Fearless Master of the Jungle (A Bunduki Jungle Adventure Read online

  Like Dawn, the blond giant was well—if primitively—armed. Hanging in its sheath down his left thigh he was equipped with a Randall Model 12 ‘Smithsonian’ bowie knife. The concave ivory handle and brassed lugged hilt made Dawn’s efficient weapon seem almost puny. xiv He too could indulge in archery. Custom built to his specifications, the recurved Fred Bear Super Kodiak bow had a draw weight of one hundred pounds and was fitted with an eight-capacity bow quiver. As in the case of his adoptive cousin—although he no longer thought of the girl in that relationship—he had left his back quiver with their off-saddled and hobbled mounts in order to make stalking and observing the quaggas less difficult. Nor had he brought the other piece of equipment with which he had been helped to effect Dawn’s rescue.

  Realizing that Bunduki’s duties on Zillikian would call for him to be adequately armed, the ‘Suppliers’ had delivered his m’kuki—Masai throwing spear—and his shield. Although he had decided against encumbering himself with the m’kuki when setting out in search of Dawn, he had carried the shield hanging from the horn of his captured mount’s saddle. The shield was of the same elliptical shape and size as those carried by Masai moran, warriors. However, beneath the convex outer cover—made from the shoulder hide of a Cape buffalo bull, with all the wrinkles smoothed out and decorated by a red and white paint heraldic device—the saucer shaped interior was formed of the kind of light weight, ultra strong fiberglass material used for the manufacture of bullet proof protective garments and it had a rim of the finest quality Swedish high carbon tool steel.

  ‘Aren’t they magnificent?’ Dawn inquired, holding her voice to little more than a whisper and turning her gaze from the quaggas.

  ‘They’re the finest mounts I’ve seen on Zillikian,’ Bunduki answered, just as quietly. ‘Neither of the banar-gatahs you and I are riding comes anywhere near to matching them for quality.’

  ‘You would insist on leaving the People-Taker’s quagga gelding behind as a gesture of good will to whoever becomes High Priest,’ Dawn pointed out, blatantly disregarding the fact that she had expressed complete agreement with the blond giant’s decision. ‘Not that it was as good as either of them, if it comes to that. I wonder how they come to be out here?”

  ‘They must have escaped from the Mun-Gatahs,’ Bunduki guessed. ‘If not, they’ve been bred from a sire and dam that did.’

  ‘My, how clever of you to work that out,’ Dawn sniffed. ‘And there was poor simple little me thinking they might be just ordinary, run-of-the-mill wild stock.’ Then, becoming serious, she went on, ‘As they’re domesticated, or at least feral, they’ll be able to survive in captivity and be trainable. If we can catch them, that is.’

  ‘I’m all for trying,’ Bunduki declared, duplicating the girl’s line of reasoning. ‘They’re just what we need, provided we can catch and train them. Our work on Zillikian is far from finished and, if we’re to do it properly in future, we’ll need to be able to move around faster than we can on foot. That stallion looks as if he can carry my weight far better than the banar-gatah I’m riding.’

  ‘And elephant would be better for doing that,’ Dawn stated, starting to turn around cautiously. ‘Come on, you oversize lump, let’s go and see what we can do about catching them. It shouldn’t be too difficult—providing that you leave all the brainwork to me.’

  ‘I’ll give that a try first,’ the blond giant promised, pivoting on his heel with an equal care to avoid making any unnecessary noise. ‘Then, after you’ve made a fool of yourself as usual, I’ll show you how to do it properly.’

  While speaking, Bunduki was watching the beautiful young woman he intended to make his wife. She had only the previous day emerged from a very perilous situation that had brought her close to death. So, despite knowing her to be courageous, he had been wondering if the experience might have had an adverse effect upon her nerves. But her behavior gave no sign that she had lost her usual high spirits.

