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第12章

before adam-第12章

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with her; but finally it was accomplished and she

joined us sometimes in our play。



I liked her from the first。  She was of most pleasing

appearance。 She was very mild。  Her eyes were the

mildest I had ever seen。  In this she was quite unlike

the rest of the girls and women of the Folk; who were

born viragos。  She never made harsh; angry cries; and

it seemed to be her nature to flee away from trouble

rather than to remain and fight。



The mildness I have mentioned seemed to emanate from

her whole being。  Her bodily as well as facial

appearance was the cause of this。  Her eyes were larger

than most of her kind; and they were not so deep…set;

while the lashes were longer and more regular。 Nor was

her nose so thick and squat。  It had quite a bridge;

and the nostrils opened downward。  Her incisors were

not large; nor was her upper lip long and down…hanging;

nor her lower lip protruding。  She was not very hairy;

except on the outsides of arms and legs and across the

shoulders; and while she was thin…hipped; her calves

were not twisted and gnarly。



I have often wondered; looking back upon her from the

twentieth century through the medium of my dreams; and

it has always occurred to me that possibly she may have

been related to the Fire People。  Her father; or

mother; might well have come from that higher stock。

While such things were not common; still they did

occur; and I have seen the proof of them with my own

eyes; even to the extent of members of the horde

turning renegade and going to live with the Tree

People。



All of which is neither here nor there。  The Swift One

was radically different from any of the females of the

horde; and I had a liking for her from the first。  Her

mildness and gentleness attracted me。  She was never

rough; and she never fought。  She always ran away; and

right here may be noted the significance of the naming

of her。  She was a better climber than Lop…Ear or I。

When we played tag we could never catch her except by

accident; while she could catch us at will。  She was

remarkably swift in all her movements; and she had a

genius for judging distances that was equalled only by

her daring。  Excessively timid in all other matters;

she was without fear when it came to climbing or

running through the trees; and Lop…Ear and I were

awkward and lumbering and cowardly in comparison。



She was an orphan。  We never saw her with any one; and

there was no telling how long she had lived alone in

the world。  She must have learned early in her helpless

childhood that safety lay only in flight。  She was very

wise and very discreet。  It became a sort of game with

Lop…Ear and me to try to find where she lived。  It was

certain that she had a tree…shelter somewhere; and not

very far away; but trail her as we would; we could

never find it。  She was willing enough to join with us

at play in the day…time; but the secret of her

abiding…place she guarded jealously。







CHAPTER XI





It must be remembered that the description I have just

given of the Swift One is not the description that

would have been given by Big…Tooth; my other self of my

dreams; my prehistoric ancestor。 It is by the medium of

my dreams that I; the modern man; look through the eyes

of Big…Tooth and see。



And so it is with much that I narrate of the events of

that far…off time。  There is a duality about my

impressions that is too confusing to inflict upon my

readers。  I shall merely pause here in my narrative to

indicate this duality; this perplexing mixing of

personality。  It is I; the modern; who look back across

the centuries and weigh and analyze the emotions and

motives of Big…Tooth; my other self。  He did not

bother to weigh and analyze。  He was simplicity itself。

He just lived events; without ever pondering why he

lived them in his particular and often erratic way。



As I; my real self; grew older; I entered more and more

into the substance of my dreams。  One may dream; and

even in the midst of the dream be aware that he is

dreaming; and if the dream be bad; comfort himself with

the thought that it is only a dream。  This is a common

experience with all of us。  And so it was that I; the

modern; often entered into my dreaming; and in the

consequent strange dual personality was both actor and

spectator。  And right often have I; the modern; been

perturbed and vexed by the foolishness; illogic;

obtuseness; and general all…round stupendous stupidity

of myself; the primitive。



And one thing more; before I end this digression。  Have

you ever dreamed that you dreamed? Dogs dream; horses

dream; all animals dream。  In Big…Tooth's day the

half…men dreamed; and when the dreams were bad they

howled in their sleep。  Now I; the modern; have lain

down with Big…Tooth and dreamed his dreams。



This is getting almost beyond the grip of the

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 

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