| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Explorer |
Posted - May 15 2008 : 01:59:50 AM
This Fic is Rated as Mature, and contains adult themes that may be unsuitable for younger readers or for those who are easily distressed by scenes of sex, violence, or candid accounts of life in somewhat uncivilized countries in times past. This Fic contains scenes of wild animals being killed for sport, for protection, and for food. This may be stressful to timid persons, to young children, or to those who are emotionally delicate. Persons depicted here are fictional or are used fictitiously, and no resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is intended, apart from known historical figures, who are used fictitiously.
Some characters are my own, and others are from the TV series The Lost World, and property rights to them reside with the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, New Line Cinema, and other interested parties. Romantic relationships in the story have progressed beyond those depicted in the Treehouse when The Lost World TV program ended. All three couples in my prior Fics are now married. These are: The Roxtons (John and Marguerite), The Challengers (George and Finn), and the Malones (Ned and Veronica). Social attitudes are those of the times, to give authentic flavor to the story. Racial derogatives employed are not endorsed by the writer, but it would be unrealistic to avoid them, and detract from the authenticity of the story. No offense is intended toward any modern ethnic group. These terms were not used on the TV show, and their inclusion has no association with any rights holder to the intellectual property of The Lost World.
DO NOT READ THIS STORY IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 18. Some very restrictive nations may also limit whether one is free to read mature -rated fiction. Know your local laws.
On Safari
by
Explorer
-----Kenya Colony, British East Africa, 1928-----
Marguerite Roxton sat at a table, a rather nice table actually, in the New Stanley Hotel in Nairobi. She was listening to her husband discussing with their white hunter which species of game they would seek first when their safari got underway in two days' time. In the interim, they would have safari clothing made to measure, including boots, and purchase mosquito nets and a few other essentials that they had not brought from Britain. They already owned a good deal of their gear and had bought some additional items at home, leaving a minimum to be acquired here, in this outpost of their Empire.
The hunter, Geoff Blacklaws, was telling Lord John Roxton something about antelopes. "Isn't that right, Lady Roxton?" said Blacklaws heartily. He took a sip of his whisky and water and looked expectantly at his female client.
Marguerite was startled. She had been only half listening, her mind occupied by something that she had seen as they unloaded their luggage outside the hotel and checked in.
She remembered what the men were saying. "Ah, Mr. Blacklaws, that's all very interesting to my husband, I'm sure, but I can never sort out the differences between those similar antelope. The topi and the hartebeest, in particular, always baffle me. But don't mind me: I'm a simple female. What do I know about these matters?" She smiled charmingly, and Blacklaws, like many another man before, was enchanted.
Roxton was less pleased. "Come now, Marguerite," he demanded. "Don't you remember me showing you these species from the mounted ones at home and in friends' dens? And the zoo? You at least recall the similar ones, like the impala, the reedbuck, and the Uganda kob? And the little duikers and the Thomson's and other gazelles? We'll collect some of those for trophies and for camp meat. You'll find them delicious."
"Quite right, Lady Roxton," echoed Blacklaws. "And we'll shoot both Greater and Lesser Kudu and Sable antelope, also. And of course, the Big Five of dangerous game."
"Oh, I know those," interjected Veronica Malone, sitting between her husband Ned and her friend Nicole "Finn" Challenger. "They're the elephant, the rhino, the cape buffalo, the lion, and the leopard. Right?"
"Right you are, Mrs. Malone," beamed Blacklaws. "I say, here comes the waiter. Would anyone care for another drink? With any luck at all, they've run a cow to ground, and the roast beef will be along shortly." He looked at Mrs. Malone and Mrs. Challenger. " And the chicken surely hasn't flown the coop, either, ladies. Your lunches will be surprisngly good, I daresay. This hotel does quite well with meals, you know. It's not like we live in the jungle, as people back in England and the States often think. " He smiled apologetically at Ned Malone, the lone American at their table. Not that Blacklaws realized that Mrs. Malone was a Brazilian, for she was of Anglo ancestry, and she spoke English like an American. Indeed, she was in the process of taking out US citizenship.
"I know there are towns here," said Ned. "But you do have a lot of empty real estate out here, too."
Blacklaws happily agreed. "Yes, indeed: MMBA is the expression. Miles and miles of bloody Africa." Everyone laughed politely.
