When the World was Young.pdf

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1、When theWhen the World was YoungHE was a very quiet，self-possessed sort of man，sitting a moment on topof the wall to sound the damp darkness for warnings of the dangers it might conceal.But the plummet of his hearing brought nothing to him save the moaning of windthrough invisible trees and the rust

2、ling of leaves on swaying branches.A heavyfog drifted and drove before the wind，and though he could not see this fog，the wet of it blew upon his face，and the wall on which he sat was wet.Without noise he had climbed to the top of the wall from the outside，andwithout noise he dropped to the ground on

3、 the inside.From his pocket he drew anelectric night-stick，but he did not use it.Dark as the way was，he was notanxious for light.Carrying the night-stick in his hand，his finger on the button，he advanced through the darkness.The ground was velvety and springy to his feet，being carpeted with dead pine

4、-needles and leaves and mold which evidently bad beenundisturbed for years.Leaves and branches brushed against his body，but so darkwas it that he could not avoid them.Soon he walked with his hand stretched outgropingly before him，and more than once the hand fetched up against the solidtrunks of mass

5、ive trees.All about him he knew were these trees；he sensed theloom of them everywhere；and he experienced a strange feeling of microscopicsmallness in the midst of great bulks leaning toward him to crush him.Beyond，he knew，was the house，and he expected to find some trail or winding path thatwould lea

6、d easily to it.Once，he found himself trapped.On every side he groped against trees andbranches，or blundered into thickets of underbrush，until there seemed no wayout.Then he turned on his light，circumspectly，directing its rays to the groundat his feet.Slowly and carefully he moved it about him，the wh

7、ite brightnessshowing in sharp detail all the obstacles to his progress.He saw，an openingbetween huge-trunked trees，and advanced through it，putting out the light andtreading on dry footing as yet protected from the drip of the fog by the densefoliage overhead.His sense of direction was good，and he k

8、new he was going towardthe house.And then the thing happenedthe thing unthinkable and unexpected.Hisdescending foot came down upon something that was soft and alive，and that arosewith a snort under the weight of his body.He sprang clear，and crouched for anotherspring，anywhere，tense and expectant，key

9、ed for the onslaughtof the unknown.He waited a moment，wondering what manner of animal it was that had arisen fromunder his foot and that now made no sound nor movement and that must be crouchingand waiting just as tensely and expectantly as he.The strain became unbearable.Holding the night-stick bef

10、ore him，he pressed the button，saw，and screamedaloud in terror.He was prepared for anything，from a frightened calf or fawnto a belligerent lion，but he was not prepared for what he saw.In that instanthis tiny searchlight，sharp and white，had shown him what a thousand years wouldnot en.able him to forge

11、ta man，huge and blond，yellow-haired andyellow-bearded，naked except for soft-tanned moccasins and what seemed a goat-skinabout his middle.Arms and legs were bare，as were his shoulders and most of hischest.The skin was smooth and hairless，but browned by sun and wind，while underit heavy muscles were kn

12、otted like fat snakes.Still，this alone，unexpectedas it well was，was not what had made the man scream out.What had caused histerror was the unspeakable ferocity of the face，the wild-animal glare of theblue eyes scarcely dazzled by the light，the pine-needles matted and clingingin the beard and hair，an

13、d the whole formidable body crouched and in the act ofspringing at him.Practically in the instant he saw all this，and while his screamstill rang，the thing leaped，he flung his night-stick full at it，and threwhimself to the ground.He felt its feet and shins strike against his ribs，andhe bounded up and

14、 away while the thing itself hurled onward in a heavy crashingfall into the underbrush.As the noise of the fall ceased，the man stopped and on hands and knees waited.He could hear the thing moving about，searching for him，and he was afraid toadvertise his location by attempting further flight.He knew

15、that inevitably hewould crackle the underbrush and be pursued.Once he drew out his revolver，thenchanged his mind.He had recovered his composure and hoped to get away withoutnoise.Several times he heard the thing beating up the thickets for him，and therewere moments when it，too，remained still and lis

16、tened.This gave an idea tothe man.One of his hands was resting on a chunk of dead wood.Carefully，firstfeeling about him in the darkness to know that the full swing of his arm was clear，he raised the chunk of wood and threw it.It was not a large piece，and it wentfar，landing noisily in a bush.He heard

17、 the thing bound into the bush，and atthe same time himself crawled steadily away.And on hands and knees，slowly andcautiously，he crawled on，till his knees were wet on the soggy mold，When helistened he heard naught but the moaning wind and the drip-drip of the fog fromthe branches.Never abating his ca

