The sudden attack of the Cave Beasts fell upon the Mammoth like lightning
from a clear sky. In a moment he perceived his danger. Retreat was
impossible before such active enemies; further advance equally so. Above
and in front of him, crouched the Lion and Lioness while the Hyena and
Cave Wolf hovered upon his flanks. The slightest misstep would have sent
him tumbling down the slope. Finding himself unable to watch all of his
enemies at once, he ignored the Wolf and Hyena and devoted his entire
attention to the pair of big cats snarling and roaring above his head.
This left his rear entirely exposed. The Cave Wolf, a gaunt long-legged
brute of almost bear-like size, now dashed in and attempted to seize the
Mammoth’s hind leg. This move might have brought about Hairi’s undoing
had it succeeded. A moment’s distraction,—a turn of the head would have
exposed his neck and shoulder to the two furies in front. But the Wolf’s
cunning strategy was met by the prompt action of one whom until this time
the Cave Beasts had entirely ignored.
A squat, powerful figure suddenly darted from behind the Mammoth and
faced the Cave Wolf with all teeth bared and eyes flashing like coals of
fire from the bottom of two deep pits. It was Pic the Ape Boy, his face
distorted with furious rage. Like a flash, he sprang between the Mammoth
and Wolf and before the latter could close in, he had seized a jagged
rock and raised it threateningly aloft. The huge Wolf snarled and gnashed
his teeth, but he advanced no farther.
In spite of this diversion, the Mammoth was in a truly desperate plight.
He seemed to have lost all power of resistance. The Hyena now sought
to turn the scale by stealing around upon the Ape Boy from behind. The
Mammoth observed and gave up all hope. Surrounded by enemies and unable
to employ his great weight and strength to any advantage, he raised his
head like one drowning and bellowed in his dire distress:
“Wulli! Help! Oh Wulli!”
From his refuge in the grotto, the Rhinoceros heard; and the call for aid
changed the trend of his thoughts like magic. Hairi, his partner, was
being hard pressed by a horde of Cave Beasts seeking to destroy him. In
an instant, all enmity for the Mammoth fled from his breast. He proceeded
to act. With a bound, he cleared the grotto and bore down upon the
Cave Beasts in a furious charge, thundering, roaring, squealing, tail
straight out behind and the fire of battle in his eyes.
All heard, saw and felt him coming. The Mammoth groaned as he espied the
strange figure—supposedly some new enemy—speeding across the ledge; then
his heart gave a great leap as Wulli completed his meteoric dash and
halted on the edge of the terrace with a jolt that shook the rock.
His dramatic arrival threw consternation into the ranks of the Cave
Beasts. The Hyena fled in terror and the Wolf raced down the slope
lickety-split with his tail between his legs. Grun Waugh growled angrily
at the sudden turn of affairs. As he crouched with tail lashing from
side to side, the eyes of the Rhinoceros fell upon him. Wulli uttered a
shrill squeal and charged with the swiftness of thought. The Cave Lion
took one look at the oncoming horn and waited to see no more. With a
blood-curdling screech, he sped along the ledge like a streak of yellow
light with the Rhinoceros at his heels. For an instant it seemed as
though he must surely be impaled upon the horn threatening his rear. The
fear of such a catastrophe lent him wings. A fresh burst of speed and his
lead was increased to a more comfortable margin. All his dignity was cast
aside in a frantic effort to put the greatest possible space between his
hindquarters and the Rhino’s horn. He reached the edge of the terrace and
shot down the slope never stopping until all possibility of his being
overtaken was beyond the shadow of a doubt.
[Illustration: THE CAVE LION TOOK ONE LOOK—AND WAITED TO SEE NO MORE]
On seeing the uselessness of further pursuit, Wulli came to a sudden
halt. A sedge-tuft protruding from a crevice, chanced to catch his eye
and he proceeded to nibble it with an air of the utmost unconcern. The
battle was over.
The Mammoth now mounted the terrace followed by the Ape Boy. Both gazed
at the Rhinoceros in amazement.
“Owk, owk; wonderful!” the big Elephant bellowed. “Never have I seen
anything more wonderful than the way you made Grun Waugh run.”
Wulli said nothing. With most becoming modesty, he continued to bite at
the tuft before him; but he was thinking. In his mind, glowed the spark
of an almost forgotten purpose; of wrongs unavenged, as he watched his
partner out of one eye. Then with brows contracted and nostrils swelling
ominously, he turned and advanced upon the Mammoth.
