Attack of the Amazons (4 page)

Abbey moved closer to Dave and did not get far from him as they made their way along a path that showed signs of human use.

The vegetation thinned out, and at last, when they turned a corner, they saw a small huddle of grass huts and several fires going in the middle of the encampment. A number of people were moving around.

Josh said, “Let's not scare them—give them a chance to look us over.”

They had not gone much farther before a cry went up, and they were soon ringed by natives. They were brown-skinned people, smaller than the Sleepers, and they spoke a broken form of the common language of Nuworld.

“We are on a mission from Goél,” Josh told them, holding his hand up in the sign of peace. He saw at once that the name
Goél
meant something to these people.

The tallest among them—perhaps their leader— was a man of about fifty but with white hair. He grinned, exposing broken teeth. “Goél! We are followers of Goél.”

“Great!” Josh said. He explained their mission, and the villagers and the chief listened.

“Come in,” the chief invited. “We have feast tonight.”

“I could stand somebody else's cooking,” Reb said to Wash. “I hope they don't feed us monkey, though.”

Truthfully, they half expected to be fed something outlandish. But in fact, they were served fish and wild pig, which had been roasted by turning the whole carcass over a fire.

“Sure wish I had some good barbecue sauce to go with this here pig,” Reb said, “but we take it as it comes.”

During the feast, the Sleepers were entertained by the natives, who performed a rather strange dance in which they stomped the ground rapidly in unison and clapped their hands together.

“You want to dance, Abbey?” Dave said, chewing on a piece of the roast pork, which was delicious. “You're always one for a dance.”

“Not
that
kind of dance,” Abbey said.

“Well, you're not likely to get a waltz out of this bunch. Look at them stomp. I'll bet they're all flat-footed.”

After the entertainment, the chief made a long speech. He spoke about how Goél had once visited their village and how they had committed themselves to him. “We very glad to see servants of our master, Goél,” he said finally. “Now,
you
make speech.”

Josh hated to make speeches, but Sarah whispered, “Get up, Josh. Tell them what we're going to do. Make them feel good about following Goél.”

Josh stood and began his speech. He quickly learned that these people had somehow heard of the Seven Sleepers, even out in this far reach of the jungle. That surprised him. He had not realized how far the power and the name of Goél had reached.

Nevertheless, he was pleased. He said, “We are on a mission for Goél, and we could use some help. We would like for some of you to escort us, if you would, to the land of Fedor.”

A shout went up.

Josh was startled—what had he said? He looked around at the other Sleepers, who appeared to be as mystified as he was. “What's the matter?” he asked the chief, who was shaking his head violently. “What's wrong with Fedor?”

“No go Fedor,” the chief said, almost sullenly.

“Why not? What's wrong with it?” Josh said.

“Bad place. Fedor bad place. Hurt our people, steal our people.”

This was all that Josh could get out of the chief,
and it seemed that their friendly relations were at an end, at least for the moment.

That night the young men slept in one hut, while the girls were put in another. The boys talked together about the chief's reactions.

Wash said, “Doesn't sound like no place we'd go for a vacation, this here Fedor.”

“That chief was plumb scared of them,” Reb said thoughtfully. “Wonder what they're like. Couldn't be any worse than some of the critters we already met.”

“One thing's clear,” Josh put in. “They're not going to take us anywhere. We'll have to make it ourselves.”

The villagers were quick to give them fresh food to take with them but evidently were relieved when the Sleepers bade them farewell the next day.

When they were out of sight of the village, Josh said, “Well, no help from them, but at least we're on track.” He pulled out the map as they walked along. “I figure we ought to make it in about three more days.”

They made a good two-day trip. Then on the afternoon of the third day, they came to a small river.

“I'd like to stop and camp here for the night,” Josh said, “but it's too early. We can make another ten miles before sundown.”

“Let's just rest a minute,” Abbey said, slipping her pack off. “I'm tired.”

“And we might as well eat up the last of that meat that them folks gave us back there,” Reb said.

Jake started for the river. “I'm just gonna go see how deep this thing is. It looks pretty swift.”

He waded out into it, and in the meantime Reb tasted the meat. “
Fah!”
he said. “Spoiled!” He threw it into the water, and the instant the meat hit, it disappeared.
There was the rolling flash of a white belly, and Reb yelled, “
Jake, get back here!”

