by J. T. Edson
Steel rasped wickedly as the ivory-handled sword swept from Dryaka’s sheath. Even as he was arming himself, he stepped up to and placed his left foot firmly on the centre of the banar-gatah rider’s chest. Having done so, he lowered his weapon until its point was under Vernark’s chin. The young man was very close to death. Supine, dazed and winded by his second and harder contact with the ground, he was unable to resist.
Only one thing saved Vemark from instant death. While Dryaka longed to drive home the sword, prudence dictated otherwise. There were certain conventions that not even the High Priest could openly flout. One was that a warrior in the banar-gatah rider’s position must be allowed a chance to surrender. To kill the young man would be opening the way for a conflict with Gromart, but that was almost inevitable. However, killing Vernark while he was defenseless would cost Dryaka more than he gained. The Administrator was sure to use such a deliberate disregard for established procedure as a means of enlisting support for his cause. ‘Choose whether you live or die!’ the High Priest growled. For all his befuddled state, Vernark did not underestimate his grave peril. One of the reasons he had chanced being so insolent was that he had on his helmet and breastplate, while Dryaka was not clad in protective clothing. However, he was now as exposed to the High Priest’s weapon as if he had been naked. Nor could he do anything to protect himself, having lost his sword while falling backwards. So he was completely at Dryaka’s mercy and the High Priest had never been noted for his forgiving nature. Hoping for assistance, the banar-gatah rider looked to his kinsman.
Gromart had not approved of his cousin’s behavior, having a greater appreciation of their situation. Nor was he entirely surprised by what had happened. Knowing the High Priest’s ability as a fighting man, he had realized that Vernark was likely to come to grief. The Administrator had no intention of attempting to intercede. Catching the ocha-gatah rider’s and Dolvia’s eyes, he gave a prohibitive shake of his head to make sure they did not offer to take their companion’s part. Like their superior, they had seen several of the High Priest’s adherents hovering armed and menacing in the background. So, knowing that the way in which they had arrived with the recovered gatahs was sure to have created hostility and animosity, they had no desire to make matters worse.
‘Choose!’ Dryaka repeated, moving the sword so that it pricked the banar-gatah rider’s throat.
‘I—I live!’ Vernark answered, knowing that he would not be given another opportunity and accepting that he was not going to be rescued by his companions.
Removing his foot, the High Priest turned his back on the young man. He knew that he would be warned if Vernark attempted treachery, so he sheathed his sword and did not look behind as he walked towards the Administrator.
‘My apologies, Dryaka,’ Gromart said formally. ‘He was an insolent young fool and deserved it.’
‘I don’t hold you responsible for his stupidity,’ the High Priest replied, as convention required. ‘His youth saved him this time.’
‘Can we be of any further assistance?’ Gromart inquired.
‘Now we have some of our gatahs, we can manage to gather the rest,’ Dryaka answered. ‘And I’m sure that you want to rejoin your men.’
‘I do,’ Gromart confirmed. ‘Dolvia, catch Vernark’s banar-gatah. Molan, tell Oklat to bring our quaggas.’
‘May the Quagga God favor your hunting,’ Charole called, after the party had mounted.
‘And yours, darling,’ Fabia replied in a way that implied she believed the Protectress was in greater need of the blessing. ‘I hope you don’t lose any more men. You know how people think.’
With that, giving Charole no chance to respond, the woman set her quagga moving after her husband. The rest of the party fell in behind them and they took their departure at a steady trot.
Thanking the Elders for their hospitality, Dryaka went to organize a search for the scattered gatahs. While doing so, he gave thought to the Administrator’s visit. He concluded that it had been no more than a courtesy call; but, having found so much evidence that things had gone wrong, they had hoped to gather information which could be turned to their advantage. He felt sure that they had not taken the ‘Apes’ prisoner and, in fact, did not even know of the two foreigners’ existence. That was all to the good. Dryaka had plans for Dawn and Bunduki of the Apes if they ever fell into his hands again. What was more, he intended to do everything in his power to locate and capture them.
