claws of the bear, to be of any use except for thongs; but the old men
skinned it off expertly before dividing the flesh. Though their
gnarled fingers were feeble, they were amazingly clever in the use of
the sharp-edged flakes of stone which served them as knives. A-ya
stood by them, watching closely, to see that none of the specially
dainty cuts were appropriated. These delicacies were reserved for
herself and her two children, and for Grom when he should return. She
had the right to them, not only because she was the mate of Grom, but
because the kill was hers.

As she stood over the carcase--the fore-part of which had been
superficially barbecued in the fire--the smell of the roasted flesh
began to appeal to her even more strongly than at first. As she
sniffed it, curiously, it began to entice her appetite as nothing had
ever tempted it before. She touched a well-browned, fatty morsel, and
then put her fingers into her mouth. The flavor seemed to her as
delightful as the smell. She cast about for a suitable morsel on which
to experiment.

Now it chanced that the elk's tongue, having lain in the heart of the
fire, but enclosed within the half-open jaws, had been cooked to a
turn. A-ya possessed herself of this ever-coveted delicacy. It looked
so queer, in its cooked state, charred black along the lower edge,
that she hesitated to taste it. At last, persuaded by its fragrance,
she brought herself to nibble at it.

A moment more and she was devouring it with a gusto which, had manners
been greatly considered in the days when the earth was young, might
have seemed unbecoming in the wife of a great chief. Never before had
she eaten anything that seemed to her half so delicious. It was the
food she had all her life been craving. Her two little boys, pulling
at her, aroused her from her ecstasy. She gave them each a fragment,
which they swallowed greedily, demanding more; and between the three
of them the great lump of roast tongue quickly vanished.

The rest of the crowd meanwhile had been looking on with instinctive
disapproval. The portions of the meat which the fire had cooked, or
partly cooked, seemed to them spoiled. A-ya might, indeed, like the
strange food; but she was different from the rest of them in so many
ways! When, however, they saw her two boys follow her example, and
noted their enthusiasm, several of the old men ventured to try for
themselves. They were instant converts. Last of all, the old women a