Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-05-20
uIously and plaintively TO one another
from tho caNp months


where my mother lived and where Lop
Ear and | had built our first tree shell /
ter 1t was unexpected. As | came |
under the tree | heard the familiar /
soft sound and looked up There she
was the Swift One, sitting on n limb !
and swinging her legs back and forth |
as she looked at me.
stood still for some time. The !
sight of her had made me very happy.
And then an unrest and pain began
to creep in on this happiness. l start
ed to climb the tree after her, and she
retreated slowly out the limb. Just as
l reached for her she sprang through
the air and landed in the branches Of
the next tree. From amid the rustling
leaves she peeped out at me and made
soft sounds. | leaped straight for her,
and after an exciting chase the stu
alton was duplicated, for there she
was. making soft sounds and peeping
out from the leaves of a third tree.
1t was borne in upon me that some
old days before Lop Ear and l had
gone on our adventure journey.
wanted to be near her. and | knew IT,
And she knew it too. That was why
she would not let me come near her. l
forgot that she was truly the Swift
One and that in the art of climbing she
had been. my teacher. l pursued her
! from tree to tree. and ever she eluded
ME. peepin- back at me with kindly.
eyes, making soft sounds and dancing
| and leaping and lettering before me
| just ont of reach The more she elud-
ed me the more | wanted to catch her.
and the Engineering shadows of the
/ afternoon bore witness to the futility
of my effort
As | pursued her or sometimes rest
ed in an adjoining tree and watched
her l noticed the change in her. She
was larger heavier. more grOwnup. Her
lines were rounder her muscles fuller
Three years she had been gonc-three
years at the very least-and the change
in her was marked. | say three years.
1t is as near as l can measure the
time A fourth year may have elapsed
which l have confused with the hap
penings Of the other three years. The
more | think of it the more confident
am that it must be four years that
she was away.
Where she went. why she went and
what happened 10 her during that time
| do not know. There was 10 way for
her to tell me- any more than there
was way for Lop Ear and me to tell
the folk what we had seen when we
were away. Like u.s. the chance is
she had gone off on an adventure jour
ney and by herself. On the other
hand. it is possible that Red Eye may
have been the cause. of her going. 1t
is quite certain that he must have
come upon her from time to time wan
dering in the woods. and if he had pur-
sued her there is no question but that
it would have been sufficient to drive
her away. From subsequent events |
am led to believe that she must have
Travelled far to the south, across a
range of mountains and down to the
banks Of a strange river, away from
any of her kind. Many Tree People
lived down there, and l think it must
have been they who finally drove her
back to the horde and to me. Ny rea-
sons for this I shall explain later.
The shadows grew longer, and l pur-
sued more ardently than ever and still
could not catch her She made be-
lieve that she was trying desperately
TO escape me, and all the time she man
aged TO keep just beyond reach. l for
got everything time, the oncoming of
night and my meat eating enemies.
was insane with love for her and with
anger, too, because she would not let
ME come up with her It was strange
how this anger against her seemed to
be part Of my desire for her
AS have said, 1 forgot everything
In racing across an open space l ran
full tilt upon colony of snakes. They
did not deter me. l was mad. They
struck at me, but ducked and lodged
and ran on. Then there was a python
that ordinarily would have sent me
screeching to a treetop. He did run
me into tree, but the Swift One was
going out of sight, and 1 sprang back
10 the ground and went on. 1t was a
close shave. Then there was my old
enemy. the hyena. From my conduct
he was sure something was going to
happen. and he followed me for an
hour. Once we exasperated a band of
| wild pigs. and they took after us. The
Swift One dared a wide leap between
trees that was too much for me.
had TO take 10 the ground. There were
the pigs. I didn't care. ! struck the
earth within yard Of the nearest one.
They fanked me as I ran and chased
me into two different trees out of the
line of my pursuit Of the Swift One.
yentured the ground again, doubled
back and crossed a wide open space,
with the whole band grunting, bristling
and tusk crashing at my heels.
If had tripped or stumbled In that
| open space there would have been no
chance for me, but ! didn't. And |
didn't care whether did or not ! was
in such mood that | would have faced
| old Saber Tooth himself or a score of
arrow shooting Fire People Such was
| the madness of love-with me. With
| the Swift One ii was different. She
/ was very wise. She did not take any
| real risks. and remember on looking
! love chase that when the pigs delayed