  ‘You can do that easily enough,’ Dawn conceded, with the air of conferring a favor. ‘Make a proper fool of yourself, I mean. But—’

  The words were brought to a halt as the couple heard snorts of alarm from beyond the bushes in which they were hiding. Each of them recognized the sounds as those made by zebras which were being disturbed or frightened.

  There were, Dawn and Bunduki knew, no wild zebras in the immediate vicinity!

  ‘Something’s troubling the banar-gatahs!’ Dawn ejaculated, for they had left their borrowed mounts in the direction from which the snorts were originating.

  ‘Come on!’ Bunduki snapped, ignoring the possibility of making a noise that might scare away their potential quarry. ‘If anything happens to them, well not be able to catch the quagga mare and stallion.’

  Chapter Two – I’d Hate to Go Through That Again

  When they had passed beyond the fringe of the clump of bushes, Dawn Drummond-Clayton and Bunduki needed only a single glance to know that their concern over the welfare of their borrowed mounts was well justified.

  Because they had wished to make a closer examination of the band of quaggas and knowing that they could not ride near enough to do so without disturbing or frightening them, Dawn and Bunduki had left their banar-gatahs to graze on the banks of a small stream some fifty yards away from their place of concealment.

  With a height slightly over fifteen hands, the two animals were marked by the numerous narrow black and white stripes peculiar to the Grevy’s sub-species of zebra, Equus Grevi. However, like the quaggas, their physical conformation suggested that they had been deliberately bred for riding. Each had had its low horned, double girthed saddle—similar to those employed on Earth by Texas cowhands—and bridle removed, but the hobbles fastened to the pasterns of the front hooves were further evidence of their domestication. Such devices were useful in that they allowed the wearer to walk slowly and perform its bodily functions without too much hindrance, but not to travel far or move speedily.

  Under the present circumstances, the hobbles were putting the lives of the banar-gatahs in jeopardy by restricting their movements. Wild eyed and snorting their distress, they reared on their hind legs to flail the air with their front limbs in a futile attempt to burst the restraints upon them. It was to no avail and they were unable to flee from the animal which was approaching.

  What was more—and worse—the hobbles rendered the banar-gatahs incapable of acting in a normal manner. In the wild, any creature which behaved unusually would attract the attention of predators. This was happening in their case. Seeing that they did not dash away even though aware of its presence, the creature which was moving towards them and causing their alarm thought they would be easy prey.

  ‘Oh lord!’ Dawn ejaculated, staring with horror at the animal which was menacing their mounts. ‘How can we stop it?’

  There was, the blond giant silently conceded, good cause for the girl’s consternation and question.

  Supplying an answer was easy enough!

  Carrying it out would be far harder!

  The predator was not one which could have been encountered on the plains of Africa. In fact, if anything, it was far more dangerous than any kind of carnivore to be found roaming at liberty on that continent. Not even the largest lion could have matched it in size, weight and strength. Nor, unless conditions were favorable, could a good-sized Nile crocodile have survived in a fight with it.

  Almost eight feet in length—of which a mere three inches was tail—and a good half of that in height, the long, yellowish-brown hairs of the coat and various other physical features identified the predator as belonging to the California Coast sub-species of the North American grizzly bear which was designated Ursus Horribilis Californicus. The race’s great size, truculent temperament and predilection for eating meat—particularly that of easily caught domestic animals—had caused its extinction on Earth. From all appearances, those which had been transported to Zillikian still retained their forebears’ xv feeding habits.

  Slouching forward
, the distinctive lump on its shoulders giving it a decidedly humpbacked appearance, the bear was clearly hungry and meant to make a meal from one, or both, of the banar-gatahs. Furthermore, it was superbly equipped to carry out its intentions. Supported on a short, thick neck, the skull—with its small, rounded ears placed well back and wide apart—had a bluntish muzzle and a forehead which was so strongly elevated above the line of the face as to produce a somewhat concave profile. Long and narrow though the mouth might be, it was operated by very powerful muscles and armed with sharp canine teeth to augment the broad-crowned crushing molars. While it lacked the ability to open its jaws as wide as could a member of the canine or feline species, relatively speaking, this did not render it any less capable of delivering a severely damaging bite. The great claws on the forefeet, driven by the propulsion of the sturdy legs and the enormous strength of its massively built seven hundred and fifty pounds’ body made equally effective weapons.

