Sacrifice for the Quagga God (A Bunduki Jungle Adventure Book 3)

by J. T. Edson

  ‘Bal-Tak not obey she!’ he rumbled, but there was a slight lack of conviction in his tones.

  ‘Bal-Tak obey or Tar-Sabor’s mate angry, punish Bal-tak!’ Dawn warned, giving the correct response to such a comment from a subordinate bull. ‘Tar-Sabor mate of Tar-Ara. xxxi

  Seeing the foreign girl approaching the cart and hearing her making similar sounds to those of the captive ‘Hairy Man’, which he apparently understood, caused the Mun-Gatahs to halt. None of them had dared go near the ‘Hairy Man’ since he had recovered from the effects of a drug which all raiding parties carried to subdue dangerous captives until they could be caged.

  ‘Keep back!’ Dawn warned, reverting to the lingua franca of Zillikian and directing her words at Gromart. ‘He’ll kill her if you don’t, but I may be able to save her.’

  ‘Do as she says!’ the Administrator ordered, having noticed that the ‘Hairy Man’ stopped trying to bite the woman when the girl spoke to him. ‘Let her try!’

  Satisfied that she would be allowed to attempt the rescue without the Mun-Gatahs making the task even more difficult, Dawn returned her attention to Bal-Tak. She wanted to see how he was reacting to her words. Tarzan had often remarked about how the Manganis’ capacity for retentive memory was much less than that of a human being. So, even if he was the same young bull who had been defeated by Bunduki, he might have forgotten the incident.

  ‘Tar-Sabor mate of Tar-Ara!’ Bal-Tak rumbled, sounding ill at ease.

  ‘Tar-Sabor mate of Tar-Ara,’ Dawn confirmed, coming to a stop and staring straight into the Mangani’s eyes. ‘Release female now, or Tar-Sabor punish.’

  Meeting the girl’s gaze, Bal-Tak restrained his inclination to obey. The Mangani of Zillikian were somewhat more intelligent than those which had lived on Earth. So, although several days had elapsed, he still remembered his treatment at the hands of the hairless white bull, Tar-Ara. For all that, even if she did have the status of being Tar-Ara’s mate, he did not wish to yield to a female.

  Several seconds dragged away in almost complete silence as the struggle for mental domination was waged between the beautiful girl and the huge, brutal-looking sub-human. Dawn concentrated upon maintaining an unblinking stare, striving to impose her will on Bal-Tak. Having fainted, the woman was hanging limply in his grasp. If she had continued to scream and struggle, she would have ruined any chance of survival.

  Letting out a snort, Bal-Tak turned his head. Taking a step forward, Dawn repeated the order in a more commanding tone. After hesitating for a moment, the Mangani thrust his captive away and she collapsed in a heap at her rescuer’s feet.

  ‘Bal-Tak hungry, thirsty!’ the young bull complained. ‘Not eat, drink, many suns.’

  ‘Tar-Sabor bring food, water,’ Dawn promised, turning around.

  Seeing the awe with which the Mun-Gatahs were regarding her, the girl wondered if she should take advantage of it and try to escape. Then she decided against making the attempt. Being frightened, they might kill her instead of merely preventing her from getting away. What was more, she had made a promise to Bal-Tak and her sense of honor insisted that she kept it.

  ‘Give me food and water for the “Hairy Man”,’ Dawn requested, walking towards Gromart and ignoring his wife as she raised her sword. ‘You’ve neither fed nor let him drink since you captured him.’

  ‘We haven’t been able to get near the brute,’ Fabia answered, lowering the weapon as the girl came to a stop a few feet away. ‘You can feed him, if you wish.’

  Escorted by four men and two women, Dawn collected several pieces of raw meat. She was also given a gourd, which was designed to pass through the bars, filled with water. Returning to the cart, while her escort halted in a half-circle well clear of it, she handed the gourd to Bal-Tak. As he had frequently broken pieces of bamboo and drunk the liquid which had accumulated inside, she had no difficulty in explaining how to use it. With his thirst quenched, he accepted the meat and started to eat ravenously.

  ‘You know, my love,’ Gromart remarked, watching Dawn and Bal-Tak ‘I thought that Dryaka wanted her recaptured so he could take revenge for his loss of status when he let her escape. Now I’m convinced there’s much more to it than just that.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Fabia inquired, looking at her husband.

