by J. T. Edson
A lightning fast side step saved Charole, but only just!
For all her speedy evasion, the Protectress felt the point and one edge of the brunette’s weapon plowing along her ribs and the other edge of the blade nicked the inside of her left bicep. However, she had always been famous for her ability to riposte. xxxi Before Elidor could return her sword to the guard, Charole was bringing off a cut across her head. Fortunately for her, the blow was delivered backhand and it was almost the hilt that struck her. Otherwise, despite coming from such close quarters and in a comparatively clumsy fashion, had it been the middle of the cutting edge that made the contact, the fight would have been as good as over.
Even with the limitations imposed upon it, the blow put the brunette into difficulty. Blood gushed down the side of her face, but missed her eye and did not impede her vision. However, it caused her to change tactics once more. Grasping the sword in both hands, she began to swing it violently in a desperate gamble. One successful stroke could tear off a limb, sink the blade far into the head or torso, or—if they came together—batter the weapon from her antagonist’s grasp.
Alert to the peril, Charole also realized it could be turned to her advantage. While the force of every blow was doubled, there was a corresponding decrease in the rapidity with which the blows could be repeated or a defense effected. So she had no intention of blindly following the other’s lead. Instead of turning her sword into a hacking implement, she used it as what on Earth would have been called a ‘foil’ and relied upon the point. Where Elidor moved with slow and flat-footed steps, she kept up on her toes as if dancing while she dodged and feinted, awaiting an opportunity to thrust home the blade.
The onlookers’ excitement and interest increased.
Would a slash or a thrust decide the issue?
A blow from Elidor would be death for Charole!
Just as surely, if a thrust from the ivory handled sword was successful, it would be fatal for the brunette!
As had happened in the opening moments of the fight, Elidor began to force the pace. However, where she attacked with a bull-like ferocity, Charole was bouncing and weaving in the manner of a matador. xxxii
Everybody in the clearing, no matter whether protagonist or spectator, was growing increasingly aware that a climax could not be long in coming. It was a tribute to the skill and physical fitness of the women, as well as indicative of their bitter hatred for each other, that the fight had been so prolonged.
However, not one of the spectators even thought of intervening.
When two members of the Mun-Gatah nation took up arms against one another, regardless of their sex, the conventions dictated that it was they and they alone who could terminate the affair. So, despite having become Elidor’s willing supporters in a bid to gain control of the late High Priest’s country estate, the men intended to let her stand or fall by her own endeavors. To have done otherwise would offend the Quagga God and the outcome of the fight would be indicative of where His favor lay.
Nor, for all the pain and inconvenience caused by the cut on the side of her head, was it certain that the brunette would be the loser. In fact, the matter continued to hang in the balance for several more seconds.
Time after time, Elidor’s sword swept with vicious power over or alongside Charole’s head. On more than one occasion, it came sufficiently close to stir the short and sweat-sodden black hair in passing. However, the speed with which the brunette was still contriving to move prevented the Protectress from being able to find an opening and driving through it with her point to deliver a coup-de-grace.
By now, both of the women were beginning to show the severe strain caused by their exertions. Each was panting, her breath whistling through a parched throat and mouth. Replenishing their tormented lungs was growing increasingly difficult. Perspiration flowed copiously, making their skin glisten and diluting the blood that each was shedding. As their magnificent bosoms expanded and contracted like bellows in operation, their eyes glared glassily at each other and they were oblivious of all else.
‘Quagga God strike her!’ Elidor was croaking, using the words as a spur to drive her exhaustion-wrapped body to further efforts and went on, accompanying each word with a terrific stroke of her sword, ‘Curse you! Blast you! Stand! Fight!’
For her part, Charole was making no attempt to reply or comply with the demand to change her tactics. The night of broken sleep followed by days of almost continual travelling were beginning to have their effect, just as she, the brunette, and the male warriors had anticipated would happen. What was more, due to the perspiration restricting the blood’s power to congeal, she was losing a fair amount from her injuries. In addition, her left arm felt as heavy and cumbersome as if it had been turned to lead. Through the accumulation of her sufferings, she was growing sick and faint.
The sensation caused the Protectress to slip and stagger slightly.
Instantly, with an expression of bitter hate and fury contorting her haggard features, Elidor prepared to make the most of the opportunity with which she was being presented. Gathering all her flagging reserves of strength, she carried the sword high above her head.
In her eagerness to strike, the exhausted brunette went a trifle too far!
Such was the vigor employed by Elidor that, before she could halt the sword, it was pointing downwards behind her. If the blow had been delivered, it could have cleaved the Protectress’s skull open to the chin—but it was never struck.
In spite of all the torment she was enduring, Charole was not too far gone to see and recognize the chance she was being offered. Making a desperate effort to regain her equilibrium, she put all she had into an almost classic lunge. Her point went home beneath Elidor’s left breast, passing onwards to emerge at the rear.
For a moment, the brunette’s whole body went rigid. Then, releasing her weapon so it tumbled behind her, she went over backwards and wrenched the sword that had killed her from its user’s grasp.
