Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-05-17

romance OF slipping through the pas
sage
He kept me there half a 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
Eve came upon the scene. All we did
was to keep an eye on him and see
that he did not cut across our line of
retreat.
II was during this winter that Red
Eve killed his latest wife with abuse
and repeated beatings. ] have called
him an atayism, 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
it 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
ing 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
Nv mated with Crooked Leg. He was
quiet individual molesting no one
and not given to pickering with his fell
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 decd. 1t was i'll 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 q runway from
a drinking place, pursued by Red Eye.
/ She ran to her husband. Poor little
| Crooked Leg was terribly scared. But
| he was a hero. he knew that death
was upon him. vet he did not run
away. He stood up and chartered
bristled and showed his teeth.
Red Eye roareJ 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 s1rirming on
the ground. The Singing One scrcech
ed and cibberPd. Red Eye seized hei
by the hair of her head and dragged
her toward his cave He handled hel
! roughly when the climb began, and he
dragged and hauled her up into tbs
cave.
We were very angry, insanely. vo
tiferously angry Beating our chests
bristling and crashing our teeth, we
gathered together in our rage. We
felt the prod of gregarious instinct
the drawing together as though for
united action, the impulse toward co
operation. In dim ways this need fol
united action was impressed upon Us
/ bul tueIe as no WY 10 dcUIeFe II be
cause there was no way to express it
We did not turn to, all of US. and de
stroy Red Eye, because we lacked {
vocabulary. We were vaguely think
ing thoughts for which there were NJ
thought symbols. These thought sym
bolS were yet to be Slowly and pain
fully invented.
We tried to freight sound with tht
vague thoughts that fitted like shad
ows through our consciousness. TIL
Hairless One began to chatter loudly
By his noises he expressed ange
against Red Eye and desire to hurt Re-
Eye. Thus far be got. and thus far w
understood But when he tried to ez
! press the cooperative impulse that stir
red within him his noises became 9Th
berish. Then Big Face, with broy
bristling and chest pounding. began +
chatter One after another of US Join
ed in the orgy Of rage. until even OH
Marrow Bone was mumbling and splut
! tering with his cracked voice and with
| cred lips. Some one seized a stick AM
began pounding a log. In a momen
he had struck a rhythm. Unconscious
Is our yells and explanations yielded t
this rhythm. 1t had a soothing effec
! upon US, and before we knew it, on