  ‘No other nation had weapons to equal the quality of those she carried,’ Gromart explained. ‘And I’ve never heard of anybody else who could even speak the language of the “Hairy People”, much less be able to get close enough to feed one of the brutes.’ ;

  ‘Neither have I,’ Fabia admitted, but she still sounded puzzled.

  ‘It strikes me that the “Apes” must be particularly favored by the “Suppliers” to have such weapons and powers,’ Gromart went on. ‘And that’s why Dryaka is so eager to get her back. He wants to learn her nation’s secrets so that he can become just as powerful.’

  ‘You’re right!’ Fabia ejaculated. ‘Whoever gets them could rule the Mun-Gatah nation.’

  ‘Well we’ve got her,’ Gromart stated. ‘And, once we take her to San-Gatah, we’ll soon make her tell us all she knows. Cage her as soon as she’s fed the “Hairy Man”.’

  ‘With him?’ Fabia asked. ‘I don’t like the idea of putting them together.’

  ‘Or me,’ Gromart replied. ‘But she might kill the Amazon if we cage them together.’

  ‘We could drug them both until we get home,’ Fabia suggested, knowing that fights often broke out when members of different races were being transported in the same cage.

  ‘I’d rather not, unless there’s no other way,’ Gromart answered. ‘I want to question her and see if she knows anything, so we needn’t waste time taking her home if she doesn’t.’

  ‘Very well,’ Fabia said. ‘I’ll put them together and see what happens. We can always separate and drug them if we have to.’

  On being told to go into the cage, Dawn did not argue. Not only was she aware that resistance would be futile, she wanted to make the acquaintance of the other prisoner. As she entered and the sliding door was lowered behind her, she sensed that the girl standing at the other end was perturbed by the prospect of being at such close quarters with her. She knew that she must convince the red head that she meant no harm and try to establish a spirit of friendly co-operation. A moment’s thought told her how she might achieve her purpose. The red head’s bearing, clothing and jewelry suggested that she was of high social standing. So Dawn decided to establish that she too was a person of rank and quality.

  ‘Greetings,’ she said in friendly tones, but without moving closer. ‘I am Dawn, daughter of Tarzan of the Apes, Lord of the Jungle and leader of our people.’

  ‘Greetings,’ the red head replied, after a moment. With the Mun-Gatahs watching, she had no intention of showing that she was worried over having to share a cage with a person who could command obedience from a ‘Hairy Man’. She was also relieved and impressed by the other’s demeanor and manner. ‘I am Ariadne, second daughter of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.’

  Like her younger sister, Ariadne had a warm and friendly nature. She was also sufficiently intelligent to realize that continuing the traditional hostilities towards members of other races would be foolish under the circumstances. What was more, the newcomer reminded her of the three foreign women who had become accepted as members of the Amazon nation and for whom she had the greatest admiration and respect.

  ‘Have they fed you?’ Dawn asked, stepping closer.

  ‘Not yet,’ Ariadne replied, also advancing. ‘They’ll do it after they’ve eaten.’

  ‘Then we may as well make ourselves comfortable until they come,’ Dawn suggested and sat on the floor as if she had not a care in the world.

  ‘Why not,’ Ariadne answered, determined to show an equal disregard for being a captive.

  Although Fabia was puzzled by the girl’s behavior, she was satisfied that they could be left together without either trying to do the other harm. So she dismissed the adh
erents who were standing nearby in case it had been necessary to stop the prisoners fighting and joined her husband. Sword in hand and face dark with rage, Dolvia was talking to him. Telling the young woman that she must keep away from Dawn, he sent her to help the rest of their party make camp.

  Making themselves as comfortable as possible, Dawn and Ariadne exchanged experiences. Explaining that her, nation lived in the jungle and had learned the language of the ‘Hairy People’, Dawn went on with such of her story as she considered relevant. On being told how she had escaped from her original escort, the princess suggested that they made a similar attempt while their captors were sleeping. However, even without making a close examination, Dawn could see that the cage was in a much better state of repair than her previous prison. Pointing this out, she agreed that they should still try. Having reached the decision, they continued talking as night fell and they waited for their food.

