Fearless Master of the Jungle (A Bunduki Jungle Adventure Read Free Page A

to
move around faster than we can on foot. That stallion looks as if
he can carry my weight far better than the banar-gatah I’m riding.’
    ‘ And
elephant would be better for doing that ,’ Dawn stated, starting to turn around cautiously. ‘Come on,
you oversize lump, let’s go and see what we can do about catching
them. It shouldn’t be too difficult—providing that you leave all
the brainwork to me.’
    ‘ I’ll give that a try first,’ the blond giant promised, pivoting
on his heel with an equal care to avoid making any unnecessary
noise. ‘Then, after you’ve made a fool of yourself as usual, I’ll
show you how to do it properly.’
    While speaking, Bunduki was
watching the beautiful young woman he intended to make his wife.
She had only the previous day emerged from a very perilous
situation that had brought her close to death. So, despite knowing
her to be courageous, he had been wondering if the experience might
have had an adverse effect upon her nerves. But her behavior gave no
sign that she had lost her usual high spirits.
    ‘ You
can do that easily enough,’ Dawn conceded, with the air of
conferring a favor. ‘Make a proper fool of yourself, I mean.
But—’
    The words were brought to a halt as
the couple heard snorts of alarm from beyond the bushes in which
they were hiding. Each of them recognized the sounds as those made
by zebras which were being disturbed or frightened.
    There were, Dawn and Bunduki
knew, no wild zebras in the immediate vicinity!
    ‘ Something’s troubling the banar-gatahs !’ Dawn ejaculated, for they had left their borrowed
mounts in the direction from which the snorts were
originating.
    ‘ Come
on!’ Bunduki snapped, ignoring the possibility of making a noise
that might scare away their potential quarry. ‘If anything happens
to them, well not be able to catch the quagga mare and
stallion.’

Chapter Two – I ’ d Hate
to Go Through That Again
    When they had passed beyond the fringe
of the clump of bushes, Dawn Drummond-Clayton and Bunduki needed
only a single glance to know that their concern over the welfare of
their borrowed mounts was well justified.
    Because they had wished to make
a closer examination of the band of quaggas and knowing that they
could not ride near enough to do so without disturbing or
frightening them, Dawn and Bunduki had left their banar-gatahs to graze on the
banks of a small stream some fifty yards away from their place of
concealment.
    With a height slightly over
fifteen hands, the two animals were marked by the numerous narrow
black and white stripes peculiar to the Grevy ’s sub-species of zebra, Equus Grevi. However, like the
quaggas, their physical conformation suggested that they had been
deliberately bred for riding. Each had had its low horned, double
girthed saddle—similar to those employed on Earth by Texas
cowhands—and bridle removed, but the hobbles fastened to the
pasterns of the front hooves were further evidence of their
domestication. Such devices were useful in that they allowed the
wearer to walk slowly and perform its bodily functions without too
much hindrance, but not to travel far or move speedily.
    Under the present
circumstances, the hobbles were putting the lives of the banar-gatahs in jeopardy by
restricting their movements. Wild eyed and snorting their distress,
they reared on their hind legs to flail the air with their front
limbs in a futile attempt to burst the restraints upon them. It was
to no avail and they were unable to flee from the animal which was
approaching.
    What was more—and worse—the
hobbles rendered the banar-gatahs incapable of acting in a normal manner. In the
wild, any creature which behaved unusually would attract the
attention of predators. This was happening in their case. Seeing
that they did not dash away even though aware of its presence, the
creature which was moving towards them and causing their alarm
thought they would be easy prey.
    ‘ Oh
lord!’ Dawn ejaculated,