The Carlisle independent., 1906-11-08

 women of the present and the same instinct for adornment was possessed by the charming Little Toes, belle undisputed of the clan of Cave Men who lived among the rocks by the White rarn.
 Yarns are not usually white, it is true; in fact we commonly think of tarn as some dismal body of water, lonesome and fearful, but this one, though really a tarn, isolated and alone, was light because it had a sandy bottom, and it's waters were clear because it was doubtless con- nected by some underground channel with the not very distant sea.
 A happy lot of cave people, as cave people went, were those making up the clan which lived beside the tarn, fishing in it's depths and hunting in the Green Forest, and the society was really very fine. So delectable creature as Little Toes must, neces- sarily, have rival admirers, and among them, and altogether leading the oth- CTS, were Big Bow and Cross Eyes.
 
 full fisherman and hunter in the tribe, and somewhat goodly man to look upon. Cross Eyes was but moderate ly successful in the pursuit of food, either on land or water, and he squinted prodigiously.
 Somewhat unfortunately for Cross Eyes had thus far progressed this ar dent wooing. Big Bow, mighty fish erman and hunter, brought daily spoil to, the feet of Little Toes; spoil some thing more than appreciated, not only by theNyoung lady, who had healthy appetite, but by her father and moth CT, who chanced to be people not overstrenuous to grapple with the problem of existence. Cross Eyes did the best he could but he brought less sustenance to his inamorata, and, as has been intimated, Big Bow was the more presentable man of the two But the case of Cross Eyes was not altogether hopeless. He could talk far better than Big Bow in the odd, chuck ling way of the cave men, and was never sullen. Little Toes had become used to him and did not object to hay ing him around. Yet, the star of Big Bow was decidedly in the ascendant
 The rules of dress of the cave men and women of the time were Decom- ing rather severe. For instance, it was considered desirable that both gentlemen and ladies always wear something in public. This, as rule, consisted of a single skin gar ment worn over one shoulder and un- der the other, and, in case of the more rigidly conventional, belted at the waist. This admirable garb, of course, left the neck bare. It afforded a mag nifcent opportunity for the display of jewelry, but the only jewelry ever worn by cave belle up to this par ticular me had consisted of a neck lace of red berries strung Upon some grassy fiber. Such a necklace could last for but the passing hour. It was a transient thing. Such as it was, though, ait was much affected by the firtatious Little Toes, as she did love to adorn herself.
 It fell upon day that Cross Eyes was wandering, ill-mooded, far from the madding crowd. along the banks of a turbulent creek which came tum- bling down from the hills to enter the enticing depths of the White Tarn. This was his meditative afternoon with vengeance. He recognized the fact that Big Bow was far ahead of him in the race for permanent posses sion of Little Toes. He realized that the other man was decidedly the bet ter hunter and better fisherman, and the additional fact that the qualities of purveyor and provider were then considered in wooer of the first i'm portance. He strode up and down the little beach where the creek hurled itself laughingly over wonderful bed of shells and pebbles into the broad waters it was seeking, and, finally. sat himself down upon a rock and thought most dismally. He thought of Little Toes as he had seen her that morning, graceful as the slim wood leopard, gliding merrily about, the temporary necklace of red berries showing line of contrasting color about her smooth, brown neck. He would like, he thought, to see a neck llace always there, though what did lit matter. It seemed that Little Toes 'could never be for him.
 His eyes rested, at first unseeing upon the creeks margin, where was a blazexSf coloring, a glittering rides cenc8 as the suns rays struck upon the tossed-up shells of a brightly pink hoed mollusk, and the many pebbles of clear white, brought down from the chalky heights above. He thought vaguely of the resemblance, save in