Disarmed and tottering, Charole saw her lance standing as she had left it. Pure instinct rather than conscious thought caused her to reel the few steps that separated her from it. Although she managed to take hold of the shaft with both hands, she knew that she did not have the strength or energy to use it. So she was at the mercy of Elidor’s companions.
Keeping herself upright by leaning on the lance, the Protectress swung her gaze to the warrior who—by virtue of being the only male to ride a banar-gatah—was the leader of the party. Even as her gaze reached him, there was a hissing sound and, coming from somewhere beyond her now restricted range of vision, came an arrow that impaled itself in his throat.
Chapter Seven – I Hope You Know What You’re Doing
‘So you’re going to ride Shambulia instead of just weighting his saddle, are you?’ At-Vee the Hunter asked, watching Bunduki drawing tight the girths of the quagga stallion’s saddle. He no longer fumbled with the pronunciation of the Swahili word meaning “attack” which had been selected as the animal’s name.
‘I am,’ the blond giant agreed. ‘And Dawn is going to do the same with Isabel.’
‘She told me that she could have started riding Isabel the morning we captured them,’ Joar-Fane put in, darting a mischievous smile at the other girl. ‘But, for some reason or other, she found it was too painful to sit down.’
‘With a friend like my little sister, you don’t need enemies,’ Dawn Drummond-Clayton informed the men, employing tones of mock acidity. Returning her gaze to the Telonga girl, she went on, ‘In fact, I should have let those “Hairy People” have you. xxxiii But, knowing you as I do now, I don’t think I disliked them that much.’
Although only five days had elapsed since the capture of the Quaggas, Bunduki’s party were already back in the comparative safety of the jungle. However, the Earth couple were no longer to live in the Jey-Mat Telonga village. On their return, they had found that the ‘Suppliers’ had established a permanent home for them. It was about half a mile away, on the shores
of a small, crystal clear lake which was connected with a nearby large river.
Perched in the branches of an enormous and sturdy samaan tree, the well-constructed house had all the comforts of home. There were three bedrooms, a large dining-cum-sitting-room, a store and a kitchen complete with a stove of what appeared to be dried mud but was actually made from some form of lightweight and heat resistant metal. The latter was equipped with utensils and a small elevator manipulated by a rope and pulley by which supplies or fuel for the stove could be raised. All the furniture and fittings were made of materials which matched the primitive looking decor. Access was gained by a rope ladder, or a larger elevator.
At the rear of the tree, some ten yards away, a stream tumbled down a cliff. It not only offered a readily accessible shower, but an arrangement of what looked like bamboo pipes—they were actually tubes of the same metal which was used for the stove and other portions of the structure—diverted some of it for household purposes. The left side back corner of the verandah protruded over the stream and had on it a rudimentary, yet effective and hygienic, toilet. Extending above the lake, the rest of the wide verandah at that side made a fine position from which to dive into the deep and clear water of the lake.
Ever since their arrival on Zillikian—in fact, even before they had learned the truth about their transportation—Dawn and Bunduki had suspected that they were being kept under observation by somebody, or something, they could not locate. If they had required further evidence that the ‘Suppliers’ were still watching their activities, it was given by the predator-proof compound with which they were presented as a corral for their mounts. Large enough to house the two quaggas and up to half a dozen gatahs without crowding, along one side was a roofed over, open fronted shelter to protect the occupants from the elements. It was fitted with eight separate stalls, each having a manger and hayrack. The surrounding fence also encompassed a small bay of the lake and solved the problem of watering the stock, but at the same time prevented the entrance of anything such as a crocodile that was large enough to harm the occupants.
When they considered the facilities that had been given to them, it strengthened a theory the Earth couple had formulated with regard to the quaggas. Neither had ever come across potentially dangerous animals which had settled down in captivity with so little distress or so few objections. In fact, despite the fact that Dawn and Bunduki both possessed a considerable affinity and empathy with wild creatures, they had been surprised at how quickly they had come to be on friendly terms with their captives.
Before nightfall on the day that the quaggas had fallen into their trap, Dawn and Bunduki were able to go close and remove the blindfolds. They had achieved this by having stayed nearby throughout the entire period, allowing the animals to become accustomed to their respective body odors, voices and presence.
At daybreak on the following morning, the Earth couple had tested their captives’ willingness to be led. After only a brief demonstration of dissent on the part of the stallion, which had allowed Dawn and Joar-Fane to exchange pungent comments on the subject of masculine obstinacy, they had been able to resume their homewards journey. Of necessity, neither the mare’s nor her consort’s hobbles had been removed at that stage. The omission had reduced the pace at which the party could travel, yet they had considered any distance they could put between themselves and Bon-Gatah was worthwhile. There had been no sign of pursuit, but every hour that went by increased the danger of a search being instituted.
Nightfall had found the four young people making camp within sight of the jungle. Once again, Dawn and Bunduki had slept in close proximity to the quaggas. When ready to move on the next day, they had made what proved to be a successful gamble by removing the restraints from their captives’ front legs. Either because they were far from their original territory or through a growing trust of their captors, the mare and the stallion had behaved well and the party had been able to make much better time. There had been a slight reluctance on the quaggas’ part when it came to entering the jungle, but this was smoothed over without causing any undue delay.
