Free Before Adam by Jack London

hurt, he roared his satisfaction and jabbed the harder.
    I began to grow angry. I had a temper of my own in those days, and pretty considerable courage, too, albeit it was largely the courage of the cornered rat. I caught hold of the stick with my hands, but such was his strength that he jerked me into the crevice. He reached for me with his long arm, and his nails tore my flesh as I leapt back from the clutch and gained the comparative safety of the side wall.
    He began poking again, and caught me a painful blow on the shoulder. Beyond shivering with fright and yelling when he was hit, Lop Ear did nothing. I looked for a stick with which to jab back, but found only the end of a branch, an inch through and a foot long. I threw this at Red Eye. It did no damage, though he howled with a sudden increase of rage atmy daring to strike back. He began jabbing furiously. I found a fragment of rock and threw it at him, striking him on the chest.
    This emboldened me, and, besides, I was now as angry as he, and had lost all fear. I ripped fragment of rock from the wall. The piece must have weighed two or three pounds. With my strength I slammed it full into Red Eye’s face. It nearly finished him. He staggered backwards, dropping his stick, and almost fell off the cliff.
    He was a ferocious sight. His face was covered with blood, and he was snarling and gnashing his fangs like a wild boar. He wiped the blood from his eyes, caught sight of me, and roared with fury. His stick was gone, so he began ripping out chunks of crumbling rock and throwing them in at me. This supplied me with ammunition. I gave him as good as he sent, and better; for he presented a good target, while he caught only glimpses of me as I snuggled against the side wall.
    Suddenly he disappeared again. From the lip of the cave I saw him descending. All the horde had gathered outside and in awed silence was looking on. As he descended, the more timid ones scurried for their caves. I could see old Marrow Bone tottering along as fast as he could. Red Eye sprang out from the wall and finished the last twenty feet through the air. He landed alongside a mother who was just beginning the ascent. She screamed with fear, and the two-year-old child that was clinging to her released its grip and rolled at Red Eye’s feet. Both he and the mother reached for it, and he got it. The next moment the frail little body had whirled through the air and shattered against the wall. The mother ran to it, caught it up in her arms, and crouched over it crying.
    Red Eye started over to pick up the stick. Old Marrow Bone had tottered into his way. Red Eye’s great hand shot out and clutched the old man by the back of the neck. I looked tosee his neck broken. His body went limp as he surrendered himself to his fate. Red Eye hesitated a moment, and Marrow Bone, shivering terribly, bowed his head and covered his face with his crossed arms. Then Red Eye slammed him face-downwards to the ground. Old Marrow Bone did not struggle. He lay there crying with the fear of death. I saw the Hairless One, out in the open space, beating his chest and bristling, but afraid to come forward. And then, in obedience to some whim of his erratic spirit, Red Eye let the old man alone and passed on and recovered the stick.
    He returned to the wall and began to climb up. Lop Ear, who was shivering and peeping alongside of me, scrambled back into the cave. It was plain that Red Eye was bent upon murder. I was desperate and angry and fairly cool. Running back and forth along the neighbouring ledges, I gathered a heap of rocks at the cave entrance. Red Eye was now several yards beneath me, concealed for the moment by an out-jut of the cliff. As he climbed, his head came into view, and I banged a rock down. It missed, striking the wall and shattering; but the flying dust and grit filled his eyes and he drew back out of view.
    A chuckling and chattering arose from the horde that played the part of audience. At last there was