by J. T. Edson
Much of the princess’s superstition-based fear of the ‘Hairy People’, with whom she had not previously come into contact, had been lessened by seeing how Dawn had saved the Mun-Gatah woman. For all that, Ariadne still felt nervous as she heard what was expected of her. She half expected the Mangani to attack as soon as she moved. When he did not, she advanced at a snail’s pace until she reached the other girl. Even though she did not take her eyes from Bal-Tak, she could sense that the people around the arena were most impressed by the sight they were witnessing.
Noticing the reactions shown by the men and women who were sharing the far left balcony with him, a thickset, middle-aged warrior backed away from them. Such was their preoccupation with what was happening in the arena that none of them noticed he was leaving. Stepping quietly and acting in a furtive manner, he went along the deserted passage. Neither the two Administrators nor the occupants of the main point of vantage looked around as he went by. The doors of the Protectress’s and High Priest’s quarters were closed, so he reached his objective unchallenged. By the time he arrived, he was holding his ‘Terrifier’ and the smoldering cord from his ‘fire-box’.
Although Bal-Tak began to bounce up and down on his knuckles, growling and grunting, he took no aggressive action. Then, as Ariadne halted by Dawn, he straightened up. A low and brief sigh was all the indication the Earth girl gave of her relief. For a few seconds, the Mangani shuffled his feet irresolutely. Then, avoiding meeting their eyes, he began to approach the girls. Ariadne sucked in a sharp breath but she had sufficient courage and faith in Dawn to remain motionless.
‘Who she?’ Bal-Tak demanded, coming to a halt some fifteen feet from the girls.
‘She Tar-Vagoni, second mate of Tar-Ara? Dawn introduced and, despite the deadly seriousness of the situation, wondered how Ariadne would have reacted if she knew she was being called ‘White Melon’, the latter being the name given to any chubby Mangani ‘You, she, Tar-Sabor friends, fight bad Tar-Mangani.’
Hearing the warrior as he came on to the balcony, Woltarn and Zental of Meka-Gatah glanced around. Seeing what the newcomer was carrying, Zental reached for his sword.
‘He serves me!’ Woltarn hissed and, as the other Administrator ended the hostile gesture, went on. ‘Do as we arranged yesterday, Kibok.’
Applying the tip of the cord, the warrior ignited the fuse and threw the ‘Terrifier’ across the parapet into the arena.
Completing the introduction, Dawn waited for Bal-Tak to make the next move. Before he could decide how to respond to her proposal, Kibok’s missile plummeted down between them. Recognizing it, Dawn saw the small plume of smoke rising from the fuse. Instantly, she stepped forward. She intended to pick it up and throw it at the High Priest, but knew it might explode at any moment. Guessing what her friend had in mind, Ariadne was just as appreciative of the danger.
Unlike the girls, Bal-Tak had no conception of the ‘Terrifier’s deadly purpose. Nor did his limited mental capacity allow him to wonder where it had come from. He saw what he regarded as an ordinary coconut such as he had frequently broken open and eaten in the jungle. Being hungry, he responded in what was a completely natural manner for a Mangani. Bounding forward, he thrust Dawn aside and snatched up the ‘Terrifier’. However, as he was dealing with what he regarded as the mate of a higher-ranking bull, he turned and lumbered away rapidly to avoid reprisals.
Taken unawares, the force of the shove sent Dawn reeling backwards and she lost her grip on the knife. Colliding with Ariadne, who was belatedly trying to avoid her, they tripped and went down. Partially winded by the fall, Dawn saw the ‘Mangani was running away instead of attacking. Then, noticing that the ‘Terrifier’ was no longer where it had landed, she guessed what had happened.
The realization came too late. Even as Dawn was opening her mouth to shriek a warning, the charge of ‘Thunder Powder’ detonated. Caught by the full fury of the explosion, Bal-Tak’s body shielded the girls from its effects as he was torn to bloody pieces.
