Should he bite, scratch or kick? Should he strike with his fist? These were the natural defences of his body, but what were they against the teeth, the claws and the tremendous muscles of his enemy? Should he wrench a dead branch from a tree and use it for a club? That would bring him within striking distance to be torn to pieces before he could deal a second blow. There was but a moment in which to act. Swiftly he seized a jagged fragment of rock from the ground and hurled it with all his force at the blazing eyes before him; then another, and another, until the beast, dazed and bleeding from the unexpected blows, fell back and gave him a chance to escape. He knew that he had saved his life, but there was something else which his dull brain failed to realize. He had invented arms and ammunition! In other words, he had needed to strike a harder blow than the blow of his fist, at a greater distance than the length of his arm, and his brain showed him how to do it. After all, what is a modern rifle but a device which man has made with his brain permitting him to strike an enormously hard blow at a wonderful distance? Firearms are really but a more perfect form of stone-throwing, and this early Cave Man took the first step that has led down the ages. This strange story of a development has been taking place slowly through thousands and thousands of years, so that today you are able to take a swift shot at distant game instead of merely throwing stones. [Illustration: THE SLING MAN IN ACTION PRACTICE DEVELOPED SOME WONDERFUL MARKSMEN AMONG THE USERS OF THIS PRIMITIVE WEAPON] We do not know the name of the man who invented the sling. Possibly he did not even have a name, but in some way he hit upon a scheme for throwing stones farther, harder, and straighter than any of his ancestors. The men and women in the Cave Colony suddenly found that one bright-eyed young fellow, with a little straighter forehead than the others, was beating them all at hunting. During weeks he had been going away mysteriously, for hours each day. Now, whenever he left the camp he was sure to bring home game, while the other men would straggle back for the most part empty-handed. Was it witchcraft? They decided to investigate. Accordingly, one morning several of them followed at a careful distance as he sought the shore of a stream where water-fowl might be found. Parting the leaves, they saw him pick up a pebble from the bank and then to their surprise, take off his girdle of skin and place the stone in its center, holding both ends with his right hand. Stranger still, he whirled the girdle twice around his head, then released one end so that the leather strip flew out and the stone shot straight at a bird in the water. The mystery was solved. They had seen the first slingman in action.