by J. T. Edson
Wanting to impress the local population with his capability and right to the rank of Dapan-Dankara, the blond giant had announced his intention of starting the mission immediately. It was also his unspoken aim to bring about a successful conclusion as swiftly as possible and, from the information he had been given during the journey down the river, he was confident he could do so. Bringing to bear all of the knowledge imparted by the male members of his adoptive family on Earth and his personal experience of dealing with the Crocodilia while the Chief Warden of the Ambagasali Wild Life Reserve, he had been able to formulate his strategy.
Justifying Bunduki’s faith in him, although puzzled as to why he had been asked to do so, Hak-Bart had carried out the instructions Bunduki had given before they had parted company. What was more, on reaching the first of the locations, the blond giant had found it to be exactly as the Wurka had described it.
In the fashion of its kind, the predator had established itself in a large pool attached to one of the myriad waterways—which formed a maze and protection against human invaders—that comprised the swamplands. On the banks had been fresh tracks and a tail mark of a width which demonstrated, even without an actual sight of the reptile, that it was a creature of exceptional size.
As Bunduki had hoped, starting out so early in the day had brought them to the vicinity of their quarry before the heat of the sun caused it to leave the water and bask on the bank. However, if an ambush was to succeed, there was one precaution which had to be taken. After the fashion of its kind, the predator had formed a symbiotic relationship with a member of another species. By a mutually advantageous arrangement, an Egyptian plover lived close to the pool and, in return for food and protection, acted as a very efficient sentry. From all accounts, it had been the bird which was responsible for the Wurka hunters’ failure to stalk and kill its provider.
Leaving Dawn and Hak-Bart at a safe distance, the blond giant had used all his considerable skill to approach the pool without disturbing the bird. Having attained his position, being unable to move closer than thirty yards because of a complete lack of cover beyond that point, he was preparing to start his task.
Satisfied with his aim, Bunduki made his loose. Relieved of restraint, the bow’s limbs began to assume their normal position and, in doing so, propelled the arrow forward. Having found the three dead pike-characins, lxiv provided during the night by Hak-Bart as the blond giant had instructed, the Egyptian plover was pecking out the eyes of the largest. Although the bird heard the twang of the bow’s string, the blunt-headed arrow was flying too swiftly for any hope of evasive action. There was a thud and a puff of flying feathers and the threat of an alarm being given by the plover was removed.
Watching what happened from a distance, Dawn and Hak-Bart moved forward. While they exhibited stealth, each realized that the major threat to a premature disclosure of their presence no longer existed. By the time they joined him, Bunduki was nocking a second shaft, this time with a Razorhead point, to his bow’s string. However, as yet, there was no sign of the quarry upon which he intended to use it.
‘Do you think it’s in the lagoon?’ Dawn breathed, studying the glass-like surface of the dark amber water.
‘I hope so,’ the blond giant replied, equally quietly. ‘Because I hate talking to myself.’
Having delivered his comment, the blond giant performed an impersonation of the kind of roar by which a male crocodile announced its claim to a territory. It was so close to the genuine sound that Hak-Bart stared in surprise and open admiration. However, several seconds went by and nothing happened.
‘Huh!’ Dawn sniffed. What you need here is the woman’s touch.’
With that, the girl demonstrated an equal facility for mimicry; but her grunting call was that of a female crocodile in the throes of the mating urge. Once again, the Wurka would not have known it was emitted from a human throat if he had not seen it for himself.
There!’ Hak-Bart hissed, only just managing to suppress his excitement and hold his voice to a tension-charged whisper. He pointed to the water.
Just as keen-eyed, the Earth couple had also seen the small ripple disturbing the center of the lagoon. They knew that it was caused by the predator making use of physical adaptations for its specialized way of life. Set high upon the snout on top of the skull, its nostrils and eyes allowed it to breathe and see with little else of its body being exposed. So, although it had risen to investigate the sounds, they alone broke the surface of the water.