Everything had taken place so swiftly that Dryaka had no time to try and discover which of his trusted adherents, only the most reliable of whom had carried genuine ‘Terrifiers’, had attempted to betray him by killing the prisoners. Instead, he stood staring into the arena and listening to the awed response of the crowd. The story of how he had killed the captain of the Council Chamber’s Brelefs had been widely circulated. Even those who had not been present and were inclined to discount it had now received a convincing demonstration of the devices’ terrible powers.
‘Well, people of the Mun-Gatah!’ the High Priest bellowed through the speaking trumpet, being quick to see how he might turn the situation to his advantage. ‘You have all seen that the woman could speak with and control the “Hairy Man”, and how she caused him to save her. Now do you doubt that she is an “Ape”?’
‘We have seen proof!’ Mador shouted. He had been brought to a halt by his superior’s words Just as he was on the point of going to find out who had thrown the Terrified. He decided it must have been done at Dryaka’s instigation. ‘None but an “Ape” could have such powers.’
‘She is an “Ape”!’ bawled other members of the High Priest’s faction and the chant was taken up by many in the uncommitted sector of the crowd.
‘Let her be sacrificed!’ Charole screamed exultantly, receiving a chorus of support from the people around the walls.
‘Remove the Amazon and let the “Ape” be sacrificed!’ Dryaka confirmed.
Hearing the order, the jailer entered the arena followed by the turnkeys and two of the Brelefs. The Mun-Gatahs reached Dawn before she could retrieve her knife. Telling her to roll on to her face, the command being accompanied by two swords presented at her, the jailer used a set of gatah hobbles to secure her wrists behind her back. Having done so, he picked up her belt and knife. Then he went after the turnkeys and the Brelefs, who were already dragging Ariadne towards the building.
Rolling on to her back and sitting up, Dawn watched the men enter her and Ariadne’s cells and close the doors. Then she forced herself into a standing position. Looking around and listening to the excited timbre of the crowd’s voices, a feeling of raw despair ate at her. From past experience, she knew how effective the hobbles could be as a means of restraint. There was no way in which she could remove them from her wrists and her every instinct warned that she was in deadly peril. She wondered how the sacrifice was performed, for none of her captors had even hinted about it.
Dawn was not kept in suspense for very long.
The wooden door in the left side wall began to open by some means which the girl could not make out, but the interest being shown by the onlookers kept her attention upon it. From beyond it came a hard, screaming whinny such as an enraged stallion might make. The sound was followed by a drumming of hooves. To the accompaniment of a roar of anticipation from the assembled population, an animal dashed into the arena. One glance told her that it was an enormous quagga and she could make out sufficient details to know its sex was male. Nor did she need to ponder over the reason for its liberation.
Giving out another whickering whistle which drowned the noise being made by the watching Mun-Gatahs, the great beast raced towards the girl. With its tail raised to an angle of about forty-five degrees, neck thrust out, ears laid back, nostrils flaring and mouth open to bare great yellow teeth, it made an awesome sight. She did not underestimate the peril, knowing that there were few animals more dangerous than an infuriated stallion whether it be a horse or a zebra.
Balanced lightly on her spread apart feet, Dawn watched the mighty beast rushing ever closer. Her hereditary courage was facing its greatest challenge. All too well she realized just what little hope she had of surviving, but she refused to yield to despair and was determined to remain alive as long as possible. As in the case of a horse, the quagga would be dangerous at both ends. So she would have to keep her wits constantly about her.
Waiting until she decided the appropriate moment had come,
Dawn jumped to the right. She saw the stallion’s head swinging after her and felt its hot breath as its jaws chopped like a closing bear-trap very close to her left arm. Her evasion had been successful and the quagga thundered by, but it did not go too far. Whirling with an almost cat-like agility, it screamed its fury and lunged towards her again.
Four times, hampered though she was by having her hands secured behind her back, the girl’s agility carried her clear of the stallion’s attacks. She had more than its head to contend with. After the first failure, it began to lash out vicious sideways kicks in passing when its jaws had been cheated of their prey.
Then it happened!
