Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1916-05-10

lTIzFsS51 was Red Eye to be consider
IsssSgS ed. Lop Ear and / never
knew q moments peace except when
we were in our own little cave. In
spite of the enlargement of the en-
trance we had made it was still a
tight squeeze for us to get in, and,
though from time to time we contin-
ued to enlarge, it was still too small
for Red Eyes mOnstrOus body. But
he never StOrmed our cave again. He
had learned the lesson well, and he
carried on his neck a bullying lump to
show where l had hit him with the
rock. This lump never went away,
and it was prominent enough to be
seen at q distance. / often took great
delight i'm watching that Evidence of
nv handiwOrk, and sometimes when /
was myself assuredly safe the sight of
It caused me to laugh.
While the other folk would not have
come to our rescue had Red Eye pro-
ceeded to tear LOp Ear and me to
pieces before their eyes, nevertheless
they sympathiZed with us. Possibly 1t
was not sympathy, but the way they
expressed their hatred for Red Eye.
at any rate. they always warned US
of his approach. Whether in the for
est, mt the drinking places or in the
open space before the caves, they were
always quick TO warn US. Thus we
had the advantage of many eyes In
our feud with Red Eye, the atavism.
Once ne nearly got me. 1t was early
in the morning, and the folk were not
yet up. The surprise was complete.
was cut off from the way up the cliff
TO my cave. Before l knew 1T L had
dashed into the double cave-the cave
where LOp Ear had first eluded me
long years before and where old Saber
Tooth had come to discOmtiture when
he pursued the two folk. By the time
I had got through the connecting pas
sage between the two caves | discov-
cred that Red Eye was not following
me. The next moment he charged
into the cave from the outside.
slipped back through the passage, and
he charged out and around and in upon
me again. / merely repeated my per-
Torrance of slipping through the pas
sage.
He kept me there half q day before
he gave up. After that when LOp Ear
and / were reasonably sure of gaining
the double cave we did not retreat up
the cliff to our own cave when Red
Eye came upon the scene. All we d1d
was to keep an eye on him and see
that he did not cut across our line OF
retreat.
1t was during this winter that Red
Eve killed his latest wife with abuse
and repeated beatings. l have called
him an atavism. but in this he was
worse than an ataviSm, for the males
of the lower animals do not maltreat
and murder their mates. In this take
IL that Red Eye, in spite of his ire
mendous atavistic tendencies. foreshad-
owed the coming of man. for it is the
males of the human species only that
murder their mates.
As was to be expected, with the do
inc away OF one wife Red Eye pro-
ceeded to get another. He decided
upon the Singing One. She was the
granddaughter of old Marrow Bone
and the daughter of the Hairless One.
She was a young thing. greatly given
to singing at the mouth of her cave
in the twilight. and she had but recent
II mated with Crooked Leg. He was
4 quiet individual, molesting no one
and not given to pickering with his fel-
lows. He was no fighter anyway. He
was small and lean and not so active
on his legs as the rest of us.
Red Eye never committed more
outrageous deed. 1t was in the quiet
at the end of the day when we began
TO congregate in the open space before
climbing into our caves. Suddenly the
Singing One dashed up 4 runway from
drinking place, pursued by Red Eye.
She ran to her husband. Poor little
Crooked Leg was terribly scared. But
he was 4 hero. He knew that death
was upon him, yet he did not run
away. lie stood up and chartered.
bristled and showed his teeth.
Red Eye roared with rage. 1t was
an offense to him that any of the folk
should dare to withstand him. His
hand shot out and clutched Crooked
Leg by the neck. The latter sank his
teeth into Red Eyes arm, but the next
moment. with a broken neck, Crooked
Leg was fioundering and squirming on
the ground The Singing One screech-
ed and gibbered. Red Eye seized her
by the hair of her head and dragged
her toward his cave. He handled her
roughly when the climb began, and he
dragged and hauled her up into the
cave.
We were very angry, insanely, vo-
ciferOusly angry. Beating our chests,
bristling and gnashing our teeth. we