Gonch peered cautiously over the stone. The two beasts were walking away side by side.
“Friends Should Ever Help Each Other”
“A happy ending to an unpleasant dream,” he thought as he watched the pair disappearing behind rocks and trees. He raised himself into a crouching position just as a big-eared head arose with him from the grass, about ten paces distant. It was a maneless head with repulsive features and slopping jaws. It grinned horribly at the man, and yet made no move to attack him. “One would think the beast my friend,” thought Gonch as he stood erect with ax held ready to defend himself.
“A hyena, but never have I seen such a big one. The Mammoth has cheated us both,” he said aloud to the beast. “We must wait and hope for the chance that may come again.”
The Hyena licked his muzzle and leered at the man, then turned and walked slowly away. A sloping back and bushy tail trailed behind the huge head. Such trust in human nature was astounding. The Muskman might have glided stealthily after and slain the brute before it could turn and defend itself. He was standing motionless, watching the gray back melt away in the meadow grass, when he heard sounds in the opposite direction. The bushes waved and crackled, and he made out a human form coming through them and rapidly toward him.
Gonch dropped flat in the grass and lay still. The crackling sounds and he who made them came nearer. The Muskman could now see his face. He breathed a deep sigh of relief. In a moment he was on his feet and advancing to meet the newcomer. It was the boy Kutnar.