  Tackling such a formidable creature with only such primitive devices as the bows, arrows and knives—their excellent design and the superb quality of the materials from which they had been manufactured notwithstanding—was no task to be undertaken lightly.

  There had been a growing tendency among certain professional naturalists and self-appointed authorities on conservation on Earth to try and foist on the public the belief that no animal was dangerous, or would think of attacking a human being without the most extreme provocation. According to the theories they propounded, the reputation of ferocity and aggression given to various animals was nothing but a tissue of lies created by sportsmen to justify hunting and killing.

  Provided that Dawn and Bunduki had been willing to accept the ‘discoveries’ of some of the modern naturalists at face value, there was an absurdly simple and danger-free way for them to solve their dilemma. All they needed to do was advance boldly and shout at the grizzly bear who would be terrified of human beings and, anyway, would have no desire to harm them.

  It was fortunate for the young couple that they appreciated the correct perspective of the naturalists’ explanations. They conceded that such behavior might happen on the planet of their birth, but realized it most certainly would not in the primitive world to which the “Suppliers” had transported them. Their knowledge did not stem out of studies made from the safety of a motor vehicle in a national park where the creatures were accustomed to human beings, and where radically changed living conditions had necessitated alterations in patterns of behavior. Furthermore, their instructors on Earth had been a family whose information had been gained by the practical experience of surviving for several decades among wild animals in completely natural, unaltered surroundings.

  As Dawn and Bunduki were aware, the aggressive and dangerous animals which had been responsible for the sportsmen’s stories on Earth were killed while attacking. The more cautious members of their species, who would not otherwise have been capable of winning mates and breeding before the demise of the more domineering animals, fled and survived to pass on similar passive traits to their offspring. These in turn produced young which also adopted and furthered the precept that discretion was the better part of valor.

  Such a state of affairs did not prevail on Zillikian. While the dangerous creatures were hunted, it was done with such primitive weapons that they had a far greater chance of survival than when in contention against firearms. Certainly the major carnivores of the planet in particular had little need to fear human beings and considered them to be as much an acceptable source of food as any of the more conventional animal prey.

  Being fully conversant with the situation, Dawn and Bunkuki reluctantly accepted that in all probability they would have to kill the grizzly bear if they wanted to save the banar-gatahs from injury. With that in mind, the blond giant darted a quick look to where he and the girl had left their shoulder quivers and other property, leaning against the animals’ saddles. He decided against trying to reach the rigs before taking action.

  Despite having had its excellent protective qualities demonstrated to him on more than one occasion recently, the blond giant realized that the Masai-style shield would not serve his purpose at that moment. Even if he could retrieve it in time, it would offer little or no defense against the grizzly’s enormous weight and strength. Similar considerations ruled out an attempt to collect and don his shoulder quiver. Nor was it necessary, he was already carrying eight arrows instantly available.

  Reaching up and across with his right hand, Bunduki plucked the nearest arrow from the clips of the quiver attached to the right side of his bow. So well trained was he that he did not need to look down as he started to nock the shaft to the string and settle it on the handle’s arrow-rest. Instead, he glanced at Dawn. As he had expected, she did not need any advice upon the tactics they must employ to cope with their dangerous predicament. Instead of continuing to advance at his side, she was veering away, at the same time duplicating his actions in charging her bow. Moving to one side as she did so would warn their massive foe that it was facing two threats and might cause it to retire. Even if this did not happen, being some feet apart increased their own chances of survival.