On making camp somewhat earlier in the afternoon than would otherwise have been the case, particularly with the Jey-Mat Telongas’ village being so near, the Earth couple had commenced with the next stage of accustoming the quaggas to a new way of life. Securing them to sturdy bushes in a clearing, Dawn and Bunduki had started to place a blanket on the back of each. As was to be expected, this had caused some initial restlessness, but it was not prolonged. Nor had the girl and the blond giant attempted to take the training any further at that point.
Reaching the village shortly before noon on the third day, the party had been greeted by the whole of the population and the news of their arrival had been sent forth via the ‘talking drums’ by which the Telongas—and the other nations—communicated rapidly over considerable distances. So effective was the system that, within minutes, every other community had been notified of their return.
As on Joar-Fane’s arrival following her first escape from the clutches of the Mun-Gatahs’ People-Taker, the reception had been mixed. All of the hunters, whether from Jey-Mat or those who had gathered in response to the signal for defiance against their oppressors and were still present, had been delighted at seeing that Dawn and Bunduki were safe. They had regarded it as further evidence of the Mun-Gatahs’ fallibility.
While pleased by the return of the four young people, the Council of Elders—who were the leaders of the community—and non-hunting citizens had had misgivings. However, these had struck Dawn and Bunduki as being less pronounced than on the earlier occasion. Not only had the people seen that the hitherto invincible Mun-Gatahs could be defied and defeated, but they also remembered the needless brutality which had characterized the final and unprecedentedly large abduction. Loving their children and respecting the aged, not even the most pacific of them could forget or forgive what had happened. Mothers had been compelled to leave behind their babies as an unrequired encumbrance on the journey into slavery. Not only had the Elders been put to torture with the result that two had died, those too aged to travel had been deserted.
Bearing those facts in mind, the younger members of the community and the two men who had been elected to replace the dead Elders were now willing to consider the possibility of actively opposing further oppressions. The viewpoint was shared by the hunters from the other villages, but they had warned that their more passive populations might regard the suggestion with disfavor. It would, they had declared, all depend upon whether Bunduki of the ‘Earths’ could persuade their neighbors that the ‘Suppliers’ approved of resistance in the face of a convention that had been in existence for far longer than the oldest inhabitants could remember.
At the conclusion of the welcome, which had relieved Dawn and Bunduki from the necessity of starting to convert the Telonga nation from a pacifism that was no longer practical, Dawn and Bunduki had been told of their gift from the ‘Suppliers’. Being accustomed to having their needs satisfied, the villagers had expressed neither surprise nor alarm at having found the tree house where no such thing had previously existed. Although the lake was not far from the village, none of them had visited the region since the abduction. So they could not say when the construction had been commenced, how it had been carried out, nor how long it had taken to erect and equip the Earth couple’s home.
Having no desire to look a gift horse too closely in the mouth, the girl and the blond giant had accepted the ‘Suppliers’ bounty without question. However, despite sharing Bunduki’s eagerness to complete the quaggas’ training and to set about the task of teaching the Telongas to defend their villages, Dawn was too much of a woman to do anything until she had ensured that all of the furniture and fittings were positioned to her satisfaction. In this, she had had the support and assistance of Joar-Fane and the rest of the female population of Jey-Mat.
Discovering that a number of weapons, tools and other devices which would be of use in the future
had been delivered, Bunduki had conceded the wisdom of postponing any action until he and Dawn were settled in. Except for one detail, settling in would not have been a lengthy process. In fact, Dawn had announced herself satisfied by sundown. But here was one matter that prevented them from moving in immediately. As yet, she and Bunduki were not married.
Discussing the problem with Joar-Fane’s father, who was still functioning in lieu of Dawn’s actual parents, the blond giant had been told that the wedding could not be performed until all the arrangements had been completed. For all their proclivity towards lovemaking, the Telongas had strong views on marriage and were sticklers for conformation with ceremonial observances. The nuptials of two such prominent members of the community must be performed to the accompaniment of a celebration of great size. Knowing that their status would be enhanced and their work made easier if such a celebration took place, Bunduki had seen the wisdom of agreeing.
Tav-Han had promised he would do all in his power to speed things along, but his wife and daughter had been adamant that the preparations could not be completed for another seven days at least. They would, both had declared, even prefer that this was extended to ten days so that the best results could be attained. Much as Dawn had shared the blond giant’s impatience, she had accepted the decision reached by her Telonga ‘family’ just as she would have done if it had been made by her mother on Earth. To conform with the local convention, she could not occupy her future home while she was unmarried and would have to stay at her adopted parents’ house each night until after the ceremony.
Apart from short periods in the tree house, the girl and Bunduki had spent the whole of the fourth day working with the quaggas. Wanting nothing to distract the animals, they had arranged to leave their borrowed banar-gatahs at the village with those which had been retained by the hunters following the annihilation of the People-Taker and his escort. What was more, at their request, only Joar-Fane and At-Vee had been present during the training periods. The Telonga couple had not entered the corral, but stayed on the porch of the house to watch what was being done.