Chapter Four – There’s Nothing We Can Do For Them
With the Randall Model 1 ‘Smithsonian’ bowie knife drawn ready for use, its blade extending ahead of his thumb and forefinger, Bunduki looked swiftly around. But apart from the shield and spear behind the tree, he could detect no trace of any other human beings.
‘Keep an eye open for any more of them!’ the blond giant ordered and started to move forward.
Holding her own weapon in the same manner, as she had when killing the impala ram, Dawn Drummond-Clayton did not repeat her earlier protests about taking his orders. His complaints had been made in fun, but the spear and shield suggested that the situation was too serious for levity. So, leaving her adoptive cousin to deal with whoever might be behind the tree, she advanced a few feet to his left and concentrated her attention on searching for any other warriors who might be lurking in the vicinity.
Moving forward with a firm stride, but ready to take whatever kind of action should become necessary, Bunduki studied the little he could see of the weapons. There was something familiar, yet puzzling, about them. He knew that the Mun-Gatahs carried shields, but those he had seen were roughly heart-shaped and resembled the kind employed by Normans in the 11th Century. Instead of being slightly curved, the top of the one behind the tree came to a rounded point which seemed more suited to an elongated oval. In fact, it reminded him of the shields used by Masai and Samburu warriors in Kenya.
The resemblance was increased by the tip of the spear. It was not the diamond-section head of a Mun-Gatah lance or throwing spear, but seemed more like the elongated blade of a Samburu or Masai morans xxvi m’kuki. xxvii
While Bunduki had been searching for Dawn in Joar-Fane’s company—somewhat reluctantly on the Telonga girl’s part as she had had other ideas more in keeping with her name, which meant ‘The Loving One’—she had told him that there were at least two more nations on Zillikian. If she had not merely been exercising her imagination as an inducement for him to make love to her, one nation consisted solely of female warriors and had no men whatsoever. This was suggestive of the Grecian Amazons, except that according to legend they had men in a subordinate capacity, who were possibly armed in the Hellenic fashion. Like the Mun-Gatahs, the second nation—called the Gmziak—were riders. However, where the former had various breeds of domestic zebras, the latter used what the blond giant assumed to be horses. In neither case had the girl been able to describe the weapons they carried. Nor had her limited descriptions offered any clue. From what he had seen so far, the ‘Suppliers’ equipped the people they brought to Zillikian with whatever armament they considered most suitable.
Alert for the first hostile movement, Bunduki glanced at Dawn. Sensing that he was looking at her, she broke off her careful scrutiny of the surrounding terrain and gave a negative shake of her head. Either there were no other human beings around, or they had concealed themselves so well that she had failed to locate them. If the latter was the case and they had hostile intentions, they were likely to prove formidable antagonists.
Leaving the girl to continue her watching, the blond giant returned his attention to the tree and the weapons which showed from beyond it. If their owner appeared, Bunduki was prepared to halt and make a friendly gesture. Or, as the ‘Suppliers’ had given Dawn and himself the ability to converse with any of the people they met—even the Mangani—he would try to talk peace. However, he did not know how successful he would be. According to At-Vee, a state of constant warfare existed between the various nations, and members of them could be
expected to attack on sight.
With each successive step, travelling in an arc which would allow him to see behind the tree before coming into close proximity with any potential enemy that it concealed, Bunduki became aware of something peculiar. There was not the slightest movement from either the shield or the spear. In addition, the more he looked at them, the greater grew his conviction that they were familiar.
Yet they could not be, unless …
Even as the thought came, it was interrupted by the blond giant discovering the reason for the weapons’ lack of movement. They were leaning against the tree’s trunk and there was nobody with them. Clearly the ‘Suppliers’ had been at work, delivering two more very useful items which he might need in his new home.
‘It’s all right,’ Bunduki told his cousin, sheathing the bowie knife. ‘Just a present from our “Supplier”.’
