Fearless Master of the Jungle (A Bunduki Jungle Adventure (26 page)

‘
Wait!’ Dawn hissed, as the Wurkas—for all the consternation
showing on their faces at the prospect—were starting to move
forward.

Obedient to the command,
although they had never previously allowed a woman to dictate their
actions, the men came to a halt. What they saw next would later be
told by word of mouth and the
‘talking drums’ all through the Telonga nation.
Because exactly what happened was not understood, it added
tremendously to Bunduki’s already high reputation and caused him to
be attributed with supernatural powers.

Releasing the foreleg, the
blond giant began to rub his captive
’s chest and belly with his right hand. At
the first touch, the alligator swung its tail viciously; but as he
continued with the gentle massaging motion, it relaxed.
^lxviii

Less than a minute later, it seemed to
be sleeping peacefully. However, on Bunduki loosening the
scissor-hold, the saurian made as if to struggle. A few more
strokes of the hand brought the effort to an end and, satisfied, he
nodded to his wife.

‘
Now!’
Dawn said.

Running forward, discarding her bow
and arrow in her haste, the girl was the first to touch the huge
alligator. Not that the Wurkas were tardy in following her. Eager
hands grasped and hauled the limp burden ashore. Not until they
were doing so did the blond giant relax. Even then, he kept his
hold on the jaws until they were fastened by a length of rope.
Having done all he could to ensure none of his assistants would be
harmed, he lay where he was to recover from the great strain and
exertions of the capture, leaving them to secure the
trophy,

‘
Now,’
Hav-Bart said with satisfaction, after the alligator had been bound
and sturdy splints affixed to keep the deadly tail immobile. ‘Let’s
see Tik-Felum claim that you haven’t dealt with this
one,
Bunduki!’

~*~

‘
Dapan-Dankara!
’
gasped the attractive, tall and slender Wurka-Telonga girl
who came running into the bedroom of the house in which Dawn Gunn
and her husband were spending the night. ‘I need your help. Four
men have taken Hav-Bart to the Place Of Punishment and will kill
him unless you go to save him.’

Recognizing the visitor as Marn-Bara,
the wife of their friend, the Earth couple—who had been sleeping
fully clothed and who had left their bed quickly on being disturbed
by her entry—lowered the knives they had kept close by in case
there should be the need for weapons.

As the young Wurka had
predicted, Tik-Felum had not been willing to concede that Bunduki
was any more successful in dealing with the second alligator. The
viewpoint was in part induced by his having been told merely that
the saurian was still alive, although
‘possibly’ unable to cause further
trouble for the villagers. Stating that he intended to go and look
for himself, he had gathered the other Elders and, followed by the
rest of the population, made his way to the lagoon. His reaction at
discovering the mighty predator bound and helpless had not been
what an outsider would have expected from the sight of such a
fortunate removal of a menace to the community. Nor had his mood
been changed for the better on hearing of the way in which all but
his coterie had greeted the sight.

Although Hav-Bart and the other
men who were involved in the capture had suggested a feast with the
alligator cooked as the
piece-de-resistance,
Tik-Felum had refused. However, he
had offered reasonable grounds for delaying the event. He had
pointed out that the blond giant and Dawn had made a long journey
and were too tired to enjoy the village’s hospitality to its
fullest extent. Furthermore, his sons and Flant-Wlip had not yet
returned from the coast. Tasty as the alligator might be, guests of
such importance could only be accorded the honor that was their due
by being offered the delicious green sea turtle cooked
en
casserole,
as it would have been known on Earth. Finally, the women of
the village would need at least a day in which to prepare a
celebration of the magnitude the
Dapan-Dankara
deserved.

Acceding to the Senior
Elder
’s
wishes, the Earth couple had said they would prefer to rest
overnight and so be better able to do justice to their hosts’
hospitality when all was prepared. With the point settled, leaving
the butchering of the alligator to the villagers, Dawn and Bunduki
had returned and were placed in a house set aside for notable
visitors. Convention dictated that they occupied it, although they
would have preferred to stay close to Hav-Bart. His support, they
had realized, could put him in jeopardy. Tik-Felum would not
lightly forget nor forgive his behavior. However, they had felt
that the danger would not commence while they were close
by.

The
arrival of Marn-Bara and the fright
on her beautiful face warned the Earth couple that they had made an
incorrect decision.

‘
Take
her back to her home and see she’s kept safe, darling!’ Bunduki
ordered, scooping up the shield and slipping his left arm though
its carrying loops without sheathing the knife. Then come after me
with your bow
and the
m
’
kuki.
’

Appreciating the gravity of the
situation, Dawn did not indulge in any of the bantering comments
which would have greeted a command from her husband on less serious
occasions. Instead, she sprang to where her weapons were
placed.

‘
Take
care, you big lump!’ the girl called, snatching up her bow, as the
blond giant plunged out of the door.

Leaving the house, Bunduki
started towards the main gates of the palisade around the village.
As had been the case at Jey-Mat before he had taught the hunters
there the value of security, no guard was kept on it: Nor was the
small door in it kept locked, but was only bolted on the inside. So
he knew that he would be able to get through and, once beyond, he
knew where he would have to go. Hav-Bart had told him of the
Place
of
Punishment and where it was located while they had been returning
from hunting the first alligator.

