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

pass beyond the limits of safety. For all her
grave concern, she knew better than to say or do anything which
might distract him. Instead, she concentrated her attention upon
sighting her weapon at where she believed its arrow would have the
most useful effect. Because of the bear’s motions while moving at
speed, she discarded the idea of a body shot. Only if she managed
to strike an extremely limited vital area would her efforts
supplement those of Bunduki, and achieving this would be far from
easy. The placement of the grizzly’s feet and its loose-fitting
hide’s seemingly rolling movements combined to create ever-changing
contours which rendered accurate sighting extremely difficult.
Throughout its stride, the legs ‘scissored’ rapidly and added to
the confusion. One moment the back legs would be close to the nose
and the front feet under the rump, bunching the vital organs. Next
the body appeared to have become extended out of all proportion,
with the effect that the essential areas had changed positions in
relation to the now extended frame. So she took aim
accordingly.
    Employing all of his skill in
an attempt to maintain the correct alignment and allow for the
speed at which the grizzly was approaching, Bunduki uncoiled his
fingers from the bow ’s string. As the arrow was carried forward and he felt the
slap of the string against his leather arm-guard, his instincts
warned him that he had miscalculated. Not much, or through any
fault of his own, but sufficient to place him in the gravest
jeopardy.
    Flying to meet the great beast,
the blond giant ’s missile failed to reach its intended point of impact. He
had hoped to strike the center of the forehead just above the eyes.
Instead, it passed over the top of the skull to bury almost to its
fletching into the hump of the shoulders. A roar of pain, mingled
with rage, burst from the grizzly’s slavering jaws; but it never
faltered in its stride.
    Even as Bunduki was reaching
for another arrow and preparing to take what could easily prove to be
futile evasive action, he heard a twang which informed him that
Dawn had loosed her shaft.
    Like her mate—as she now
regarded the blond giant, although they had not yet gone through a
formal marriage ceremony—the girl missed the mark at which she had
been aiming. The error was not great, but would be enough to spoil
the desired result. She too had hoped for a brain shot, seeking it
at a point just below the bear ’s ear. Misled by the animal’s speed, she saw her
arrow was burying into the neck a good three inches behind where
she had intended it to strike.
    Finding itself being assailed
from the right as well as ahead, the bear looked around. Then, to
Bunduki ’s
consternation, it began to swerve in Dawn’s direction. Clearly,
having discovered how painfully its challengers could strike, it
had decided to tackle the smaller and, possibly, less dangerous of
them.
    By changing direction, the grizzly was
threatening the life of the woman Bunduki loved.
    In an instant, all semblance of
civilization and thoughts of sympathy for the bear left the blond
giant. He became a primeval savage whose mate was being endangered.
For all that, the way in which he responded was far from as
reckless and ill advised as it might appear on the surface. Nor, in
spite of his great anxiety, did he act without giving rapid thought
to what he was doing.
    Dropping the bow without
liberating an arrow, but ensuring that it fell so that the quiver
was uppermost, Bunduki sprang towards the great predatory beast. As
he advanced, his right hand reached swiftly for the Randall Model
12 ‘Smithsonian’ bowie knife. Flipping open the press-stud of
the sheath’s retainer strap in passing, his thumb and fingers
enfolded the concave ivory handle.
    Further evidence that the blond
giant was behaving rationally and not out of a blindly impulsive
rage was given by the manner in which he was arming himself. An
exceptionally competent knife-fighter, he