‘Bunduki! Bunduki! Help!’
Standing on the crotch of the tree into which he had climbed to make preparations for spending the night, the blond giant dropped the leaves he had gathered on to the pile of branches as he heard Joar-Fane’s terror-filled voice screaming the words.
Having heard Dawn’s distress call, without having realized that it was she who had given it, Bunduki had—much to Joar-Fane’s annoyance—insisted upon resuming their journey. He had reduced her irritation by explaining to her his plans for ensuring their safety from prowling carnivores during the hours of darkness. Accepting the situation with what good grace she could muster, she had apparently consoled herself by considering and anticipating the pleasures which she felt sure lay ahead. Certainly, she had been cheerful enough as she had walked along at his side.
By the time the sun had started to set, Bunduki and Joar-Fane had been approaching the more open woodland. Completely unaware that Dawn had been taken captive by the Mun-Gatahs, although he still had the subconscious belief that she was somewhere to the northwest and might be in danger, the blond giant had realized that trying to continue the search after night had fallen would be futile. So he had selected a tree which met his requirements and, while Joar-Fane had taken the remains of the capybara’s leg to wash it in a stream they had passed a short while earlier, he had set about making the kind of a bed that chimpanzees and the Mangani used in the branches of trees.
Looking downwards, Bunduki found that the undergrowth prevented him from discovering the cause of Joar-Fane’s cry for help. So he did not waste time in making useless speculation. Instead, he grabbed the vine which he had cut so that its end was dangling to the ground in order to help the girl attain their bed-platform. Going down hand over hand at considerable speed, he let go and dropped when certain he could do so without risk of injury. Although his bow and arrows were lying at the foot of the tree, he did not pause to gather them up. As soon as he alighted, he started to run towards the point from which he had last heard the girl.
Bunduki did not know what to expect as he sprinted through the bushes. Nor was there anything to supply a clue. After her first shouted words, Joar-Fane had been silent. Nor had he heard any other sounds that might have accounted for her state of alarm. It was possible that she had fallen foul of Bul-Mok’s family, or another group of Mangani. Or it might be some kind of animal which was stalking her. No matter what it was, there was nothing to suggest that it had caught or was attacking her.
Passing around the edge of a clump of bushes, the blond giant received the answer.
At the far side of the clearing, Joar-Fane was standing with her back against the trunk of a tree. She was grasping a thick piece of a branch in the manner of a club and glaring at the tall, shapely, black-haired woman who was stalking arrogantly towards her. Nor was the woman alone. There were three men present. The largest was standing with his back to the blond giant, watching Joar-Fane and the woman. Advancing along the edges of the clearing, the other two were positioned to cut off the girl if she tried to run either way.
All of the quartet were dressed and armed in much the same manner. While the woman’s hair had no covering, the men had on leather helmets decorated on each side by the embossed head of a horse—or a zebra. All wore one piece, short, white tunics—the woman’s being sleeveless—and had a sword shaped like the gladius of a Roman soldier in a scabbard on the left side of the belt. They had sandals on their feet and leather greaves protected their shins.
Ground hitched by their dangling one-piece reins, the four saddled animals among the trees at the left side of the clearing supplied the blond giant with a clue to the quartet’s identity. He had already suspected that they might be the party sent by the Mun-Gatahs’ People-Taker to recapture Joar-Fane. There was a white garment of some kind hanging from each saddle’s cantle, but he did not waste time in trying to decide what they might be.
‘Watch her, Latica!’ called the biggest man, drawing Bunduki’s attention from the zebras. He was clearly more amused than perturbed by the girl’s threatening attitude. ‘She might be an Amazon in disguise.’
‘I’ll “Amazon” her!’ the woman answered, without looking back or offering to draw her sword. Put that stick down, damn you, or I’ll break every bone in your body.’
‘You try it and see what I’ll do!’ Joar-Fane replied spiritedly, seeing the blond giant at the edge of the clearing and wanting to prevent the Mun-Gatahs from becoming aware of his presence. ‘I’m not afraid of you.’
Having reached his conclusion regarding the identity of the quartet, Bunduki was taking advantage of their preoccupation with the girl and was moving forward. Noticing that she had seen him, he was pleased by the way she was acting. She was behaving in a much braver and more intelligent manner than he would have expected.
Remembering what Joar-Fane had told him about the Mun-Gatahs, the blond giant doubted whether he could save her by peaceful means. Nor, if he was correct in his assumption of where he had been transported by his unknown saviors, could he follow the dictates of the civilized society in which he had been born and raised. He must be ready to fight and kill if he wanted to survive and rescue the girl.
Accepting that there was no other choice, Bunduki ran towards the largest of the men. His bare feet made little sound on the springy turf and the man, who almost matched him in size and bulk, was not aware of his approach. That was all to the good and the big blond hoped to turn it to his advantage. If he could take the man by surprise and use him as a hostage, it might still be possible to avoid bloodshed.
