Fearless Master of the Jungle (A Bunduki Jungle Adventure (12 page)

The sensation caused the Protectress
to slip and stagger slightly.

Instantly, with an expression of
bitter hate and fury contorting her haggard features, Elidor
prepared to make the most of the opportunity with which she was
being presented. Gathering all her flagging reserves of strength,
she carried the sword high above her head.

In her eagerness to strike, the
exhausted brunette went a trifle too far!

Such was the
vigor employed by
Elidor that, before she could halt the sword, it was pointing
downwards behind her. If the blow had been delivered, it could have
cleaved the Protectress’s skull open to the chin—but it was never
struck.

In spite of all the torment she
was enduring, Charole was not too far gone to see and recognize the
chance she was being offered. Making a desperate effort to regain
her equilibrium, she put all she had into an almost classic lunge.
Her point went home beneath Elidor
’s left breast, passing onwards to emerge
at the rear.

For a moment, the
brunette
’s
whole body went rigid. Then, releasing her weapon so it tumbled
behind her, she went over backwards and wrenched the sword that had
killed her from its user’s grasp.

Disarmed and tottering, Charole
saw her lance standing as she had left it. Pure instinct rather
than conscious thought caused her to reel the few steps that
separated
her from it. Although she managed to take hold of the shaft
with both hands, she knew that she did not have the strength or
energy to use it. So she was at the mercy of Elidor’s
companions.

Keeping herself upright by
leaning on the lance, the Protectress swung her gaze to the warrior
who—by virtue of being the only male to ride a
banar-gatah—was
the leader of the
party. Even as her gaze reached him, there was a hissing sound and,
coming from somewhere beyond her now restricted range of vision,
came an arrow that impaled itself in his throat.

‘
So
you’re going to ride
Shambulia
instead of just weighting his saddle, are you?’
At-Vee the Hunter asked, watching Bunduki drawing tight the girths
of the quagga stallion’s saddle. He no longer fumbled with the
pronunciation of the Swahili word meaning “attack” which had been
selected as the animal’s name.

‘
I
am,’ the blond giant agreed. ‘And Dawn is going to do the
same with Isabel.’

‘
She
told me that
she
could have started riding Isabel the morning we captured
them,’ Joar-Fane put in, darting a mischievous smile at the other
girl. ‘But, for some reason or other, she found it was too painful
to sit down.’

‘
With
a
friend
like my little sister, you don’t need
enemies,
’
Dawn Drummond-Clayton informed the
men, employing tones of mock acidity. Returning her gaze to the
Telonga girl, she went on, ‘In fact, I should have let those “Hairy
People” have you.
^xxxiii
But, knowing
you
as I do now, I
don’t think I disliked them
that
much.’

Although only five days had
elapsed since the capture of the Quaggas,
Bunduki
’s
party were already back in the comparative safety of the jungle.
However, the Earth couple were no longer to live in the Jey-Mat
Telonga village. On their return, they had found that the
‘Suppliers’ had established a permanent home for them. It was about
half a mile away, on the shores of a small, crystal clear lake
which was connected with a nearby large river.

Perched in the branches of an
enormous and sturdy samaan tree, the
well-constructed house had all the
comforts of home. There were three bedrooms, a large
dining-cum-sitting-room, a store and a kitchen complete with a
stove of what appeared to be dried mud but was actually made from
some form of lightweight and heat resistant metal. The latter was
equipped with utensils and a small elevator manipulated by a rope
and pulley by which supplies or fuel for the stove could be raised.
All the furniture and fittings were made of materials which matched
the primitive looking decor. Access was gained by a rope ladder, or
a larger elevator.

At the rear of the tree, some ten
yards away, a stream tumbled down a cliff. It not only offered a
readily accessible shower, but an arrangement of what looked like
bamboo pipes—they were actually tubes of the same metal which was
used for the stove and other portions of the structure—diverted
some of it for household purposes. The left side back corner of the
verandah protruded over the stream and had on it a rudimentary, yet
effective and hygienic, toilet. Extending above the lake, the rest
of the wide verandah at that side made a fine position from which
to dive into the deep and clear water of the lake.

Ever since their arrival on
Zillikian—in fact, even before they had learned the truth about
their transportation—Dawn and Bunduki had suspected that they were
being kept under observation by somebody, or something, they could
not locate. If they had required further evidence that the
‘Suppliers’ were
still watching their activities, it was given by the predator-proof
compound with which they were presented as a corral for their
mounts. Large enough to house the two quaggas and up to half a
dozen
gatahs
without crowding, along one side was a roofed over, open
fronted shelter to protect the occupants from the elements. It was
fitted with eight separate stalls, each having a manger and
hayrack. The surrounding fence also encompassed a small bay of the
lake and solved the problem of watering the stock, but at the same
time prevented the entrance of anything such as a crocodile that
was large enough to harm the occupants.

When they considered the facilities
that had been given to them, it strengthened a theory the Earth
couple had formulated with regard to the quaggas. Neither had ever
come across potentially dangerous animals which had settled down in
captivity with so little distress or so few objections. In fact,
despite the fact that Dawn and Bunduki both possessed a
considerable affinity and empathy with wild creatures, they had
been surprised at how quickly they had come to be on friendly terms
with their captives.

Before nightfall on the day
that the quaggas had fallen into their trap, Dawn and Bunduki were
able to go close and remove the blindfolds. They had achieved this
by having stayed
nearby throughout the entire period, allowing the animals
to become accustomed to their respective body odors, voices and
presence.

