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

egg-shaped maneque weight towards its objective. By his side, Dawn
had done exactly the same with the mare as her target.
    On leaving
Bunduki ’s
hand, the boleadora began to revolve slowly as it passed through the air. In
doing so, it demonstrated another advantage in addition to having a
greater effective range than a lariat. While a throw with the
latter could be commenced employing a loop of more than half its
length, because the other end of the rope was retained in the
user’s grasp, the honda xxviii slid along the stem xxix and its size was continually being
reduced during its flight. On the other hand, no matter how far
a boleadora was propelled, the spinning motion imparted by its weights
held it fully extended so that—in the case of the pair Bunduki had
had made—it covered an area six foot in diameter from the moment of its release
until arriving at its destination.
    Released so that it was
directed at a gentle downwards angle, the blond
giant ’s boleadora converged with the stallion. As it did, it exhibited yet a
further example of its superiority over the lariat. Although the
initial contact was made about six inches from the round stone at
the left tip of the longer cord, the other two weights caused the
remainder to whip around and trap its victim’s legs just above the
fetlocks. At the same instant, having been dispatched with an equal
accuracy, Dawns boleadora was ensnaring the mare’s front legs just as efficiently.
Both animals went down as if they had been pole axed, but with only
sufficient force to wind and daze them for a few
seconds.
    While they had attained the
results they had hoped for, as far as the boleadoras were concerned, Dawn and Bunduki
wasted no time in congratulations. They realized that their task
was still incomplete. In fact, they were aware of the many
difficulties which were still confronting them. Not the least of
these was securing their captives, a task which must be carried out
with the minimum of delay and before the animals could recover. So,
even as the mare and stallion were falling, the Earth couple dashed
forward to the accompaniment of loud whoops.
    Despite their caution where the
stallion was concerned, neither Dawn nor Bunduki expected any
trouble from the rest of the band. In common with the other
sub-species of the zebra family, the quaggas lived in a family
group dominated by the most powerful male. It was his duty to
provide any protection that might be required. By doing so, he
ensured that the mares, subordinate stallions and foals had a
better chance of escaping. Knowing what was expected of them and
ignoring the isabelline mare ’s predicament, the others took their departure as
fast as their legs would carry them.
    Across the stream, bellowing
with delight, At-Vee urged his banar-gatah forward at a gallop. The noise he was
making helped to keep the remainder of the quaggas running away.
However, his primary purpose was to join the Earth couple as
quickly as possible and render any assistance that was required.
Much to her annoyance, as she had been placed in charge of Dawn and
Bunduki’s mounts, Joar-Fane was unable to accompany her husband and
take a more active part in the proceedings. Instead, she was
compelled to follow at a more leisurely pace and watched what was
happening with considerable interest. She had seen how successful
her friends had been with the boleadoras and was waiting to find out whether all the other
devices they had manufactured would prove equally
effective.
    Without waiting for At-Vee, who
was only just approaching the opposite bank of the stream, Dawn and
Bunduki lifted free the ‘twitches’ ready for use. Every second was now
essential and none could be spared. On being tripped by the boleadoras, the quaggas had
tumbled sideways with their feet towards their captors. Once they
recovered their wits, for all that their front legs had been
rendered inoperative, the hind hooves were at liberty and could
still pose a serious