‘You’re up against a fierce one th—’ the warrior at the right commenced.
The words died away as the speaker became aware of a figure coming from the bushes ahead of him. Dressed in a jaguar-skin loincloth, the newcomer had his right leg bandaged by leaves and was limping along using a stout spear as a crutch. In his left hand, he held a weapon of a kind the Mun-Gatah had never seen. He looked like a Telonga, except that those with whom the People-Taker’s party had come into contact were never armed, nor so muscular.
Studying the newcomer’s black hair, dark skin and Polynesian features, Bunduki assumed that he belonged to Joar-Fane’s people. However, despite the thing like a czdkan that he was carrying, his injured leg would reduce his effectiveness in a fight.
‘An armed Telonga, as I live and breathe!’ the warrior on the right shouted derisively and looked behind him.
‘I’ll need your he—’ Once again he did not complete a speech. Instead, he started to swing around and his right hand went to the hilt of the sword as he shouted, ‘Behind you!’
Hearing and seeing the change in his companions words and behavior, the third male member of the party glanced back. What he saw caused him to duplicate the second’s actions. The woman threw a look to her rear and half-turned, reaching for her sword. Unaware of At-Vee’s arrival on the scene, as he was coming from behind her, Joar-Fane let out a yell and, swinging the club above her head in both hands, sprang forward.
Seeing first one, then the other warrior turning and preparing to arm themselves, Bunduki abandoned his ideas of trying to take the nearest man as a hostage. The , other two appeared to be devoting their attentions to him and ignoring the newcomer. Nor, if the painful way in which he was moving meant anything, would the Telonga be of much use. Certainly he could not come quickly enough to be of assistance. So Bunduki put aside his original notion of giving the largest man a chance to turn and fight. The odds were sufficiently high without him adding to them by pandering to ideals of fair play and chivalry. He knew that such sentiments would not be accorded to him if their positions were reversed.
Increasing his speed, Bunduki hurled himself into the air in such a way that his body was almost horizontal. His left shoulder rammed into the centre of the man’s back. Struck by the full force of the blond giant’s two hundred and twenty pound frame, the Mun-Gatah was knocked from his feet. Nor did it end there. There was a sharp crack, followed by a scream of pain, as his spine snapped.
Going down with the stricken man, Bunduki rolled clear and started to rise. His right hand flashed across to close on the ivory hilt of the bowie knife, sliding it from its sheath. There was not a second to lose. Already the two warriors were converging upon him.
Alerted by Joar-Fane’s yell, the woman looked back at her. Finding that the girl was attempting to attack her, she let out an angry snort. Swiveling around swiftly, she stepped forward and, before Joar-Fane could bring the weapon down, lashed around her right arm. Caught at the side of the head by a powerful backhand blow, the little Telonga went spinning. The club flew from her hand and she measured her length, dazed and helpless, on the ground.
Still in the process of rising, Bunduki analyzed the situation with great rapidity. There was, he decided, one thing in his favor. The man to his left was much closer than the other warrior and showed no sign of slowing down. Therefore they could not launch a concerted attack.
Wanting to gain the acclaim that would accrue from avenging what he guessed had been a fatal assault on his leader, the first warrior had no intention of taking the sensible course of co-operating with his companion. Instead, he bounded onwards at an increased pace. Arriving within range, he launched a savage downwards chop with his sword at the side of the blond giant’s neck.
Thrusting himself erect, Bunduki held the bowie knife with its blade projecting in front of his thumb and forefinger. It was a grip that allowed him to utilize the weapon to the best advantage, permitting a cut, thrust, or backhand slash with equal facility.
Bringing the knife across, the blond giant let the flat of the blade meet and sweep aside the Mun-Gatah’s sword. Then, disengaging his weapon, he delivered a devastatingly effective counter attack. Hissing to the right, the knife—which had an edge as sharp as a barber s razor—passed under the man’s chin. The steel sliced inwards, laying open the Mun-Gatah’s throat to the bone with a force that twisted him aside. The sword fell from his fingers and they rose to clutch at the hideous, blood-spurting mortal wound. Collapsing to his knees, he fell forward on to his face.
Seeing the second of his party struck down by the big blond did not deter the last of the warriors. He continued to rush towards Bunduki and was so close that he felt sure he could make his attack before there would be any chance of evasion or reprisals.
Alert to the danger, the blond giant prepared to defend himself. He saw that the man was adopting almost identical tactics to those of the first assailant. Once again, the attack came in the form of a round-house swing. Except that this time it was travelling horizontally rather than at a downwards angle.