Jake turned and said, “What?” He looked at Reb waving frantically at the river—which suddenly seemed to be filled with fish, all headed straight for him. He scrambled back to the bank, his face pale and his lips trembling. “What's that
in
there?”

Josh had seen the piece of meat disappear, and now he walked down closer to the water. “Throw another piece in, Reb.” He watched as Reb tossed another chunk.

Instantly it disappeared.

“Well,” Josh said, “it's a good thing you didn't try to wade out farther, Jake. Those things are meat-eating fish—piranha, maybe.”

“I heard those things can strip a cow in a matter of minutes,” Reb said. He swallowed hard. “I guess we're going to have to find a bridge to cross this here river.”

A little later they came to a large tree that had fallen across the narrow river.

Josh helped Sarah to the other side, saying, “Be careful, now. Couldn't afford to lose you.”

Abbey crossed quickly, assisted by Dave, and the rest followed.

Reb threw the rest of his meat into the water, and there was a splashing as it was slashed by keen teeth and devoured. “Well,” he said, “that's about the fanciest garbage disposal I ever saw.”

Josh appreciated Reb's cheerful courage, but he said, “Let's get away from this. Maybe we can find a river not filled with that kind of fish.”

O
w!” Jake slapped at his neck where a mosquito had bitten him viciously. Staring at his hand, now smeared with blood, Jake said mournfully, “These mosquitoes are going to eat us alive!”

Reb, walking along behind him, spoke up. “You call these skeeters? Back home in Arkansas around Stuttgart, you'd faint if you'd see what we had there.”

“They couldn't have been any worse than these,” Jake protested.

“Worse? I'll tell you how bad they were,” Reb said. “I got caught out duck huntin' once in the rice fields. The skeeters started coming in about dark, and I run over and got in the car and shut the doors and rolled the windows up. But that didn't stop them. No sirree! Not them skeeters.”

Josh, who should have known better, asked, “How'd they get at you inside the car?”

“Why, them skeeters just drilled right through the top of it with them sharp beaks of theirs.”

Sarah laughed. “I never heard of skeeters like that. Did they get you?”

“No, I just took my hammer out,” Reb said, “and I bradded their bills on the inside of the car—but that didn't work too good either.”

Wash, who was grinning broadly, said, “What'd they do then?”

“Why, they just flew off with that car—with me inside it.”

“How'd you get out of that one?” Dave was peering ahead into the dense jungle and was only half listening to the conversation.

“I didn't,” Reb said. He laughed wildly. “They killed me!”

Reb's stories were entertaining, and the Sleepers needed entertainment. They had been plodding through the jungle until their legs were trembling with fatigue, and the insects plagued them constantly.

Snakes, too, appeared without warning. They had killed several with the machete. Abbey was so frightened of them that all she could do was freeze, shut her eyes, and scream at the top of her lungs.

Josh said, “I don't like this idea of just plunging on. We don't know what's ahead of us.”

“I been thinking about that,” Reb said. “Why don't you let me go out, and I could be a vedette.”

“What's a
vedette?”
Sarah demanded.

“A vedette? Why, shoot, that's an army term. Back in the Civil War they would send out scouts on horseback. They was called vedettes.”

“Well, you don't have any horse, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to go out and sort of see what's ahead of us, Reb. You're the best in the woods.”

“OK,” Reb said cheerfully. “You all just kind of hang back. I'll mosey on ahead and see what's up there.”

The young Southerner ran off lightly, despite the heavy pack on his back, and disappeared into the green foliage.

“He is one tough guy,” Dave said “It seems like nothing bothers him—sun, mosquitoes, or snakes.” He shook his head. “I wish we had about five hundred of him on our side.”

“So do I,” Josh said. “And it seems he never gets
tired. As lean and lanky as he is, he just doesn't wear out.”

The remaining Sleepers pressed on slowly. The jungle here was not as thick as some stretches they had been through, though there were still some tall trees, and howler monkeys appeared from time to time overhead, their mouths wide open, screaming loudly.

Jake paused to look up at one, not twenty feet over his head. The animal's eyes were bulging and his mouth was agape, emitting the most piercing screams.

“Do you know,” Jake remarked, “that reminds me of Miss Brown, my ninth-grade algebra teacher.” He thought about that for a moment. “She was sure ugly!”

Sarah smiled. “I doubt she was ugly. I think you likely had a bad attitude. No human was ever as ugly as these howler monkeys.”

