poke, showing me all his little belongings.
He reminded me for all the world of a man in a Harlem flat, showing a
visitor how convenient it all is. Somehow, too, the Cave-man had lost
all appearance of size. He looked, in fact, quite little, and when he
had pushed his long hair back from his forehead he seemed to wear that
same, worried, apologetic look that we all have. To a higher being, if
there is such, our little faces one and all appear, no doubt, pathetic.

I knew that he must be speaking about his wife.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"My wife?" he said. "Oh, she's gone out somewhere through the caves with
the kid. You didn't meet our kid as you came along, did you? No? Well,
he's the greatest boy you even saw. He was only two this nineteenth of
August. And you should hear him say 'Pop' and 'Mom' just as if he was
grown up. He is really, I think, about the brightest boy I've ever
known--I mean quite apart from being his father, and speaking of him as
if he were anyone else's boy. You didn't meet them?"

"No," I said, "I didn't."

"Oh, well," the Cave-man went on, "there are lots of ways and passages
through. I guess they went in another direction. The wife generally
likes to take a stroll round in the morning and see some of the
neighbours. But, say," he interrupted, "I guess I'm forgetting my
manners. Let me get you a drink of cave-water. Here, take it in this
stone mug! There you are, say when! Where do we get it? Oh, we find it
in parts of the cave where it filters through the soil above. Alcoholic?
Oh, yes, about fifteen per cent, I think. Some say it soaks all through
the soil of this State. Sit down and be comfortable, and, say if you
hear the woman coming just slip your mug behind that stone out of sight.
Do you mind? Now, try one of these elm-root cigars. Oh, pick a good
one--there are lots of them!"

We seated ourselves in some comfort on the soft sand, our backs against
the boulders, sipping cave-water and smoking elm-root cigars. It seemed
altogether as if one were back in civilization, talking to a genial
host.

"Yes," said the Cave-man, and he spoke, as it were, in a large and
patronizing way. "I generally let my wife trot about as she likes in
the daytime. She and the other women nowadays are getting up all these
different movements, and the way I look at it is that if it amuses
her to run around and talk and attend meetings, why let her do it. Of
course," he continued, assuming a look of great