With that, Bunduki picked up the shield. Like the spear, it was of the pattern favored by the Masai. Although the convex outer surface was covered by the shoulder hide from a buffalo bull, pounded and rubbed with a smooth stone to remove all wrinkles, the saucer-shaped interior was made of the lightweight fiberglass material used to manufacture police bulletproof shields.
Measuring six foot overall, the spear had a twenty-four inch, double-edged narrow head that was counter-balanced by a sharp-pointed spike of the same length. While identical in appearance to a m’kuki, the metal employed was Swedish high carbon tool steel and the shaft was the best quality hickory.
They’ll probably come in useful,’ Dawn admitted, replacing her weapon. ‘But he might have let us have them earlier. The m’kuki would have made our hunting easier.’
‘The trouble with some people is they never want to do anything that calls for effort,’ Bunduki scoffed, keeping a wary eye on his adoptive cousin and slipping his left hand through the two rawhide loops attached to the inside of the shield. ‘Come on, let’s have a meal. Then we’ll go to find Joar-Fane and At-Vee.’
Giving him a threatening stare, Dawn accompanied him to the dead impala without making any comment. Taking the spear from him, she helped carry the carcass to the bank of a small stream which they had been following while searching for food.
‘I’ll leave the butchering to you,’ Dawn declared. ‘Try not to make a mess of it.’
‘I’ll do my best not to,’ Bunduki promised with mock humility.
Laying aside his newly acquired shield, the blond giant drew his bowie knife. He slit open and disemboweled the ram with a deft movement of the razor sharp blade. Thrusting the spike of the m’kuki into the ground so that it stood up, the girl cut free the heart and liver. Leaving her adoptive cousin to continue with the butchering, she washed the two organs in the stream. Despite her early demand, she divided the liver into two equal portions.
‘I don’t see why I should be the only one to suffer if there are any hookworms in it,’ Dawn stated, offering half of the liver to Bunduki after he had finished his work and sat by her side.
‘Your concern for my welfare is truly touching,’ the blond giant replied. If I ever catch anything contagious, remind me to breathe on you.’
In spite of the girl’s comment, neither she nor her adoptive cousin showed the slightest hesitation over eating the uncooked liver. Both had done so in Africa on more than one occasion without taking any harm, because of preventive medicine which had been available to them as members of the Greystoke family.
According to Dr. Clark Savage, Jr., xxviii who had been presented with some of the longevity pills obtained from the Kavuru tribe by Lord Greystoke, xxix in addition to slowing the ageing processes of living beings—allowing the taker what amounted to immortality barring suicide, murder or accidental death—they also gave immunity from practically every tropical disease and destroyed harmful internal parasites, such as the various nematode worms of the general Ancyclostoma Necator (commonly called ‘hookworms’), which might be ingested while eating raw meat.
Having made a hearty meal and washed in the stream, Dawn and Bunduki prepared to resume their journey. Putting aside her claims for female equality, the girl raised no objection to carrying all the meat that could be used later, both for themselves and to feed the two Telongas. She realized that, apart from the natural dangers, vengeance-seeking Mun-Gatahs might be following their tracks. If Bunduki had both hands free to wield his weapons it could easily mean the difference between life and liberty, and capture, if not death, in the event of them being found by their pursuers.
‘Just don’t expect me to walk behind you!’ the girl warned, after making an unnecessary explanation of why she was willing for once to accept a menial task.
‘I don’t,’ Bunduki answered cheerfully, taking up the m’kuki and shield. ‘And you needn’t curtsy when I speak, a simple but respectful bow of the head will do. Come on, fungua safari!’
Silently promising herself that she would teach her adoptive cousin a lesson at some more opportune moment, Dawn gathered the two haunches of meat. Carrying one in each hand, she set off with him. While they had been forced to make a detour instead of following the route she had taken as she fled from her first contact with the Mun-Gatahs, they still felt sure that they could find Joar-Fane and At-Vee. Each of them had such a well-developed sense of direction and skill at reading tracks that they were confident they could locate some signs to guide them to the Telongas.