Using its tail in such slow sideways undulations that there was barely a motion on the surface, the predator advanced at a snail’s pace across the lagoon. Measuring the distance between them with his eye, Bunduki began to take the draw on his bow. He wanted his quarry closer before he loosed the shaft, so as to make even more certain of attaining a hit. On either side of him, his wife and Hav-Bart watched with bated breath as if they had been turned to stone.
Catching his wife’s eye, the blond giant gave a brief inclination of his head. Knowing what was wanted, she repeated her impersonation of a lovelorn lady crocodile in search of male company.
The nostrils and eyes sank beneath the surface!
‘Damn it!’ Hav-Bart ejaculated, fortunately sotto voce, watching a couple of air bubbles rising after all other signs of the creature had gone.
‘Don’t move!’ Dawn hissed, duplicating her husband’s thoughts and acting, without needing prompting, as he would have wished.
Freezing again into a state of complete immobility, Hav-Bart continued to stare at the surface of the lagoon. After almost thirty seconds had gone by, he was given a further example of just how well the Earth couple understood the mentality and behavior patterns of their prey.
Showing no more disturbance than the bubbles had in making their appearance, the nostrils of the predator broke through the glassy surface. There was barely as much as a suggestion of a ripple to betray its arrival. An instant later, almost eighteen inches behind the nose, the small protuberance of its eyes came into view. They were followed in the same effortless fashion by the whole of the head.
‘So that’s it!’ Dawn ejaculated, in a voice so low that the words barely reached the men’s ears, taking notice of the way in which there was no sign of the fourth tooth of the saurian’s lower jaw. It’s an alligator, not a crocodile!’
Equally aware of the most easily observable difference between species Alligator and the Crocodilia, Bunduki matched his wife’s identification. Like her, he now realized that they were not dealing with the almost entirely harmless-to-mankind dwarf crocodiles lxv or ‘false’ gavials lxvi which had been the only types of saurians they had seen in the neighborhood of the village. Furthermore, he shared her understanding of the predator’s behavior. For all its size, which he estimated at over ten foot from nose to tail, the Mississippi alligator was puzzled and cautious. It had heard sounds resembling, but somewhat different to, those of its kind. So it was displaying care while investigating.
Watching the alligator coming slowly nearer, Bunduki completed his draw and aligned the arrow so that it would make its point of impact about twenty-four inches behind the knobs of the protruding eyes. However, he did not relax his hold on the string. Close to sixty yards still separated them and, while confident that he could make a kill at that distance, he preferred to do so from nearer to the bank. In that way, there was a better chance of retrieving the body and avoiding any suggestions that he had failed to carry out his mission.
So gradually that time seemed to be standing still, the alligator continued its wary advance towards the shore. Its head was still exposed and the outline of its massive body was discernible below the surface.
Fifty yards,
Forty!
Dawn was clenching her hands until the knuckles showed white. On the other side of the blond giant, Hav-Bart felt as if his lungs would burst. Yet he dare not suck in a breath for fear that the sound would disturb his companion’s concentration, or frighten the alligator.
&n
bsp; ‘Dapan-Dankara!’ yelled a voice from not too far away, accompanying the words by banging a stick of some kind against the trunk of a tree.
Instantly, the alligator lost all of its lethargic air. Upending its body, so that the massive tail rose and descended on the erstwhile still surface of the lagoon with a terrific slapping sound that could have been heard for a quarter of a mile, it began to do a half-roll as a prelude to making a power dive for safety.
Swiftly as the saurian was moving, Bunduki’s response had been even more rapid.