  ‘You’re lucky,’ remarked the woman whom Dawn had saved from Bal-Tak, having delivered the girls’ meal. ‘Dolvia wanted to come and cut you to pieces, but Lord Gromark stopped her.’

  ‘Maybe it was Dolvia who’s lucky,’ Ariadne put in with a grin. ‘You know what happened when you tried it.’

  ‘We’ll see if you can do any better before long,’ the woman warned and walked away.

  ‘What did she mean by that?’ Ariadne asked.

  ‘I’ve no idea,’ Dawn replied, but began to get the feeling that she could guess. ‘Let’s eat. This is the first food I’ve been given all day.’

  ‘I hear riders, my lord!’ yelled one of the men posed as guard, pointing to the north, as the girl’s were finishing their meal. ‘A small party, coming this way.’

  Rising, Dawn and Ariadne peered through the darkness. They listened to the sound of hooves and creaking leather, watching for the first sign of whoever was approaching.

  ‘Six of them, all men,’ the princess announced, showing just a trace of disappointment. Then she shrugged, ‘Nobody but Mun-Gatahs would ride up so openly.’

  ‘Gromart’s not taking chances,’ Dawn commented. ‘But, from what I’ve seen of Mun-Gatahs, he probably don’t trust anybody except his own adherents.’

  While he had felt sure that the newcomers were Mun-Gatahs, the Administrator doubted that they would be his supporters. So, in view of the plans he had for Dawn, he was disinclined to take chances. At his signal, all of his party formed up around him. Counting the mounted figures as they came into view, he decided that they were too few to pose any threat. However, wanting to emphasize his numerical superiority and readiness, he did not tell his followers to resume their interrupted activities.

  Instead of riding into the camp, the newcomers halted a good fifty yards away. Dismounting, five of them handed their reins to the sixth and advanced on foot, halting in front of the cage-carts. Gromart recognized the man in the center as Mador, a banar-gatah rider of high standing in Dryaka’s faction. All five had a leather pouch and a firebox hanging across their shoulders. In accordance with the conventions of their people, they had left their lances, throwing spears and war-axes on their saddles.

  ‘Greetings, Lord Gromart,’ Mador said and waved a hand towards the cage-carts. ‘I see that you have been successful in your raiding. But you should not have the woman who is with the Amazon.’

  ‘Why not?’ the Administrator challenged.

  ‘She’s Lord Dryaka’s prisoner!’ the banar-gatah rider stated emphatically. ‘When he received a message that she was being brought to him, he sent us to join her escort and ensure she arrived safely. May I ask how she comes to be in your possession?’

  ‘I took her when I rescued Guelpe here from a band of Gru-ziaks who had attacked and killed the rest of his companions,’ Gromart explained, indicating the survivor, and receiving a nod of confirmation. ‘So, by all the laws of our nation, she is mine.’

  Apart from the story being a lie, the Administrator’s declaration was correct. Under the Mun-Gatahs’ laws, if he had obtained her in such a manner, Dawn would become his prisoner and her former captors could have no claim to her. However, as Mador was aware, Gromart was not telling the truth about how the girl had come into his possession.

  After sending six of his men in pursuit of Bunduki, the banar-gatah rider had subjected the area around the site of the massacre to a thorough examination. His reading of the tracks, at which he could claim to be an expert, had told him most of what had happened. So he was convinced that the Gru-ziaks were not responsible, nor did he believe it had been the work of Amazons. He was not greatly surprised that his investigation had suggested members of his own nation had slaughtered the escort. Such things had happened many times in the course of their inter-factional strife. Having followed the trail left by Monak’s party, he had learned enough to satisfy him that his theories were correct. To avoid suspicion, on locating the camp, he had circled around it so as to arrive in a direction which implied he had just ridden out from Bon-Gatah.

  ‘My Lord Dryaka has a very strong desire to have this prisoner delivered to him,’ Mador warned, refraining from making anything that could be interpreted as a hostile gesture. ‘If I have to return and tell him that you refuse to honor his wishes, he will be very angry.’

  ‘Tell him that not even the High Priest is above the laws of our people,’ Gromart answered. ‘And, if he should wish to make a complaint, I am willing to reply to it before the Council of Elders.’

