Fearless Master of the Jungle (A Bunduki Jungle Adventure (9 page)

Nearer and nearer
walked the
quaggas!

Ahead of the band, the stallion kept
its head held high. While its pricked ears sought to pick up the
slightest threatening sound, the flaring nostrils constantly tested
the breeze. Its vision was not so well developed as the other
senses, but it was searching for any movements which might denote
the presence of a lurking predator. As a sign of its intelligence,
in addition to leading its band at a safe distance from the large
rock which its instincts warned could conceal an enemy, it was
devoting much of its attention to the other side of the stream.
However, the human beings who had prevented them from taking their
evening drink had already departed and were nowhere to be seen. So
it continued to approach the edge of the water.

‘
Here
come Joar-Fane and At-Veer Dawn whispered, glancing at the ridge
beyond which their friends were concealed. I knew we could
trust
her
to make sure
he
didn’t do anything wrong.’

‘
Don’t
start the female chauvinist bit this early in the morning,’ Bunduki
begged,
sotto voce,
without taking his gaze from their quarry and, putting a
note of warning into his next words, went on, ‘As long as
you
don’t do anything
wrong,
my
idea’s going to work.’

In accordance with their
instructions, Joar-Fane and At-Vee had made their appearances from
a point at which their scent would be carried to the quaggas. The
girl was leading the Earth couple
’s
banar-gatahs,
with their archery equipment and Bunduki’s
shield hanging from the saddle horns. Like the blond giant’s
m
’
kuki,
the Hunter’s spear was suspended in the loops on the left
side skirt of his saddle. As they had been told, the Telongas were
making no attempt to move in silence or unseen. Rather they were
ensuring that they would be noticed and Joar-Fane was crooning one
of their nation’s love songs.

On hearing the sounds of hoof
beats and the human voice, as well as catching the Telonga
couple
’s
aroma, the quaggas came to an immediate halt. All of them gazed
across the stream, but as yet found nothing frightening. Joar-Fane
and At-Vee were not approaching in a manner that could be construed
as posing a threat. In fact, once they had attracted the animals’
attention, they reined their mounts to a stop.

Satisfied that the situation
was developing as the plan required, Dawn and Bunduki rose and
emerged from behind the rock. They moved slowly, displaying no
apparent interest in the quaggas. Although they did not speak and
walked quietly, neither anticipated being able to close the
distance between themselves and the animals to any great extent
before they were discovered. Sauntering along with sufficient of a
gap to allow each to throw the
boleadora
unimpeded, they held the egg-shaped
weights of the shorter,
maneque,
lengths of cord in their right hands and allowed
the devices to dangle unobtrusively behind them.

Just as the Earth couple had
anticipated, before they were taking their sixth steps, one of the
quaggas noticed them. Giving a snort of alarm, it caused the rest
of the band to look in their direction. Avoiding any sign of
concern over having been detected, Dawn and Bunduki continued to
stroll in a deliberately casual fashion at an angle which seemed to
be taking them away from and past the animals.

The big young stallion who was
the leader of the band devoted his full attention to the Earth
couple. Tossing his head, he let out the kind of warning bark that
had given his kind their onomatopoeic name and pawed restlessly at
the ground. Powerful, strong, armed with rock hard hooves and
efficient teeth, he
was far from harmless or defenseless. Although his first
inclination would be to lead the mares he had accumulated to safety
in the event of danger threatening, he was also capable of
defending them if the need should arise.

Appreciating his capabilities,
Dawn and Bunduki kept a careful watch on the stallion. Studying his
reactions, they decided that he was uncertain of their exact
status. Whatever previous contact he might have had with human
beings must have been restricted to avoiding mounted pursuers. In
which case, as he had never seen a man and woman on foot,
he saw nothing in
their behavior to cause concern any more than he would have if some
kind of conventional carnivore was going by in a similarly open
manner. If he had not been thirsty, he might have taken the
precaution of moving away. Having spent a night without access to
water, he was disinclined to depart before drinking unless there
was some definite indication that the two strange creatures posed a
threat to the safety of the band.

In spite of having attained the
conditions they required, the girl and the blond giant were aware
that their task was still anything but a sinecure. Not only did
they know the dangers of attempting to make the capture with the
quaggas in full flight, they had realized that the
boleadoras
could not be
employed successfully if their quarry was standing still. So they
had to produce the happy medium of causing sufficient movement to
let the devices take the proper effect, but not such a rapid motion
that being brought down unexpectedly could result in a serious
injury. There was also, as they appreciated, the danger that one of
the stone weights on the cords might strike the victim’s legs and
do damage. Such an eventuality was less likely to occur when the
mare and stallion were walking, or at a slow trot, than if they
were galloping. However, Bunduki had taken all these factors into
consideration when giving his instructions.

‘
Come
on, At-Vee!’ the blond giant breathed, throwing a quick look across
the river to find out whether the Telonga couple had fully
understood what was wanted from them. He did not doubt their
intelligence, but neither had ever been involved in such an
activity and the way in which they played their parts could make
all the difference in how it turned out. ‘Now’s the
time!’

Almost as if he had
heard
Bunduki’s barely audible words, the Hunter nodded at
Joar-Fane. As they set their mounts into motion, it was obvious
that they had not forgotten their orders. They induced the
banar-gatalis
to advance at a somewhat faster pace and the girl
did not resume her singing. In spite of the latter omission, their
actions were quickly noticed by the quaggas. One after another of
the animals began to gaze around. Even the stallion turned his
attention from the Earth couple.