They forged on, fortunately seeing no more snakes. The sun was going down behind the tall trees, and Josh knew they would soon have to camp for the night. He had just started keeping an eye out for a likely campsite when all of a sudden he heard a noise and straightened up quickly. He kept his eyes on the trail ahead and drew a sigh of relief when he saw Reb come running.

Then Josh grew tense, for Reb was not smiling. “What's wrong, Reb?” he called out.

Reb pulled up, his face covered with sweat and his chest heaving. “Got some real trouble up there,” he gasped.

“Take it easy, Reb. Catch your breath,” Dave said. He waited until Reb regained some breath, then said, “What did you see up there—is it more elephants?”

“It's worse than that. It looks like a Tarzan movie.”

“You mean there's a bunch of natives up there?” Abbey said fearfully, looking into the jungle as if she could see through it.

“There's a mess of them, and they're up to no good.”

“What did you see?” Josh asked.

“I couldn't believe it at first. There was all these natives, and they's around what looked like a post. Maybe it was a tree they had cut off. Anyhow, they had this young lady tied to it.” He paused and shook his head in disbelief at what he had seen. “And what's more, she was a white girl!”

“Out here in the jungle?” Sarah asked. “You must've seen it wrong.”

“Nothing wrong with my eyesight,” Reb declared. “She was white, and what's more, she had red hair. Even redder than yours, Jake.”

Jake blinked. “What's a redheaded white girl doing out in this part of the world?”

“I don't know,” Reb said, “but she's not long for this world if I don't mistake it.”

“What do you mean?” Josh demanded.

“I mean it looked like they was fixin' to do her in,” Reb stated flatly. His eyes narrowed. “They was puttin' some sticks around her feet. I think they're going to burn her up.”

“Well, we can't let that happen,” Dave said.

Josh thought quickly. “No, we can't. How many were there, Reb?”

“Oh, there must have been at least forty or fifty, I reckon. I didn't stop to count, but we better hurry up, because they're winding up for mischief.”

“All right,” Josh said, “if we can catch them off guard, I think we can do some good. Everybody get your bows out. We may need them. And put your quivers on your back. Reb,” he asked, “can you lead us back there and put us within range without being seen?”

“I think I might,” Reb said. “They're down in a valley. If we get up along the sides of the cliffs, we ought to be able to fill 'em full of arrows like pincushions, but we better hurry.”

Quickly the Sleepers removed their bows and strung them. When they had settled the quivers over their backs, Josh said, “You lead the way. Get us where we should go, and then we'll decide what to do.”

“I know,” Dave said. He pulled out the alarm that Jake had given him for his birthday. “Why don't I punch this thing? That'd be enough to scare 'em to death, if they're superstitious.”

“That's good,” Josh agreed quickly. “Now let's go.”

Reb jogged off and the others followed. Wash and Abbey were the slowest, bringing up the rear, and Jake stayed back with them to hurry them along.

Finally Reb threw up a hand, signaling them to stop. “Maybe we can get on both sides of this ravine. Let me take Jake and Wash with me, and the rest of you stay on this side. Give us time to get over there, and when it's time, you let that there alarm off.”

“All right,” Dave said.

Reb suddenly looked at Josh. His eyes narrowed. “What about it, Josh? Do we shoot to kill?”

It was a bad moment for Josh Adams. He was by nature a gentle boy, but he had seen much death. Now it was hard for him to face Reb and the others. They all stood waiting. He thought,
If we don't go all out, there's so many of them they'll kill that girl and then get us as well.

Slowly he nodded. “Scare them off if we can. Self-defense if we have to. I hate to do it, but it may be necessary in order to rescue her. In that case, take the best shots you can and shoot quick. Make those arrows really rain down—it's the only chance we've got.”

“All right, you've got it,” Reb said.

Josh said, “Sarah, you and Abbey come along with Dave and me. Be quiet now.”

Josh's heart was pounding as he crept toward the edge of the cliff. Fortunately it was covered with brush and large trees, which hid them.

Now as the Sleepers spread out along both sides of the ravine, he could hear the sound of a drum beating. Branches scratched his face, and he kept his bow protected. Finally, he came to where the brush parted, so that he could see what was happening in the valley below.

