he spear-noose
was a great help to hunters whose hands were not large and strong.

Every time the Cave-men made new weapons, they worked very well for a
short time. But as soon as the animals learned about them, they became
more cunning in getting away. Wild horses kept sentinels on knolls and
hilltops so that they could see an enemy from afar. They guarded their
herds so carefully that the Cave-men could scarcely get near enough to
hit them with their harpoons.

And so the Cave-men returned many times bearing no trophies. They
returned many times giving no signal for the women to come for fresh
meat.

#THINGS TO DO#

_Take a harpoon and show how the shaft would swing against the feet
of an animal that had been hit by the head._

_Make a girdle around a smooth shaft, or make a shaft with a knob
or large joint near the butt._

_Make a spear-noose and show how Chipper used it._

_Think of the wild horses during the first few minutes after the
men threw their harpoons. See if you can draw a picture of them._

XXIII

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Think of as many hard things as you can that the Cave-men had to
do.

Why did they have to do these things? What kind of men did the
Cave-men have to be?

Think of as many ways as you can that the Cave-men would use to
teach the boys. What tests do you think they would give the boys?

[Illustration: "_And so the Cave-men tested the boys in many different
ways._"]

_How the Cave-men Tested Fleetfoot and Flaker_

Winters came and went, and Fleetfoot and Flaker grew to be large boys.
They watched the men; they heard them talk; they learned what a
Cave-man had to do.

Greybeard told them stories of brave hunters that lived long ago. He
told them about the animals they must learn to hunt. The boys listened
to the stories. And they thought there was no animal too fierce for
them to fight. They thought there was no river too swift for them to
cross. They thought there was no mountain too steep for them to climb.

But the boys had not learned how fierce a bison can be. They had never
crossed a raging river nor climbed a mountain peak.

The men knew that the boys needed to try their strength before they
could be really strong. They knew they must do brave deeds before they
could be really brave. They knew they must suffer patiently before
they could have self-control. And so the Cave-men tested the b