At daybreak on the following
morning, the Earth couple had tested their
captives
’
willingness to be led. After only a brief demonstration of dissent
on the part of the stallion, which had allowed Dawn and Joar-Fane
to exchange pungent comments on the subject of masculine obstinacy,
they had been able to resume their homewards journey. Of necessity,
neither the mare’s nor her consort’s hobbles had been removed at
that stage. The omission had reduced the pace at which the party
could travel, yet they had considered any distance they could put
between themselves and Bon-Gatah was worthwhile. There had been no
sign of pursuit, but every hour that went by increased the danger
of a search being instituted.

Nightfall had found the four
young people making camp within sight of the jungle. Once again,
Dawn and Bunduki had slept in close proximity to the quaggas. When
ready to move on the next day, they had made what proved to be a
successful gamble by removing the restraints from their
captives
’
front legs. Either because they were far from their original
territory or through a growing trust of their captors, the mare and
the stallion had behaved well and the party had been able to make
much better time. There had been a slight reluctance on the
quaggas’ part when it came to entering the jungle, but this was
smoothed over without causing any undue delay.

On making camp somewhat earlier
in the afternoon than would otherwise have been the case,
particularly with the Jey-Mat Telongas
’ village being so near, the Earth
couple had commenced with the next stage of accustoming the quaggas
to a new way of life. Securing them to sturdy bushes in a clearing,
Dawn and Bunduki had started to place a blanket on the back of
each. As was to be expected, this had caused some initial
restlessness, but it was not prolonged. Nor had the girl and the
blond giant attempted to take the training any further at that
point.

Reaching the village shortly
before noon on the third day, the party had been greeted by the
whole of the population and the news of their arrival had been sent
forth via the
‘talking drums’ by which the Telongas—and the other
nations—communicated rapidly over considerable distances. So
effective was the system that, within minutes, every other
community had been notified of their return.

As on
Joar-Fane
’s
arrival following her first escape from the clutches of the
Mun-Gatahs’ People-Taker, the reception had been mixed. All of the
hunters, whether from Jey-Mat or those who had gathered in response
to the signal for defiance against their oppressors and were still
present, had been delighted at seeing that Dawn and Bunduki were
safe. They had regarded it as further evidence of the Mun-Gatahs’
fallibility.

While pleased by the return of the
four young people, the Council of Elders—who were the leaders of
the community—and non-hunting citizens had had misgivings. However,
these had struck Dawn and Bunduki as being less pronounced than on
the earlier occasion. Not only had the people seen that the
hitherto invincible Mun-Gatahs could be defied and defeated, but
they also remembered the needless brutality which had characterized
the final and unprecedentedly large abduction. Loving their
children and respecting the aged, not even the most pacific of them
could forget or forgive what had happened. Mothers had been
compelled to leave behind their babies as an unrequired encumbrance
on the journey into slavery. Not only had the Elders been put to
torture with the result that two had died, those too aged to travel
had been deserted.

Bearing those facts in mind,
the younger members of the community and the two men who had been
elected to replace the dead Elders were now willing to consider the
possibility of actively opposing further oppressions. The viewpoint
was shared by the hunters from the other villages, but they had
warned that their more passive populations might regard the
suggestion with dis
favor. It would, they had declared, all depend upon whether
Bunduki of the ‘Earths’ could persuade their neighbors that the
‘Suppliers’ approved of resistance in the face of a convention that
had been in existence for far longer than the oldest inhabitants
could remember.

At the conclusion of the
welcome, which had relieved Dawn and Bunduki from the necessity of
starting to convert the Telonga nation from a pacifism that was no
longer practical, Dawn and Bunduki had been told of their gift from
the
‘Suppliers’. Being accustomed to having their needs
satisfied, the villagers had expressed neither surprise nor alarm
at having found the tree house where no such thing had previously
existed. Although the lake was not far from the village, none of
them had visited the region since the abduction. So they could not
say when the construction had been commenced, how it had been
carried out, nor how long it had taken to erect and equip the Earth
couple’s home.

Having no desire to look a gift
horse too closely in the mouth, the girl and the blond giant had
accepted the
‘Suppliers’ bounty without question. However, despite
sharing Bunduki’s eagerness to complete the quaggas’ training and
to set about the task of teaching the Telongas to defend their
villages, Dawn was too much of a woman to do anything until she had
ensured that all of the furniture and fittings were positioned to
her satisfaction. In this, she had had the support and assistance
of Joar-Fane and the rest of the female population of
Jey-Mat.

Discovering that a number of weapons,
tools and other devices which would be of use in the future had
been delivered, Bunduki had conceded the wisdom of postponing any
action until he and Dawn were settled in. Except for one detail,
settling in would not have been a lengthy process. In fact, Dawn
had announced herself satisfied by sundown. But here was one matter
that prevented them from moving in immediately. As yet, she and
Bunduki were not married.

Discussing the problem with
Joar-Fane
’s
father, who was still functioning in lieu of Dawn’s actual parents,
the blond giant had been told that the wedding could not be
performed until all the arrangements had been completed. For all
their proclivity towards lovemaking, the Telongas had strong views
on marriage and were sticklers for conformation with ceremonial
observances. The nuptials of two such prominent members of the
community must be performed to the accompaniment of a celebration
of great size. Knowing that their status would be enhanced and
their work made easier if such a celebration took place, Bunduki
had seen the wisdom of agreeing.