18、ution，he stood erect and went on to the stonewall，over which he climbed and dropped down to the road outside.Feeling his way in a clump of bushes，he drew out a bicycle and prepared tomount.He was in the act of driving the gear around with his foot for the purposeof getting the opposite pedal in posi

19、tion，when he heard the thud of a heavy bodythat landed lightly and evidently on its feet.He did not wait for more，but ran，with hands on the handles of his bicycle，until he was able to vault astride thesaddle，catch the pedals，and start a spurt.Behind he could hear the quick thud-thudof feet on the du

20、st of the road，but he drew away from it and lost it.Unfortunately，he had started away from the direction of town and was heading higher up into thehills.He knew that on this particular road there were no cross roads.The onlyway back was past that terror，and he could not steel himself to face it.At t

21、heend of half an hour，finding himself on an ever increasing grade，he dismounted.For still greater safety，leaving the wheel by the roadside，he climbed througha fence into what he decided was a hillside pasture，spread a newspaper on theground，and sat down.“Gosh！”he said aloud，mopping the sweat and fog

22、 from his face.And“Gosh！”he said once again，while rolling a cigarette and as he ponderedthe problem of getting back.But he made no attempt to go back.He was resolved not to face that road inthe dark，and with head bowed on knees，he dozed，waiting for daylight.How long afterward he did not know，he was

23、awakened by the yapping bark ofa young coyote.As he looked about and located it on the brow of the hill behindhim，he noted the change that had come over the face of the night.The fog wasgone；the stars and moon were out；even the wind had died down.It had transformedinto a balmy California summer nigh

24、t.He tried to doze again，but the yap of thecoyote disturbed him.Half asleep，he heard a wild and eery chant.Looking abouthim，he noticed that the coyote had ceased its noise and was running away alongthe crest of the hill，and behind it，in full pursuit，no longer chanting，ran the naked creature he had e

25、ncountered in the garden.It was a young coyote，and it was being overtaken when the chase passed from view.The man trembled aswith a chill as he started to his feet，clambered over the fence，and mountedhis wheel.But it was his chance and he knew it.The terror was no longer betweenhim and Mill Valley.H

26、e sped at a breakneck rate down the hill，but in the turn at the bottom，in the deep shadows，he encountered a chuck-hole and pitched headlong over thehandle bar.“Its sure not my night，”he muttered，as he examined the broken fork ofthe machineShouldering the useless wheel，he trudged on.In time he came t

27、o the stonewall，and，half disbelieving his experience，he sought in the road for tracks，and found them moccasin tracks，large ones，deep-bitten into the dust at thetoes.It was while bending over them，examining，that again he heard the eerychant.He had seen the thing pursue the coyote，and he knew he had n

28、o chance ona straight run.He did not attempt it，contenting himself with hiding in the shadowson the off side of the road.And again he saw the thing that was like a naked man，running swiftly andlightly and singing as it ran.Opposite him it paused，and his heart stood still.But instead of coming toward

29、 his hiding-place，it leaped into the air，caughtthe branch of a roadside tree，and swung swiftly upward，from limb to limb，like an ape.It swung across the wall，and a dozen feet above the top，into thebranches of another tree，and dropped out of sight to the ground.The man waiteda few wondering minutes，th

30、en started on.IIDave Slotter leaned belligerently against the desk that barred the way to theprivate office of James Ward，senior partner of the firm of Ward，Knowles&Co.Dave was angry.Every one in the outer office had looked him over suspiciously，and the man who faced him was excessively suspicious.“

31、You just tell Mr.Ward its important，”he urged.“I tell you he is dictating and cannot be disturbed，”was the answer.“Cometo-morrow.”“To-morrow will be too late.You just trot along and tell Mr.Ward its amatter of life and death.”The secretary hesitated and Dave seized the advantage.“You just tell him I

32、 was across the bay in Mill Valley last night，and thatI want to put him wise to something.”“What name？”was the query.“Never mind the name.He dont know me.”When Dave was shown into the private office，he was still in the belligerentframe of mind，but when he saw a large fair man whirl in a revolving ch

33、air fromdictating to a stenographer to face him，Daves demeanor abruptly changed.Hedid not know why it changed，and he was secretly angry with himself.“You are Mr.Ward？”Dave asked with a fatuousness that still further irritatedhim.He had never intended it at all.“Yes，”came the answer.“And who are you？

34、”“Harry Bancroft，”Dave lied.“You dont know me，and my name dont matter.”“You sent in word that you were in Mill Valley last night？”“You live there，dont you？”Dave countered，looking suspiciously at thestenographer.“Yes.What do you mean to see me about？I am very busy.”“Id like to see you alone，sir.”Mr.W