Pivoting to face his assailant, Bunduki bent his right knee and thrust his left leg backwards in a long stride. Doing so caused him to sink below the arc of the sword’s swing. Even as it went over his head, stirring his hair it passed so close, he turned the knuckles of his right hand uppermost. Out drove the bowie knife in an almost classic lunge. Carried onwards by his momentum, the man paid the price of failure. Spiking its clip point into his stomach, the bowie’s blade sank almost to its brass lugged guard.
While dealing with the third male Mun-Gatah, Bunduki did not forget the woman. Even as his knife was entering the man s body, he looked to find out what she was doing. Like her companions, she appeared to consider him a greater danger than the Telonga hunter. That was true. Due to the ‘putting away’, the People-Taker and his escort had only come into contact with the placid, unresisting male members of the Telonga nation. So she was discounting the Telonga hunter as a serious factor—as the two warriors had—and felt that he could be disposed of easily enough once the blond giant had been killed.
With the latter thought in mind, and ignoring the Telonga hunter and the motionless girl, the woman advanced across the clearing towards Bunduki. Judging from the way she held her sword she might prove as dangerous as either of the warriors, or possibly more so if she had taken a warning from the results of their rash behavior and was skilled with the weapon. Bunduki straightened his right leg and, driving himself erect, he swung the stricken man to the left in a way that ripped the bowie’s blade through flesh and freed it.
Practically disemboweled and letting go of his sword, the dying man tottered in a half circle until he was facing the woman. She stared in horror at the intestines which were oozing from the gaping tear in his stomach and came to an involuntary halt. Then, as she watched him crumpling like a rag doll that had had its stuffing removed, her nerve failed her. Instead of continuing with her advance, she fled at an angle that would take her to the waiting zebras but would at the same time keep her well beyond the reach of the blond giant who had felled all of her companions.
Throwing a glance at Joar-Fane, Bunduki was relieved to see that she was moving and that there was no blood to suggest she had been stabbed. The hunter was hurrying towards her with his face showing mingled anxiety and pain. Feeling sure that the girl was not seriously hurt, the blond giant started to go towards the woman.
Having no desire for further killing, Bunduki did not want to catch and deal with Latica. Nor did he wish to be encumbered by a prisoner. He had something else in mind. Being an excellent horseman, he was hoping to gain possession of at least one of the zebras. He felt sure that he could ride it. In which case, it could prove very useful in his search for his adoptive cousin.
On reaching the animals, having seen that the blond giant was following her and misinterpreting his motives, the woman acted with panic-induced speed. Dropping her sword instead of sheathing it, she grabbed the reins of her ocha-gatah. Taking them over its head, she caught hold of the saddle horn and vaulted on to its back. Almost as soon as her rump hit the leather, she sent her mount bounding forward without as much as a glance at the dead companions she was leaving behind.
Deciding that the woman was too frightened to come back, Bunduki hurried towards the three remaining zebras. Although they appeared to have been made a little restless by her hurried departure, none of them showed any signs of bolting. Studying them as he was cleaning the blood from his knife and returning it to its sheath, he unconsciously matched Dawn’s summation regarding their physical conformation and possible relationship to wild zebras. One reminded him of the subspecies Equus Grevy, but the other two had the colors and striping of Equus Burchelli.
A glance across the clearing reassured Bunduki that Joar-Fane had not been seriously injured. The hunter was kneeling somewhat awkwardly, holding her in his arms and she, was behaving much as she had after the blond giant had saved her from the Mangani.
Pleased to find that the girl was unharmed and obviously on good terms with the man, Bunduki turned his attention to the zebras. Going to the banar-gatah, although he did not identify it by its Mun-Gatah name, he acted as he would if he had been approaching a strange horse. Speaking in a low, soothing voice and avoiding any sudden movements, he reached out slowly with his right hand. The banar-gatah snorted, tossed its head, then calmed and allowed him to stroke its sleek neck.
With friendly relations established, the blond giant examined the banar-gatah’s furnishings. The saddle had a low horn, double girths and wide, iron-bound wooden stirrups much like a Texas range rig. There was a throwing spear in two loops attached to the left side of its skirt, suggesting that its rider mounted on that flank. The bridle was made so that, by unbuckling the straps, the bit, snaffle and reins could be removed but the head-stall—from which a coiled tether-rope was dangling—would remain in place.
There was, Bunduki decided, something strange about the three animals’ equipment. It was not the fact that the Mun-Gatahs had stirrups. These had been invented in China about 400 B.C. and were in widespread use throughout the known world by 700 A.D. What puzzled him was the way in which the rigs had been manufactured. While the gear on the other two zebras suggested ownership by persons of a lower social standing, there was a similarity between them that was rare in handmade products. Obviously the Mun-Gatahs had very skilful craftsmen to produce such good quality work. Yet it almost seemed that they had been using modern machinery and techniques; but that was impossible.