Hairi sensed the approaching storm. His trained eye noted the lowered
horn and his partner’s determined air. He became confused and stood
staring like one in a trance, too helpless to move.
Slowly the Rhinoceros advanced until his horn was almost beneath the
Mammoth’s chest. One quick upward thrust and the affair would be quickly
ended. He paused and Hairi awaited the fatal stroke, his limbs paralyzed
with horror.
Suddenly a dark figure sprang between the pair. It was the Ape Boy. His
body almost touched the tip of Wulli’s horn.
“Back, pig-beast,” he howled. “Would you dare touch the Mammoth? You have
gone mad.”
The Rhinoceros raised his head and retreated a step. The amazement, now
shown in every line of his face, was a picture to see.
“You?” he gasped and choked.
“Yes, I.”
“Can you; will you fight?” the Rhinoceros demanded eagerly.
“I can and will. You shall see.”
“Good,” Wulli grunted. “When you are ready, begin.”
“But I have no weapon,” said the Ape Boy. “You have a horn; I nothing.
Will you fight fair?”
The Rhinoceros nodded. The youth was making for the grotto when Wulli
stopped him.
“That red beast with the hot breath?” he grumbled. “No; you must fight
with something else. I have had enough of its bad smell.”
“I will fight you with ax and dart,” replied the other angrily. “They
lie on the cave-floor. Are you afraid?”
Wulli stepped back. Pic entered the grotto and reappeared in a moment
bearing in his right hand a flint ax-head bound in a stout wooden haft.
Several darts tipped with sharp-pointed flakes were in his left. Such
were the Ape Boy’s weapons—the stone-ax and short stabbing spear—and not
to be despised when a bold heart and powerful arm were behind them.
He laid the darts on the rock platform and took a position upon the edge
of the terrace with ax swung over his right shoulder.
“I am ready; now begin,” and he waited for the Rhinoceros to attack.
Wulli aroused himself with a start. This was to be a duel to the death—no
light affair,—touch, scratch and both satisfied. Rarely did he so bungle
in his work. He lowered his horn, squared his legs and then found himself
unable to proceed. That Ape Boy was so deadly calm and looked at him so
strangely out of his deep-set eyes. Wulli felt sobered, awed. He would
have welcomed violence; but those eyes chilled his marrow. He made one
last effort to lash himself into a frenzy but it was no use. His eyes
sought the ground; his tail hung limp like a wet string.
“Umph,” he grunted; “I will not fight one who must stay on the ground
because somebody has pulled off his tail.”
Pic’s eyes opened wide.
“Who says that?” he growled in a hoarse voice.
“Grun Waugh—and I say it because it makes you angry. ‘Once you had a tail
and jumped about in the trees;’ he said that too.”
Pic was fast losing his temper, a fact which now put the Rhinoceros in
the best of humor.
“Ape-beast hiding in a man’s skin,” he sniffed. “The Lioness said that.”
“Agh! What more?” The Ape Boy’s eyes blazed.
“Umph,” grunted Wulli. “Ask Grun Waugh. He and his pack have gone to the
grotto of Sha Pall. The Wolf told him of a lone man who lived there.”
“A lone man? Whoow! Hardly a fair match is four cave-beasts against one
lone man.” Pic’s rage softened as he thought of a fellow-being set upon
by such overwhelming odds.
“A poor match indeed,” Wulli admitted. “He was sick too—the Man was. The
Wolf said so.”
“Sick and alone?”
“Yes and he was blind in one eye. I heard the Wolf say that too.”
“What—blind?” Pic gripped his ax-handle until the wood creaked. “What
more did the Wolf say?”
“Nothing more,” Wulli replied. “But the Hyena seemed to know who the man
was—an old man with grey hair; a leader of other men. He was asking Grim
Waugh’s leave to go and visit the grotto of Sha Pell and pay his respects
to the lone man who was old, sick and blind in——”
“Agh, ar-rr-ah-h!” With a hair-raising yell the Ape Boy fairly hurled
himself from the ledge and shot down the slope leading to the valley.
The Mammoth and Rhinoceros stood motionless, speechless with amazement
as they watched the flying figure grow smaller and smaller and finally
disappear among the clefts and boulders far below.