by J. T. Edson
‘It’s my leg,’ At-Vee replied, sinking back to sit on the ground. ‘I think it’s broken!’
‘Let me look at it,’ Dawn offered, walking forward.
‘Why would you want to help me?’ At-Vee challenged, a wary glint coming into his eyes as he tightened his grip on the war-hammer’s handle.
‘I helped you against the tiger,’ Dawn reminded him. ‘And I believe that the Mun-Gatah are enemies of both of us.’
Turning his gaze to the great striped shape, At-Vee noticed for the first time that the fletching of an arrow thrust out of it close to his spear. Then, apart from one detail, everything became clear to him. He realized why the tiger had behaved so oddly while springing at him. If the girl had not used her bow with such deadly effect, it would have come down upon the spear with its forelegs thrust ahead and claws positioned so that they could have found his flesh.
The only puzzling point was why his rescuer had loosed her arrow. There would have been little or no danger of the tiger turning on her if she had fled, as it would have been fully occupied with him. So he wondered why she had helped him. Nothing in the few contacts he had had with members of other nations had led him to expect friendship or help at a foreigner’s hands.
‘I’ll put down my bow and let you hold my knife,’ Dawn went on with a smile, ‘If that will prove I’m a friend.’
There’s no need for that,’ At-Vee stated, and placed his war-hammer on the ground, sensing that he could trust her. He also realized that, if his leg should be broken, retaining her assistance would be all that stood between him and almost certain death. ‘Thank you for offering to help.’
Before starting to examine the man’s leg, Dawn collected her shoulder-quiver. She laid it and her bow alongside his weapons and knelt down. Placing her left hand under his right calf, she raised and studied his swollen ankle. Taking hold of his foot with the other hand, she moved it gently. Although perspiration beaded his face and he half closed his eyes in pain, he made no sound.
‘It’s not broken,’ Dawn announced, lowering the limb gently to the ground. ‘But it is badly sprained and you won’t be able to use it for some time.’
‘I have to do and find Joar-Fane!’ At-Vee gritted, sitting up.
‘Who is that?’ Dawn asked, looking around for the means to render further aid.
‘She was to be my wife. I had brought back a jaguar’s skin for her father to make my claim,’ At-Vee explained, trying to rise. ‘But when I arrived, I found that the Mun-Gatahs’ People-Taker had taken her.’
‘You stay where you are!’ Dawn commanded, laying a hand on his shoulder. ‘If you try to walk, you’ll only make your ankle worse.’
‘But Joar-Fane—!’ At-Vee began, sinking back.
‘She won’t be any better off if you cripple yourself and can’t walk at all,’ Dawn pointed out. ‘Where is the nearest water?’
‘I passed a stream not far away.’
‘Do you think that you can walk there with my help?’
‘I can.’
‘That’s good,’ Dawn said. ‘When we get there, I’ll see what I can do about your ankle.’
‘Can you get my spear for me?’ At-Vee requested.
‘I’ll try,’ the girl-promised and glanced at the empty place on her bow-quiver. ‘And I’ll see if I can pull my arrow out while I’m doing it.’
Going to the tiger, Dawn examined it. Her arrow had buried itself in the body almost to the fletching which would make removal difficult. If she gripped the part that showed, she would crush the feathers of the fletching and ruin them. Yet she had no desire to lose another arrow. There were not a commodity which she could replenish in the primitive jungle. Certainly there would be no way in which she could obtain any fiber glass Micro-Flites, particularly if her theory regarding her whereabouts should prove tine.
Putting the arrow from her mind for the moment, Dawn took hold of the spear’s hand with both hands. Placing her right foot on the carcass, she began to pull with all her far from inconsiderable strength. Conscious of At-Vee studying her and sensing the admiration he was feeling towards her, she continued to exert her full muscular power. At first the weapon held firm. Then, slowly, an inch at a time, it began to move. With a final heave, she drew it out.