  Satisfied that Dawn was ready to play her part, Bunduki continued to advance and gave a very realistic impersonation of a lion’s challenging roar. Hearing the sound, the grizzly bear’s attention was diverted from the banar-gatahs. Because of its poor sight, it could make out little more than that two vague shapes were approaching. However, that they were doing so instead of standing back or fleeing was significant. So it reacted as it would against any other kind of carnivore which invaded its domain and showed an intention of contending with it for its selected prey.

  Letting out a bawl that was just as menacing as the lion’s roar it had heard, the bear swerved in the human beings’ direction. It was moving fast for such a massive beast, employing a bounding gait that covered a lot of ground in a short time. With the long guard hairs of its coat bristling and seeming to increase its already impressive size, it made a terrifying sight.

  Keeping Bunduki under observation from the corner of her eye; but giving the rest of her attention to the grizzly, Dawn needed no telling what to do when he caused it to turn upon them. Stepping out so as to keep pace with him, she increased the distance that was separating them and waited with bated breath to discover which of them the bear chose to attack. The answer was not long in coming.

  Either because the bear considered the larger of the approaching shapes to be the greater threat, or through sheer chance, it made its way towards Bunduki. Although Dawn halted immediately, Bunduki advanced a few more steps with the intention of keeping the huge beast’s attention on him.

  Watching the blond giant come to a stop, the girl duplicated his next actions by starting to draw her bow. Their back and shoulder muscles, rather than those of the arms, took the majority of the strain as they pulled the strings to the full twenty-eight inches required to obtain the maximum propulsive power from the curving limbs of the bows. Even as they were reaching their ‘anchor points’—with the second finger of the right hand just over the last tooth of the lower jaw—from whence they could pause and make sure of their aim, each appreciated the full peril of the course upon which they were now embarked. While confident they could kill the bear and probably would have no choice of doing otherwise, bringing this about quickly enough for safety was another matter.

  Unlike the bullet from a modern medium to heavy caliber rifle, an arrow—even when propelled by the one hundred pounds’ draw weight of Bunduki’s Super Kodiak bow—lacked the velocity to create great shock and stopping power. Yet under the right conditions, particularly when a razor sharp four-bladed hunting point was affixed to the shaft, the actual killing potential of an arrow was greater than that of the heaviest caliber rifle bullet. Carving a cross-sectional swathe almost two inches in height and width through the recipient’s flesh, the point would produce a greater volume of bleeding than any bullet. So a shaft which reached the heart or
lungs would cause such extensive hemorrhage that death would come swiftly.

  On the other hand, as had happened when the blond giant had been compelled to shoot at an enraged stallion, xvi his bow was capable of sending an arrow through the bones of the grizzly’s skull to its brain. That would stop it almost instantaneously. However, in the quagga’s case he had been looking downwards at a target that was to all intents and purposes stationary during the draw, aim, loose and flight of the arrow. This time, he was practically horizontal to his mark and, in addition to its small size, the target area was in rapid motion. There was little margin for error. What was more, with the distance between him and the grizzly closing so rapidly, he would have time for only one shot.

  Bunduki was fully cognizant of all the risks and accepted that they would almost certainly have to kill the bear, but he did not try to do so immediately he had completed the drawing of his bow. There was just a slender chance that the huge beast was only making a bluffing demonstration. If it had selected Dawn as its objective, he would not have hesitated to loose the arrow. As it was, despite the delay adding to the already great danger he was facing, more in hope than expectancy he decided to present it with an opportunity to withdraw.

  The hope did not materialize!

  Showing no indication that it intended to do other than press home its charge, the grizzly continued to rush nearer at a speed of close to thirty-five miles per hour. To make matters worse, as it was heading straight towards the blond giant, only a very small portion of its anatomy’s most vulnerable area was exposed to his view and his aiming mark was greatly restricted.

  At last Bunduki conceded that he must yield to the inevitable!