Turning his attention to the white garment that was rolled and passed through two loops on the cantle of the saddle, Bunduki drew it out. It had the smooth, silky, shiny appearance of the wool, cotton, or acetate rayon fabrics known as ‘sharkskin’. Opening it out, he found it to be a kind of sleeveless over-tunic with a cowl for the head. Emblazoned on its front was a remarkably well drawn and colored illustration of a rearing, horse-like animal. After a moment’s study, he decided that it was supposed to be a quagga such as had been extinct for many years. He was fascinated, not only by the portrayal of a long deceased kind of creature but at the way the design was imprinted on the material. The latter exceeded anything he had seen produced by primitive people.
With his curiosity aroused, the blond giant hung the garment over the banar-gatah’s saddle and picked up the woman’s sword. He found it both interesting and puzzling. While the metal of its blade could not compare with the Swedish high carbon tool steel from which his Smithsonian bowie had been created, it was a much better temper than he had expected. What was more, the design and finish of the weapon suggested a high standard of workmanship. So much so that it, like the garment and the zebras’ equipment, might have been produced by machines rather than hand. Yet nothing he had seen about the Mun-Gatahs had implied that they belonged to a race that was capable of designing, manufacturing or even operating a piece of sophisticated modern machinery. It was, of course, possible that they bought, looted or traded their weapons from a more advanced nation.
Once more, the urgency of Bunduki’s desire to find his adoptive cousin caused him to turn his thoughts from a puzzling aspect. His handling of the banar-gatah had so far been successful. Realizing that the same might not apply when he attempted to ride it, he decided to take precautions against losing them all. Dropping the sword and opening out the tether ropes of the two ocha-gatahs, he fastened them to stout branches of the bushes. With the spare animals secured and prevented from escaping, even if the other should throw him and bolt, he took its reins and led it into the clearing.
On his return, the blond giant found Joar-Fane and the man kneeling facing each other and talking. Suddenly, the girl gave a gasp and turned her head in his direction.
‘Bunduki!, Joar-Fane gasped. ‘At-Vee has met Dawn—’
‘Where is she? the blond giant demanded, striding forward.
‘I don’t know,’ At-Vee admitted, then explained the circumstances of his meeting with, and separation from, Dawn. ‘I heard the call of a “Hairy Woman”, then the sound of a rhinoceros attacking and a scream—’
‘Was it Dawn?’ Bunduki growled.
‘I don’t think so,’ At-Vee replied. ‘It sounded like a man. But she hasn’t come back, nor have I heard anything else until Joar-Fane called for help.’
‘Where did you hear the call of the “Hairy Woman”?’ Bunduki inquired. ‘Which direction, I mean.’
‘There,’ At-Vee answered, pointing to the west. ‘It was a long way off, but not in the jungle.’
Looking in the direction indicated by the hunter, Bunduki decided to try and make contact with his adoptive cousin by the same means which he had employed shortly after waking that morning. If she was in the vicinity, she ought to be able to identify his voice. Provided she could do so, she would respond and guide him to her. Without thinking to warn his companions, he threw back his head and thundered out the challenge roar of a bull Mangani,
Startled exclamations burst from Joar-Fane and At-Vee, but the effect of the awesome bellow was even more marked in the reactions of the zebras. Letting out snorts of alarm, they all began to rear. Before the banar-gatah could bolt, Bunduki sprang forward and caught hold of its reins. He brought its wildly pawing forelegs back to earth and hung on grimly, being determined not to lose such a valuable means of transport. While doing so, he also tried to listen for any answering call from Dawn. A bull Mangani replied from far off in the jungle, but the sound he was hoping to hear did not reach him.
Having brought the banar-gatah back under control and looked around to make sure that the two ocha-gatahs had neither torn free from the bushes nor injured themselves in their attempts to do so, the blond giant turned to Joar-Fane and At-Vee.
‘Did you hear anything?’ Bunduki asked.
‘Only the “Hairy Man” in the jungle,’ At-Vee answered, realizing what the big blond had been trying to do. ‘Dawn hasn’t answered.’
‘Perhaps she didn’t hear you, Bunduki,’ Joar-Fane suggested. ‘She might be too far away.’
‘She might,’ the blond giant agreed.
‘Or they could have captured her and won’t let her reply,’ At-Vee offered. ‘I should never have let her
‘From what I know about Dawn, you couldn’t have stopped her once she’d made up her mind,’ Bunduki replied. ‘I’ll have to go and look for her.’
Even as the blond giant spoke, he glanced at the rapidly darkening sky. Any search that he commenced would be of short duration before the coming of night brought it to a halt. So he decided that he would have to leave it until daybreak. The decision did not come easily. While either of the possibilities mentioned by his companions could explain Dawn’s failure to respond to his call, there was another alternative. Much as he hated the thought, his adoptive cousin could be dead.