With the spear removed, Dawn laid it aside and drew her knife. Knowing what she must do next, she made a wry face and set to work cutting the arrow free. Even with the razor edge of the Randall Model 1 fighting knife’s eight-inch long, clip-pointed blade, it was a lengthy and messy task. She was not sorry when she had accomplished it.
Wiping her hands, the knife’s blade, the arrow and the spear as clean as she could on the grass, Dawn turned her attention to At-Vee. He was sitting with her bow in his hands and studying it with rapt attention.
‘I’ve never seen the like of this before,’ the man declared, in tones of awe, laying the bow down as she returned. ‘Do all your people have such weapons?’
‘Yes,’ Dawn replied, which was true as far as it went. Being keen archers, every member of her family owned a modern hunting bow of similar quality. Handing him his spear, she knelt and attached the arrow to the bow-quiver. ‘I’ll help you to the stream if you’re ready.’
Giving his assent to the suggestion, At-Vee allowed the girl to help him rise. He placed his left arm across her shoulders and used the spear with the right for extra support.
‘Who are your people?’ At-Vee inquired, being genuinely interested and also wanting to take his mind from the pain that walking, even with assistance, was causing.
‘You wouldn’t know them,’ Dawn answered. ‘Our chief is Tarzan of the Apes.’
‘I have never heard of him, or of your people,’ At-Vee stated, which was what the girl had expected although hoping that she would receive the opposite information. ‘Are all the “Apes” great hunters?’
Remembering the gold-clad woman’s use of the name ‘Apes’, the significance of the way her companion’s question had been worded struck Dawn. It implied that, no matter what language they were employing, she had given Tarzan’s name in English.
‘Yes,’ Dawn confirmed truthfully, putting the phenomenon aside to be considered and discussed when she was reunited with Bunduki.
‘Are your people nearby?’ At-Vee asked.
‘My—husband—Bunduki isn’t too far way,’ Dawn answered. While she believed that she could trust the man, she also felt it was advisable to let him think she was married and her “husband” was in the vicinity. ‘He is one of the greatest hunters and fighters of the “Apes”.’
Much as At-Vee would have liked to satisfy his curiosity regarding the girl’s weapons, he refrained. All of them, including the knife (if the ease with which it had cut out the arrow was anything to go by), were far superior to anything he had ever seen. The point was verified when, changing the subject, he inquired about her escape from the Mun-Gatahs and learned she had killed one by sending an arrow through his leather breastplate. According to the Telonga legends, such a garment was so strong that its wearer could not be harmed. However, among his people, the matter of the mysterious ‘Suppliers’ was taboo except to the Elders of each village and must not be discussed by anybody else.
On reaching the banks of the small stream, Dawn helped At-Vee to seat himself and, while he was dangling the injured foot in the water, sought for a means of treating it. Finding a plant with broad leaves, of a kind which she had never seen before, she gathered some of them. Then she collected some of a moss-like growth and thin reeds, using them all to make a cold compress which she applied to his ankle.
With his ankle bandaged by the plants, At-Vee accepted Dawn’s offer of a meal. He was puzzled by the pemmican and biltong that she produced from her quiver, but after tasting them admitted they were good. Then he told he what had brought him to that part of the woodland.
On learning that the Mun-Gatahs’ People-Taker had claimed his intended wife, Joar-Fane, in his absence, At-Vee had set off to try to rescue her. However
, he had found tracks which suggested that she had escaped from her captors and fled into the jungle pursued by some of them. Following, he had crossed what he called the Big River which served as a boundary between the Telongas’ country and that of the ‘Hairy People’. The previous evening he had lost the tracks due to a herd of elephants passing over and obliterating them. Knowing that the Mun-Gatahs lived somewhere on the plains, he had been heading in that direction hoping to pick up the trail again.
There were a number of questions which Dawn would have liked to have put to At-Vee, but the opportunity did not arise. Faint noises came to their ears, causing them to stare in the direction from which they had come. The girl’s eyes turned to meet the man’s. Although the sounds were still a good distance away, both knew that they were hearing hooves and human voices.
‘It must be the Mun-Gatahs!’ Dawn breathed. ‘They’re following my tracks.’