Feinting to the left, Dawn flung herself the other way as her attacker’s neck swung in that direction. While she had dodged the bite, she mistimed the move. The stallion’s shoulder only brushed against her as it went by, but she was knocked spinning. If her hands had been free, she could have regained her equilibrium. Deprived of their assistance, she plunged over and crashed to the ground.
Swiveling around in a rump-scraping turn, the quagga came back. Up it reared, standing on its hind legs above the winded and dazed girl. Flailing the air, its front hooves were ready to descend upon her.
Chapter Fourteen – We Won’t Be In Time to Save Her
A faint glimmer of light attracted Bunduki’s attention as he led the way up a flight of steps which curved around the inside of a hollow stone tube. Coming to a halt on a platform, he noticed the metal handle of a door at the side of the horizontal glow. Looking through the oblong slot, he realized that it was another example of how the ‘Suppliers’ had catered to the Mun-Gatahs’ inherent capacity for intrigue. Although only about half an inch wide, the aperture was obviously equipped with a powerful lens of some kind which gave an excellent view around the cell-room and into at least a part of the arena.
The sight that met the blond giant’s eyes drove every consideration but one from his head. Had he come too late to save the woman he loved?
Although the exposure of Wagat’s treachery had restored the spirit of co-operation between the Amazons and the Mun-Gatahs, it had served to delay the commencement of the rescue mission. Having seen the spy’s reaction when faced with a trial of his veracity, Woltarn and Korkar had asked for a similar method to be employed as a means of ensuring that the rest of their followers were loyal. Appreciating the danger, Bunduki had agreed and the precaution was immediately shown to have been justified. Terrified by the prospect of having to submit to a “test of truth’ in front of the ‘Ape’s’ deadly bow and arrows, one of Woltarn’s contingent had confessed that he too was really in the service of the High Priest.
Wanting to save their lives, Dryaka’s two spies had sworn an oath to the Quagga God that they would turn from their allegiance to him. As such tergiversation was common among the Mun-Gatahs, their assurances had been accepted. However, their superiors had ordered them to remove their protective garments and had had them kept under observation. In addition, Bunduki had warned them that the slightest hint of treachery would result in his magic striking at the offender. Such was the superstitious fear aroused by his trick that the threat had guaranteed their good behavior.
With the danger of betrayal countered, the three Administrators had requested that the blond giant use his powers to help them in another matter. As it was something in which he had considerable interest, he had accepted the further delay. When supplying information which had helped them to make their plans for the rescue bid, Varbia had insisted that she did not know where Zongaffa had hidden either the ‘Thunder Powder’ he had manufactured, or any genuine ‘Terrifiers’ he had constructed. She had shown no hesitation over donning a breastplate as a prelude to swearing that she was speaking the truth. Having seen how the two spies had responded to a similar challenge to their probity, the Administrators had felt certain that she would not dare to lie and had raised no objections when Bunduki had declined to waste another arrow by carrying out the full ‘test’. Seeing the disappointment shown by Gromart, Woltarn and Korkar, the blond giant had considered it was fortunate that the terrible devices were lost. He hoped they would never be found.
Preventing friction between the members of the two nations, seeking out the High Priest’s spies and satisfying the Administrators’ curiosity regarding the ‘Terrifiers’ had caused the party to move off somewhat later than they had intended. Dawn was already breaking when they had reached the area in which Beryl Snowhill and Bunduki had saved Varbia. Although they had intended to ride closer to Bon-Gatah, the coming of daylight had caused them to revise their arrangements.
Leaving the remainder of their respective escorts under Gromart’s command, Woltarn and Korkar had each taken six men and continued on their mounts. The two Administrators were to keep out of the city at first and then approach it as if they were coming from their homes. To avoid comment about their attending the ceremony with such small escorts, they were to time their arrivals so that they reached the Temple after the majority of the population had assembled.
