Bunduki (Bunduki Series Book One) (14 page)

‘
Then you aren’t a
Mun-Gatah?’ asked the man.

‘
I
am
not
!’
Dawn declared firmly, deducing from the sound of his voice
that he did not care for the “Riders of the Zebras” and guessing
who he meant. ‘But I’ve seen some of them.

‘
Where are they?’ At-Vee
demanded, glaring around in a hostile manner which gave added
confirmation that he did not regard the Mun-Gatahs as
friends.

‘
Beyond the
woodland, on the plains,’ Dawn replied and hoped to gain an
ally.
‘I had to kill one of them when they tried to capture
me.’

‘
Are the others coming after
you?’ the man asked.

‘
They may be,’ the girl
admitted. ‘But, if so, they aren’t too close behind. I’ve neither
seen nor heard anything of them.’

‘
Did they have any prisoners
with them?’ At-Vee wanted to know, resting the butt of his spear on
the ground.

‘
I
didn’t see any,’ Dawn confessed and, as an expression of
disappointment came to his face, went on, ‘But I never went near
their camp. It must have been on the other side of a river and was
out of sight.’

‘
Then they couldn’t be the
People-Taker and his escort,’ At-Vee said quietly and half to
himself. ‘Joar-Fane won’t be with them.’

Even as the man was speaking, he
started to walk slowly forward. A slight swaying of some bushes
some thirty feet beyond him attracted Dawn’s attention. Turning her
gaze in that direction, she discovered an animal was emerging
stealthily from its place of concealment. With a sensation of
alarm, she identified it as a full grown tiger and knew that it was
stalking At-Vee.

Crouching so low that its stomach was
brushing against the ground, the great striped beast had its eyes
fixed on At-Vee’s broad back and its tail was whisking from side to
side. Dawn knew that it would very soon be launching its attack.
Already its muscles were bunching and the unsheathed claws of the
hind feet dug into the ground so as to give added propulsive power
when it charged.

Unlike many of her generation,
probably because she had greater practical knowledge and
experience, Dawn did not pretend to believe that predatory
creatures never hunted and preyed upon human beings. She knew that,
particularly in a primitive environment where they had not learned
the deadly effects of firearms, the larger carnivores would kill
and eat men, women or children just as willingly as they would
animals.

With that in mind, the girl did not
hesitate. Taking a long bound to her right, so as to have an
unrestricted aim at the tiger, she brought up her bow and commenced
the draw.

‘
Behind you!’ Dawn shouted
as she started to move.

With a deep, throaty roar, the tiger
thrust itself into motion!

Although at first puzzled and not a
little alarmed by the girl’s behavior, At-Vee quickly realized that
she was looking at something to his rear. Obviously, she was giving
a genuine warning. The roar which came to his ears, as he was
already starting to turn, confirmed it. What he saw and heard told
him that he was in deadly peril. The tiger was bounding towards him
and would soon be close enough to make its final, killing,
spring.

Dropping the butt of the spear to the
ground as he completed his turn, At-Vee grasped the handle in both
hands below the cross guard. At the same time, he slid his right
foot forward and bent his left leg. He doubted whether he would
have time to adopt his kneeling posture and brace himself correctly
before the tiger was upon him.

A skilled hunter, At-Vee had on
several occasions goaded a leopard or a jaguar into attacking him
as he crouched behind his spear, thus allowing the beast to impale
itself. There were, however, two major differences between those
efforts and his present situation. Firstly, he had always been
ready and had brought about the charge at his own convenience.
Secondly, and even more
important, the tiger was much larger and heavier
than even the largest jaguar that he had dealt with.

Having adopted her shooting stance as
soon as she came to a halt, Dawn completed her draw. Feeling the
cold steel of the arrowhead touch her left forefinger, she aimed
slightly ahead of the onrushing tiger so as to allow for its
continued forward motion. Loosing the arrow, she saw it flashing
away on a converging course as the great beast started to rise in
the bound that would carry it onto its prey. After what seemed like
an age, she heard the thud of the Razorhead meeting the animal’s
body just behind its shoulder. The four blades carved their way to
cut a swath through its vital organs, but that alone would not be
sufficient to halt its leap.

Watching the tiger hurtling towards
him, At-Vee expected to be killed. He had his left knee on the
ground and the spear rose before him, but he was not as firmly
positioned as he would have been if granted a few more seconds. His
posture might have been suitable when receiving the charge of a
leopard, or even a jaguar. It would not stand up against the weight
of the tiger. There was, however, nothing he could do except brace
himself as securely as possible and hope for a miracle.

The miracle happened!

Feeling the agony caused by the arrow
driving through its flesh, even though there was not the solid
impact and shock force of a bullet, the tiger gave a choking howl
and its body curved in mid-flight. While it still went towards the
man, its forelegs and great, hook-like claws were directed away
from him. Instead of hitting the chest, the point of the spear
spiked home alongside the arrow but entered at a less acute
angle.

When the tiger collided with
the spear, its weight threw At-Vee off balance. He felt pain sear
through his right leg as the ankle buckled under him. Fortunately
it was not so severe that it numbed his thought processes.
Releasing the spear as soon as the tiger was impaled, he
threw himself to
the right. On landing, he sent his right hand to the head of the
war-hammer on his belt and slid it from its retaining
loop.

Reaching for another arrow, Dawn
watched the great beast land on the spear and At-Vee fling himself
from underneath it. The tip of the blade was just emerging from the
striped flank when the cross guard prevented it from going any
further. Crashing to the ground, the stricken tiger roared and
thrashed wildly in an agonized frenzy. Then it went
limp.

‘
Are you hurt?’ Dawn
inquired, turning her eyes from the tiger and looking to where the
man was trying to rise.