As they watched to see how the quaggas
were reacting, Dawn and Bunduki tensed ready to go into action.
They came to a stop, conscious that everything now depended upon
the way in which the stallion responded to the sight of the
Telongas drawing nearer.

For a few seconds, while the rest of
the band moved restlessly and awaited his guidance, the male quagga
stood indecisive. Then, as the blond giant had hoped he would, he
concluded that discretion was called for. He was not frightened,
but considered it advisable to move away from the approaching human
beings and also keep clear of the pair of strange creatures which
had already caused him some perturbation. Letting out a commanding
snort, he wheeled away from the stream.

Clearly having expected some
such reaction, the isabelline mare threw up her head and started to
lead the band away at a trot. The direction she was taking was such
that they would go past Dawn and Bunduki at a distance of about
forty yards. The rest of the band followed her, with the stallion
bringing up the rear. Waiting
until they were on the move, the Telongas gave
yells intended to divert them from the real danger.

Everything was going exactly as
Bunduki
’s
plan needed, even to the formation of the band as it moved off.
Having anticipated that the stallion would keep behind the rest and
hoping the isabelline mare would take the lead, he and Dawn had
positioned themselves accordingly. Furthermore, in spite of keeping
an eye on the Telongas, the mare did not break into a gallop. Most
important of all, neither she nor the stallion were looking at the
Earth couple.

Satisfied that all was well, Bunduki
knew there was no need to give the girl any further instructions.
She was equally capable of assessing the situation. So, instead of
wasting even a split second to make sure that she was ready, he
devoted his full attention to the task upon which he was about to
engage.

Forward and up rose the blond
giant
’s
right arm, swinging the
boleadora
vertically in a circle. Having done this, he
carried it out and around horizontally above his head while taking
aim. Waiting until the two round balls were directly behind him, he
pitched the egg-shaped
maneque
weight towards its objective. By his side, Dawn
had done exactly the same with the mare as her target.

On leaving
Bunduki
’s
hand, the
boleadora
began to revolve slowly as it passed through the air. In
doing so, it demonstrated another advantage in addition to having a
greater effective range than a lariat. While a throw with the
latter could be commenced employing a loop of more than half its
length, because the other end of the rope was retained in the
user’s grasp, the honda
^xxviii
slid along the stem
^xxix
and its size was continually being
reduced during its flight. On the other hand, no matter how far
a
boleadora
was propelled, the spinning motion imparted by its weights
held it fully extended so that—in the case of the pair Bunduki had
had made—it covered an area
six
foot in diameter from the moment of its release
until arriving at its destination.

Released so that it was
directed at a gentle downwards angle, the blond
giant
’s
boleadora
converged with the stallion. As it did, it exhibited yet a
further example of its superiority over the lariat. Although the
initial contact was made about six inches from the round stone at
the left tip of the longer cord, the other two weights caused the
remainder to whip around and trap its victim’s legs just above the
fetlocks. At the same instant, having been dispatched with an equal
accuracy, Dawns
boleadora
was ensnaring the mare’s front legs just as efficiently.
Both animals went down as if they had been pole axed, but with only
sufficient force to wind and daze them for a few
seconds.

While they had attained the
results they had hoped for, as far as the
boleadoras
were concerned, Dawn and Bunduki
wasted no time in congratulations. They realized that their task
was still incomplete. In fact, they were aware of the many
difficulties which were still confronting them. Not the least of
these was securing their captives, a task which must be carried out
with the minimum of delay and before the animals could recover. So,
even as the mare and stallion were falling, the Earth couple dashed
forward to the accompaniment of loud whoops.

Despite their caution where the
stallion was concerned, neither Dawn nor Bunduki expected any
trouble from the rest of the band. In common with the other
sub-species of the zebra family, the quaggas lived in a family
group dominated by the most powerful male. It was his duty to
provide any protection that might be required. By doing so, he
ensured that the mares, subordinate stallions and foals had a
better chance of escaping. Knowing what was expected of them and
ignoring the isabelline mare
’s predicament, the others took their departure as
fast as their legs would carry them.

Across the stream, bellowing
with delight, At-Vee urged his
banar-gatah
forward at a gallop. The noise he was
making helped to keep the remainder of the quaggas running away.
However, his primary purpose was to join the Earth couple as
quickly as possible and render any assistance that was required.
Much to her annoyance, as she had been placed in charge of Dawn and
Bunduki’s mounts, Joar-Fane was unable to accompany her husband and
take a more active part in the proceedings. Instead, she was
compelled to follow at a more leisurely pace and watched what was
happening with considerable interest. She had seen how successful
her friends had been with the
boleadoras
and was waiting to find out whether all the other
devices they had manufactured would prove equally
effective.

Without waiting for At-Vee, who
was only just approaching the opposite bank of the stream, Dawn and
Bunduki lifted free the
‘twitches’ ready for use. Every second was now
essential and none could be spared. On being tripped by the
boleadoras,
the quaggas had
tumbled sideways with their feet towards their captors. Once they
recovered their wits, for all that their front legs had been
rendered inoperative, the hind hooves were at liberty and could
still pose a serious threat. So the girl and the blond giant had
concluded that it would be advisable for them to circle around and
arrive from where they could not be kicked. They were equally alert
to how dangerous a bite their captives could deliver if presented
with an opportunity and they acted accordingly.