Although seething with rage at the speaker, who he suspected had created the commotion deliberately, the blond giant released the arrow as soon as the sound reached his ears. There was a solid whunk!’ which told him that he had scored a hit. Further confirmation was supplied, by the sight of the four-bladed point protruding some six inches from the underside of the alligator’s chest, before it disappeared beneath the now roily surface of the lagoon. It appeared briefly a couple of seconds later, curving upwards in a jump that seemed more suitable to a sailfish feeling a fisherman’s hook than such an ungainly creature. Going down, there was a momentary flash of white from its belly as it rolled over. Although the blond giant knew that it was dead, it did not reappear and he doubted whether recovering the body would be possible.
‘That was Han-Ateep’s voice!’ Hav-Bart growled furiously.
‘There were two of them at least,’ Dawn went on, anger showing plainly on her beautiful face. ‘I saw them running away, but not quickly enough to do anything about it.’
‘Don’t worry, darling,’ Bunduki replied, thinking how— in view of his wife’s skill as an archer—the men responsible for the disturbance could count themselves lucky that she had not been holding her bow ready for use. We’ll attend to them later. Let’s go back to the village and tell the people they can start to use this lagoon again.’
Chapter Fourteen – He’ll Have His Proof
‘Far be it for me to sound like a nagging wife,’ Dawn Gunn said quietly, eyeing Bunduki in a disapproving manner as they walked out of the Wurka-Telonga village accompanied by several men, including the four who had brought them most of the way from Jey-Mat.
‘Why not?’ the blond giant interrupted. ‘You always did before we were married.’
‘I’ll ignore that,’ the girl declared, in a way which bore the unspoken addition of, “but just wait until later”. ‘As I said, far be it from me to sound like a nagging wife, but I do think what you’re planning might be thought just a tiny bit injudicious.’
‘I didn’t know they taught you words like that at Roe-dean,’ Bunduki commented.
‘Dangerous, even,’ Dawn continued, paying no apparent attention to her husband’s injection. ‘But that’s only my opinion, of course.’
‘When did you say you were going to start not nagging?’ Bunduki inquired, although he agreed with his wife’s comment. ‘Anyway, if I can pull it off for dear old Tik-Felum, he’ll have his proof in a way that should satisfy him.’
‘And if you don’t pull it off, you could be killed,’ Dawn warned, then pouted. ‘You haven’t any thought for me, you brute. There’s no widow’s pension on Zillikian.’
For all the light manner in which they were talking, neither the girl nor her husband underestimated the danger of what he was planning to do. However, she realized that he was taking a deliberately calculated risk and had made his decision based upon his knowledge of what it entailed. His behavior was neither rash, nor incautious, but that which they both had agreed would best serve their needs under the circumstances.
While the return to the village should have been one of triumph, Tik-Felum had done his best to prevent it from being regarded in that light. He had, as the Earth couple had guessed, sent the members of his coterie amongst the villagers to spread the word that only visible proof of the ‘crocodile’s’ death would be regarded as acceptable. So, with his men hovering around and taking notice of what was happening, the news that the corpse was not available for inspection produced the effect he required.
Not all of the Senior Elders’ adherents were available to give him support. Deneb-Ginwe, Han-Preep, and Flant-Wlip were conspicuous by their absence. Before either Dawn or Bunduki could mention the matter of the disturbance that had lost them the alligator’s body, Tik-Felum had informed them that the trio were making an expedition to the coast of the ‘Lake With Only One Shore’. They had left some time before, according to him, with the intention of catching some of the green sea turtles so highly prized as culinary delicacies and which would have been a fitting meal to celebrate the Dapan-Dankaras mission having proved successful.
Having excused the absence of his sons and apparently had the explanation accepted, Tik-Felum had inquired into the reason for the alligator’s body being missing. On hearing what had happened, but not that the Earth couple and Hav-Bart were aware of who was responsible, he had then adopted an air of such blatantly false commiseration that Dawn had found it hard to prevent herself from showing her true feelings. Nor had she felt any better disposed towards him when he had suggested that the disturbance had been the work of a river-spirit protecting the predator.
‘In which case,’ the Senior Elder had gone on, still speaking far louder than was necessary, so that the assembled populace could also hear. ‘There are those who might say the water-spirit turned aside your arrow and the “crocodile” still lives.’