35、ard gave him a quick，penetrating look，hesitated，then made up hismind.“That will do for a few minutes，Miss Potter.”The girl arose，gathered her notes together，and passed out.Dave lookedat Mr.James Ward wonderingly，until that gentleman broke his train of inchoatethought.“Well？”“I was over in Mill Valle

36、y last night，”Dave began confusedly.“Ive heard that before.What do you want？”And Dave proceeded in the face of a growing conviction that was unbelievable.“I was at your house，or in the grounds，I mean.”“What were you doing there？”“I came to break in，”Dave answered in all frankness.“I heard you lived

37、all alone with a Chinaman for cook，and it looked goodto me.Only I didnt break in.Something happened that prevented.Thats why Imhere.I come to warn you.I found a wild man loose in your groundsa regulardevil.He could pull a guy like me to pieces.He gave me the run of my life.Hedont wear any clothes to

38、 speak of，he climbs trees like a monkey，and he runslike a deer.I saw him chasing a coyote，and the last I saw of it，by God，hewas gaining on it.”Dave paused and looked for the effect that would follow his words.But no effectcame.James Ward was quietly curious，and that was all.“Very remarkable，very rem

39、arkable，”he murmured.“A wild man，you say.Why have you come to tell me？”“To warn you of your danger.Im something of a hard proposition myself，but I dont believe in killing people.that is，unnecessarily.I realizedthat you was in danger.I thought Id warn you.Honest，thats the game.Of course，if you wanted

40、 to give me anything for my trouble，Id take it.That was in mymind，too.But I dont care whether you give me anything or not.Ive warned youany way，and done my duty.”Mr.Ward meditated and drummed on the surface of his desk.Dave noticed theywere large，powerful hands，withal well-cared for despite their da

41、rk sunburn.Also，he noted what had already caught his eye beforea tiny strip offlesh-colored courtplaster on the forehead over one eve.And still the thoughtthat forced itself into his mind was unbelievable.Mr.Ward took a wallet from his inside coat pocket，drew out a greenback，and passed it to Dave，wh

42、o noted as he pocketed it that it was for twenty dollars.“Thank you，”said Mr.Ward，indicating that the interview was at an end.“I shall have the matter investigated.A wild man running loose IS dangerous.”But so quiet a man was Mr.Ward，that Daves courage returned.Besides，anew theory had suggested itse

43、lf.The wild man was evidently Mr.Wards brother，a lunatic privately confined.Dave had heard of such things.Perhaps Mr.Ward wantedit kept quiet.That was why he had given him the twenty dollars.“Say，”Dave began，“now I come to think of it that wild man looked a lotlike you”That was as far asDave got，for

44、 at that moment he witnessed a transformationand found himself gazing into the same unspeakably ferocious blue eyes of the nightbefore，at the same clutching talon-like hands，and at the same formidable bulkin the act of springing upon him.But this time Dave had no night-stick to throw，and he was caug

45、ht by the biceps of both arms in a grip so terrific that it madehim groan with pain.He saw the large white teeth exposed，for all the world asa dogs about to bite.Mr.Wards beard brushed his face as the teeth went in forthe grip on his throat.But the bite was not given.Instead，Dave felt the othersbody

46、 stiffen as with an iron restraint，and then he was flung aside，withouteffort but with such force that only the wall stopped his momentum and droppedhim gasping to the floor.“What do you mean by coming here and trying to blackmail me？”Mr.Ward wassnarling at him.“Here，give me back that money.”Dave pas

47、sed the bill back without a word.“I thought you came here with good intentions.I know you now.Let me seeand hear no more of you，or Ill put you in prison where you belong.Do youunderstand？”“Yes，sir，”Dave gasped.“Then go.”And Dave went，without further word，both his biceps aching intolerably fromthe br

48、uise of that tremendous grip.As his hand rested on the door knob，he wasstopped.“You were lucky，”Mr.Ward was saying，and Dave noted that his face andeyes were cruel and gloating and proud.“You were lucky.Had I wanted，I could have torn your muscles out of yourarms and thrown them in the waste basket th

49、ere.”“Yes，sir，”said Dave；and absolute conviction vibrated in his voice.He opened the door and passed out.The secretary looked at him interrogatively.“Gosh！”was all Dave vouchsafed，and with this utterance passed out ofthe offices and the story.IIIJames G.Ward was forty years of age，a successful busin

50、ess man，and veryunhappy.For forty years he had vainly tried to solve a problem that was reallyhimself and that with increasing years became more and more a woeful affliction.In himself he was two men，and，chronologically speaking，these men were severalthousand years or so apart.He had studied the que