less disinterested--who were capable of
becoming troublesome if ever he should find his strength failing. One
of these, in particular, a gigantic, black-browed fellow by the name
of Ne-boo, remotely akin to the deserter Mawg, was now watching him
with eyes more keen and considerate than those of his companions. As
Bawr became conscious of this inquiring, crafty gaze, he made a slip,
and closed his left hand on a portion of his branch which was still
glowing red. With superb nerve he gave no sign of the hurt. And he
thought quickly: he had taken a liberty with the Bright One, and been
bitten by those mysterious, shining teeth which left a scar of black.
Well, someone else should be bitten, also. Calmly heating the branch
again till it was a live coal for three-quarters of its length, he
called the crafty-eyed warrior to him. The man came, uneasy, but full
of interest.

"Take this, and hold it for me," said Bawr, and tossed him the red
brand. With shrinking hands Ne-boo caught it, to drop it instantly
with a yell of pain and terror. It fell, scraping his leg, and his
foot, and in his fright he threw himself down beside it, begging it
not to smite him again.

"Strange," said Bawr, in a voice for all the tribe to hear, "the
Shining One will not suffer Ne-boo to touch him." With the air of a
high priest he picked the brand up, and held it again into the flames.
And Grom returning at this moment to his side, he commanded in a low
voice: "Let none but ourselves attend or touch the Bright One."

Grom, his mind occupied with plans for the settling of the tribe,
agreed without asking the reason for this decree. He was thinking
about getting the tribe housed in the caves which he had noticed in
the steep sides of the valley. He knew well enough that these caves
were the houses of the red bear, the saber-tooth and the bone-crushing
hyenas, but, as he explained to the Chief with thrilling elation, the
Shining One would drive these monsters out, and teach them to keep
their distance. To Bawr, who had had some experience in his day with
the red bear and the saber-tooth, and who had not yet seen all that
these dancing tongues of gold and scarlet could do, the enterprise
seemed a formidable one. But he sagaciously reserved his judgment,
pondering things that he felt sure Grom would not dream of.

That night, when all was thick darkness beyond the magic circle of the
fires, the People of the Little Hills sat or crouched trembling and