The first rays of the morning sun penetrated the grotto and awoke the sleeping Rhinoceros. For a moment he gazed about him, wondering where he could be. Voices sounded outside—whispers. Slowly his senses returned, and with them remembrances of the previous night’s unpleasant experience. Aha! so the Mammoth and Ape Boy had returned. Now for his part. With deadly calmness, he stepped to the mouth of the grotto.

A most unexpected sight met his gaze. The Mammoth and Ape Boy had not returned at all. In their stead, a fierce group sprawled upon the rock platform. Their backs were turned toward him; but Wulli knew them at once as the beasts of prey, the flesh-eaters of the caves. Stretched at full length, lay Grun Waugh the Cave Lion with a Lioness seated by his side. A little apart squatted the Hyena and Cave Wolf.

“A wonderful place,” the Lioness was saying. “None but an eagle would presume to choose a home so high above the valley.”

[51]

“None but me you mean, my dear,” Grun Waugh gently but firmly corrected.

“Yes, none but you, of course,” the Lioness replied. “Is the cave unoccupied?”

“Hagh-gh-h!” Grun Waugh turned his head away and licked his singed whiskers. “That miserable Ape Boy I told you of, has taken to coming here. Between the two of us—you and I—we should now be able to keep him and his little hot beast away.”

“We might choose another home,” said the Lioness; “one that requires less climbing. There is Sha Pell—a charming cave and empty too or at least it was when I last passed that way.”

“Full now,” the Wolf humbly ventured to remark. “A man has just moved in—a man blind in one eye. He looked sick to me.”

“A sick man you say—and blind?” the Hyena asked. “That interests me. There was a blind man, leader of the Ape Men whom I have often seen while waiting around their camp for scraps of meat and other good things. I remember him well. He was old. He had grey hair. I had hoped soon to know him better. And so he is sick. If my lord will excuse me, I will now take my humble leave and pay my respects to this man who lives alone in Sha Pell and who is old, sick and blind in one eye.”

[52]

He was slinking away when Grun Waugh stopped him.

“Hold!” he growled. “I will go with you. Man’s flesh would be a welcome change. There will be enough left for you when the carcass grows cold. Stay here, my dear,” he said to the Lioness. “You and the Wolf can have the Ape Boy for your portion—when he returns.”

The Hyena who had been listening to his master’s bidding with a thwarted hang-dog air suddenly raised his head and began sniffing vigorously in all directions. Finally his twitching nose pointed towards the grotto and held still. His ears stood erect. He burst into an uproarious mirthless laugh:

“Hee-hee, ha-ha, wah-ho!” The other three animals looked around to seek the cause of his hilarity and were amazed to see the head of a rhinoceros protruding from the mouth of the grotto.

A scene of wild confusion followed. Grun Waugh sprang snarling to his feet while the Lioness made ready to dash in when he gave the signal.

The Rhinoceros saw in a moment that he was the surprise of the party; that his presence was neither welcome nor expected. He settled back again into his refuge, with horn lowered, legs squared and fully prepared to give a good account of himself.

[53]

Grun Waugh Sprang Snarling to His Feet

Grun Waugh snarled angrily as he observed how securely the Rhinoceros was placed. No way to[54] overpower him by numbers. The grotto protected his flanks and rear. His horn guarded the entrance. The matter was one requiring serious thought. He ceased snarling. To him, the Woolly Rhinoceros was a well-known character; an animal to be treated with the utmost caution and respect. He closed his jaws so that Wulli’s suspicions might be lulled by the concealment of red mouth and threatening teeth. His great claws withdrew into their sheath-pads. In a twinkle, the Cave Lion, according to his own ideas, was transformed into a lamb; but his tail writhed and squirmed—a fact which had not escaped Wulli’s notice. Beasts with squirming tails were not to be trusted.

“Prrr, prr, prr: there stands our old neighbor the Woolly Rhinoceros,” he purred in his most friendly manner. “I never knew you could climb mountains. How did you get here?”

“We walked,” the Rhino replied in a chilly voice. His piggy eyes kept close watch and he refused to move an inch from his secure retreat.

“We?” Grim Waugh pricked up his ears and looked nervously about him. “Who? Where?” he asked.

The question reminded Wulli of the wrong done him the evening before.

“The Mammoth. He ran away and left me[55] alone,” was his sullen response. “But my turn will come next. Wait and see.”

“Oho!” thought the Lion. “The Mammoth and this rascal have quarrelled.” Of course Hairi must be somewhere near. Grun Waugh had almost forgotten him, although fully aware of the friendship between the pair which did not meet with his approval. Either the Rhinoceros or Mammoth was a difficult proposition for the strongest flesh-eater to contend with. Combined, they were invincible. He saw that Wulli was cherishing some grudge against his partner and inwardly vowed that the breach must be widened at any cost. Once divided, the pair could be dealt with, singly, thereby insuring greater chance of success.

“Hagh! I am not surprised that you are vexed,” he said with an effort to instil a bit of sympathy into his voice. “No animal could endure what he says about you.”

This was going a trifle too fast. Wulli preferred fighting his own battles.

“Oo-wee!” he squealed; “I have not asked your advice. Fun is fun and hurts nobody.”

Grun Waugh saw that he must begin again. He caught sight of the wood-chunk on Wulli’s horn and took a shot at random:

“Hagh! even so. You could not find the heart to be angry even though somebody fastened a piece of wood on the end of your horn.”