‘We all saw the arrow strike and its head was sticking out of the other side of the “crocodile’s” body,’ Hav-Bart had protested, sharing his people’s general lack of zoological knowledge and being unable to identify the saurian correctly. Oblivious of the venomous glare being directed at him by Tik-Felum, he went on equally loudly, ‘It was dying as it went down and, unless the current has carried its body away, we’ll find it when it comes to the surface again.’
‘You say that the arrow pierced so deeply that its head came out at the other side?’ the Senior Elder had asked, hoping to arouse incredulity among his audience as they were all aware of the predator’s size.
‘It did,’ Hav-Bart had agreed, then countered swiftly, That is no ordinary bow and the arrows have heads on them like none I have ever seen.’
‘Let anybody who thinks they aren’t powerful enough to do the deed stand out and say so,’ Dawn had announced, picking out the men with whom she and her husband had been in contention at Jey-Mat. ‘My Lord Bunduki will soon prove whether it be true or false.’
‘Come, my lady,’ the blond giant had said, when nobody offered to accept his wife’s challenge. ‘We’ll go and deal with the second “crocodile”.’ Instead of moving off, however, he had raised the bow so that all could see and, swinging his gaze so that it settled on first one and then the others of Tik-Felum’s coterie, he continued in a carrying voice, ‘But this I say, water-spirit. If you come anywhere near me, or make a sound to try and save the other “crocodile”, I’ll find and kill you. You have my word as the Dapan-Dankara for that!’
To each of the sullen crew who had helped the Senior Elder enforce his regime, it seemed that the white-haired foreigner had selected him personally for attention. Obviously the Senior Elder’s story of a water-spirit had not been believed and the ‘Earths’ had known what had happened. There was a chilling menace in the voice and the cold blue eyes of the tremendously muscled speaker that warned he meant every word he had said. What was more, they were all aware—two at first hand—that he was capable of carrying out his threat.
Watching the effect of Bunduki’s statement upon his adherents, Tik-Felum had known that he could not depend upon any of them attempting a disruption of the bid to dispose of the second ‘crocodile’. They were taking the blond giant’s words to heart. Remembering the difficulty he had experienced in persuading his sons and Flant-Wlip to carry out the first and infinitely safer interference, he had accepted that nothing further along those lines would be possible.
Unwilling to concede defeat, the Senior Elder had tried without
success to find out what plan of campaign Bunduki was meaning to employ. He was met with such a blandly polite reply, that nothing would be decided upon until the situation was surveyed, that he was compelled to leave his curiosity unsatisfied. Nor had he been able to think up a suitable refusal when the blond giant had requested assistance, backed with a solemn promise that no harm would be allowed to come to those who were assigned to the task. Instead, albeit reluctantly, he had had to give his consent to Hav-Bart and nine other villagers accompanying the “Earths”. Nor did a hope that had arisen reach fruition.
Showing a ready grasp of what was needed, Hav-Bart had selected nine companions who he was certain could be trusted. Studying them as he had stated his requirements and given instructions for what he expected from them, Bunduki had been convinced that the young Wurka had made a good choice and that he could rely upon them to do as he required.
Once clear of the village, Dawn and her husband soon forgot their levity and devoted their full attention to the business in hand. Everything they needed was available. In addition to the bows they were carrying, Hav-Bart was fetching along the blond giant’s m’kuki and shield. It was not that the latter weapons were to be used in the work ahead, but they had all considered it inadvisable to leave such tempting articles where Tik-Felum or his adherents could lay hands on them. The rest of the Wurkas were carrying the coils of rope and machetes—which the large bush-knives resembled—they had been asked to supply. Apart from the girl, none of them had any idea of what lay ahead. However, such was the faith inspired by Bunduki and their eagerness to be free of the hated regime which was oppressing them that they were willing to do as he had requested without asking questions.