travel far up the slope before, one by one, they let -loose their grip upon him until only Scar Face and another one of the ape -men gripped him. Then, swinging him slowly back and forth between them -several times, they hurled him from them. Og felt himself travel for a -brief instant through space, then he landed with a dull and painful thud -among a mass of jagged rocks, in the entrance to a dark cave. Half dazed -he lay for a brief space where he had fallen and as he lay there he was -conscious of two other forms hurtling through the air and falling beside -him. They, too, lay still, where they were, and by their whimpering Og -knew that he had the wolf cubs for his companions. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -SACRIFICED TO SABRE TOOTH - - -Why had they not killed him? - -This question puzzled Og more than any other. Certainly they had had -ample opportunity. That night, there in the sequoia forest, they could -have strangled him and left his body for the wolves. Or at any time -during their long tree top journey they needed but to drop him from the -branches of one of the high palms and the crash to the ground would have -broken every bone in his body. And again, when they attacked him, Scar -Face could have broken his back, but refrained, or the group of warriors -together could have literally torn him limb from limb, yet they had not -done so. Surely it could not have been cowardice that had stayed them, -nor yet mercy, for mercy was a quality that Og knew but little about and -the tree men nothing at all. Why then had he been spared? - -Og puzzled with this question many times in the days that followed, and -tired his slowly developing brain to absolute fatigue more than once in -pondering for a reason. - -It was strange position he found himself in. He was a prisoner. He knew -this only too well, for during the hours of daylight Scar Face and some -of his stalwart fighters crouched at points of vantage and Og knew by -their demeanor that he could not pass them and go where he pleased. But -his was a strange sort of prison. They had hurled him into a veritable -blind canyon carved by nature in the rocky side of a mountain, whose -high walls tapered from their broad opening into the pleasant valley, -to a narrow declivity behind him that ended in the black and foreboding -entrance of a great and deep cavern. - -Og feared this cave, as did the wolf cubs. They kept as far away from -the black entrance as they could, and always they watched it with signs -of terror in their eyes. Og could read their fear in their growls and -bristling hair, and instinct told him, too, that death lurked there in -some terrible form. Just what it was he could not understand, for his -sensitive nose, or delicate ears, or yet that strange protective instinct -that was his, did not give him any definite indication of what the -danger might be. Still danger, he knew, was there and he too kept as far -away from the cave’s entrance as possible. - -He and the wolf cubs were allowed to roam at will up and down the canyon, -from the cave to its very mouth, where it looked out upon the broad and -sunlit valley, but beyond this point they could not go for always Scar -Face and his tree people were on guard to prevent him. It was at the -mouth of the canyon, that, once a day, he found food. The tree people -always at midday left a pile of strange fruits and stranger nuts for him -to eat. There on a flat rock they laid them and Og knew by this that they -were afraid to come further inside the canyon in which they had made him -prisoner. - -The strange diet of fruit and nuts was at first distasteful to Og. The -hairy people were meat eaters and fruit formed a very small part of -their diet, save berries and certain roots and barks, which his people -had learned to use. But the tree folk were not flesh eaters, and they -gave him only what they ate themselves, but they gave in abundance, and -Og, after a day of fasting, found that he could eat this new food with a -certain degree of relish. - -This being a prisoner was strange and unpleasant to the hairy boy and -for a time he did little but sit among the jagged rocks, with the wolf -cubs beside him, and wonder what it was all about. But on the second -day, as his numerous cuts and bruises began to heal, his spirits lifted -and presently he began seeking about for ways out of his difficulty. -The discovery that the tree folk were prevented by fear from entering -the canyon, although it aggravated his fear of the lurking menace of -the cave, also made him realize that in his prison he could do about as -he chose without any interference from them. This fact discovered, Og -forthwith set about making himself weapons, for he felt that he might -need them sooner than he anticipated. - -A stone hammer was his first thought, and as he cast about among the -rocks for desirable material, he could but think of the valuable -weapons he had once possessed in the fire brands. How he regretted the -over-confidence and the lack of vigilance that had made him let that -precious fire burn out. Oh, if he only knew of some way of rekindling the -flame; of calling back the Fire Demon. - -Although there were rocks in profusion scattered about the canyon, Og was -surprised to find that there was really a dearth of good material for a -stone hammer. The rocks were all too large or of the wrong shape, and he -spent a great deal of time searching and wandered all too close to the -foreboding cave, before he recalled quite suddenly, and with a great deal -of interest, the methods he had employed in getting the stone knife with -which he skinned the wolves that day in the sequoia forest. He remembered -suddenly that, not finding satisfactory material, he had broken a sharp -scale from the large rock, by pounding it with another stone. Why not do -the same thing to shape a hammer head? - -Og sat down and thought the idea over. Then he found the best shaped -stone he could and puzzled over it for some time before he proceeded with -his first effort at craftsmanship. The stone was too heavy and too long. -Og realized that if he could break off one end it would be nearer what he -wanted. He proceeded to beat it against a bowlder and presently he was -rewarded by having part of it break off, leaving in his hand a rather -good hammer head. But, this achieved, Og was not satisfied. He surveyed -the product and realized that it was not as satisfactory as the last one -he had possessed. It was too irregular and misshapen. The question then -took form in his mind, why not reshape it with the aid of other stones! - -Elated with the idea, Og proceeded to find another stone that he could -handle, and after a search he picked up one about the size of his -fist that was black and extremely hard. Og did not know that he had -fortunately found a piece of flint. With this and the rude hammer head -in his hands he sought out a flat rock, and sitting down with the hammer -head between his knees, proceeded with his task of shaping it, while the -guards of the tree people looked on from the mouth of the canyon with -apish inquisitiveness. - -But Og had not chipped more than a half dozen strokes when he made a -startling discovery, one that made him experience a strange mixture of -fear and elation. He proceeded first to chip away a jagged corner of -the hammer head with his piece of flint, when suddenly, and much to his -astonishment, the flint gave off a series of fire sparks. So startled was -Og that he dropped the black stone and sat staring at it in amazement. He -had discovered fire again. - -After a time he picked up the flint and felt it carefully. It was not -hot, yet it contained fire. That was strange. It was black. The cooling -volcanic rock from which he had lighted his resinous torch first was also -black. Was this, then, the same kind of fire rock? Og searched about and -found a stick. He touched it to the flint; held it there a long time yet -no tiny spirals of smoke rewarded him as he expected. Still he knew the -fire was in the rock. It leapt out when he struck it against another -rock. He tried it, and with the second tap more sparks flew. - -Og examined the flint carefully; turned it over and over, felt it again, -tried once more to light the stick, then, still holding it in his hand, -he sat and thought and thought and thought, until his brain grew tired. -The fire was in the rock, of that he was certain, but how to get it out -and in his possession, under his control, was a vexing question. - -Ere long the hammer head was shaped to his satisfaction. To secure a -handle and tough bark with which to lash both stone and stick together -was not difficult, for among the rocks was scrubby vegetation that -yielded him both of these necessities. Og put his now valuable chipping -flint in a safe place, while he worked diligently but carefully at making -the rest of his hammer. - -The coming of night was fraught with unpleasantness for Og. A prisoner -there in the canyon, with the menacing entrance of that mysterious black -cave behind him, and the guards of the tree people on the alert and -closing his only way of escape, made more acute his inherent fear of the -hours of darkness. How glad he was to have the company of the faithful -wolf cubs then. - -Before night was well upon him, Og and the wolf cubs climbed as high as -they could on the sides of the canyon and, huddled behind a huge bowlder, -with their faces turned toward the rear of the canyon and the entrance of -the cave. - -And it was well for Og that he decided to climb part way up the canyon -wall and take shelter behind the bowlder, for hardly had he become -comfortably huddled down with the wolf cubs nestled close to him, when -the narrow confines of the canyon echoed with a wild blood-chilling roar -and, through the blackness of the canyon, Og could see in the entrance of -the cave two glowing eyes and the outline of a huge sabre-toothed tiger. - -Softly, yet swiftly, Og reached out and covered the mouths of the wolf -cubs, for he knew that a whimper or growl from them would bring the -great beast down upon them in an instant. Then like statues, without the -movement of a muscle, they sat there and watched the great beast come -slowly forth from the cave, stretch itself and yawn, then test the wind -by throwing up its massive, ugly head. And as Og watched just a glimmer -of the real idea for his imprisonment in the canyon took shape in his -brain. Had they left him there as a sacrifice to this beast? - -[Illustration: It was trying to trace the direction of an odor] - -Og was close to the truth of the matter, though, of course, he could not -know all of the details of how the great, sabre-toothed one, at times, -made life miserable for the people of the tribe of Scar Face, appearing -suddenly and collecting toll from their numbers, only to disappear just -as suddenly and leave the pleasant valley quiet and unmolested for -weeks. To the tree people the great tiger was a terrible monster and a -mysterious one. They knew that it came from the cave and returned to it. -They thought that it slumbered there and came out only occasionally, when -extremely hungry. They did not know that this cave ran clear through the -base of the mountain, and was really a backdoor to the great beast’s real -den, which opened into another valley beyond the mountains, a far more -desirable valley from the tiger’s point of view than that of the tree -people, for hunting was better there with beavers, and sloths, oxen, -deer, and wild horses in abundance, any one of which made a better meal -for him than did the thin and wiry tree people. That was why the great -sabre-toothed one left the den only occasionally by the back door to hunt -in the valley of the tree people. Her periodical visits, however, were -terrifying to the ape men, for always the great cat caught one of their -number out in the open, or, failing this, climbed one of the tall palms, -in which the tree people made their rude homes, and tore down the rough -and flimsy platforms they had learned to build, and wiped out a whole -family in its ferocious effort to get at least one victim to take back -to the den. That was why Scar Face and his people had carried Og all the -way back to the valley, and that was why the whole tribe rejoiced when he -was brought in a prisoner. For weeks they had been dreading another visit -from Sabre Tooth, and they felt that if they could furnish a victim she -would leave them unmolested for a time at least. - -Og sensed a great deal of this as he and the wolf cubs crouched trembling -behind the big bowlder part way up the canyon wall and he watched the -great beast pick its way slowly and deliberately among the rocks while -fear gripped his heart. - -Suddenly the tiger stopped and lifted its nose toward the sky, at the -same time moving its head and thick muscular neck slowly from side to -side. It was trying to trace the direction of an odor that came down on -the night wind, and Og instinctively knew that the odor was his odor and -that the sinister beast had detected his presence in the canyon. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT - - -Slowly the giant tiger began to flatten itself among the rocks while the -heavy head with its glowing eyes moved about trying to locate Og, either -by smell or by sight. That the great cat knew he was in the canyon and -close at hand was evident from its actions. For a long time it crouched -motionless among the rocks, save the slow and subtle movement of its head -and the silent waving of its tail. Presently it began to creep forward -ever so slowly, moving across the canyon in the direction the soft wind -was blowing and heading directly toward the bowlder behind which the -hairy boy and his wolf companions crouched. - -Og’s heart almost stopped beating. Yet, with all his fear, he never moved -a muscle, for he realized that the tiger knew he was close at hand, but -had not yet been able to locate him, and until it did it would not spring -upon him. It must see him first and know for a certainty just where he -was before it would risk a charge or any quick movement. - -Softly and slowly it slipped forward, from stone to stone and from -bowlder to bowlder, taking advantage of every shelter and waiting long -and patiently in the deep shadows while its evil eyes searched every -possible hiding place to locate its victim. So well hidden were Og and -the wolves, and so silent did they keep, that the big cat was completely -baffled. But Og knew that the natural determination of the beast would -not let it give up the search for him, and it was inevitable that it -would find him and pounce upon him, breaking his neck with one sweep of -its terrible paw, or cleaving his backbone with its mighty jaws. What was -he to do? What chance would he have, even with his stone hammer and the -alliance of the wolf cubs, against this monstrous man-eater? - -In the desperation of the moment an idea was born. He wondered how -solidly this rock that he crouched behind was embedded in the side of -the canyon. He remembered that when he had located it during the hours -of daylight he had noted that it was none too well fixed in its place. -He wondered how great a shove would be needed to send it crashing down -the slope to the bottom of the canyon, twenty or thirty feet below. He -wondered whether he had the strength to start it on its downward path. -It seemed to be his only hope. Softly he put his shoulder against it and -tried it. It moved with unexpected ease and made a grating noise, at the -same time dislodging loose dirt and pebbles that rolled down the slope, -making a surprisingly loud noise