The rest of the party had been compelled to complete the journey on foot, placing their horses and gatahs in the care of Melissa’s two ‘Antelopes’. With the visibility improving and so many people involved, despite the terrain offering, ample opportunities for concealed movement, they were unable to travel as quickly as they would have wished. The ‘talking drums’ had announced that the sacrifice was to take place before half of them had reached the dried up stream bed about a quarter of a mile from the walls of the city in which Varbia had stated they would find their way of reaching the Temple.
Then another problem had arisen. Varbia had claimed that she had left the entrance to the secret tunnel open, but it was closed when the party arrived. As she had gone in and come out during the hours of darkness, she could not be certain of where exactly it had been. Nor had the vertical sides and bare rocky bottom of the watercourse presented any clues. After questioning the woman and learning how Langord—who alone had known the secret and took precautions against revealing more of it than was necessary—had gained admission, Beryl and Bunduki instituted a thorough search. After several futile experiments, they had located the crack into which the blade of a Mun-Gatah’s sword could be inserted and used as a key When this had been done, a section of apparently solid rock had swung outwards.
Finding and entering the tunnel had not ended the rescuers” difficulties. As a precaution, in case Dryaka should have sent warriors to patrol outside the city, they had closed the door behind them. However, they had not been left in complete darkness. Varbia had told them that the tunnel was illuminated in some way and she proved to be correct. A faint glow from the ceiling, which Bunduki suspected was produced by a self-maintaining system installed by the ‘Suppliers’, gave just enough light for them to see something of their surroundings. However, they were unable to progress at more than a snail’s pace.
Before the party had covered a hundred yards, they had come to a place where three tunnels branched off. Each was large enough to suggest they might lead to exits other than that in the Temple. In spite of having traversed the route twice, Varbia had stated she was unsure of it. Going in, she had been guided by Langord and she claimed that luck rather than knowledge had brought her out after she had fled from the cell-room. Bunduki wondered if the ‘Suppliers’, who he knew had some means of watching what happened on the planet—although he and Dawn had not been conscious of the scrutiny since their meeting with the member of the mysterious race -had steered her by mental telepathy to ensure she found the exit and came into contact with him. However, he had not mentioned the matter, being more concerned with finding his way to the Temple.
Searching for some clue as to which was the right tunnel, Bunduki had finally solved the mystery. He noticed that the central passage had the shape of a lance carved on one wall. There had been an embossed sword near the opening on the right, but the left was marked with a quagga’s head. Discussing the signs with Beryl and Gromart, they had
concluded that the latter marker was a signpost for the Temple. Even so, finding further signs had been a time-consuming necessity. The route they had to follow wound its way through a maze-like collection of caves and tunnels.
At last, after much longer than the blond giant cared to contemplate, the party had turned a corner and Varbia announced that she recognized her surroundings. Ahead of them had been the entrance to a massive, hollow stone tube. They had only to climb the flight of stairs which curled upwards around it to arrive at the door giving access to the cell-room, or they could carry on to the other floors of the Temple.
Bow in hand, its attached quiver fully replenished, Bunduki had continued to lead the way. When setting off to complete the journey on foot, he had decided against encumbering himself with the back-quiver or shield and had left them with the ‘Antelopes’. In accordance with the arrangements, he was followed by Beryl, Gromart, Melissa and the Mun-Gatahs’ contingent, Princess Athena brought up the rear with the rest of the Amazons.
On putting his eyes to the observation slot, the blond giant found that Woltarn’s information was correct. Only three Mun-Gatahs and half a dozen Brelefs were in the cell-room. The remainder of the High Priest’s adherents and sub-humans had been taken to strengthen the guards in the Temple and on the terraces. What was more, the occupants were engrossed by the events which were taking place outside the building. Any satisfaction Bunduki might have felt was wiped out by the discovery of what was holding their attention.
Even as the blond giant looked, Bal-Tak was thrusting Dawn aside. He could not make out what it was that the Mangani snatched up and ran away with, but the explosion—the sound of which did not penetrate the walls of the stone pillar—supplied the answer. Shock and rage at the sight boiled through him, causing him to forget the plan of campaign which he and his companions had made. Letting out an almost animal-like snarl, he grabbed for the handle of the door.
