What do you think had happened to Flaker? If any of his bones were
broken, do you think the Cave-men could set them? Do you think
there were doctors when the Cave-men lived? Who would do the work
which doctors do to-day?
_What the Cave-men did for Flaker_
Fleetfoot ran ahead of Greybeard and found Flaker on the ground.
Fleetfoot stooped and looked into his face. He called him by name. No
answer came. Then Fleetfoot asked Greybeard if Flaker was dead.
Greybeard shook his head as he bent down and laid his hands upon the
boy. He examined his wounds, then said to Fleetfoot, "Let's carry him
down to the cool spring."
So Greybeard and Fleetfoot lifted Flaker and carried him gently down
to the spring. There they bathed his face and the ugly wounds with
fresh cool water. They bound his wounds with strips of the skins that
the boys wore that day.
When Greybeard tried to set the broken bones, Flaker began to moan. He
opened his eyes for a moment; then he fell back in a swoon.
Then Greybeard sent Fleetfoot to the cave for help. And Fleetfoot
hurried and told Antler; and Antler, picking up some little things
which she knew she would need, and telling the women to follow quickly
with a large skin, went with Fleetfoot to the spot where Flaker lay.
Greybeard was watching beside the boy when Antler arrived. He helped
her set the broken bones and then they prepared to carry him home.
[Illustration: _What the Cave-men did for Flaker._]
Taking the skin which the women brought, Antler stretched it upon the
ground. Then the women helped her lift the boy and lay him upon the
skin. Gently they laid him upon the stretcher. Softly they stepped as
they carried him home. They tended him carefully many days.
Flaker's wounds soon healed. But when he was strong enough to walk,
the Cave-men saw that he was lame.
Flaker was always lame after that. The bones had slipped out of place
and now it was too late to reset them. Afterwards the Cave-men learned
better ways of setting broken bones. They found better ways of holding
them in place while they grew together.
Perhaps the Cave-men learned this by watching the wild animals. Some
birds, when they break a leg, hold the bones in place with wet clay.
Sometimes we use a plaster cast, but the Cave-men knew nothing about
such a way.
The days seemed long to Flaker while he was getting well. Everybody
was kind to him, but it seemed hard to keep quiet when everybody else
was moving about.
When Fleetfoot went out to hunt, Flaker wanted to go too. But he could
not go, and so Fleetfoot used to tell him everything that happened.
#THINGS TO DO#
_Show how the women helped Antler put Flaker upon the skin. Show
how they carried him home. Draw one of the pictures._
_Find out why a child's bones will grow together more easily than
an old person's bones. See if you can find out what bones are made
of. Soak a bone in acid and see what happens to it. Burn a bone and
see what happens to it. Why do a child's bones break less easily
than an old person's?_
_If there is a spring in your neighborhood, go and see it. Find out
where the water comes from._