in the stillness. - -The tiger flattened against the ground with a soft hiss and its ears -went back against its head, while its eyes glowed like live coals. Og, -frightened by what he had done, loosened his grip upon the wolf cubs -and stood up. Instantly the tiger saw him and gave voice to a roar that -echoed and reechoed across the narrow canyon, and sent chills racing up -and down the back of the hairy boy and the whimpering wolf cubs. Then, -like a flash, it charged. - -Two great leaps brought it to the foot of the slope, and with swift and -powerful strides it began to climb among the rocks directly beneath Og. -The hairy boy watched it over the top of the bowlder, trying to time -his attack so that the big beast would be in a position from which it -could not escape when he should launch the heavy boulder. He knew that -a mistake on his part meant swift and sudden death for him. He knew that -unless he could bowl the great cat over and crush it down with the rock -his end would follow quickly. - -Up mounted the tiger, mouth opened, fangs bared, and eyes glowing. Og -could see the beast distinctly now, in spite of the darkness, and he -realized what a hideous fate would be his if luck were not with him, or -his strength or nerve should fail him. He gritted his teeth and braced -both hands against the boulder, at the same time planting his short, -crooked legs firmly against the ground. - -[Illustration: The bowlder, with a crunching noise, came out of its -insecure resting place] - -The tiger came on, but the steep slope retarded its progress. In spite -of its great claws its footing on the rocks was not certain and small -stones were dislodged and rolled clattering down to the bottom of the -canyon as it climbed. It was half way up the slope now, half between the -canyon bottom and the terror-stricken hairy boy. Og dared not let it -come further, for it might reach firmer footing and with one terrific -spring pounce upon him. The hairy boy gave a mighty heave, putting all -the strength in his powerful back and legs in the shove. The boulder, -with a crunching noise, came out of its insecure resting place, balanced -a moment on edge, then in a shower of stones and dust tipped over and -crashed down the incline on its journey of destruction. - -The tiger saw it coming, and for an instant it paused and flattened -itself against the slope, spitting viciously. That pause was fatal. The -next instant, realizing its danger, it tried to leap forward and fling -itself out of the path of the whirling boulder, but the great stone -crashed upon it before it could leave the ground. Momentarily there was -a pause in the mad career of the stone, then it sped on, and with it, -grinding against other boulders, went the clawing, spitting body of the -big tiger. - -To the bottom of the slope they rolled together, in a mad whirlwind of -flying stones and dust. There they landed with a crash, the heavy stone -pinning the great mottled cat against another and larger boulder that -stopped the wild plunge. There it lay, scratching and clawing at the -huge stone that held it prisoner and making the night hideous with its -terrible screams. - -Og and the wolf cubs remained on the slope of the canyon wall trembling -and wondering what was to happen next. But when the boy discovered the -condition of the beast and knew for a certainty that it was held captive -by the weight of the stone, he added his voice to the general din and -gave the hairy man’s hunting call of triumph. Again and again he shouted -in wild ecstasy, then, seizing his newly made stone hammer, he scrambled -down to the bottom of the canyon, and, swinging his weapon over his head, -crashed it down upon the tiger’s head. Again and again he beat it until -the great head bled from a dozen different wounds, and the animal lay -still among the rocks. Then once more Og raised his voice in a triumphant -shout that echoed and reechoed up and down the canyon and out into the -pleasant valley, where the tree people heard it and wondered. - -All night long Og and the wolf cubs paced up and down beside the dead -tiger, the hairy boy gloating over his achievement and enjoying his -triumph to the fullest. He kicked the limp body, and spat upon it. He -called it dreadful names in the tongue of the hairy people, he stood upon -it, sat astride it, pulled its tail, and finally sat down and watched it -proudly. - -[Illustration: Then he proceeded with his skinning, while the wolf cubs -looked silently on] - -And well might the hairy boy be proud of his accomplishment. The great -cave tigers had taken a heavy toll of his people for many years, yet -never to Og’s knowledge had anyone of his tribe, even his father, who was -the mightiest hunter of them all, ever slain one of these terrible beasts -single-handed. Indeed, Og had only heard of one ever having been killed, -and that was one that, wounded and sick from a recent encounter with a -hairy rhinoceros, had crawled to the river for water. There the hairy -people had found it and cornered it. The whole tribe had joined in the -killing of it and they had stoned and clubbed it to death. Og had seen -the skin, or that part of it that could be salvaged. Old Gog, the scarred -and irritable old war leader of the clan, would bring out the small piece -of it that was left and drape it about his loins at feasts and on other -state occasions. - -Og realized with an overwhelming feeling of importance that he now -possessed a whole skin to boast about when he should meet his people. He -was wealthier now than any hairy man had ever been, or at least he would -be when he had skinned the tiger. He was eager now for dawn to come so -that he could begin that important task. - -The first gray light of morning found Og searching about among the stones -in the canyon for one that would make a satisfactory skinning knife. He -searched long and hard, for he was beginning to appreciate the value of -good tools, and he meant to have a knife that would do its work well. -Again he was fortunate in finding a piece of flint; a large scale this -time, that had a sharper edge than any knife that Og had ever possessed. -He was elated, and he resolved, as he admired the cutting edge and tried -it on the handle of his hammer, that he would not throw it away as -most hairy people did the sharp stones they used for the same purpose. -Instead, he would keep it, and perhaps, by chipping it as he had done the -hammer head, he could make it even more serviceable. - -With the coming of the first rays of the sun Og was bending over the -prostrate form of the huge tiger. He had rolled the boulder partly away -and dragged the carcass out from its death trap. Then he proceeded with -his skinning, while the wolf cubs looked silently on or explored among -the rocks for small animals on which they might breakfast. - -It was at this work that the wondering and thoroughly frightened tree -people found him when they began to gather timidly about the entrance of -the canyon. And when they saw the sabre-toothed one stretched prone on -the ground with the one that they had meant to be his victim bending over -him they squealed in amazement and jabbered among themselves, but none -of them, not even old Scar Face, had the courage to enter the canyon and -come near him. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -FIRE - - -Og paid small heed to the tree people who gathered at a safe distance to -watch him. This task of skinning the great cave tiger was too absorbing -and too important. He worked diligently until the sun was overhead -before he had the huge pelt removed and spread out on the surface of a -sun-warmed rock to dry. But he did not stop there. He fancied the long -knife-like claws of the great cat, and with his stone hammer he broke all -of these off. He wanted the sabres, too; the long tusks that protruded -from the upper jaw and were almost as long as his forearm. With his stone -hammer he broke these off and laid them aside with his other trophies. - -All this accomplished, he sat down to rest and suck the blood from his -messy fingers. It was then that he realized for the first time that he -was hungry. But the strong, unsavory cat flesh did not appeal to him, -despite the fact that he had not tasted meat for several days. With his -flint knife he hacked a muscle from the carcass and tried it. It was not -pleasant and he flung it to the wolf cubs. - -They devoured it greedily and turned to the carcass for more, and Og knew -that with the help of the vultures that already circled overhead or sat -hunched on nearby rocks, they would soon leave nothing but gnawed bones -to remind the tree people of the terrible cave-dwelling tiger. - -His hunger recalled to Og that the tree people had provided him with -food. He looked out toward the mouth of the canyon, where a number of -them were gathered in little groups in trees and on the tops of rocks, -watching him curiously, and he noted with a sense of satisfaction that as -he watched them they became uneasy, and chattered among themselves, and -some that had ventured a little too far from the security of the trees -scrambled back and took refuge among the palm tops, nor did they jabber -at him derisively as ape people did at hairy folk when they felt safely -out of reach. They held him in awe and Og knew that his triumph over -Sabre-Tooth was accountable for it. Even the powerful Scar Face and his -band of warriors moved to a distance with the others. - -Og was elated, nor was he slow to take advantage of this new situation. -With a rolling walk that had about it a faint suggestion of swagger, he -walked to the mouth of the canyon and looked at the flat rock on which -the tree people had each day placed the fruit and nuts that were his -food. It was bare. He looked at it in silence for a moment then up among -the palms at the peering, chattering tree people. In the fiercest voice -he could muster he began shouting for food, at the same time brandishing -his stone hammer. - -Much to his satisfaction his easily interpreted actions caused a -commotion among the ape men and forthwith Scar Face and a number of -others began chattering loudly, and presently the whole horde was -scurrying about among the tree tops. Og, with the demeanor of a tyrant, -which he already felt himself to be, walked back to his tiger skin and -sat there watching, and before long he was gratified to see timid tree -folk hurrying toward the food rock with armfuls of fruit, and it was not -long before they had deposited there a pile of food that was staggering -in its proportions. It contained more than Og could eat in many days, -all of which gave the primitive boy grim satisfaction. He was fast -beginning to feel his importance as the slayer of the cave tiger and -it delighted him to see that the tree people were awed to fear by his -prowess. - -Still, his fast developing egotism did not overbalance his discretion, -for that night and many nights thereafter he and the wolf cubs sought -out protecting rocks on the sloping sides of the canyon, behind which to -crouch and slumber. - -Nor did the fact that he was held in awe and feared by the tree people -incline him toward being a bully and a despot. Og was developing too -swiftly for that. There were too many things he wanted to do and he did -not want to spare time to make life miserable for Scar Face and his -people through their fear of him. True, he did demand that they bring him -food, but that was no hardship. Indeed, it soon became apparent that this -was in the nature of a pleasure for the ape people, for daily scores of -the food carriers gathered among the rocks and trees at the mouth of the -canyon and watched him as he went about accomplishing the things that -he had set out to do. They watched him with the curiosity that only ape -folk can display, and many of them tried to imitate him in some of the -things he did. Especially was this true of Scar Face, the leader of the -tree folk. When Og chipped stone diligently for half a day, Scar Face and -several of the other tree men, after watching him in silence for a time, -would get two stones and knock them together too and watch the result -curiously. But, of course, they never achieved anything from their effort -for they had no object in knocking the stones together in the first -place, save that of imitating the hairy boy. - -Og spent a great deal of time in knocking stones together, for _he_ had a -real object. He was determined to find out how to get the fire from the -black rock in a form that would make it of service to him as a protector -and to furnish him light and heat and cook his food. Og thought longingly -of the fire-scorched horse that he had first eaten and he was determined, -if it were possible, to once again eat cooked meat. - -For that reason he spent days at a time working with the piece of flint -rock that gave off the sparks each time he struck it against another -stone. He tried every way he could think of to catch the fire, but not -once was his patient effort rewarded with even the tiniest spiral of -smoke. Still he kept at his work with determination. Time and again he -held sticks against the black stone and watched the results eagerly. He -struck the stone against the stick for hours at a time until he wore -out the stick, yet the result was always the same. When he struck stone -against stone he always got sparks, yet neither stone would catch fire. -Og worked and worried and fretted and tired his brain out trying to -accomplish the thing he desired. - -He had set himself up a veritable workshop there in the canyon, under -the shelter of some big bowlders. There he kept his precious tiger skin, -and the claws and teeth, and there he kept choice pieces of wood that he -hoped some day to make into torches, his hammers—for he had made several -now that he had found an interest in making things—his stone knives, -for he had wrought several of these with patient chipping, and numerous -pieces of flint that he had gathered up about the canyon. Always he sat -on a smooth flat rock to work at his stone chipping, and beneath this -rock was a litter of stone chips and, most conspicuous of all, a pile of -splintered wood, some of it ground almost to powder as a result of his -almost incessant beating of flint against wood and wood against flint in -his vain hope of transferring the sparks from the stone to a torch. - -Of course Og did not realize it, but this litter of powdery splinters -of wood was the key to the solution of his problem, and doubtless he -would have gone on with his patient experimenting for days, with his -fire material close at hand, had it not been for a fortunate accident. -The hairy boy found a new piece of the black fire rock, a large piece, -twice as big as his head, and he had carried it from a remote corner of -the canyon back to his workshop beside the flat stone. Here he dropped -it on the ground and surveyed it reflectively. It was much too large to -do anything with and he realized that pieces of it could be more easily -handled. He decided to break it into fragments and forthwith he smote it -a terrific blow with his stone hammer. - -A perfect shower of sparks and a ruined stone hammer rewarded him, for -the flint was a terrifically hard smoothgrained piece and not easily -broken. Og looked at the shattered hammer-head ruefully, and then at the -flint. Then he gave a sharp cry of astonishment, for, behold, from the -pile of litter, from the powdered wood splinters, a tiny spiral of smoke -curled up, while a spark glowed before his eyes. - -For a moment Og did not know just what to do. Suddenly he recalled that -this fire thing was a peculiar animal that could be both killed and -brought to life by breathing on it. But before he could put this thought -into action the wisp of smoke went out, and the glowing spark became -black. In vain did he try to nurse it back to life. It was gone. - -Og’s disappointment was overwhelming for a little while. He just crouched -there in dejection, looking at the pile of splinters and wood dust. But -presently he aroused himself and began to ponder the matter. He ran his -fingers through the wood dust and realized that it was soft and pulpy. He -remembered, too, how much more readily soft wood had burned in his first -fire, and he wondered whether that was not the solution of the whole -problem. - -He let the great piece of flint lie where it was and, finding a heavy -stone that he could conveniently handle, he crashed it down upon the -fire rock with as much force as he had used when he had shattered his -stone hammer. Once more there was a shower of sparks and once more a -tiny spiral of smoke began to rise from the litter of wood dust. Og was -quickly on his knees this time breathing on the glowing spark. And, as he -blew against it softly, he saw it increase in size and grow brighter and -the smoke wisp grow larger and larger. - -Suddenly, with a tiny explosive sound, the live coal leaped into a -flame and Og, with a cry of elation, hastily began to feed it wood -splinters until presently his whole heap of litter was alive and burning -and a smoke column was rising skyward. That night was the first since -the beginning of time that a camp fire glowed in the canyon, and the -tree people from the safety of the tall palm trees watched it with a -sense of fear, for to them it seemed like the eye of another giant, -more formidable even than the cave tiger, looking at them through the -blackness. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -STOLEN FLAMES - - -Og had learned the secret of fire. Not content with having kindled -flames by accident, the hairy boy continued his experimenting with the -black fire stone. True, the accidental lighting of the wood dust litter -revealed the secret to him, but even after that it was some time before -he really felt that he had mastered the situation to the extent where he -could kindle flames whenever he chose, providing he possessed the fire -stone. - -Again and again he scraped wood dust and tiny splinters from a piece of -soft wood with his flint knife, then bent over them with two fire stones, -learning the art of striking the sparks so that they would leap from the -stones into the powdered wood and immediately start glowing. But finally -he achieved what to him was perfection in the art of fire building and he -was extremely happy. - -The fire, of course, was a mystery to the tree people. That was evident -from the way they gathered about the entrance of the canyon and watched -it curiously. Some of them even overcame their fear of the canyon and the -hairy boy to the extent of coming well inside the rocky declivity and -sitting there among the bowlders for long periods, just blinking solemnly -at the flames and chattering softly among themselves. Chief among those -who mustered courage enough to come close to the flames was old Scar -Face. He finally reached the point where he would sit for hours there and -stare first at the fire and then at the hairy boy with an expression of -profound thought. - -Indeed, so often did Scar Face and certain others gather in a circle -about Og’s fire, that after a time there developed a certain intimacy -between the hairy boy and the ape men. They lost their fear of this -mighty one who had slain the great cave tiger and who had proved himself -master of the Fire Demon, and in its place developed a wholesome respect -for him and his ability. Scar Face and all of his lusty fighting men -would often gather in a semi-circle at a respectful distance from -Og, and watch him with a strange expression in their eyes, which Og -gradually perceived was admiration, the admiration of loyal subjects to -a chieftain, and Og soon realized that, if he cared to, he could be the -ruler of the tree people, with Scar Face and his warriors as his devoted -henchmen. - -But for some strange reason this did not appeal to Og. To be ruler of the -tree people was not to his liking. He had watched them closely during -the time he had been among them and he had found them tremendously -interesting. So like the hairy men they were in many ways, and yet so -different. - -Og had always looked upon them as animals, but he perceived now, as a -result of his intimacy with Scar Face, that they were not, yet they were -not men as he knew them. They had a language that consisted of grunts -and querulous chattering but it was so crude that Og could see that they -had great difficulty in expressing even the simplest thought. They could -think. Og realized this when he analyzed their reasons for bringing -him to the canyon a prisoner. Scar Face, who represented the height of -development among them, had doubtless thought out the idea of making him -a sacrifice to the cave tiger. They built tree top homes for themselves -especially in mating time, and though they were crude structures they -showed a homing instinct. And some among them, notably Scar Face and his -warriors, occasionally carried weapons in the form of clubs, though they -often forgot that they possessed them, as they forgot many other things. - -Here Og could see was one of two distinct differences between the tree -people and his own race. Most hairy men (although there were still many -who were not capable) followed an idea or a task to its conclusion. -If a hairy man wanted to find a smooth round stone for a new stone -hammer-head, he usually set about searching for it and searched until he -found it, although there were some even among his people who could be -turned aside from such a quest and made to forget all about the object -they had started after by a bit of bright quartz, or the discovery of a -bird’s nest or something else that might amuse them. - -This was the way of all the tree people. They no sooner found one thing -that interested them, than they dropped it for another. Og perceived, -however, that this was not entirely true of some of them, especially old -Scar Face, who seemed to have more steadfastness of purpose than most of -his kind. - -Og marked another difference between the tree people and the race of -hairy men. It was a physical difference. Under his own long hair Og knew -that his skin was a yellowish white. The skin under the hair of the tree -people was dark; in truth it was quite black. Og, thinker though he was -slowly growing to be, noted this with only passing interest, for he could -not know that this was the key to the whole mystery, and this difference -in skin color marked the ape men as a different race, a race that even at -that early date was still thousands of years behind his own people. Nor -could he understand that a million years hence, when his race should have -achieved the heights of civilization, the offsprings of the tree people -would still be savages. - -Yet Og could see that some of them, especially their leader, were -making slow progress. Their interest in his fire and all that he did -was evidence of this to him. The fact that Scar Face imitated him in -everything he did, to the best of his ability, also helped Og in this -conclusion. The scarred one walked more upright than the rest of his -kind. He carried a club for a weapon more frequently than the rest and he -always watched Og’s stone hammers with interest whenever he came close -to his fire. Og noted this fact and one day, more out of curiosity than -anything else, he gave Scar Face one of his best weapons. - -Og needed no interpreter to understand from the grunts and gibberish -that Scar Face was grateful. Indeed, he was so delighted that his antics -were childish. He paraded before his warriors with the hammer over his -shoulder, and smote trees and bushes for no other reason than just to -show off his weapon, and his warriors were duly impressed. - -Scar Face watched with interest, too, Og’s handling of the fire, and -often when he sat near it he would toss a stick onto the flames, and -chatter excitedly when he saw the flames consume his contribution. The -fact that Og always carried a smoking and flaming firebrand about with -him wherever he went impressed old Scar Face, too, for he perceived that -that was equally as important a weapon as the stone hammer. - -First he had a wholesome respect for the fire, although for some reason -he did not fear it as many of his people did. This respect for the flames -increased when he inadvertently stepped on a hot coal that had popped -some distance from Og’s stone fireplace. But he could appreciate its -virtues, too. Its biggest appeal to him was the fact that it dispelled -the darkness of night, the darkness which he and his people feared. It -gave light and he knew that monsters like the sabre-toothed tiger, the -cave-lion, and other beasts of prey shunned light and hunted only during -the hours of darkness. - -He appreciated its warmth, too, for it was a delightful sensation to -crouch within its circle of radiance and feel the warmth against his -hairy coat. The rites that Og performed over the flames each time he -killed a rabbit or some other small animal, and the transition of the red -and bloody meat to rich savory brown food, was something he could not -understand. - -He often gnawed at the few bones that the wolf cubs left and found that -the taste was pleasing, and several times Og flung him a small piece of -cooked meat, which he sampled and ate with great gusto. Scar Face and his -people were not meat eaters like the hairy men, for the chief reason that -they had never had the ability or the weapons with which to procure this -kind of food. They never shunned the contents of birds’ nests, however, -and small rodents that they were able to catch, they always gobbled down -with relish. Scar Face soon perceived that flesh, and especially cooked -flesh, was well worth the eating and, as a result of his introduction to -this form of food by Og, he was to become the first meat eater among the -tree people. - -Soon after he had sampled the cooked food that Og gave him, and some time -after he had acquired the stone hammer, he took to hunting as diligently -as Og did, and the first day he was rewarded by killing one of the many -rabbit-like animals that were abundant in the pleasant valley. After -surprising it and crushing it with a blow of the stone hammer, he brought -the mangled form to Og and told him gruntingly that he’d like to have the -hairy boy cook it for him. - -Og obligingly skinned it and cooked it, and Scar Face devoured it with -much smacking and sucking. The bones he tossed to the wolf cubs as he had -seen Og do, and when he finished he licked his fingers in imitation of -the boy. - -After that Scar Face wanted a fire of his own. For some time he tried -to make Og understand his desires and finally, when the hairy boy did -comprehend him, he flatly refused by a vigorous shaking of his head. The -disappointment of Scar Face was very evident. He sulked and grew ugly. He -showed his teeth at Og and even clutched the handle of his stone hammer -menacingly. It was a show of belligerence that the hairy boy could not -tolerate for a moment, and angrily Og snatched up a burning fire brand -and hurled it at the ape man with such accuracy that it hit him in the -pit of the stomach and singed the hair and burned the flesh until old -Scar Face shrieked with pain and ran away clutching at his paunch and -squealing. - -Og sat by his fire and grinned at the tree man’s discomfort, for -although he was perfectly willing to have old Scar Face possess a stone -hammer he was not at all inclined to share with him his most valuable -of all weapons, the fire brands. Og knew now that he could drive off -the fiercest of the hunting animals, even the cave tiger, with the fire -brands, and he knew, too, that if it ever became necessary he could hold -Scar Face and his whole clan at bay. Under those circumstances he was -not willing to put any of the tree people in possession of the weapon he -depended upon most. - -Scar Face, off in the bush, nursed his burns, and later he tried as best -he knew how to make a fire for himself. He got stones and a litter of -wood, as he had watched Og do, and he clashed the stones together until -they broke in fragments, but not a single spark of fire did he ever -produce. - -Yet the desire to have a fire of his own still persisted, and although -the leader of the tree folk never came near Og’s fire again while the -hairy boy was present, he watched the actions of Og from a hiding place -at the mouth of the canyon. For several days he lurked there, hidden even -from his own people, and finally the opportunity that he was hoping for -arrived. - -Og, as was his custom, lighted a fire brand from the flames, and with his -stone hammer and some throwing stones in his hands, and the wolf dogs at -his heels, started out across the pleasant valley on a hunting trip to -replenish his larder, Scar Face, from his hiding place, watched him until -he was well out of sight. Then, marking that none of his own people were -watching his actions either, he made his way craftily into the canyon -and, slipping from rock to rock, reached the place where Og’s fire still -burned in the rude stone fireplace. From wood that he found there he made -himself a torch as he had often seen the hairy boy do, and dipped it into -the still smoldering ashes, he breathed upon it after the fashion of Og -and presently tiny flames appeared at the end of his torch. He had a fire -brand, too! - -He held it up and watched it with eager, yet fearful eyes. Then he did -a curious little dance of elation, as if he sought to tell himself in -that way that he was as great a man as Og. But quite suddenly he stopped -dancing, for he realized that the owner of the fire might presently -appear again. Then, too, for some curious reason, he did not want even -his own people to know that he possessed this fire torch. He glanced -about cautiously, and stealthily made his way out of the canyon. Then, -holding the burning torch at arm’s length as he had seen the hairy boy -do, he slipped into the forests and disappeared. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE WRATH OF THE FIRE MONSTER - - -Og off with the wolf cubs, had a premonition that all was not well. A -strange feeling of impending catastrophe haunted him. He watched the wolf -cubs to see whether they sensed anything wrong, but they gave no sign. -Og’s instincts were keener even than theirs in this emergency, for he -knew that something was amiss. He tried to shake off the feeling and go -on with his hunting, but, try as he would, a strange something seemed -urging him to return to the canyon that had been his home now for weeks -past and, almost despite his own will power, he obeyed. - -Back across the pleasant valley he hurried, his fire brand and stone -hammer held in readiness, and his sharp eyes and keen ears alert to -catch the first sign of trouble. On he pushed as swiftly as his short -legs would carry him, and that was with incredible swiftness, all things -considered. On his way he passed several groups of tree people in the -tops of palm trees, and they, too, seemed to be strangely agitated, -seeming to become more disturbed than ever as he passed with his fire -brand. - -Og tested the air with his nose. Something made him pause and sniff again -and again, while his restless eyes roved the woods and the meadow, and -even the skyline beyond. There was a strange tenseness about everything, -and he saw a low-hung cloud beyond the tops of the palm trees that seemed -all too near and very menacing. Yet even then he could not understand -what was happening. - -On he hurried, and presently he was picking his way among the boulders in -the canyon toward the sheltering rocks that he called home. Everything -appeared as he had left it. His precious tiger skin, and other trophies -were still rolled in the corner among the rocks, his pile of sticks was -there, too, and so were his extra stone hammers and his flint knives. -What, then, could be wrong? - -He looked about him. Then he gave a grunt of surprise and crossed over to -his stone fireplace. Scar Face had been there. Scar Face had been there -and stolen some fire from the embers in his fireplace. Og stooped and -picked up a stone hammer that lay close to the fire and by this token he -knew all that had transpired in his absence. It was the hammer that he -had given the leader of the tree people. Scar Face, as his kind were wont -to do, had dropped it and left it there, forgetting it in his excitement -at having a fire brand of his own. - -Og picked up the hammer and scrutinized it carefully, then with it still -in his hand, he turned and looked out across the valley, across the tops -of the trees, to where the low-hung cloud appeared. It was much larger -now and much nearer and Og could see that it was not as other clouds -in the sky, for it ballooned upward and outward in great black billows -and here and there it was shot with tongues of flame. Og was chilled -with fear, for he knew that Scar Face had stolen the fire and carried -it off to the bush, and not knowing its potentialities, had attempted -to build himself a camp fire in the woods. And, in doing it, he had set -the world on fire—loosed the wrathful Fire Demon. Og could see it all, -and he trembled as he thought of the result, for his mind leapt back to -the volcano and the earthquake when the wrathful Fire Demon had set the -world aflame once before. - -The hairy boy was thoroughly frightened. So, too, were the wolf cubs -now, for they raised their sharp muzzles to the wind and sniffed -apprehensively, and whimpering drew closer to their master. - -It was a terrible forest fire that Scar Face had started. A mass of dirty -yellow smoke was rolling skyward and drifting across the heavens. Soon it -began to obscure the sun. Og could see the great orb through the smoke -and it looked sinister and menacing; like a great ball of fire itself. -The air became heavy and pungent with the odor of burning vegetation. A -great silence seemed to fall over everything, even the birds were still. -Yet a part of this silence it seemed was an undertone that struck dread -even to the stout heart of the hairy boy. It was the sinister moan of -the fire, far off it seemed and dreadful, but as it drew nearer this -moan would become a roar as the flames leapt from tree to tree and tore -through the underbrush devouring everything in their path. - -Og began to wonder about his own safety and the safety of the wolf cubs. -He realized that the lack of vegetation there in the canyon would -prevent the flames from reaching him. But he realized, too, that there -was sufficient fuel on the mountainsides above him, and in the pleasant -valley, to bring the flames uncomfortably close, and blow billowing smoke -clouds into the canyon, that would choke them to death. What was he to do? - -Presently he realized that he was not the only one who was worried. A -group of tree people appeared at the mouth of the canyon, all of them -whimpering in terror. They paused there at the entrance and looked in at -Og as if beseeching him to help them to safety. Others appeared. They -came at first in family groups of threes and fours, and they gathered -among the bowlders at the entrance of the canyon, where they crouched -shivering with fear, and alternately watched the ever-increasing smoke -cloud and the actions of the hairy boy. Still they came. In larger groups -now; sometimes a dozen or a score at a time. Soon the entire entrance -of the canyon was blocked with the mass of them, but still they came. -Hundreds of them there were. Og marveled at their great number. - -The fire was increasing to terrific proportions and drawing steadily -nearer. The undertone that had at first sounded like a far-off moaning -became a steady roar, punctuated now and then by a great snapping and -cracking, or a crash as some mighty tree, its trunk burned through, -crashed to the ground. The tongues of flame that shot upward and split -the rolling smoke bank like flashes of lightning were fiercer now, -and the air was hot and heavy and pungent with the smoke. There was -a constant rain of fine cinders and charred bits of sticks, some of -them still hot and carrying live sparks of fire. When these fell among -the mass of tree people squalls of terror arose and there was a wild -scrambling and milling about in their mad effort to get out of the way of -the dropping ashes. - -Soon they began to crowd in through the mouth of the canyon, packing -themselves into the declivity like a huge flock of sheep. Og watched -them and wondered what would happen to them when the leaping fire roared -across the pleasant valley and up the mountain’s sides overhead. Indeed, -he wondered with great fear what was going to happen to him, too, when -that situation developed. - -The smoke was growing dreadfully thick even down there close to the -ground. It was a black pall across the heavens by this time shutting -out the sun completely and a draught was drawing thick billows of it -into the canyon. The tree people began coughing and spitting and rubbing -their eyes. Some of them were quick to discover that the air was clearer -and fresher close to the ground and many of them threw themselves prone -among the stones and lay that way breathing in the meager quantity of -smoke-free air that lingered in crevices between the rocks. - -A terrific wind was roaring through the canyon. It was a torrid wind, hot -and scorching, for it was created by the fire itself, a terrific draught -that whirled aloft great chunks of charred and still smoking wood and -dropped them among the terror-stricken tree dwellers. Screams of pain and -anguish were added to the noise of the fire and Og shuddered as he saw -some among them clutch at back or side and shriek with pain. - -But the hairy boy was just as uncomfortable as the tree people and in -almost as much of a panic. It was all too evident to him now that he -could not live long in the canyon. The thick acrid smoke was in his lungs -and he was coughing and spitting with the rest of them. His eyes burned -like balls of fire themselves, for the smoke had scorched them until they -were raw and painful. He was busy, too, dodging the rain of charred wood -and hot cinders and more than one singed his hair and bit deep into his -flesh. It was a terrible situation and the hairy boy was put to it to -find a way out of the difficulty. - -He had clung to his refuge under the shelter of the bowlders where he -had made his home for days past, but he was fast realizing now that this -was a far from satisfactory place to hide in the face of this terrible -threatening peril. But where was he to go? In desperation he peered -through the smoke for some better rocky refuge; some more protected -corner of the canyon. And suddenly he found it. Through a rift in the -swirling smoke bank he beheld the black opening of the sabre-toothed -tiger’s cave. It was an awesome place to think of venturing into, but -better by far than any refuge the canyon afforded. - -Eagerly Og gathered up his tiger skin, his best knife and hammer, and his -still burning fire brand. Then, calling to the cowering wolf cubs, he -started to bolt through the smoke. But suddenly he paused. He thought of -the tree people. He knew they would never think of the cave as a refuge -nor have the courage to venture into it if they did think of it, and they -would all perish there in the canyon. He would show them. He would lead -the way. - -He raised his voice in a great glad shout which some of the ape men heard -even above the roar of the fire. They looked at him in astonishment, and -when they saw him beckoning and calling them to follow, one by one they -broke away from the huddling, cringing mass and trailed him through the -swirling smoke cloud. And presently Og was leading the whole tribe in the -direction that safety lay. - -It was a bold and daring thing that he was doing, and when Og reached the -yawning entrance of the great cave he stood before it irresolutely, with -the ape men cowering behind him and peering into the sinister blackness -of the interior. Not so the wolf cubs, however. Once they saw the cave -they dashed inside. Og noticed that they never hesitated, nor did they -utter a single growl of warning. Indeed, it was with a relieved whimper -that they sought this refuge and Og took heart and stepped inside, but he -slung his tiger skin back over his shoulders and clutched his hammer and -fire brand ready for action as he went deeper into the great cave. - -Only a few moments longer did the tree people hesitate, then with much -squealing and pushing and shoving the whole tribe crowded inside and -began to follow the hairy boy whose fire brand torch dispelled some of -the blackness and showed them the way through narrow passages that led -deeper into the bowels of the mountain where the air was free from smoke -and cool and damp and delightful to their singed and badly burned bodies. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE PYTHON’S COILS - - -Despite the relief the coolness and clear air in the cave afforded, it -was evident that the tree people were badly frightened at being inside -the great cave that had been the home of the formidable sabre-toothed -tiger. They cringed and whimpered and huddled in little frightened groups -as Og led them forward through narrow passages, and they peered into the -gloom ahead with frightened eyes. Og felt the same terror clutching at -his stout heart. But the wolf cubs went bravely on ahead, and this, added -to the fact that he had assumed the leadership and the responsibility -of taking the tree people to safety, keyed up his courage to a certain -extent and made him at least appear bolder than he really was. - -Deeper and deeper he led them into the hollow in the mountain. It was -a long, narrow cave in the beginning, hardly more than a passageway -at some points, and long pendant stalactites hung from the roof while -needle-like stalagmites protruded from the floor and in some places -almost barred passage, or narrowed the cave so that Og and his horde of -followers had sometimes to crawl under them or work their way around -them. But they kept on because slowly smoke from the great forest fire -was being drawn into the passage by draughts, and Og and the tree people -wanted to get beyond the point where there was any smoke at all. Another -reason why the hairy boy led on was because the wolf cubs continued to -trot ahead of him and he felt that so long as they went on and exhibited -no signs of fear whatever, it was safe for him to proceed with his -followers. - -It was a strange and weird procession they made as they traveled through -the cave, with the hairy boy ahead carrying his torch with its feeble -rays only partly dispelling the gloom and throwing a weird light on the -tribe of tree people strung out behind him, chattering to each other and -looking about in the darkness with fear in their eyes. In that procession -were old ape men and young ape men and mothers with their babies clinging -to their breasts, and all of them were trusting to the hairy boy to take -them to safety. - -And Og felt that trust, and somehow, in a way that he could not -understand, it gave him faith and confidence in himself, and strength to -go on, even though it was all as much of an ordeal to him as it was to -the tree people. - -They moved forward for some little time, when suddenly the passageway -ended in a huge-vaulted cavern; a tremendous room large enough to -accommodate them all with plenty of space to spare. - -Coming out into this suddenly, Og stopped and so did the tree people. It -was so large, and so filled with the gloom of night that it frightened -all of them and they cowered and huddled together in a panicky mass and -chattered softly to themselves as their eyes roved about trying to pierce -the heavy enveloping blackness. But gradually, with the help of Og’s -torch, their eyes became accustomed to the darkness and they could see -from one end of the cavern to the other, and to its great dome-like roof -from which hung stalactites of tremendous length. It was a weird cave, -indeed, and the presence of great bats, almost as big as Og himself, that -swept and soared in and out among the pillar-like pendants that reached -downward from the ceiling, only added to its dreadfulness. - -[Illustration: Great bats, almost as big as Og himself] - -The bats were like great black-robed spirits that flitted softly about, -or hung from convenient crevices and glared at them with eyes that showed -green fire in the darkness. Some of the largest of them, as if resentful -of this invasion, even swooped toward them and clicked long and ugly -teeth, and uttered shrill squeaks. Mostly they made for Og, singling him -out no doubt because of the flickering torch he held. They did not know -what this sparkling thing was and they dived at it repeatedly until Og, -with a yell of triumph that echoed and reechoed from wall to wall of -the cavern, brought one of them down with a lightning-like swing of his -stone hammer and crushed out its life before it could struggle up from -the stone floor. After that the great black bats soared and swooped at a -safer distance. - -Og threw off the fear of the great cavern first and while the tree folk -huddled in a mass in the center of the cave and clung to each other for -protection, staring about them fearfully, the hairy boy with his torch -and the wolf cubs at his heels, began to explore the great room. - -It was soon apparent to him that the cave was the center of a number of -small caves that seemed to reach out in all directions, like legs from -the body of a giant spider. Og wondered where these other caves led to, -and as he came to the entrance of each of them he stopped and peered into -them, but even he was not bold enough to attempt to explore them. - -Presently he came to one about the entrance of which there lingered a -dreadful, sickening odor that suddenly filled Og’s soul with terror, and -made the wolf cubs growl, while the hair on their shoulders bristled and -their tails, instead of stiffening with the desire to fight, dropped -between their legs. Og was on the point of running away, but, with an -effort, he mastered himself and, hiding behind a cone-shaped stalagmite, -he peered into the black entrance, holding his torch so that it would -send its light rays as far as possible down the passage. - -He could see nothing, but on the cool draught that came down the passage -way he got a stronger scent of the dreadful odor. It was familiar. He -had smelled it before and it had terrorized him then, yet for the moment -he could not identify it. What could it be? He asked the question over -and over again. Then he stopped to listen. Down the passageway came a -peculiar scraping sound, as if some long slender body were dragging its -full length along the rock floor. Suddenly Og knew what the hideous thing -was, and he went cold as he realized the menace that was approaching. -It was a python; a giant snake, ancestor of the