nearer came the lithe white figure under its glorious crown of
hair, moving warily and gracefully amid the great coquina slabs--nearer,
nearer, until I no longer required my glasses.

[Illustration: "Moving warily and gracefully amid the great coquina
slabs."]

She was a slender red-lipped thing, blue-eyed, dainty of hand and foot.

The spotted pelt of a wild-cat covered her, or attempted to.

I unfolded a large canvas sack as she approached the pool. For a moment
or two she stood gazing around her and her close-set ears seemed to be
listening. Then, apparently satisfied, she threw back her beautiful young
head and sent a sweet wild call floating back to the sunny hillside.

"Blub-blub!" rang her silvery voice; "blub-blub! Muck-a-muck!" And from
the fern-covered hollows above other voices replied joyously to her
reassuring call, "Blub-blub-blub!"

The whole bunch was coming down to drink--the entire remnant of a
prehistoric and almost extinct race of human creatures was coming to
quench its thirst at this water-hole. How I wished for James Barnes at
the camera's crank! He alone could do justice to this golden girl before
me.

One by one, clad in their simple yet modest gowns of pelts and garlands,
five exquisitively superb specimens of cave-girl came gracefully down to
the water-hole to drink.

Almost swooning with scientific excitement I whispered to the unspeakable
Mink: "Begin to crank as soon as I move!" And, gathering up my big canvas
sack I rose, and, still crouching, stole through the ferns on tip-toe.

They had already begun to drink when they heard me; I must have made some
slight sound in the ferns, for their keen ears detected it and they
sprang to their feet.

It was a magnificent sight to see them there by the pool, tense,
motionless, at gaze, their dainty noses to the wind, their beautiful eyes
wide and alert.

For a moment, enchanted, I remained spellbound in the presence of this
prehistoric spectacle, then, waving my sack, I sprang out from behind the
rock and cantered toward them.

Instead of scattering and flying up the hillside they seemed paralyzed,
huddling together as though to get into the picture. Delighted I turned
and glanced at Mink; he was cranking furiously.

With an uncontrollable shout of triumph and delight I pranced toward
the huddling cave-girls, arms outspread as though heading a horse or
concentrating chickens. And, totally forgetting the uselessness of
urbanity and c