‘
It’s my leg,’ At-Vee
replied, sinking back to sit on the ground. ‘I think it’s
broken!’

‘
Let me look at it,’ Dawn
offered, walking forward.

‘
Why would you want to help
me?’ At-Vee challenged, a wary glint coming into his eyes as he
tightened his grip on the war-hammer’s handle.

‘
I
helped you against the tiger,’ Dawn reminded him. ‘And I
believe that the Mun-Gatah are enemies of both of us.’

Turning his gaze to the great striped
shape, At-Vee noticed for the first time that the fletching of an
arrow thrust out of it close to his spear. Then, apart from one
detail, everything became clear to him. He realized why the tiger
had behaved so oddly while springing at him. If the girl had not
used her bow with such deadly effect, it would have come down upon
the spear with its forelegs thrust ahead and claws positioned so
that they could have found his flesh.

The only puzzling point was why his
rescuer had loosed her arrow. There would have been little or no
danger of the tiger turning on her if she had fled, as it would
have been fully occupied with him. So he wondered why she had
helped him. Nothing in the few contacts he had had with members of
other nations had led him to expect friendship or help at a
foreigner’s hands.

‘
I’ll put down
my bow and let you hold my knife,’ Dawn went on with a
smile,
‘If that will prove I’m a friend.’

There’s no need for that,’
At-Vee stated, and placed his war-hammer on the ground, sensing
that he could trust her. He also realized that, if his leg should
be broken, retaining her assistance would be all that stood between
him and almost certain death.
‘Thank you for offering to help.’

Before starting to examine the man’s
leg, Dawn collected her shoulder-quiver. She laid it and her bow
alongside his weapons and knelt down. Placing her left hand under
his right calf, she raised and studied his swollen ankle. Taking
hold of his foot with the other hand, she moved it gently. Although
perspiration beaded his face and he half closed his eyes in pain,
he made no sound.

‘
It’s
not broken,’ Dawn announced, lowering the limb gently to the
ground. ‘But it is badly sprained and you won’t be able to use it
for some time.’

‘
I have to do and find
Joar-Fane!’ At-Vee gritted, sitting up.

‘
Who is that?’ Dawn asked,
looking around for the means to render further aid.

‘
She was to be my wife. I
had brought back a jaguar’s skin for her father to make my claim,’
At-Vee explained, trying to rise. ‘But when I arrived, I found that
the Mun-Gatahs’ People-Taker had taken her.’

‘
You stay
where you are!’ Dawn commanded, laying a hand on his
shoulder.
‘If you try to walk, you’ll only make your ankle
worse.’

‘
But Joar-Fane—!’ At-Vee
began, sinking back.

‘
She won’t be any better off
if you cripple yourself and can’t walk at all,’ Dawn pointed out.
‘Where is the nearest water?’

‘
I passed a stream not far
away.’

‘
Do you think that you can
walk there with my help?’

‘
I can.’

‘
That’s good,’
Dawn said. ‘When we get there, I’ll see what I can do about your
ankle
.’

‘
Can you get my spear for
me?’ At-Vee requested.

‘
I’ll try,’
the girl-promised and glanced at the empty place on her bow-quiver.
‘And I’ll see if I can pull my arrow out while I’m doing
it
.’

Going to the tiger, Dawn examined it.
Her arrow had buried itself in the body almost to the fletching
which would make removal difficult. If she gripped the part that
showed, she would crush the feathers of the fletching and ruin
them. Yet she had no desire to lose another arrow. There were not a
commodity which she could replenish in the primitive jungle.
Certainly there would be no way in which she could obtain any fiber
glass Micro-Flites, particularly if her theory regarding her
whereabouts should prove tine.

Putting the arrow from her mind for
the moment, Dawn took hold of the spear’s hand with both hands.
Placing her right foot on the carcass, she began to pull with all
her far from inconsiderable strength. Conscious of At-Vee studying
her and sensing the admiration he was feeling towards her, she
continued to exert her full muscular power. At first the weapon
held firm. Then, slowly, an inch at a time, it began to move. With
a final heave, she drew it out.

With the spear removed, Dawn laid it
aside and drew her knife. Knowing what she must do next, she made a
wry face and set to work cutting the arrow free. Even with the
razor edge of the Randall Model 1 fighting knife’s eight-inch long,
clip-pointed blade, it was a lengthy and messy task. She was not
sorry when she had accomplished it.

Wiping her hands, the knife’s
blade, the arrow and the spear as clean as she could on the grass,
Dawn turned her
attention to At-Vee. He was sitting with her bow in his
hands and studying it with rapt attention.

‘
I’ve never seen the like of
this before,’ the man declared, in tones of awe, laying the bow
down as she returned. ‘Do all your people have such
weapons?’

‘
Yes,’ Dawn replied, which
was true as far as it went. Being keen archers, every member of her
family owned a modern hunting bow of similar quality. Handing him
his spear, she knelt and attached the arrow to the bow-quiver.
‘I’ll help you to the stream if you’re ready.’

Giving his assent to the suggestion,
At-Vee allowed the girl to help him rise. He placed his left arm
across her shoulders and used the spear with the right for extra
support.

‘
Who are your people?’
At-Vee inquired, being genuinely interested and also wanting to
take his mind from the pain that walking, even with assistance, was
causing.

‘
You
wouldn’t know them,’ Dawn answered. ‘Our chief is Tarzan of the
Apes.’

‘
I have never
heard of him, or of your people
,’ At-Vee stated, which was what the
girl had expected although hoping that she would receive the
opposite information. ‘Are all the “Apes” great
hunters?’

Remembering the gold-clad woman’s use
of the name ‘Apes’, the significance of the way her companion’s
question had been worded struck Dawn. It implied that, no matter
what language they were employing, she had given Tarzan’s name in
English.