present day constrictor -of the southern jungles. It had been driven by the forest fire to take -refuge in a cavern in the mountains, and as Og and the tree people had -wandered down one of the passages to the great central cavern, it was -doing likewise. - -Og could hardly repress a cry of fear as he realized that all too soon -the great reptile would slide its terrible length into the central -cavern. Then woe to him and the tree people. These ape men were the -natural prey of the python, who would lie in wait among the matted -branches of the forest and throw coils about the unfortunate tree man who -ventured near his lair. When the python found this huddled mass of ape -folk in the central cavern, Og knew that the result would be terrible to -witness. He turned away from his hiding place to hurry back to spread -a warning. But even as he left the shelter of the cone-like stalagmite -a great, ugly, flat head, with cold green eyes, terrifically powerful -jaws and a darting tongue, appeared in the entrance of the cavern, and -a moment later the giant python began to slide its great shining body -into the central cave, working its serpentine way among the stalagmites -swiftly and softly, save for the peculiar scraping sound that its heavy -body made as it slid its length across the limestone floor. - -The hairy boy had hardly time to dodge behind another sheltering pinnacle -when the huge serpent raised its head and shining neck aloft and glared -about the cavern. Og knew instantly that the snake had discovered the -tree folk, for like a flash its head came down, then with surprising -speed it began to slip across the cavern, sliding so close to the hiding -Og that he could have touched the shining coils as they glided by. - -Og, valiant despite his own fears, wanted to rush forward and warn the -tree folk, scatter them, and tell them to take refuge wherever they -could, but the great snake had glided between and cut him off from them. - -[Illustration: The huge serpent raised its head and shining neck aloft -and glared about the cavern] - -On moved the big snake, and Og, cold with fear himself, hardly knew -what to do. For a moment he was afraid to cry out for fear the serpent -would turn on him. But only for a moment did the cowardice overcome him. -Disregarding danger to himself he voiced a ringing shout of warning and -with stone hammer in one hand and torch in the other, he dashed headlong -across the cave, trying his best to turn the huge snake’s attention from -the tree folk long enough for them to get away. - -They heard his shout of warning and it spread consternation among them. -They saw the peril that was traveling swiftly toward them, but so -frightened were they and so slow to act, that the python was full upon -them before the great mass scattered and started for one of the many -hall-like caves that opened into the cavern. Like a cyclone then the -snake descended upon them, literally hurling his long shining body among -them. Og saw it all with a shudder. - -The shrieks that followed were deafening as they echoed and reechoed -against the walls of the cavern, and the writhing of the big snake tossed -tree folk right and left as they strove to get out of his way. Coil after -coil the snake threw among them and Og knew that the fate of some of his -recent companions was sealed. - -But when the ape men moved they moved fast. With terrific speed the mass -dispersed, and in a twinkling they were all gone, the last of them -disappearing through the dark mouth of one of the smaller caves; the last -but two, and Og. - -These two Og saw struggling in the folds of the great snake. They were -big, strong, powerful ape men; some of the warriors that Scar Face had -led, yet their struggles were puny indeed against the folds of the big -python’s body. They screamed, and thrashed with their arms and bit with -vicious teeth, but to no avail. Suddenly the great snake contracted the -coils it had looped about them, and Og with a sickening sensation saw the -two big ape men go limp. He could hear the dull sound of breaking bones, -and when the snake slowly uncoiled they dropped to the floor lifeless and -almost without form, so terribly crushed were they. - -It was a hideous, terrifying sight, but for some strange reason that Og -could not understand it did not frighten him as much as it angered him. -A sense of pity for those two poor mutilated forms that a moment before -had been alive welled up in him, and he was consumed with hate for the -horrible reptile. Indeed, he was moved to attack it and with a war cry -ringing on his lips he started to advance upon it. Like a flash the snake -turned and faced him, and in the cold, merciless green eyes that Og -looked into, the hairy boy saw no hopes for victory. He knew that he was -doing a foolish, though valiant thing, and discretion made him stop in -his tracks. - -The next instant, the snake, with a hiss that was blood chilling, drew -back its terrible head and struck at him with lightning swiftness. But -as quick as the snake was, Og was quicker. Like a flash he leapt aside, -and with a cry of terror he fled across the cavern, not stopping even to -look behind him until he had gained the entrance to one of the passage -ways out of the cave, into which he plunged, the wolf cubs following him -closely. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -SMOTHERING DARKNESS - - -His bravery giving way to wild panic, the hairy boy dashed down the -narrow cavern at top speed, dodging in and out among the stalactites but -never once stopping until thoroughly exhausted. Then, panting, he came to -rest and sat on the cave floor, while the wolf dogs lay down beside him. - -They were very quiet for a long time and Og tested the air with his keen -nose and listened for the slightest sound coming down the cave, for he -was afraid that he might hear the scraping of the big snake pursuing him. -All was quiet, and after a time in which he made certain that the reptile -was not following him, Og breathed a sigh of relief and rested more -comfortably. - -The cave into which he had plunged went in an entirely different -direction from the one into which the tree folk had disappeared and Og -regretted this. Once again he felt that dreadful loneliness stealing upon -him. The companionship of the tree folk, even though it had not been as -intimate or as congenial as would have been the company of his own kind, -had meant a great deal to the hairy boy and he was sorry that they had -been separated. In a vague way he wondered what was happening to them. -He doubtless would have felt lonelier if not envious had he known that, -even as he rested there, the ape men were swarming out of the cavern into -which they had plunged and, their recent terrifying experience forgotten, -were romping on the side of another mountain that looked out on a new -palm-grown valley reaching southward. - -Og wondered where the cave he had entered led to, if indeed it led -anywhere save into the bowels of the mountain. With his loneliness, a -sudden indescribable fear of the dark, damp passage settled down on -him. He began to feel as if he were a prisoner doomed to stay there -underground with the bats and other loathsome denizens of the caves. - -This fear spurred him into action, and although he was still panting with -the exertion of the chase, he began a feverish, almost panic-stricken -search for a way out of the cave. The darkness was dense and heavy; -almost oppressive. To be sure, he still had his flickering torch but the -feeble rays of this only served to make the blackness of the cave seem -heavier. He began to feel as if this darkness was pressing in upon him, -trying to smother him, to bury him alive there under the great mountain -that he knew was above him. - -He started forward again, hurrying down the cave as fast as he could. -Sometimes it narrowed down to openings so small that Og was almost afraid -to try to crawl through them, and each time the boy wondered whether -he had come to a blind end of the labyrinth of underground passages. -But always these narrow passages widened out again, though some of them -were at times so narrow that he could hardly force his body through them -without scraping hair, and even skin, from hips and shoulders. - -On and on he traveled. Time seemed long to Og down there in the blackness -and now and then he despaired at ever getting out again. Yet he kept -on courageously. He must find a way out. He must get into the sunshine -once more. He could not go on forever wandering about down there in the -blackness. - -Vague fears began to obsess him; needless fears brought on by the -oppressiveness of the blackness. What if another earthquake should -occur? What if the cave walls should give way and the great mountain -above him should sag downward? What if one of these huge pendant -stalactites should drop upon him and pin him down to hold him a prisoner -there in the cave until he died of hunger or thirst? Thoughts of hunger -and thirst made him both hungry and thirsty. Og’s nerves were fast going -to pieces under the strain. He plunged madly on, half frantic now in an -insane desire to find the exit to the cave, and he worked himself into a -state of almost complete collapse. - -But just when he had reached utter despair, something happened that -helped him to master himself and find his poise and lost courage once -more. The narrow cave suddenly widened out a little more than usual and -as Og stepped into the small room-like vault in the rocks, an odor that -was most disgusting assailed his nostrils. By the light of the torch -he beheld bones scattered about the floor of the cavern, bones of all -shapes and sizes, some partly gnawed and some with shreds of decomposed -meat still clinging to them. It was the den of some animal that Og had -blundered into, and his nose told him that it was the den of a great -cave tiger. - -For a moment Og was petrified with fear. But presently he beheld huddled -in a far corner the shapes of two cub tigers, dead now and rotting. - -Og could see that they had been dead for some time and his brain -quickened by fear and all that he had recently gone through told him that -these were cubs of the female tiger he had slain weeks before. They had -starved to death there in the cave when their mother did not return. - -Og smiled grimly, for he was glad to rid the world of the whelp of this -ferocious cat. But he smiled, too, because he realized that all his -recent panic had been groundless. From the den he could look down along -the passageway ahead of him and see, not far off, a shaft of soft, warm -light that he knew was sunlight. The exit to the cave was close at hand. - -The hairy boy did not linger. He made for the entrance and presently he -and the wolf dogs found themselves on a ledge overlooking a valley that -extended away northward. And as he stood there, below him Og beheld a -figure moving; a man, and one of his own kind. - -Og gave a loud halloo, and waved his smoking fire torch toward him. The -hairy man in the valley looked up at him thoroughly startled, then as -he saw Og move to climb down from the shelf into the valley, he gave a -cry of fear and dashed off toward some cliffs on the other side of the -valley. Og paused and with disappointment on his face, watched him go. -Then the hairy boy beheld the cliffs toward which the man was running and -his heart gave a great bound. The cliffs were pockmarked with holes that -Og knew were the cave dwellings of the hairy men. And at the alarm cry of -the running hairy man, heads appeared at many of these holes and looked -out across the valley, while from various points in the woods, other -hairy men and women appeared and ran scrambling up the cliff to dodge -into their home caves for protection. - -Og descended into the valley as swiftly as he could. The tiger had worn -a narrow, but well defined trail from his den into the forest on the -valley bottom, and Og had little difficulty in following it. Presently he -was running through the forest, with the wolf dogs romping after him. It -was a long way across the valley but the hairy boy was so eager to reach -the colony of hairy men that he never noticed the distance. He plunged -forward recklessly, making a great noise, and occasionally shouting in -pure joy at having found his own people once more. - -After a time he arrived at the foot of the cliff. Here, at the base of -the almost perpendicular wall, was a great rock-strewn flat, where the -hairy folk doubtless worked and played. Above in the cliffs were a number -of holes and crevices, from which looked many curious faces. Og stood -below and shouted upward: - -“Hallo. I am returned. The son of Wab has come back. I am Og now. I have -won my name.” - -But in answer came a chorus of shouts of derision, and from several -doorways stones came pelting down, and Og was forced to duck and dodge as -the ugly missiles whizzed by. - -“Stop, stop. You are my people. I am the son of Wab. Wab, the mighty -hunter. Where is he?” cried Og, from behind a boulder whence he had -dodged to avoid further stones that were hurled at him. - -The hairy boy was startled to receive an answer from close at hand. - -“I am here, O stranger. I, Wab, once the mighty hunter. I am here ready -and waiting for you, O, stranger. If you are death come take me. I am no -longer of use to any one. I, the mighty hunter, am blind and an outcast.” - -The voice came from behind a nearby boulder and, looking, Og beheld the -crouching form of a powerful man across whose face were many scars, -one of which had wiped out both of his eyes. It was as if a great -claw-armored paw had at some time raked him and all but torn his face -away. Yet despite this disfigurement Og recognized him as Wab, the mighty -hunter, and his father. - -“Father, I have returned. It is your son,” cried the hairy boy, running -to his side. - -“No. Not my son. My son perished in the great fire that drove us from our -homes many moons ago. You are Death. I know. I heard the others shouting -that you were coming from the den of the tiger, with a tiger skin over -your shoulders, and a wand of mysterious power in your hand; a wand from -which fire and smoke flashed. I know you. You are Death. Not my kin but -kin of the cave tiger, whose claw marks I bear on my face. The tiger -sent you to avenge the blows of my stone hammer. She feared to come back -herself even though she knew I was blind. She feared me and she sent you -instead. But I am ready to go with you, Death. I am an outcast among -my people. I am blind and helpless and therefore useless. I cannot get -my own food and no one has time to get it for me. They throw me scraps -and bones to gnaw upon sometimes. They help me up to my miserable little -cave sometimes. But when they are in a hurry and run to save their -own precious lives, they forget me and leave me here, a blind man, to -scramble up the cliffs as best I can or to remain here and be killed. - -“They left me to-day when they ran from you in dread. They left me here. -I sought to hide myself behind this stone. But when you called Wab, I -knew that you were Death and I knew you had come for me. So I am ready to -go. Take me.” - -Og was kneeling beside the man now. “No, no,” he cried, “I am Life, not -Death, for you, my father. I have slain the tiger that has crippled -you so. I come with a mysterious wand, true. It is a wand of fire. I -have conquered the Fire Demon. I can make him come from stone and do -my bidding. He guards me against the chill of night. He dispels the -blackness. He keeps me safe from the sabre-toothed one and all other -animals. I have tamed the wolf dog too. They are my companions now. -I have won me a name. I am Og, your son Og, and I have come back to -protect you, to care for you, to hunt for you, and to fight for a place -in the sun for you. It is well.” - -“It is well. If this be true then I am happy. If you are my son, you have -been reborn to me. You have been reborn from the fire. Og, Son of Fire, -are you, and my son, too. And now if this be true help me, my son, up the -cliff to my miserable cave, where we may talk together.” - -And Og reached a strong arm under that of his father, once the mighty -hunter, Wab, and together they climbed the narrow trail up the cliff. And -the wolf dogs followed slowly after. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -WAB IS CARED FOR - - -Many heads bobbed out of cliff-side doorways and many curious and -suspicious pairs of eyes watched Og and his father Wab climb the narrow -and winding trail up the cliff’s face to the miserable, dingy little cave -that had been allotted to the blind man, because he was unable to fight -for a bigger and better one. Strange grunting calls were passed from -one doorway to another too and Og understood them all. He knew too that -those who called were worried and frightened; indeed he could see the -troubled expressions on some of the faces and he noted with interest that -many trembled, and each cave mouth as he passed grew empty, the inmates -taking to the farthest and darkest corners for they feared him and his -fire brand, and his tiger skin that he had draped boastfully over his -shoulders until it hung like a cape with the long tail dragging on the -ground behind him. - -It was like a triumphal procession for Og and he felt proud and -elated over the whole affair. He was a man. He was a great man. He was -important. Even Gog, the grizzled old leader, shrank from him with a -grunt and his children scuttled into the cave like rabbits as he passed. -Gog’s wife, too, whimpered and clung to her husband. - -Og could not help but grunt ominously and scowl as he passed the doorway -of the old chief, for he remembered, as did many others, unwarranted -cuffs and kicks that the savage old man had dealt out because of his -strength and his position in the tribe. Gog, still the valiant old -fighter that he had always been, scowled and growled in return and -muttered ugly things under his breath, but still he shrank from this -hairy one who was clothed in the skin of Sabre Tooth and carried a -mysterious and fearful wand of fire. - -When Og and Wab reached the crevice in the cliff that the blind hunter -called home Og looked about with a frown on his face. - -“So this is all that Wab, the mighty hunter, has to live in; Wab, my -father, the man who gave his eyes to the Tiger to protect others. It -shall not be so. I, Og, Son of Fire, speak.” (Og’s chest puffed out -slightly and he swaggered his shoulders just a little as he proclaimed -the last.) - -“It is mean enough as a cave,” spoke Wab, “but who am I now that I should -have better quarters? I am of less use than a woman. I cannot hunt. I am -blind. I am a handicap to the tribe. Soon I must die unless——” - -“Die? Never while I am by your side,” stormed Og. - -“You will bring me food, then, O Son of Fire?” - -“Yes, and food such as you have never eaten, O my Father. Food from the -Fire. Food that is tender and brown and pleasant to the taste. Food that -the Fire Demon has laid his hands on.” - -Wab shivered and looked frightened. - -“Nay, such food is only for those who have been reborn of fire. It -frightens me. I cannot want to eat it. Bring me only bloody food that -drips. Such as I used to eat much of when still my eyes were whole. And -bring it soon. For many daylights and many nights I have not tasted food -that drips. I, Wab, have crawled around on fours like a rat seeking -scraps that others have thrown to me, old scraps that have laid in the -sun till they smell and bear maggots, old bones that have been sucked -and gnawed clean. Such has been my food until now my strength is the -strength of a baby. Soon I must die. When I live in night always then I -must crawl off among the rocks and stop trying to live.” - -“Then you can see a little?” cried Og, peering into the old man’s face. - -“Yes, I see as at nightfall with this one eye. I can see the sun, and -trees, and rocks dimly. I can see you as a shadow. But this fearsome wand -you carry, that I heard others chatter about when you came, I can see. It -licks out like the tongue of a serpent. It has a terrible breath, and a -stench more than that of the creeping animal. It frightens me.” - -“Fear it not, my Father. It is my servant; my weapon; my friend. I am -glad that you can see its licking tongues for then you will soon know it -better. Behold, I will make it warm you. It will fill this miserable cave -with its breath and you will like it. You will sit in it and nod as you -do in the sunlight. Then, while you nod, I will find food for us both and -we will eat together and be happy. And after that a great cave, a cave -that fits both Wab and Og and his Fire, and hairy men shall speak of us -in whispers and fear us when we roar.” - -Saying this, Og began to gather together wood and soon in the doorway of -the cave a fine fire was crackling while Wab the hunter crouched in the -corner and listened to the crackling sound, and smelled the smoke, and -saw faintly the licking tongues, and tried to be brave in spite of his -natural fear. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE FIRE LIGHTER - - -True to his word Og found a cave that was big and roomy. It was not an -easy task, for most of the pleasant caves had been taken. So too had all -the caves that were deemed safe, for the hairy men liked caves that were -well up from the valley bottom so that prowling beasts could not enter -unawares. Traditional caution made Og realize that this was the best kind -of abode, too, and he was sorely tempted to use the awe in which he was -held to good advantage and crowd out some family that had an unusually -desirable cave. That was how it was done among hairy folk. The strongest -and most ferocious men occupied the best caves. Og particularly liked the -fine, big, roomy cave that Gog possessed, and he was of a mind to walk -into it with a fire brand in either hand and demand it. - -But with all his confidence there was something that made him hesitate. -Perhaps it was the vivid recollections that he retained of the old -leader at his best, or worst. He was a savage old brute, strong, ugly, -treacherous and merciless, yet withal brave as a tiger. Og knew that -although Gog stood in awe of his fire weapons the old warrior would -fight for his cave home until he no longer had strength to lift his -bone-crushing stone hammer. And Og, as courageous as he was, had no -stomach for a fight of that sort, especially one of his own provoking, -for instinctively he knew that right was on the side of the defender; and -Og had somehow sensed that without right to fortify courage he could not -fight with valiance. - -And so he put aside his covetous desires and searched longer for a home -cave. There were several spacious holes in the cliff down near the valley -floor. All were big and roomy, yet not too big for comfort; but all had -broad doorways, which Og knew was not desirable, for the bigger the -doorway the larger the prowler that could enter. - -But he found one that was so desirable; so handy to the spring of water -from which the hairy men drank, so near the swiftly flowing mountain -torrent that ran through the valley, and so near the council rock -and the flat, well-tramped stretch of earth where the hairy people’s -children played when danger was not near, that he felt a desire to take -possession of it despite the fact that it had a huge doorway through -which even a hairy mammoth could conveniently enter. That was the reason -why it was not already occupied. - -Finally, after much hard thinking which gave him a headache, he decided; -and, carrying his stone hammers, his knife and his tiger skin down to it, -he spread the great skin on the floor and returned to the cave higher up -the cliff to help Wab down. - -When he led the blind man into the cave and explained to him what cave it -was and where it was located, Wab shook his head and smiled sadly. - -“Og, where is your caution? This is the great cave, shunned by all the -hairy people. No one would think to try to live here. When we came -here first it was used as a council cave. We gathered here for council -sometimes, but the great cave tiger crept up the valley one day, saw us -all inside, and rushed in among us. He killed two and dragged them away -before we could climb the cliffs to safety. And so we never even used it -for a council cave again. It has a doorway so big that it will let all -the night monsters in.” - -“I have thought of that,” said Og; “but we have a door guard that they -cannot pass. See, I will build a big fire here. That is protection. No -one will dare pass it, not even Sabre Tooth were he still hunting the -valley.” - -“Ah, perhaps,” said the hunter doubtfully, but he sat down on the tiger -skin and watched Og build his fire. - -Others watched him, too. The whole tribe was amazed at Og’s daring. They -chattered and shook their heads and made humorous faces at each other -which was their way of saying that Og was either a fool or more powerful -than any among them. - -But they soon found that the last was the truth, for Og made his home -in the big cave and burned his fire steadily night and day, Wab heaping -wood upon it while his son was off in the forest hunting by himself or -with the others, for the hairy men hunted in gangs more often than they -wandered into the forest alone. And while he lived there in the old -council cave, three times a great leopard visited the cliffs and stole -women and children from the caves, yet though his cave was the easiest to -approach, it was never visited, and the hairy folk knew that it was all -because of Og’s fire. - -Once too, Og, busy among the rocks, as he forever seemed to be when not -off hunting, was surprised by the appearance of a woolly rhinoceros, -a great, shaggy monster with tiny, wicked, bloodshot eyes and two -great horns that grew out of his nose. The beast came upon Og quite -unexpectedly while he was chipping away at a stone with another stone, -in full sight of all the cliff dwellers. The first that he knew of the -beast’s presence was when he was startled by a harsh, grunting snort -and a thunderous stamping of feet. Og looked up to see the great animal -staring at him and shaking his head menacingly. - -With a cry of warning that sent the cliff people scattering and -scrambling up toward their caves, Og dropped his stones and turned and -fled as swiftly as his legs could carry him. The rhinoceros with a snort -of rage charged after him, galloping over the ground with such heavy -strides that Og could almost feel the earth tremble. - -Og, the fear of death on his face, raced headlong toward his big cave, -and the woolly one came after him so swiftly that it seemed as if it -were only a matter of a few more steps before he would hook that vicious -double horn into Og’s back and toss him skyward and trample his remains -among the rocks when he fell. - -But Og reached his cave first and with a yell of triumph leaped over the -fire that was blazing in the doorway, then, turning, he hurled defiance -at the woolly one. The rhinoceros plunged on until he saw the fire; then, -with a frightened snort and much sliding and scrambling, he stopped short -not more than his own length away from the blazing fagots. For a moment -he stood there irresolute, red-eyed with rage, yet not daring to advance -a step farther. And as he stood there Og seized one burning stick after -another and hurled them against his bulging flanks until he turned tail -and went squealing away, very much like an overgrown pig. - -Then it was that the hairy folk knew the power of Og’s weapons. They -understood too why he and his father were not afraid to live in the big -cave with the wide doorway. And they were all properly impressed. They -could see that he had a powerful ally in the Fire Demon, and many of them -feared him more and avoided him all they could. - -But there were others—thinkers, perhaps—who did not avoid him. Instead -they curried friendship with him by bringing him meat and pretty stones. -They sought every opportunity to visit his cave if only to chatter -with him or with his father, Wab. And always they sat within the circle -of heat cast by the fire and reveled in its warmth. They enjoyed this -basking, and they enjoyed watching the flickering tongues of flames—at a -safe distance, of course. They delighted, too, in watching Og or Wab as -they worked about the fire, feeding it or cooking their meat over it. - -Perhaps this last operation interested them the most, for always while -Og was cooking a delicious, appetizing odor that made one’s mouth water -emanated from the big doorway. And the visitor could not help but think -that Og feasted on food of the gods. Many of them brought fresh meat and -gave it to him just to be able to smell the appetizing aroma that it gave -off as he cooked it. And Wab, as he witnessed this and ate of the choice -gifts to his son, could not help but think back on former days when they -had cast him out and thrown him polished bones and decayed scraps. And as -he thought he could not help but marvel at the greatness of his son. - -There were some among these visitors who became really friendly with Og. -He liked them and encouraged their friendship and gave them scraps of -cooked meat so that they could enjoy his feasting with him. For some -reason Og found a keen delight in doing this and he always watched the -expressions with interest when they pulled apart the steaming morsels -with their fingers and teeth and tasted the flavor that the fire had -given the meat. Every one of his visitors enjoyed the taste of cooked -meat and they all told of the delight among their friends until it was -not long before Og was besought by scores to cook meat for them so that -they too could try the pleasure of this new-found delight. - -Their number grew and grew and Og did the best that he could to favor -all of them, but he noticed with interest that never once did Gog appear -at the fire. The old leader was often to be seen stalking by when others -were gathered about his cave door, but he pretended not to take notice of -Og and his fire. - -The hairy boy soon guessed that the old savage was jealous of his power -and his popularity and it was not long before he knew that he had guessed -right, for through his friends Og heard of the talk that Gog was making -among the hairy people. It was talk that even worried Og a little for -the old leader whispered that Og was in league with evil monsters and -the dead. Og did not know just what he meant but the suggestion had -a sinister sound. So far the hairy folk had not progressed far enough -up the scale of intelligence to even think of witchcraft and secret -alliances with the spirit world. But they did know that death was a -sinister thing and that one who had died passed through an experience -that was beyond their comprehension and very uncanny. For a living being -to be allied with those who were dead was a fearsome thing even to think -about. And most of the hairy people remembered that he had been left -behind when the tribe had fled from the wrath of the volcano. Perhaps he -had been dead and had come back from the dead world again. - -Some of Og’s friends dropped away from him when Gog began to make such -talk. But others of stouter heart, who had eaten