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

there would be no smoke
rising at daybreak to betray their presence—a trick Dawn’s father
had taught to members of the British Army on anti-terrorist patrols
in Kenya, although he had not originated the idea xxv —the blond giant had asked At-Vee to
accompany him on a reconnaissance. Leaving the girls to take care
of the four banar-gatahs, the two young men had had no difficulty in
locating their quarry. The band of quaggas were not more than
three-quarters of a mile from the hollow and were in a location
which would offer an opportunity for Bunduki to employ the method
of capture which he had envisaged. However, as he had commented to
his companion, their place of concealment was far from ideal and
there were snags to be overcome.
    ‘ I’ve seen Dawn and you throwing ropes like those on your
saddles,’ At-Vee commented, referring to the coiled lariats
strapped to the saddle horns of the Earth couple’s mounts and which
had been one of the reasons why they had selected those particular
animals. ‘But you couldn’t reach the quaggas from here with them,
could you?’
    ‘ No,’
Bunduki admitted. ‘Thirty to forty feet is about as far as a lariat
can be thrown, but I’ve something else in mind.’
    ‘ You
wouldn’t be able to hide behind this rock with your banar-gatahs, ’ the Hunter pointed out, as the quaggas finished drinking
and began to make for the open plains. ‘Of course, you could hide
behind one of the clumps of bushes—’
    ‘ They’re too intelligent for us to go close enough to reach
them with a lariat,’ Bunduki answered. ‘But there may be another
way we can catch them. I’ll tell you and the girls about it after
we’ve taken a look around.’
    ‘ Whatever you say,’ At-Vee assented. ‘This’s all new to me.
I’ve never tried to catch any kind of animal alive.’
    Six foot in height, although he
did not slim down at the waist as well as the blond giant, At-Vee
was broad shouldered and well muscled. His glossy black hair
was cut
after the fashion of Prince Valiant, but his brown and pleasantly
good-looking features were much like those of a Polynesian.
Indicative of his profession, he was clad in a loincloth made from
the hide of a jaguar. A sheathed, spear pointed knife hung sheathed
on the left side of his belt. Suspended through a loop at the right
was a shilva, which resembled a short handled poleax— or, more closely,
a czdkan xxvi — its hammer-like head being backed by a
long, slightly curved spike. In his right hand, he grasped the
thick handle of a spear that matched his height and had a stout
steel cross guard attached about two feet below its head. Although
his arms had been designed as tools for hunting, he had learned
that they could be turned into effective weapons for fighting
against human beings.
    ‘ It
looks like this is their regular drinking place,’ At-Vee remarked,
after he and Bunduki had carried out an examination along the bank
of the stream. ‘Will that help you?’
    ‘ It
could,’ the blond giant admitted, having drawn similar conclusions.
‘Let’s go back and tell the girls what we’ve learned.’
    ‘ I
haven’t learned anything worthwhile,’ the Hunter objected with a grin. ‘But I
suppose I will one day.’
    ‘ Everything comes to him who waits, brother,’ Bunduki stated
and started to walk in the direction of the hollow.
    ‘ All
right,’ Dawn said, after the blond giant had given her and
Joar-Fane a description of the situation. ‘So there’s a way we
might be able to catch them. Now tell us the bad news.’
    ‘ The
very earliest we can hope to try will be this evening,’ Bunduki
obliged. ‘And perhaps not even then.’
    ‘ Hum!’
At-Vee grunted thoughtfully, realizing what the blond giant was
leading up to. ‘If the Mun-Gatahs have settled their differences,
they’ll be coming looking for you to take revenge for all the
trouble you’ve caused.’
    ‘ They
will,’ Bunduki agreed, darting a concerned look at his