  ‘You won’t reconsider, my lord?’ Mador inquired, his attitude suggesting that the Administrator would be advised to do so.

  ‘I won’t,’ Gromart confirmed, tapping the head of the war-axe he had picked up against the palm of his right hand and glancing around to emphasize that he had Dryaka’s adherents sufficiently outnumbered to be able to enforce his defiance.

  ‘Very well, my lord,’ Mador said, with a shrug which seemed to express resignation. He dipped his right hand into the leather pouch, a move duplicated by his companions, then went on. ‘I’ll deliver your message to Lord Dryaka.’

  ‘You’d better wait and accompany us to Bon-Gatah in the morning,’ Gromart suggested as the five men began to turn away from him, wanting to prevent the High Priest from learning that he had Dawn ‘of the Apes’ in his possession. ‘The Gru-ziaks are still around and I wouldn’t want any more of Lord Dryaka’s men to be killed.’

  ‘As you will, my lord,’ the banar-gatah rider answered, but without offering to face the Administrator. ‘We’ll go and fetch our mounts.’

  Having stood up, Dawn and Ariadne were watching and listening to what was going on. They noticed that each of the newcomers was taking what appeared to be a coconut from his leather pouch and drawing a smoldering piece of cord out of the perforated metal box he was carrying. A suspicion which Dawn could hardly believe was correct began to form as she saw the men pressing the glowing tips of the cords against the ‘eyes’ of the coconuts. One of the major factors contributing to her and Bunduki’s escape from the hunting camp had been the Mun-Gatah’s failure to discover the main purpose of the ‘Thunder Powder’. Yet the quintet were acting as if, in the meantime, Dryaka had discovered a simple and yet effectively dangerous way of putting it to use.

  ‘Wait!’ Gromart barked. ‘You stay here and I’ll have my men—!’

  With the fuses lit, Mador and his companions swung around. Throwing the ‘Terrifiers’ towards the Administrator’s party, they went into twisting dives that carried them in the opposite direction and to the ground.

  ‘Get back and down!’ Dawn snapped,, grabbing Ariadne around the shoulders and pulling as she thrust herself across the cage. ‘Quickly!’

  Seeing the five warriors turning, Gromart’s first thought was that they intended to obey him. When they made the throwing motions, he brought his words to an end. Although he stepped back as he saw the missiles coming, he was annoyed, puzzled, but not alarmed. They were not any kind of weapon with which he was acquainted, nor did they appear to be especially dangerous as they landed in front
of, or amongst, his party.;

  Then the ‘Terrifiers’ started to explode!

  Chapter Nine – I Stand With Empty Hands

  Despite having been in the forefront of his party, Gromart had survived the attack. His wife and several others who were standing close by had been killed outright, but the blast created by the exploding Terrifiers’ had only flung him to the ground with considerable force. Before he had lost consciousness, he had seen the remainder of his adherents being slaughtered by more of the High Priest’s men who must have approached unnoticed while he was talking with Mador.

  Dawn was just breaking when the Administrator came to his senses and found he was the only living human being by the lake. The attackers had gone, taking the cage-carts with them. Nor had he recovered any too soon. The first of the scavengers were just putting in an appearance. Although his legs would not function and he had but a fraction of his normal strength, he managed to drag himself to a rock some distance from the bodies. Bracing himself in a sitting posture, he drew his sword. Wracked with pain, fighting off the waves of dizziness which threatened to engulf him, he contrived to drive away such of the hyenas, vultures or marabou storks that approached him. Fortunately, with so much food readily available, none of them made a determined attempt to press home an attack. He knew that it was only a matter of time before one did so.

  The time came. Having just arrived, a massive spotted hyena was darting towards Gromart. He tried and failed to lift the sword. Nor could he raise his voice in a bellow which might scare the beast away. He was too parched with thirst to do more than croak. Frustrated rage filled him. He wanted to stay alive and avenge the murder of his wife.

  Even as Gromart decided all was lost, there was a hissing sound followed by a thud. Instantly, the hyena let out a howl of pain. Something had flashed through the air, sinking into it just behind the shoulder. Arching its body, it snapped at the fletching of an arrow which had penetrated so deeply that nothing else protruded at the point of entry. Staggering a few steps, the stricken beast collapsed.