much of Og’s cooked meat -and had been closer to him, remained loyal and denied Og’s fellowship -with the dead. And they were the stronger and more intelligent men of the -tribe. Indeed they perceived that Og had a great deal that was good about -him and they understood too that his control over the Fire Monster could -bring much good to the clan if only Og could be persuaded to be even more -generous than he had been. - -They talked thus among themselves, and they talked so much that soon -their talk took on the nature of a clan council and they gathered about -the council rock, squatted in a big circle while first one and then -another stood upon the rock and talked to the rest; talked and told them -how good Og was and what a great benefit to the tribe he possessed in -his control of fire. They told of the cooked meat over and over again, -and they told of how the great leopard had left Og’s cave unmolested, -and how Og with his fire brands had driven off the woolly rhinoceros. -Again and again they told these things for that was the only way they -knew of arguing their case and carrying home their point to the listeners -squatted in a circle about the great rock. - -Og did not gather at the council. He noted too that Gog was not there -either. But both watched the proceedings from their cave doorways; Gog -with much jealous grunting and angry, guttural sounds to his wife; Og -with a strange mixture of pride and selfishness; pride that he should be -so great as to have the clan assemble in council about him, yet selfish, -for he knew that the speakers of the clan were trying to work up the -people to the point where they would come to him and ask him to give to -them the most precious thing he possessed: the fire secret. - -The hairy boy knew full well why the council was being held, and as he -watched he wondered just what he should do when the speakers came to him -with gifts of meat and stone hammers and asked him to share his fire -secret with the tribe. The secret meant much to him, for it made of him -one apart from the rest. It meant that he possessed the strongest weapon -that a hairy man could have. It meant that he had warmth and comfort -greater than any others. Why should he share it? It was in the hairy boy -to think of himself first. - -Yet somehow this, though, did not seem comforting. There was the council -gathered. He had made a discovery that would benefit all of them. They -realized it. Soon they would come and ask him for his help. All this was -flattering. They thought well of him. They would still think well of him -if he gave them what they asked. But they would not think well of him—he -would not be so great—if he refused. They would say evil things of him as -Gog had done. They would believe the old leader’s suggestions. They would -avoid him. He would have no friends to gather about his fire so they -could all make full belly talk together and feel lazy and drowsy in the -warmth of his fire. - -Even to think of the hairy people feeling ill disposed toward him hurt -Og’s pride. He did not want them to think him selfish and mean. It would -make him feel better to have them say among themselves, “Og is kind. Og -is good. Og is a great man.” - -This was the elemental problem that tumbled about in Og’s brain and soon -made his head ache until he felt as though it would split. Time and again -he dismissed it with a grunt of disgust and decided as he watched the -council that when the talkers came with their gifts he would say no and -act ugly. But each time he came to that decision back trooped unpleasant -suggestions that made him think and think again. Sometimes he wished -that he never had learned to think at all. He looked at the wolf cubs -stretched out beside the fire and wished that he had the mental comfort -that was theirs. - -But still he continued to ponder as he watched the council. And then, -just as the circle was breaking up and the talkers formed in a group -with their gifts in hand ready to come to his cave, Og solved the whole -situation with a pleasant grunt. - -He watched the five big hairy men, all his friends, come toward him. As -they approached he stood up, and taking the tiger skin from the floor, -threw it about his shoulders. Why he did this he was not certain. It gave -him a feeling of being bigger, greater of stature and stronger. And so -he stood there until the speakers had approached to the other side of -his fire and had laid down their chunks of dripping meat, their stone -hammers, and their polished bones and pretty stones. - -Then one spoke. - -“O Og, the Hairy People ask it. They say ‘Og is great. Og is good. He has -a friend in the Fire Monster. He knows the secret.’ They ask ‘Will you, O -great Og, give all of us the fire so that we can protect our caves, cook -our food and be as comfortable as you are?’ O Og, I ask for them. Will -you give us fires of our own?” - -Og stretched himself to his full height and looked at them very solemnly -for a long time, as if he were thinking. But he was not thinking of -whether he would give them the fire or not. He was thinking of how -pleasant it was that he should have all the strong men of the tribe -asking a favor of him. It was pleasant, indeed. - -Presently he spoke. - -“My friend the fire I will give to my friends the hairy people. They -shall have fires of their own. From this fire in front of my home cave I -will build other fires. Tell the hairy people each to go to their home -cave. Build many sticks in the doorway as you have seen me build mine. -Then will Og come with fire from this fire and light each of them. All -the hairy people who wish it shall have a fire of their own. Tell them to -feed it well with sticks through daylight and darkness, for if it goes -out and I have to bring fire again I will take away with me pay, meat -perhaps or a stone hammer or something I desire. It is well. Go. Tell the -people.” And Og dismissed them with a wave of his hand for he was indeed -feeling big and pompous and very important. - -The speakers left with much grinning and grunting among themselves. - -“Og is great. Og is good. Og is kind,” they said, and Og, hearing them, -felt a warm glow surge over him. They thought well of him. He was proud. -He was happy. So too was Wab, his father, who sat a little way off and -listened with many a proud grunt of satisfaction. - -And so the hairy people at the council rock heard Og’s message from the -speakers. They scattered from the council grounds and each began to -gather great bundles of sticks which they carried up the face of the -cliff to the doorway of each dwelling. - -And when evening came on, Og, with great dignity, and with the tiger skin -across his shoulders, set forth from his cave with a torch in each hand. -And when the hairy folk saw him coming they raised a great shout, and -watched him as he went from doorway to doorway and ignited each pile of -sticks. Og was The Fire Lighter to the tribe then. A personage, indeed, -something between chief and priest he seemed to the hairy folk, who -greeted him with loud acclaim. - -And as nightfall settled over the valley of the hairy folk the cliff side -sparkled with many lights, for before each cave burned a cheery fire; -before each cave save that of Gog, the chief. He, stubbornly jealous, -had not built a pile of sticks before his door, and when Og saw this he -passed by. - -Thus did Og give fire to the race of hairy men, giving it generously, but -saving for himself the secret he had discovered: the secret of the fire -stones. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -GOG’S TREACHERY - - -Gog was a strong man. He was a fighter, fierce and brave and able, -otherwise he could not have been the leader of the clan. But he was a -thinker, too; at least his brain was developed in proportion to his -strong body, and he could reason more clearly than the average man of the -caves. And he was terribly jealous of Og because of his wisdom and the -popularity he had won among the hairy folk because of his gift of fire. - -Gog saw that the people of the tribe looked more to Og for guidance than -they did to him now. This was a terrible blow to the old leader’s pride. -Day after day he sat in the doorway of his cave and muttered and mumbled -to himself, and sometimes he crunched his short, strong yellow teeth, so -angry did he get at the thoughts of this young hairy one, hardly more -than a boy, who was undermining his position as leader of the tribe. - -With a single blow of his stone hammer Gog could have settled all this. -Time and again he was moved to do the deed that would put an end to -this boy of the Fire. But each time he changed his mind. For one thing -he feared Og’s weapon, the fire torch. For another he realized that the -boy’s popularity was steadily growing; that he had a great many friends -who would fight for him now, and while he felt equal to any one—yes, any -two or three—of the clan’s best fighters, he did not have the courage to -face an uprising of all of Og’s friends, which he feared might be the -situation if he should kill or injure the hairy boy. - -Gog thought and thought of how he might revenge himself on Og. And as he -thought, treachery began to take root. He remembered Wab, Og’s father. -In other days Wab had also been a thorn in Gog’s foot, so to speak. He -had been a brave man and a mighty hunter; a better hunter than Gog had -ever been. He had been a brave fighter, too, as Gog remembered, but in -this Gog was better. Yet in council meetings Wab had sometimes ridiculed -him. And in boasting Wab had often made Gog’s stories of prowess small -and trifling. Wab had laughed at him more than once. Several times they -had come to blows and fought for hours until both were exhausted, and, -although Gog had always had a little the better of each encounter, Wab’s -defeat was never without glory among certain members of the tribe. Gog -and Wab had always been rivals for honors among the hairy men. - -But all that had passed with Wab’s encounter with the cave tiger. The old -hunter had been made helpless and as such almost an outcast, for one who -was helpless among the hairy people could expect little in the way of -assistance from others. Life was too hard even for the best of them, and -they had all that they could do to look after themselves and little to -share with others. And so Wab had been removed as an obstacle in the path -of Gog’s leadership and the savage old warrior had gone on being the head -man of the clan until Og came. - -Now Og was caring for Wab. Through Wab, Gog could hurt Og; of this the -fighter felt certain. His brain took many daylights and many darknesses -to conceive the plan, and more than once his head hurt so from thinking -that he was almost moved to give up the idea entirely. - -But gradually he worked out a treacherous scheme. First he must -make peace with Og. Be friendly to him. This would not be entirely -distasteful for the present at least, for Gog was more eager than any -of the other hairy men to possess a fire of his own, and he regretted -exceedingly that he had not smothered his pride to the extent of building -a pile of sticks in front of his cave when Og had given all the other -hairy folk flames. - -That was the plan. He would go to Og and pretend he was sorry he had been -so stiff in the back as to refuse his fire. He would ask for a firebrand. -He would visit Og’s cave again and again. He would even talk to Wab. He -would talk of old times. Of hunting and roaming in the forest. He knew -that Wab must long for such sport once more. He would make friends with -Wab, and one day when Og was not around he would take Wab off into the -forest on his last hunt. Wab would never come back. Og perhaps would go -to find him. And while Og was gone something might happen. Who could -tell? Perhaps Og would never come back either. - -Crafty old Gog was so full of pride after he had worked out such an -elaborate scheme that he felt Og to be nothing but a boy when it came -to pitting his wits against such brains as he possessed. He grinned -silently as he thought how really clever he was to think all these things -out, even though it had taken him weeks and many headaches. - -So Gog put his plan into action, and one day, with a freshly killed goat -over his shoulder, he appeared in the doorway of Og’s cave. But Og was -not there. Wab was sitting by the fire. The old hunter could see Gog only -faintly, but his keen old nose could scent the fresh goat blood. - -“Who are you? The step sounded like Gog. Is it you, Gog, come to make -life miserable for a helpless man?” asked Wab. - -“It is I, Gog,” said the treacherous one, “but I come as a friend and -bring goat as a present. I seek Og. From him I would get fire. My back -was stiff. I would not take the flames when he offered them. But I am -wise now. I see my mistake. I come seeking it.” - -“Your back was always stiff, Gog,” said Wab, still with a spark of the -old fire. - -“Yes. But that was wrong. I am wiser now, and more friendly. I guess I -am getting old and tired. I wish that I had nothing to do but sit in the -warmth as you do and be fed by my sons. The hunt is hard on a man growing -gray in the face.” - -“The hunt! Oh, Gog, you speak as a man who knows little of the misery of -sitting and remembering; only remembering, never doing. The hunt! Oh, -Gog, I would give much to feel a stone hammer once more in my hands, to -stalk slyly through the long grass and creep upon some foolish goat. That -is life. Remembering only is next to death. Come sit a while and tell me -of the hunt.” - -And so Gog sat beside Wab and talked, and Wab was pleased; so pleased -that when Og came back to the home cave the warrior and the hunter were -as old friends and Og looked at them and wondered. Gog asked for the -fire, and, because of Wab, Og gave it to him; and the savage old leader -went back to his cave with a strange smile on his ugly, scarred face, for -he knew that he had laid the plans for his treachery wisely. - -He went again and again to Og’s cave and always he talked of the hunt -with the old man. He told him about the goats in the long grass in the -meadow down the valley, and he told him of the wild horses that were -passing in droves over the plains beyond the mountain ranges. He talked -of old hunting trips when Og was but a baby and Wab was the mightiest -hunter of them all, and this thrilled and pleased the old man and made -Og happy, too, for he found a strong interest in listening to the tales. -He preferred to listen rather than to talk, for in listening he learned -many things that were new and useful but when he talked he gathered no -knowledge. - -In this way Gog soon found himself on really friendly terms with the boy -and the man, and after a time neither of them suspected him of treachery -and he was welcome in the big cave in the base of the cliff, by Og and -Wab at least. But the other occupants of the cave, the wolf-dogs, never -reached that point. Indeed, they mistrusted Gog from the first, and they -always growled and showed their teeth when they heard his footsteps. - -This caused Og to wonder a great deal, for he placed great confidence in -the instinct of these animals. Yet time went on and Gog grew more and -more friendly and came more often until Og was thoroughly disarmed. - -And then one day Gog came to the home cave of Og and Wab when the hairy -boy was away on a meat quest. It was planned that way, for Gog had been -watching the boy for several days and waiting for just this opportunity. -With his biggest stone hammer clutched in his powerful hand he stood in -the doorway of Og’s cave and spoke to Wab. - -“Oh, lucky one! You can sit by the