Fearless Master of the Jungle (A Bunduki Jungle Adventure (3 page)

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.’

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.