‘How many of them are there?’ At-Vee asked, glancing at his injured ankle.
‘At least nine, if they’ve all crossed the river,’ Dawn answered, speaking no louder than the man. ‘There may be even more for all I know.’
‘We can’t fight them, even if there are only nine,’ At-Vee declared bitterly. ‘And with my ankle like this, I can’t run fast enough to escape. But you must go. They’ll show you no mercy now you’ve killed one of them.’
Dawn did not reply for several seconds, but she was thinking fast. As At-Vee had pointed out, they could not hope to beat off a determined attack by the Mun-Gatahs and she still retained sufficient of her civilized upbringing to want to avoid further killing if it was possible. Although she felt sure that she could escape from her mounted pursuers, given that much of a start and in wooded country, flight was out of the question for her companion.
There was, the girl realized, only one answer.
‘Take my bow and arrows, At-Vee!’ Dawn said urgently. ‘Then go and hide in the bushes.’
‘What are you going to do?’ the man asked.
‘Draw them away from you,’ Dawn replied.
‘But—!’ At-Vee began.
‘It’s our only chance,’ the girl declared, and smiled confidently. They might be riding, but I can travel faster than them through this type of country. Particularly as I won’t be hampered with my bow.’
Without waiting for any further debate on the matter, Dawn darted off towards the sounds of the riders. She wanted to come into contact with them before they found the tiger’s body and discovered that she had a companion. If they were following her trail, whoever was doing the tracking would be able to deduce that At-Vee was injured from the signs he and she had left and might guess what she was trying to do.
Clearly the Mun-Gatahs were not travelling at any speed. That was only to be expected. Although Dawn had not made any determined effort to hide the signs of her passage, following the marks left by her bare feet would not be easy. Travelling at a fast walk, wanting to conserve her strength and energy for the flight that would come when they saw her, she had gone about fifty yards beyond the tiger when she received her first sight of them.
Halting behind a tree, Dawn studied the composition of the party. Neither of the quagga riders were present, but that still left two women and five men to contend with. The eagle’s attendant was in the lead, walking and studying the ground, with his zebra following on his heels like a well-trained dog. All his companions were mounted and, although the girl could not hear what was being said, the women appeared to be talking in low but heated tones. She wondered whether she was the topic of their conversation and concluded that it was likely.
There was no time for Dawn to dwell on such futile speculation. Although the Mun-Gatahs were still about a hundred yards away, the terrain through which they were passing would still favor them. She had known it when making her suggestion to At-Vee but was willing to take a chance if it would prevent them from finding the helpless hunter.
Drawing in a breath, Dawn walked from behind the tree as if she did not know her pursuers were so close. Hearing a shout, which informed her that she had been seen, she threw a look at them. Then, as she turned and started to run, she wished that Bunduki was in the vicinity. She also hoped that, wherever he was, he not in any kind of danger. Hearing the commotion behind her, she put all such thoughts from her head.
The chase was on and she would need all her wits about her if she was to avoid being captured, or killed!
Chapter Nine – She Isn’t As Good A Lover As Me
At about the time that Dawn was starting to run away from the Mun-Gatahs, Bunduki and Joar-Fane were finishing their meal.
While the blond giant could have made a fire easily enough, even though he had no matches, he had not wished to do so. The rising smoke would have been a sure indication to any hostile force such as the Mun-Gatahs’ People-Takers—whoever, or whatever, they might be—or other human beings in the vicinity. When he had explained this to the girl, he had discovered that it would not be necessary. Delighted at being able to talk after the silence which he had insisted upon as they were walking, she had said that her people frequently ate raw meat. So had he, on expeditions when his adoptive family had reverted to living in a primitive fashion.
‘Never have I seen such a beautiful man as you, Bunduki,’ Joar-Fane purred after they had eaten and washed their hands and face in the stream. She smiled at him in a way that had never failed to win over any man she was trying to attract.
‘That’s what Dawn tells me,’ the blond giant replied.