To reach the gate, the blond
giant had to pass between two houses. Moving along the alley, he
found—not that he was surprised—that his coming had been
anticipated and preparations had been taken to deal with him. Two
men appeared as he was approaching the rear ends of the buildings.
Each held a
dapur bener kris
and he recognized them as Jomus-Takn and a lesser
member of Tik-Felum’s coterie.

There was no time for the blond
giant to congratulate himself upon his perception. He had suspected
that the abduction of Hav-Bart had been carried out with the
additional purpose of luring him into a trap. So, as well as
intending to go to his friend
’s assistance, he had meant to spring it. What the
plotters had not realized, because they did not use such a device,
was that his shield had very special properties. They were not kept
in ignorance for many seconds.

Coming from
Bunduki
’s
left, having selected that side as being safer, Jomus- Takn swung a
round-arm blow with his
kris.
On the right, the second man was launching a
similar slice at the blond giant’s head.

Neither attack made contact with human
flesh!

Driven with all the weight and
power of a bulky body behind it, Jomus-Takn
’s
kris
could not be halted although he saw that the
shield was rising between it and his intended target. Nor did he
think there was any need to pull back, but believed he could batter
the protective device aside and reach the man behind it. When the
contact was made, he learned just how wrong he had been. While the
blade sliced through the hardened buffalo hide, it met and was
shattered by a metal underneath that was of a far better temper
than its own.

Nor did the second assailant
fare any better. At the same instant as
Jomus-Takn
’s
blade was disintegrating, his
kris
’
passage was stopped by the proposed victim’s weapon. An arm
of enormous strength held and deflected the blow.

Disengaging the bowie knife as
soon as it had pushed the
kris
aside, Bunduki whipped it across in a sweep that
laid the man’s throat open to the bone. Then, giving Jomus-Takn no
chance to recover from the shock of his weapon’s destruction, the
great blade came around and its clip point passed between his ribs
to impale his heart.

Effectively as the blond giant
was dealing with his would-be killers, he was far from out of
danger. Having laid in concealment on the flat roof of the right
side building
’s porch, yet a third of Tik-Felum’s coterie had risen to
watch how his companions were faring. Either he had not trusted the
other two to carry out the ambush, or he merely did not believe in
leaving things to the last minute. Whichever was the reason, he
held his bow ready for use and was already drawing back the string
ready to loose its arrow.

While the
man
’s weapon
was little more than half as powerful as Dawn’s bow, at that range
it could propel the long and barbed arrow with sufficient force to
be lethal.

Coming from the house followed
by Marn-Bara, Dawn Gunn saw the danger to her husband and was
prepared to deal with it. She had not waited to do more than snatch
up the
m
’
kuki
before, telling the Wurka-Telonga girl to bring the two
back-quivers and Bunduki’s bow, setting off after him. For all
that, by the time she emerged, he had reached the gap between the
house and the attack was being launched. On the point of dashing
forward to help him deal with the two assailants, she noticed the
third man rising from his hiding place on the roof of the
porch.

Although Dawn had not thought
to nock an arrow to the bow, she made no attempt to rectify
the
omission. There would be insufficient time for her to do so
and, anyway, she had another means of help more readily available.
Pure instinct had caused her to take up and carry the
m
’
kuki
in a position suited to the purpose for which it had been
designed. So she was able to put to use the training in how to
throw it that she had shared with Bunduki.

How well Dawn had learned was
demonstrated when, at an athletics meeting in Amabagalsi, she had
used some of the knowledge to help her send a javelin for a
distance
equaling the record set in 1938 by the Finnish male athlete
Yrjo Nikkanen.
^lxix
Nor had her education been confined
to merely attaining a lengthy throw. In fact, her original tutors
had been more concerned with instilling accuracy rather than just
distance. Even before being transported to Zillikian, she had kept
up her practice, and the arrival of the
m
’
kuki
had allowed her to bring her ability to a high
level.

Letting the bow slip from her
left hand, Dawn took three running strides while raising the
m
’
kuki
ready for casting. Taking aim as she had been taught, she
whipped her right arm back and forward. Its wrist applied the
twisting motion that, despite looking almost effeminate when
performed by a man, imparted an added velocity and accuracy to the
throw. On leaving her grasp, the stiffening ridges along the sides
of the blade caused the weapon to rotate as if it was a bullet
passing through the grooves along the barrel which gave a ‘rifle’
its name. The speed with which it was travelling caused a whistling
hiss and it was soon moving almost faster than the human eye could
follow.

Too swiftly, in fact, for the
man on the roof to realize his peril. He was still drawing back on
his bow when the
m
’
kuki
reached him, striking with such force that the blade
plunged into his back and emerged from his chest. Giving a scream
of mortal agony, he tossed his bow aside and, clutching at the
shaft of the weapon that was killing him, he spun around and
toppled from the roof.

Glancing back on hearing the scream,
Bunduki gave a wave of gratitude with his bloody-bladed knife. Then
he started to run onwards in the direction of the main
gate.

‘
Come
oil!’ Dawn ordered, throwing a look at Marn-Bara and bending to
retrieve her bow. ‘I’ll collect the
m
’
kuki
after I’ve seen you safely home.’

Setting off with the other
girl, Dawn slid the Randall Model 1
‘All Purpose’ fighting knife from its
sheath. She held it ready for combat, with the eight-inch long
clip-pointed blade extending ahead of her thumb and forefinger.
Although she was alert for any sign of danger, they arrived at
Marn-Bara’s house without being molested.