What the Cave-men did for Flaker.
Taking the skin which the women brought, Antler stretched it upon the ground. Then the women helped her lift the boy and lay him upon the skin. Gently they laid him upon the stretcher. Softly they stepped as they carried him home. They tended him carefully many days.
Flaker’s wounds soon healed. But when he was strong enough to walk, the Cave-men saw that he was lame.
Flaker was always lame after that. The bones had slipped out of place and now it was too late to reset them. Afterwards the Cave-men learned better ways of setting broken bones. They found better ways of holding them in place while they grew together.
Perhaps the Cave-men learned this by watching the wild animals. Some birds, when they break a leg, hold the bones in place with wet clay. Sometimes we use a plaster cast, but the Cave-men knew nothing about such a way.
The days seemed long to Flaker while he was getting well. Everybody was kind to him, but it seemed hard to keep quiet when everybody else was moving about.
When Fleetfoot went out to hunt, Flaker wanted to go too. But he could not go, and so Fleetfoot used to tell him everything that happened.
THINGS TO DO
Show how the women helped Antler put Flaker upon the skin. Show how they carried him home. Draw one of the pictures.