‘Do you already have a wife?’ Joar-Fane asked, sounding disappointed but not unduly perturbed. ‘Or have you many?’
‘I’ve never needed more than one,’ Bunduki stated, hoping to kill off any notions that the girl was harboring.
‘She isn’t as good a lover as me,’ Joar-Fane declared. ‘I can make love better than any other Telonga maiden. Shall I show you, Bunduki?’
‘Not right now,’ the big blond growled hastily, for her hands were hooking under the monkey-skin halter.
‘At-Vee has told me many times how well I can make love,’ Joar-Fane protested.
‘Who is that?’ Bunduki inquired.
‘A hunter,’ the girl replied, pouting but refraining from removing the garment. ‘The best in our village—but he is not as great as you.’
‘Is he your husband?’
‘No!’
‘Does he want to be?’
‘Of course,’ Joar-Fane confirmed, sounding as if that was a foregone conclusion. ‘He has brought much meat to my father’s house and many skins. We have made love many times.’
‘Have you had children?’ Bunduki asked.
‘No!’ the girl yelped, displaying shock at such a suggestion. ‘That would not be proper until we are married. How many children have you and Dawn?’
‘None yet,’ the blond giant admitted, hiding his amusement at her indignation. He decided that, in view of her reply, a change of subject might be advisable. ‘Did the People-Taker claim At-Vee too?
‘No. He was away from the village, or the Elders would have put him away with the rest of the hunters,’ Joar-Fane answered, moving closer and reaching to take hold of Bunduki’s hands in her own. ‘Must we talk about such things?’
‘Dawn is very good at talking and always explains the things I want to know,’ the big blond said craftily, freeing himself and sitting down. ‘That is one of the reasons why I love her.’
‘I’m very good at explaining things,’ Joar-Fane declared, looking at him in a calculating manner and doing as he had hoped she would. Sitting by his side, she went on, ‘What do you want to know?’
Guided by Bunduki’s questions and determined to prove that she was superior to Dawn—who she assumed was his wife—the girl started to tell him about her own people.
The Telonga were in general a pleasure-seeking nation much given to such peaceful pursuits as singing, dancing and making love. In all of these, particularly the last, Joar-Fane claimed to have no equal.
With the majority of their needs in life supplied by a bounteous nature, most of the Telongas were content to follow a leisurely existence not overburdened by hard work. There were, however, a few hunters in every community. Restless, active men, they were regarded with suspicion by the rest of the population despite having such uses as suppliers of meat and skins, or defenders against any wild beasts which plagued the villages. Joar-Fane declared that, as they were excellent lovers when so inclined, on the whole she approved of them.
From what she said when Bunduki brought the matter up, there was no kind of organized fighting force for the protection of their homes and territory.
‘We don’t need such a thing,’ Joar-Fane insisted. ‘We don’t have any enemies.’
‘How about the Mun-Gatahs’ People-Taker?’ Bunduki challenged.
Apparently the Telonga villagers, with a few exceptions, took the periodic visits by the People-Taker and his escort for granted, regarding them as a small price to pay for an otherwise untroubled existence. They came, selected several—but never too many—maidens and young men, departing without disruption of the remainder’s pleasures.
Only the hunters were inclined to resist the levy, but they were invariably put away’ by the Elders before the People-Taker arrived. Joar-Fane neither knew nor cared how the putting away’ xxxii was accomplished. The hunters were always returned alive, unharmed, and in good loving condition, which was good enough for her even if the subject had not been taboo as a matter for discussion.
Nor did the girl have any idea why the People-Taker collected the young men and women. It was obvious to Bunduki, from what she said, that she had hoped the selected maidens were destined to become the wives of handsome and lusty Mun-Gatah men; but she had been disillusioned on that point. At first, having had a quarrel with At-Vee because he had insisted on leaving the village instead of remaining and attending a dance that was being given by one of her friends, she had been delighted at being among those selected. However, once away from the village, she had found that the male members of the People-Taker’s escort were not interested in making love and her attempts at stimulating such a desire had been thwarted in a painful manner by one of the Mun-Gatah women.
