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第15节

before adam-第15节

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intellect; I know; but I do know that I have done this

thing。  And let me tell you that the flying and

crawling dreams of Big…Tooth were as vivid to him as

the falling…through…space dream is to you。



For Big…Tooth also had an other…self; and when he slept

that other…self dreamed back into the past; back to the

winged reptiles and the clash and the onset of dragons;

and beyond that to the scurrying; rodent…like life of

the tiny mammals; and far remoter still; to the

shore…slime of the primeval sea。  I cannot; I dare not;

say more。  It is all too vague and complicated and

awful。  I can only hint of those vast and terrific

vistas through which I have peered hazily at the

progression of life; not upward from the ape to man;

but upward from the worm。



And now to return to my tale。  I; Big…Tooth; knew not

the Swift One as a creature of finer facial and bodily

symmetry; with long…lashed eyes and a bridge to her

nose and down…opening nostrils that made toward beauty。

I knew her only as the mild…eyed young female who made

soft sounds and did not fight。  I liked to play with

her; I knew not why; to seek food in her company; and

to go bird…nesting with her。  And I must confess she

taught me things about tree…climbing。  She was very

wise; very strong; and no clinging skirts impeded her

movements。



It was about this time that a slight defection arose on

the part of Lop…Ear。  He got into the habit of

wandering off in the direction of the tree where my

mother lived。  He had taken a liking to my vicious

sister; and the Chatterer had come to tolerate him。

Also; there were several other young people; progeny of

the monogamic couples that lived in the neighborhood;

and Lop…Ear played with these young people。



I could never get the Swift One to join with them。

Whenever I visited them she dropped behind and

disappeared。  I remember once making a strong effort to

persuade her。  But she cast backward; anxious glances;

then retreated; calling to me from a tree。  So it was

that I did not make a practice of accompanying Lop…Ear

when he went to visit his new friends。  The Swift One

and I were good comrades; but; try as I would; I could

never find her tree…shelter。  Undoubtedly; had nothing

happened; we would have soon mated; for our liking was

mutual; but the something did happen。



One morning; the Swift One not having put in an

appearance; Lop…Ear and I were down at the mouth of

the slough playing on the logs。  We had scarcely got

out on the water; when we were startled by a roar of

rage。  It was Red…Eye。  He was crouching on the edge of

the timber jam and glowering his hatred at us。  We were

badly frightened; for here was no narrow…mouthed cave

for refuge。  But the twenty feet of water that

intervened gave us temporary safety; and we plucked up

courage。



Red…Eye stood up erect and began beating his hairy

chest with his fist。  Our two logs were side by side;

and we sat on them and laughed at him。  At first our

laughter was half…hearted; tinged with fear; but as we

became convinced of his impotence we waxed uproarious。

He raged and raged at us; and ground his teeth in

helpless fury。  And in our fancied security we mocked

and mocked him。  We were ever short…sighted; we Folk。



Red…Eye abruptly ceased his breast…beating and

tooth…grinding; and ran across the timber…jam to the

shore。  And just as abruptly our merriment gave way to

consternation。  It was not Red…Eye's way to forego

revenge so easily。  We waited in fear and trembling for

whatever was to happen。  It never struck us to paddle

away。  He came back with great leaps across the jam;

one huge hand filled with round; water…washed pebbles。

I am glad that he was unable to find larger missiles;

say stones weighing two or three pounds; for we were no

more than a score of feet away; and he surely would

have killed us。



As it was; we were in no small danger。  Zip! A tiny

pebble whirred past with the force almost of a bullet。

Lop…Ear and I began paddling frantically。

Whiz…zip…bang ! Lop…Ear screamed with sudden anguish。

The pebble had struck him between the shoulders。 Then I

got one and yelled。  The only thing that saved us was

the exhausting of Red…Eye's ammunition。  He dashed back

to the gravel…bed for more; while Lop…Ear and I

paddled away。



Gradually we drew out of range; though Red…Eye

continued making trips for more ammunition and the

pebbles continued to whiz about us。  Out in the centre

of the slough there was a slight current; and in our

excitement we failed to notice that it was drifting us

into the river。  We paddled; and Red…Eye kept as close

as he could to us by following along the shore。  Then

he discovered larger rocks。  Such ammunition increased

his range。  One fragment; fully five pounds in weight;

crashed on the log alongside of me; and such was its

impact that it drove a score of splinters; like fiery

needles; into my leg。  Had it struck me it would have

killed me。



And then the river current caught us。  So wildly were

we paddling that Red…Eye was the first to notice it;

and our first warning was his yell of triumph。  Where

the edge of the current struck the slough…water was a

series of eddies or small whirlpools。  These caught our

clumsy logs and whirled them end for end; back and

forth and around。  We quit paddling and devoted our

whole energy to holding the logs together alongside

each other。  In the meanwhile Red…Eye continued to

bombard us; the rock fragments falling about us;

splashing water on us; and menacing our lives。 At the

same time he gloated over us; wildly and vociferously。



It happened that there was a sharp turn in the river at

the point where the slough entered; and the whole main

current of the river was deflected to the other bank。

And toward that bank; which was the north bank; we

drifted rapidly; at the same time going down…stream。

This quickly took us out of range of Red…Eye; and the

last we saw of him was far out on a point of land;

where he was jumping up and down and chanting a paean

of victory。



Beyond holding the two logs together; Lop…Ear and I did

nothing。 We were resigned to our fate; and we remained

resigned until we aroused to the fact that we were

drifting along the north shore not a hundred feet away。

We began to paddle for it。  Here the main force of the

current was flung back toward the south shore; and the

result of our paddling was that we crossed the current

where it was swiftest and narrowest。  Before we were

aware; we were out of it and in a quiet eddy。



Our logs drifted slowly and at last grounded gently on

the bank。 Lop…Ear and I crept ashore。  The logs drifted

on out of the eddy and swept away down the stream。  We

looked at each other; but we did not laugh。  We were in

a strange land; and it did not enter our minds that we

could return to our own land in the same manner that we

had come。



We had learned how to cross a river; though we did not

know it。 And this was something that no one else of the

Folk had ever done。 We were the first of the Folk to

set foot on the north bank of the river; and; for that

matter; I believe the last。  That they would have done

so in the time to come is undoubted; but the migration

of the Fire People; and the consequent migration of the

survivors of the Folk; set back our evolution for

centuries。



Indeed; there is no telling how disastrous was to be

the outcome of the Fire People's migration。

Personally; I am prone to believe that it brought about

the destruction of the Folk; that we; a branch of lower

life budding toward the human; were nipped short off

and perished down by the roaring surf where the river

entered the sea。  Of course; in such an eventuality; I

remain to be accounted for; but I outrun my story; and

such accounting will be made before I am done。







CHAPTER XII





I have no idea how long Lop…Ear and I wandered in the

land north of the river。  We were like mariners wrecked

on a desert isle; so far as concerned the likelihood of

our getting home again。  We turned our backs upon the

river; and for weeks and months adventured in that

wilderness where there were no Folk。  It is very

difficult for me to reconstruct our journeying; and

impossible to do it from day to day。  Most of it is

hazy and indistinct; though here and there I have vivid

recollections of things that happened。



Especially do I remember the hunger we endured on the

mountains between Long Lake and Far Lake; and the calf

we caught sleeping in the thicket。  Also; there are the

Tree People who dwelt in the forest between Long Lake

and the mountains。  It was they who chased us into the

mountains and compelled us to travel on to Far Lake。



First; after we left the river; we worked toward the

west till we came to a small stream that flowed through

marshlands。  Here we turned away toward th

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