Josh took a deep breath, for he saw a young girl tied to a tree that had been lopped off at the top. Her skin was indeed fair, and her hair was, as Reb had said, red. She appeared to be in her late teens, and he noticed that she was very attractive. She was wearing a skirt made out of some kind of animal hide, and a gold metallic halter protected her upper body. She wore a belt with a shiny buckle, and altogether she made a pathetic picture as she stood there at the mercy of the savages.

Dave said, “She's sure not a Nuworlder like any we've seen. But look at those warriors—they look like something out of a comic book.”

Josh nodded. “They look pretty rough, all right.” He was eyeing the men. They had tattoos in hideous patterns all over their faces. That made them look even fiercer than they probably were. All carried spears and oddly shaped knives in their belts, and they raised the spears now, chanting in a language that none of the Sleepers understood.

“We'd better hurry and do something,” Abbey said.
“See, they're getting ready to light that fire. They're going to burn her alive!”

“We can't wait any longer,” Josh said. “Notch your arrows.” He slipped the arrow on his own bow and pulled the string to test the tension. He picked his target—one of the larger men, who held a torch, ready to light the fire. Another man, who could have been the chief, stood off to one side. His face was tattooed with blue and red figures, and he had a mouth like a shark's. “Get ready with the signal, Dave. Then try to hit the chief there, if you have to. I'll get the guy with the torch.”

“Just look at that girl,” Sarah said. “She's got plenty of courage.”

Josh saw that was true. The young woman had thrown her head back and was laughing at her captors, taunting them in their own language.

Abruptly the chief cried out a command, and the torchbearer advanced.

Josh pulled the arrow back to his ear, and almost instantly the hideous squawk of Jake's siren split the air.

The native with the torch froze. Arrows zipped into the trees. One grazed the chief's headdress. He called commands, but the warriors cried out in fear over the howl of the siren and what they probably thought was an attack. The chief shouted another command, and the natives retreated.

Suddenly a familiar cry rent the air, and Sarah said, “That's Reb giving the Rebel yell. I think we won. Let's go down and help that girl.”

“But keep your arrows ready,” Josh warned. “They might come back.”

“I don't think so,” Dave said. “They took off like every piranha in the river was after them.”

The four Sleepers scrambled down the embankment, and Josh saw Reb coming down from the other side with Wash and Jake. He called, “Reb, keep an eye out. Some of those birds might come back.”

“Right,” Reb said, “but I don't think so.”

All of them kept their eyes on the spot where the natives had disappeared. But they were equally curious about the strange girl.

Josh saw that she was studying him calmly. “Hello,” he said, “are you all right?” He was not certain if the girl would understand the common language of Nuworld, but apparently she did, for she nodded.

“Yes. Where did you come from, and who are you?” she asked.

“Well, you're a pretty cool customer,” Reb said. He stepped behind the tree, pulled out his knife, and cut the thongs that bound her.

Rubbing her wrists to restore circulation, the girl looked around at them curiously. She did not seem to have any fear at all.

Sarah said, “Did they hurt you?”

“No,” the young woman said coolly. She was a tall girl and well proportioned. Her arms were strongly developed, and obviously she was a runner, for her legs were well muscled. All in all she was a healthy-looking specimen, and she had light green eyes that gave her almost an oriental look because they were almond shaped. “Who are you?” she asked again.

“I'm Josh Adams, and this is Sarah—” He named all the Sleepers and then said, “I'm glad we got here in time. I think they were about ready to kill you, weren't they?”

“They are our enemies, the Londo tribe. That was Ulla, their chief. They captured me early this morning while I was out hunting.”

“What's your name?” Sarah asked.

“I am Princess Merle.”

“Another princess?” Jake said. He had met several before, and he caught Sarah's warning as she cleared her throat.

“Well, Princess, I'm glad we got here in time.” Josh could not help asking, “Weren't you a little bit afraid when they were about to touch that fire off?”

“The daughters of Fedor are not afraid to die,” Merle said calmly. “But who
are
you? I've never seen people like you before. Where do you come from?”

“We come from far away, and we are looking for the village of Fedor.”

Princess Merle examined him, apparently considering his words.

She had an attractive face, he thought, with well-shaped lips and high cheekbones. Her hair hung down her back, and she had tied it with a single band of what seemed to be gold.

“Why do you seek the people of Fedor?”

“We're sent by our master, Goél,” Josh said. “We come in peace to talk to your chief.”

“You come in peace?” Merle asked suspiciously. “We do not have peaceful relations with other peoples.”