With a stone in his hand, he rubbed fiercely up and down upon his forearm, till the blood flowed, pointing to Run Fast and shaking his head.
His meaning was plain. The Cave People understood him. It was, “See me. I can scratch myself harder than Run Fast did.”
Then all the Cave People knew what Run Fast had done and they cried “Baby! Baby!” to Run Fast and he was disgraced before them all.
After that, when the young men of the tribe came home with blood upon their bodies, the strong men shook their heads and refused to believe tales of their adventures, unless they brought back something to prove their words. So it came to be a custom among the Cave People that the men or women who had killed a savage beast carried home with him the tail, or the hide or teeth of that animal. These they wore always as tokens of their bravery. Thus the Cave People first adorned their bodies.
III
WHEN RUN FAST WENT HUNTING FOR A WIFE
The Cave People were skillful fisher folk. From the bark of the cocoanut palm, which they bound to the forked branches of trees, they made nets and caught the fish.
The Cave babies were able to swim almost before they could walk. When for the first time their fathers and mothers threw them into the edge of the river they would beat the water with their little hands, and, with much splashing, make their way toward the bank again.
Boat making, however, came slowly to the Cave People. They knew, of course, how logs, or the trunks of trees float, but tree-felling was beyond their knowledge and their tools.