Now that Pic was returned to the fold and his position established among the Men of Ferrassie, he gave himself up to all the activities of Mousterian life. With his advent, began a period of successful hunting. Rarely did the hunters return to the rock-shelter empty-handed. What with their never-depleted larder, the Cave-folk became strong of heart and body; the burly chieftain grew burlier and the girl rounded out like a plump partridge. To her Pic devoted such of his time as was not required for his hunting; and thus he cemented their closer acquaintance. For more than a fortnight, Pic gave himself up heart and soul to his new life until another chapter suddenly unfolded itself. One morning he and the men of Ferrassie were creeping along the river bank in search of game when he caught sight of two great creatures coming towards him. He sprang to his feet and waved his arms. At this, the pair came to a sudden halt. For a moment they stood staring at him in wonder, then came galloping along with loud squeals and bellows.

[205]

“The Mammoth! the Woolly Rhinoceros!” yelled the Cave-men and away they fled like scared rabbits; all but one of them who seemed to have suddenly lost the use of his legs and was perforce compelled to face the two great beasts alone. Along came the pair amid a great rumbling of feet upon the grassy meadow. Squeals, trumpets, bellows and human shouts rang out over the lowlands to the distant heights and echoed back again as the opposing forces clashed and in a moment the duet was become a trio—the Mammoth, the Rhinoceros and the Ape Boy.

Oh, the joy of that reunion! Hairi jumped up and down, his ears flapped like fans and his trunk twined about Pic’s body so tightly that the latter was hard put to keep breath within it. Wulli’s tail rattled vigorously and he bobbed around like a great bewhiskered shuttle as he strove to bestow upon the Ape Boy word and act of heart-felt greeting. The wonder is that Pic survived the twain’s ponderous exuberance but he managed to weather the storm and after pats and hugs of his own he got clear of the tangled mass of tusks, trunk, horn and feet and the two animals quieted down sufficiently to hear how it was, their long-lost companion had so unexpectedly come back to life.

Pic’s story was soon told, he being careful to delete such portions of his adventure with the[206] Neander Giant as might cast a shadow over the present happy reunion. Then it was the turn of the other two to give an account of their doings. Pic’s attention was now centered upon the Mammoth—his neck and shoulders gridded with ragged scars, which latter were discernible beneath thin hair and wool-patches—relics of the Spring shedding.

“Fighting?” he inquired.

The Mammoth looked somewhat crestfallen as he answered:

“Um-m, not exactly,” whereat Wulli’s eyes twinkled, and the Mammoth observing, added:

“Well, we both fared badly, although it all seems comical when once past and done with.” Then in reply to Pic’s puzzled looks, he recounted his part in the mystery:

“We saw you climb down to the cave and enter it but you never came out, although we waited and waited until we were almost starved, for there was almost no food to be found among the rocks. Finally we made up our minds that you were lost to us forever, so we went away. I would have died rather than go alone but Wulli was with me. We went away together.”

His voice trembled. He was silent for a moment gazing at his toes which shone like great door-knobs; then he resumed:

[207]

“We rambled this way and that, eating, drinking and sleeping when we had to and not finding much pleasure in it. We poked our noses into all sorts of out-of-the-way places. One of them that I am going to tell about was covered with rocks, single and in mass with scattered patches of trees here and there. Detecting a strange odor coming from behind some of these rocks, we went over to find out what it was.

“On nearing the place from where the odor came, we found ourselves on a ridge with broad stones sticking up edgeways in front of us. It was too high for us to see over but we managed to find a cleft, not large enough to squeeze through although it gave us a glimpse of the party.”

“Party?” asked Pic.

“Yes, a party of flesh-eaters sitting around the half-eaten body of a reindeer. All were females chatting too busily to hear or smell Wulli and myself. They were the Leopard, Panther, Lynx and Bobcat. The Leopard being the largest and fiercest of the four, had the most to say as well as the choicest portions of the feast. Apparently it was she who had killed the reindeer. We heard her remark:

“‘Yes, reindeer meat is very nice—the nicest of small game.’

“‘Small?’ her three companions pricked up their[208] ears. Wulli and I did too. That Leopardess was merely talking for effect.

“‘Yes, small,’ she drawled, ‘although some might say medium-sized. I had in mind the Woolly Rhinoceros, a fairly large animal, ugly and stupid but sweet and tender. Have none of you ever tasted one?’

“You can imagine how vexed Wulli was,” the Mammoth chuckled. “Then we heard the Lynxess say in an awed voice: ‘No, I never ate a Rhino. They are a bit too large for me to manage. Do you select them yourself—live ones?’

“‘Certainly,’ replied the big cat. ‘I eat only food of my own killing. The Rhinoceros is easy compared with the Mammoth. I find the latter much more difficult.’

“It was now Wulli’s turn to be amused,” said the Mammoth. “I thought I would burst with rage when he whispered, ‘Poor little elephant! I wonder how many she eats each day.’

“‘Do you—yourself—kill all of the rhinos and elephants you eat?’ the Bobcattess now asked most humbly.

“‘Of course; do you suppose I swallow them alive?’ the Leopardess snarled, whereupon the Bobcattess said no more. ‘Young ones, no doubt,’ ventured the Pantheress, ‘I—’

“‘Silence,’ the Leopardess screamed in a great[209] rage. We thought for a moment that she was going to start a fight but just then she saw the top of my head. The rocks did not conceal quite all of me. Without a word of warning to her companions, she crawled away merely saying: ‘Pardon my haste. I had forgotten that Spotty was all alone.’

“By this time, Wulli and I were both very much annoyed. We hurried around the rocks to catch that leopardess and punish her. She sprang into a glade and disappeared. As we followed, her companions scattered in all directions. We had entered the woods and I had just lowered my head to avoid colliding with a stout overhanging branch when something reached down from above and fastened upon my shoulder hump. As I bounded forward from the pain of it, my back was raked from nape to tail. Never was I so enraged as at this unexpected attack. I faced about and saw a lithe cat-like form ascending rapidly into the tree-top. It was the Leopardess and she it was who had clawed my back as I passed beneath the limb upon which she lay; and now I could see her safely beyond my reach and hear her screeching scorn and derision at Wulli and myself. Some strands of my own hair still clung to her waving paw. The sight of them irritated me beyond measure.”

“‘We might hide,’ said Wulli. ‘When the wretch[210] thinks that we have g............