fire and dream while others hunt for -you. Gog in his old age has still to go hunting his own food and food for -his children. My sons, thankless wretches, have caves of their own to -provide for, and I have only babies home now who cannot do anything but -squall and eat.” - -“No, Gog, you are the lucky one. You can still hunt your own meat. Wab -wishes that he could do likewise, but he is doomed to sit here by the -fire and get fat and lazy. This is harder than hunting.” - -“Why not go, then? You can still see the daylight, and with a strong -companion you might still stalk the goat.” - -“I have thought so, too. I might still feel the thrill of the hunt. But -Og says no. He tells me to rest and be content to dream and grow fat. He -will not take me. If he only knew how hard it is for me to do nothing, -perhaps he would take me with him sometimes.” - -“Oh, Og is too cautious! Come; go with me. I will not go far. I am still -strong and my eyes are keen. I will see for you. No harm will come to -you.” - -A strange, wistful expression flashed across Wab’s face for a moment. -Then he became greatly excited. - -“Would you take me, Gog, and bring me back safely?” he exclaimed, getting -to his feet. - -“And why not? Are we not friends now, Wab?” said the treacherous Gog. - -“Oh, if I could go but once! It would make me happy again. It would give -me fresh thoughts to dream about. Surely it would do me no harm,” he said -wistfully, thinking of Og. - -“Harm! No harm shall come to you while Gog is with you,” said the old -leader boastfully, yet smiling slyly as he thought of the plans he had -laid. - -“Good! Then I will go,” said Wab; “but look first for me and see that Og -is not near. He will not want me to go if he sees me.” - -But Gog had already made certain of this and he assured Wab that his son -was nowhere near. - -Wab, atremble with excitement, took one of Og’s well-shaped stone hammers -and a flint knife that his son had made for him, and thus armed he came -out of the cave to Gog’s side. - -Almost stealthily they stole away from the caves and into the forest, for -Gog did not want many of the cave dwellers to see him taking Wab into the -forest where the partly blind hunter could so easily be lost. - -With Gog leading and Wab following behind, keeping close to the -treacherous old chief by watching him as best he could with his dimmed -eye and listening with alert ears to his footsteps, the two hairy men -progressed with remarkable swiftness through the thick and dark forest. -Occasionally Gog grunted directions or fragments of conversation. - -“On the plains of the valley, toward the warm lands, I am told are herds -of horses. It is many days since I have tasted horse flesh. With the once -great hunter, Wab, beside me, it would be pleasant to hunt the horse.” - -Wab could not help feeling a sense of pride at being referred to again as -the great hunter, yet sober judgment made him reply with caution. - -“Do not be misled, Gog. Wab is no longer the great hunter he was when he -had two eyes. And remember the horse is swift of foot and keen of vision. -Two good men can scarcely expect to be successful in hunting them, so I -fear we will stand small chance.” - -Gog grunted in disgust. - -“Times have changed since you hunted last, Wab. We are craftier than the -horse and keener witted. I am a thinker. Trust me to find a way to bring -one down when the time comes. I can do it. Come; we will go over the -mountains to the broad plains. We will be back by nightfall, each with -all the dripping horse flesh we can carry.” - -And Wab, partly because he had to follow Gog and partly because a horse -hunt appealed to him, still followed. - -Soon they began to climb the slope of the mountains to the southward. Up -they mounted, Gog picking pathways through the forest that clothed the -heights. The traveling was hard for Wab, because he had grown fat and -soft of flesh since he had been spending most of his time sitting in the -warmth of the camp fire. - -For a long time they toiled upward and very little in the way of -conversation passed between them save occasional grunts, for each needed -to spare their lungs of extra strain. But soon they mounted the rolling -summit where they could look outward across the wide pleasant valley and -the plain beneath; at least Gog observed the scene and imparted what he -saw to his partly blind companion. - -But midway in his description of all that he beheld, he paused and -grunted. - -“What is it?” demanded Wab, sensing that his companion had seen something -that he had not located before. - -“It is strange forms moving on the edge of the forest down the mountain -here below us. They are not horses. They climb in the trees. Ah, I know -now. The tree people. Ho! ho! the tree people. Wab, we are in luck. Here -is sport, indeed. We will make war on these great cowards,” exclaimed Gog -viciously, his fighting instinct dominating every other emotion or desire. - -“Make war on them? Why?” asked Wab. “We do not want their forest. We do -not care to drive them out of here as we did out of the valley of the -volcano so long ago. Why make war? We are hunters now.” - -“Ho! ho! Why make war? Just for the love of it, perhaps. Just to hear -them squeal and to see them run. They are great cowards, afraid of hairy -men. We two can put the whole tribe to flight. Come; it will be great -sport. Think of the skulls we can smash! Think of the blood we can -spill,” and the savage old fighter grinned wickedly and, grasping his -stone hammer menacingly, he started down the mountain. - -And Wab followed, but not without a strange presentiment that all was not -well. He knew that he would make a poor adversary in any conflict. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -GOG PASSES ON - - -Og, tired but triumphant, with a dead goat slung over his shoulders and -the wolf dogs trotting at his heels, returned to the home cave just -before nightfall, as all of the cave dwelling people did, for not even -the bravest was willing to be caught far from the protection of the -colony when darkness came on. - -But as he approached the cave he experienced a sensation of fear and -dread. He knew instinctively that something was wrong, for the fire in -the doorway had burned down to just a smouldering heap of dying embers. -Og knew that Wab would never have been so inattentive unless something -had happened. - -Hastily he went forward calling, but as he entered the big cave his heart -fell, for Wab was not about. He noted instantly that one of his stone -hammers was gone from its accustomed place and that Wab’s cherished flint -knife had disappeared from the cleft in the rock wall where he always -kept it. - -The strange demeanor of the wolf dogs added a great deal to the -discomfort that these observations caused him, for so soon as they -entered the cave they bristled and growled and stepped about in -stiff-legged anger just as they always did when Gog visited the cave. -They sniffed at the ground, too, and trotted a little way from the cave -in the direction of the forest. - -Og could almost read the problem, but just then two hairy men, Big Face -and Crooked Feet, passed, going toward the spring, and when they saw -Og they told him of how they had seen Wab go off hunting with Gog that -morning. - -In an instant the whole situation dawned on Og. Gog had taken his -helpless father off into the forest and Og instinctively knew that -treachery of some sort or another was afoot. - -He heaped sticks onto the fire and sat down for a few moments to think -things over. Night was coming on. The forest would be a terrible place to -travel in at night. But he thought too of his father and the terror that -must come upon a man all but blind who might be left to wander about in -the forest alone. - -That thought was enough for Og. He must find his father. He must risk any -dangers or any of the night terrors to find Wab. Hastily he made two fire -brands and ignited them. Then, arming himself also with stone hammer and -a long flint knife, he called to the wolf dogs. The animals he quickly -made to understand just what was wanted of them, and when they did know -their mission they bounded forward despite the fact that they were tired, -and with noses to the ground followed the trail of Wab and Gog, while Og -swung along behind them at a remarkably swift pace despite the fact that -he too was tired from his day’s efforts. - -Into the black fastness of the forest they plunged, their only light -being the glimmer from Og’s torches. Despite his courage and the -importance of his mission, Og could not stifle the natural, instinctive -fear that possessed him as he dodged in and out among the trees, his eyes -and ears alert for any signs of danger. - -Southward they swung toward the mountain range that cut their valley off -from the valley of the warm lands beyond, and presently they began to -mount the thickly wooded slopes. Strange night noises they heard aplenty. -To most of these the wolf dogs paid little heed, but when from afar they -heard the terrifying roar of a cave tiger and the answering challenge of -some wandering cave leopard, the hair on their backs bristled. So did -that of Og, and he actually trembled with fear despite the stoutness of -his heart. This traveling at night through the forest was a fearsome -thing to do, and time and again he was tempted to seek the shelter of -some huge bowlder, and build a great fire beside which to spend the -remainder of the night. - -But the thoughts of his father somewhere here in the terrible forest, and -without fire (for Og knew that Wab, or Gog either, would never travel -with a fire in his hand the way he did), spurred the hairy boy on to move -faster and put aside the desire to build a big protective fire at least -until he had found his father. - -Upward on the mountain side they climbed, the wolf dogs following closely -the trail that Gog and Wab had taken. On and on they pushed, soon panting -and out of breath. Og’s lungs were pumping, too, and he sucked in air in -great gasps; but still he climbed and kept pace with the hurrying dogs. - -Soon they reached the gently rolling summit, where if it had been -daylight they could have looked into the valley below. But as they halted -there a brief space to catch their breaths, Og gave a loud and startled -grunt, for from below him, and in the direction the wolf dogs were -straining to go, rolled up to him a loud, booming sound. Og had little -difficulty in recognizing it as the war noise of his old captors, the -tree people. And this all added to his feeling of alarm, for he could -tell by the volume of the sound that there were many ape-like men below -there in the valley and they were very angry. - -If Og and the wolf dogs had hurried before now, they fairly raced through -the blackness of the forest. Down the slope they crashed, the booming -noise growing louder and nearer at every step. And as they plunged -forward both Og and the wolf dogs grew more and more excited, until -presently the hairy boy found himself beating his chest with one clenched -hand and roaring at the top of his voice while the dogs set up a fierce -barking that added to the general din of the occasion. - -Suddenly the booming sound, which now seemed close at hand, stopped and -Og became aware of big forms swinging among the branches of the trees. -Sticks came pelting down out of the blackness, too, and he could see -myriads of green eyes glowing at him and he could hear teeth gnashed and -clicked together. Still he rushed forward until presently he broke into a -clearing where was massed a horde of milling, chattering tree people. - -His coming, however, caused panic and consternation among them. They saw -his flaming firebrand and they scattered and fell back. And the parting -of the mass left a lane open that extended to a huge rock where, with -their backs to this wall, stood Gog and Wab, each with a blood-smeared -stone hammer clutched in his hand while before them laid a pile of -writhing bodies of tree people. Og could see at a glance that it had been -a terrible battle and that Gog and Wab were all but done for. Indeed, -Gog, dripping blood from a hundred terrible wounds, staggered and swayed -as he stood there, and Wab had to lean against the rock for support. - -At Og’s coming the conflict ceased for most of the ape people scattered -and took to trees where they stared down, chattering loudly and gnashing -their teeth in anger and fear. Og strode across the bodies of the fallen -ones and, standing there beside Wab, his burning torch held high, glared -about. - -By the light of the flickering flames he could see great, long-armed, -crouching forms all about. Some of these he recognized as the powerful -fighters of Scar Face. And presently he discerned the old fighter -himself, coming slowly toward him, grimacing and chattering and holding -up his hands as a sign of peace. Og beheld him with interest and not a -little pleasure, for often he had thought of him and wondered whether he -had been able to escape the terrible forest fire that he had started when -he stole a firebrand and ran off into the forest with it. - -By grunts and signs, Og showed his peaceful intention too, and presently -Scar Face communicated the fact that the hairy boy had not come to wage -war on them, for the chattering and scolding ceased and slowly some began -to approach, while others, the trouble over, scattered among the trees -and became lost in the night. - -Og turned his attention then to Gog and Wab, both of whom had collapsed -and now lay huddled and forlorn at the base of the big bowlder. Eagerly -Og searched his father for signs of life, for he feared that the old -hunter had passed on because of the many wounds he had received, and it -was with great relief that he discovered still a strong heart beat. - -Gog, however, had fared far worse than Wab. Fierce and terrible as -a fighter, and valiant in battle too, the old leader, his treachery -forgotten in the lust of combat, had carried the brunt of the fight from -the very beginning, wielding a mighty hammer and crushing skulls right -and left. The consequence was that the tree people had attacked him -with utmost fierceness, as scores of bleeding wounds testified. When Og -examined him he found the old leader all but dead. Indeed, even as the -hairy boy leaned over him, Gog’s heart stopped beating and Og turned from -him with a shudder. The fierce old warrior had passed on to the land of -dead men. - -By signs and grunts Og made Scar Face understand that he wanted to carry -the unconscious Wab back over the mountain and into the valley of the -hairy people, and when the tree man understood he was quick to lend his -tremendous strength and between them they carried the limp form of Og’s -father up the slope to the top of the mountain. There Scar Face refused -to go farther, so Og shouldered the burden alone and picked his way -slowly down the rocky, wooded slope, with the wolf dogs, tails drooping, -at his heels. It was a hard journey for the tired hairy boy, and day was -breaking over the eastern mountain tops before he reached the council -grounds and the friendly shelter of the big home cave, where he could -rest once more and care for the many wounds of his father. - - -THE END. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Og--Son of Fire, by Irving Crump - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OG--SON OF FIRE *** - -***** This file should be named 61061-0.txt or 61061-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/1/0/6/61061/ - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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