[56]

The Rhino winced and bit his lips. He was hard hit. The shot had told.

“Perhaps the Mammoth meant no harm,” the Lion continued much pleased with the rapid progress he was now making; “but little things often hurt; the things he says about you.” Grun Waugh shook his head sadly and glanced at the sky.

“Umph; what does he say?” Wulli demanded irritably. “Nothing that I know of.”

Grun Waugh turned to his mates with an air of: “There, I told you so. He doesn’t know.”

The Lioness licked her lips and assumed an expression of mysterious wisdom. The Hyena leered and ducked his head. The Cave Wolf doubled up to kick at a flea on his neck as he always did when noticed by his superiors.

“It is not for me to conceal the truth,” the Cave Lion replied. “The Mammoth says that you are an inferior animal—a Moo Hoo. It seems a strange thing to say.”

“Inferior animal?” Wulli cried. “He never said that to me.”

“He would be a Moo Hoo himself if he did,” said the Lioness with a leer.

“Quite right, my dear,” observed Grun Waugh with an approving nod. “We must credit the Mammoth with some sense. He waits until the Rhinoceros[57] is beyond his hearing when he speaks of the fat little creature he has made friends with.”

“And horned pig—do not forget that,” added the Cave Wolf; and once more be doubled up to claw the back of his head. The Hyena emitted a fiendish laugh; in fact all viewed these tributes to the Rhinoceros with the utmost good-nature; all but Wulli. He was simply furious. He remembered well that the Mammoth always treated him in a free-and-easy manner—but friendly too, so he had not objected. The remarks he had just heard might have sounded differently if delivered to him first hand; but they were absolutely insulting in the mouths of others. He bit the ground with rage. The Cave Beasts exchanged satisfied glances. Things were progressing finely. No need of pushing matters too fast.

“I suppose the Ape Boy too has been annoying you,” purred Grun Waugh. “None but his paw could have fastened that piece of wood on the tip of your horn.”

Wulli’s ears pricked up quickly then flopped down again. “Umph,” was all he said.

“Mischievous little animal—that Ape Boy,” said Grun Waugh. “He was even worse before he had his tail pulled off when he jumped around in the trees.”

“Ho-ho, haw-haw-haw!” howled the Hyena in[58] fiendish glee. “Lost his tail; he-he! Now he has to stay on the ground.”

“And now he is pretending to be a man,” the Lioness sniffed. “Miserable ape-beast hiding in a man’s skin. Hagh-h! Who would associate with him?”

“Too bad that the Rhinoceros has such untrustworthy friends,” said the Cave Lion in a choking voice. “We like him personally but he chooses bad company.”

These remarks were coldly received. Wulli remained stubbornly on his guard and the terrible nose-horn ever covered his enemies ranged about the mouth of the cave. “You attend to your own affairs. I will manage mine,” was his grim response.

Grun Waugh ground his teeth. He longed to spring upon the Rhinoceros and tear him to shreds but hesitated to impale himself upon that terrible nose-horn. He bit his lips perplexed and wondered what course to pursue. His associates fidgeted uneasily. They were unaccustomed to seeing their leader at a loss before any mere grass-eating animal. The fierce King of Beasts felt that his honor and dignity were at stake. He must act promptly to clear himself in the eyes of his friends.

Grun Waugh nodded to those behind him and settled down until his chest and stomach touched[59] the ground. He was about to give the signal for attack by dashing upon the Rhinoceros, when a faint thump, thump, sounded below the terrace. He pricked up his ears and glanced in that direction. The other Cave Beasts too had heard. They faced about and stood motionless, listening intently to the sound of heavy feet plodding up the slope. Suddenly a wind-puff wafted an odor to their nostrils, clear and unmistakable to all:

“The Mammoth! The Hairy Elephant! Here he comes.”

“To the ledge,” whispered the Cave Lion. “Hagh! Take your places quick, before he sees us.”

Without a sound, the four animals glided to the edge of the terrace and took positions commanding the Mammoth’s point of approach. Here they crouched low and watched the approaching Elephant without themselves being seen.

To Wulli, these queer actions were of no great interest as they did not seem to concern himself. However it might all mean some trickery to coax him from his refuge. “When in doubt, play safe,” was his motto for the time being, so he refused to budge.

His ears suddenly caught the sound of ponderous feet laboring up the slope. His nostrils swelled and sniffed in that direction as he waited with legs[60] stiffly braced, tail rigid for the something about to happen. In a moment the peak of a great shaggy head thrust itself above the ledge followed by an uplifted trunk and long curling tusks rising higher with every step.

Like a flash, the sight of the Mammoth brought back to Wulli the memory of his wrongs. Once more the fires of wrath burned fiercely within his breast. He took a deep breath, lowered his horn and emerged from the grotto fully prepared and determined to give his partner a warm reception. Then his heart gave a great bound as a loud scuffling sounded upon the terrace—a bedlam of cries and rushing feet. He saw the Cave Beasts lying in ambush, rise from their places of concealment and dash upon the Mammoth. He heard the latter’s terrified bellows, the snarls of the Wolf, the Hyena’s laughing howl mingled with human cries and the roaring of lions.

Wulli looked down at his fore-feet much disturbed. The Cave Beasts seemed determined to interfere in his own personal affair. Hairi must be punished, of course, but this was his quarrel and one not to be entrusted to meddling strangers. The tumult was increasing in violence with every passing moment and still he remained motionless, debating within his mind what was to be done next.