Free Fearless Master of the Jungle (A Bunduki Jungle Adventure by J.T. Edson

drink had already departed and were nowhere to be seen. So
it continued to approach the edge of the water.
    ‘ Here
come Joar-Fane and At-Veer Dawn whispered, glancing at the ridge
beyond which their friends were concealed. I knew we could
trust her to make sure he didn’t do anything wrong.’
    ‘ Don’t
start the female chauvinist bit this early in the morning,’ Bunduki
begged, sotto voce, without taking his gaze from their quarry and, putting a
note of warning into his next words, went on, ‘As long as you don’t do anything
wrong, my idea’s going to work.’
    In accordance with their
instructions, Joar-Fane and At-Vee had made their appearances from
a point at which their scent would be carried to the quaggas. The
girl was leading the Earth couple ’s banar-gatahs, with their archery equipment and Bunduki’s
shield hanging from the saddle horns. Like the blond giant’s m ’ kuki, the Hunter’s spear was suspended in the loops on the left
side skirt of his saddle. As they had been told, the Telongas were
making no attempt to move in silence or unseen. Rather they were
ensuring that they would be noticed and Joar-Fane was crooning one
of their nation’s love songs.
    On hearing the sounds of hoof
beats and the human voice, as well as catching the Telonga
couple ’s
aroma, the quaggas came to an immediate halt. All of them gazed
across the stream, but as yet found nothing frightening. Joar-Fane
and At-Vee were not approaching in a manner that could be construed
as posing a threat. In fact, once they had attracted the animals’
attention, they reined their mounts to a stop.
    Satisfied that the situation
was developing as the plan required, Dawn and Bunduki rose and
emerged from behind the rock. They moved slowly, displaying no
apparent interest in the quaggas. Although they did not speak and
walked quietly, neither anticipated being able to close the
distance between themselves and the animals to any great extent
before they were discovered. Sauntering along with sufficient of a
gap to allow each to throw the boleadora unimpeded, they held the egg-shaped
weights of the shorter, maneque, lengths of cord in their right hands and allowed
the devices to dangle unobtrusively behind them.
    Just as the Earth couple had
anticipated, before they were taking their sixth steps, one of the
quaggas noticed them. Giving a snort of alarm, it caused the rest
of the band to look in their direction. Avoiding any sign of
concern over having been detected, Dawn and Bunduki continued to
stroll in a deliberately casual fashion at an angle which seemed to
be taking them away from and past the animals.
    The big young stallion who was
the leader of the band devoted his full attention to the Earth
couple. Tossing his head, he let out the kind of warning bark that
had given his kind their onomatopoeic name and pawed restlessly at
the ground. Powerful, strong, armed with rock hard hooves and
efficient teeth, he was far from harmless or defenseless. Although his first
inclination would be to lead the mares he had accumulated to safety
in the event of danger threatening, he was also capable of
defending them if the need should arise.
    Appreciating his capabilities,
Dawn and Bunduki kept a careful watch on the stallion. Studying his
reactions, they decided that he was uncertain of their exact
status. Whatever previous contact he might have had with human
beings must have been restricted to avoiding mounted pursuers. In
which case, as he had never seen a man and woman on foot, he saw nothing in
their behavior to cause concern any more than he would have if some
kind of conventional carnivore was going by in a similarly open
manner. If he had not been thirsty, he might have taken the
precaution of moving away. Having spent a night without access to
water, he was disinclined to depart before drinking unless there
was some definite indication that the two strange creatures posed a
threat to the safety of the band.
    In spite of having attained