There was little conversation between Dawn and Bunduki as they walked along side by side. All traces of civilization seemed to have been shed and they resembled what in fact they now were, a pair of efficient super-predators travelling through their natural domain. They strolled along confidently, yet were alert and watchful in the same way that a lioness and lion would be.
Not only did the girl and the blond giant search and listen for possible dangers, and pursuit by the Mun-Gatahs, they took pleasure—as they had while crossing the plains—in the abundance and variety of wild life around them. In addition to transporting human beings to Zillikian, the ‘Suppliers’ had brought in animals, birds, reptiles and some forms of insects from every continent A notable omission, for which Dawn and Bunduki were grateful, appeared to be leeches, jiggers, xxx mosquitoes and flies which infested many tropical regions on Earth.
The journey went by uneventfully until shortly after noon. By that time, Dawn and Bunduki had left the bush and were passing through the woodland fringe of the jungle. The girl estimated that, although as yet she had seen nothing that she recognized, they must be very close to the area in which she had left At-Vee so as to draw the party of Mun-Gatahs who were following her tracks away from him. Although she had been successful in preventing them from finding the injured hunter, her efforts had resulted in her own capture.
Hearing the distant cacophony of sounds which they associated with feeding carrion-eaters, the girl and the blond giant decided that they would investigate. To judge from the amount of noise, there were a large number of scavengers present. Although neither of them mentioned the possibility, each was wondering if it was the two Telongas who were providing the meal.
After covering about half a mile, Dawn and Bunduki were passing through some fairly thick undergrowth. The gruesome sounds were emanating from a point not too far ahead. Coming to the edge of a clearing, the girl and her adoptive cousin found that they had reached their objective. The sight which met their eyes was not pretty.
Being jerked about and torn at by several vultures were the remains of a woman’s and two men’s bodies. More of the winged scavengers, together with a few hyenas and a trio of long-legged, somber-looking marabou storks, were swarming over the carcasses of three zebras. As these wore saddles and bridles, it was obvious that they were not wild animals which had strayed or been driven from the plains.
‘It’s not Joar-Fane and At-Vee,’ Bunduki declared with relief, the remnants of the corpses’ garments and the presence of the zebras allowing him to reach that conclusion. ‘And it’s not the crowd I had the run in with. Their woman ran
away.’
‘I think I know who they might be,’ Dawn replied, although she did not relish the idea of checking if her theory was correct,
‘Let’s take a closer look,’ the blond giant suggested and, throwing back his head, he gave the challenge roar of a bull-Mangani.
As the call was intended as a declaration of territorial boundaries, it combined carrying power with a menacing warning in its thunderous timbre. Rolling across the clearing, it produced a most satisfactory effect upon the scavengers. The vultures and marabou storks took to the air with startled squawks and a noisy flapping of wings, rising to alight on the branches of the trees which surrounded the clearing. Equally alarmed, the hyenas withdrew to the accompaniment of snarling, whooping cries. From far off, in the jungle beyond the woodland, came the answering challenge of a genuine bull-Mangani.
Ignoring the scavengers and the reply to his call, but holding the m’kuki ready to be used, Bunduki walked forward. Dawn advanced at his side, her right hand on the ‘finger-grip’ hilt of the Randall Model 1 ‘All Purpose Fighting’ knife. There was a stench of death in the air. Unlike the plains, where the vultures had an almost unrestricted view as they circled high in the sky, it took longer for bodies to be located in the woodland and jungle. However, the blond giant did not allow that to deter him. He was not motivated by idle curiosity or a morbid desire to look at dead human beings. He hoped to obtain some extra weapons.
Ever since Bunduki had found the m’kuki and shield, he had been perturbed by having them delivered in such a manner. When questioned, the ‘Supplier had declared that his people had in no way been responsible for the various adventures which had befallen Dawn and the blond giant. For all that, Bunduki was not entirely satisfied. The ‘Supplier had also claimed that his nation had the power to calculate, or predict, forthcoming events. So the blond giant wondered if their mysterious benefactors had found out there would be a need for the extra weapons. If that should be the case, he wanted his adoptive cousin to be armed more adequately than with just a knife.
