Adventure Magazine Cover — page 155: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Fight for the Cave The she-leopard, its fright undiminished, had crawled around the cave, and now it had approached the crowd of fishermen, who stood watching Lean Ak’s fight with the male leopard. Ufu the Great returned to consciousness, but still lying palsied with fear, espied the slowly approaching beast and was seized with a new terror. He yelled and leaped to his feet. of fishermen, when they saw the she- leopard coming ‘toward them, fell into a second panic, and, led by the chieftain- magician, stampeded across the cave to- ward Lean Ak. The hunting-chief was poised to receive the second spring of the male leopard when the fear-crazed fishermen impacted against him. He was thrown forward, and the charging beast set its claws in his shoulder. Lean Ak struck again and again with his flint knife, while one of his hunters beat at the animal with his stone hatchet. But the panic-stricken mob continued throwing him before it until he fell, still struggling with the leopard. The mob of fishermen recoiled crazily and flung themselves through the cave door and out into the valley. The hunters ran screaming to aid their chief. Lean Ak rose to his feet with a final glance at the leopard, which now lay still. He stood, smeared with blood, a heavy gash on his face. His eyes were glaring, his muscles convulsing. He remained poised in the rage for battle, as if awaiting another enemy. Six figures arose from the crowd of the cave women huddled in the corner. They came and kneeled before the hunting- chief. He did not look at them, but still The mass . 149 glared in fury. They trembled, and broke into a wail— “O great Rhinoceros from the hills, Look down cn us as from a mountain.”’ When Lean Ak heard them, a violent shaking seized his body. His mad eyes softened as he bent his head to them. He bade them take him and bind up his wounds. Halfadozenhunters were killing the female leopard with spear and stone hatchet. AFTER these memorable events KO) there was peace in the valley. Ufu the Great and his fishermen filed far down the river and found refuge in an- other cave. With the chieftain-magician’s skill at bone fish-hooks they again feasted on bounties of fish, and, being excellent providers, they could not fail to secure women enough and more from neighboring tribes to replace those that they had left behind them in their former cave. It proved that the rhinoceros, which had saved and so nearly ruined the hunting- tribe, was the forerunner of a migration of game, so that the men of the chase, too, lived in contentment and good feeding with their old wives and the new ones they had taken from the fishermen. Lean Ak was happy with the six daugh- ters of Ufu the Great. He hunted in the hills and drew pictures on the cave walls. He had a score of sons. And he taught them, and they taught their sons after them, to slay great beasts and to worship the Rhinoceros— The Rhinoceros that roams among the clouds: The Rhinoceros that awaits his childrea away in the farthermost valley. COmmicloool< (C@