In spite of herself, Marguerite was amused, and the hunter thought that she was still very attractive, although probably in her mid to late thirties. The two blonde ladies seemed to be in their mid twenties, with Mr. Malone a few years older than his spouse. Prof. Challenger was noticeably older than his wife, but they seemed to get along extremely well. When he had met the three couples as they arrived on the train from Mombasa, he had suspected that Mrs. Challenger had married for money. Or, perhaps she was her man's trophy bride. But he had soon realized that even if this was so, they seemed to get along famously, being quite affectionate and obviously attentive to one another. In fact, not only did all three couples get along, they seemed to be very close friends of long acquaintance.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 25 2008 : 06:06:23 AM
On a sunny day in August, His Majesty King George V looked out of a balcony window at Buckingham Palace. He raised a binocular and studied the faces of the crowd gathered along Horse Guards Parade as the Changing of the Guard began. The band began playing, "The British Grenadiers", that most imposing of marches.
A Naval aide came quietly into the room as tea was served, and announced, "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is here."
The King nodded, and the aide showed in the political head of the nation.
After obligatory talk over various matters, the King mentioned the Sultan of Amarrah.
"Have you finished talking with the Privy Council and your other advisors, Prime Minister?", inquired the King-Emperor, ruler of what was then the mightiest nation on Earth.
"We have, Your Majesty, and we feel that it is unacceptable to have the Earl of Avebury and his family ill at ease over the possibility that they might come to harm at the hands of a savage and pompous Middle Eastern ruler. I am told that Professor and Mrs. Challenger, the famous scientist and inventor and his wife, are also in dread of foul deeds by this Arab despot. Both couples have children, as well.
"And you are agreed that the action that we discussed last week is appropriate, and necessary, if the whole of the Empire is not to lose face?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I have come to tell you that I will address both Houses of Parliament this afternoon. If the resolution that I will put before them passes, I will announce on the radio this evening that a state of war exists between the Sultanate of Amarrah and the Empire, and that you, Sir, are in full accord with this decision."
The King nodded. "And there will be no problem in removing the Sultan and sending him in chains to prison in India, and making Amarrah a British Protectorate?"
"I feel certain, Sir, that the concept will be popular in both Houses. A fleet is being readied to sail from Portsmouth as soon as may be practical, and one will also depart Calcutta in time to arrive in the Gulf of Amarrah with the first. Amarrah and its oil will soon be in British hands, and the highway robbery prices from there will subside."
The King nodded and pressed a hidden button. The Naval aide came in and the King said, "Commander Benton will show you out. We shall listen for your radio address today with eager anticipation."
"Good day, Your Majesty" said the Prime Minister. "Thank you for seeing me."
The King walked over to the large globe in its wooden rack which dominated one corner of this splendid room.
He put a finger on the Sultanate and began singing, "Wider still and wider, shall thy bounds be set..."
The End
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 25 2008 : 05:32:49 AM
The Roxtons went to the Challenger estate in Kent and were relaxing over brandy after a meal to remember. Roxton mentioned the stress under which they were living, never knowing whether the Sultan might have Marguerite seized again or simply killed. They were also afraid for their children.
"Finn may be on their list of women to acquire, too, after having escaped their clutches in Kenya," said Challenger. "Only having been with us in the car that day saved her then. And the Sultan can easily learn where we live. I am one of history's greatest scientists, and every blasted newsman in the kingdom knows where we live, or can learn. But I am taking steps to see if something can be done about our shared situation. Tomorow, after breakfast, we will host a guest who thinks that he may be able to help. You two need to stay over and talk to him."
The following morning, at ten o'clock, the butler announced gentleman callers. He was used to important guests, but he seemed a bit in awe of these men.
"Sir," he said to Challenger, "it's Mr. Churchill and the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords!"
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 25 2008 : 05:12:32 AM
Two months later, everyone was settled back in Britain, Susan happily helping Finn to prepare her next book and edit the film that she had exposed of wild animals. She found that Finn's comment about the Challenger family cook was true, and she loved walking the estate in Kent. It was beautiful, and soothing to the soul.
She told Finn, who said, "We planned it that way. My soul needed some soothing, and between George Challenger and this place, it feels a lot better than it used to."
The Roxtons were also glad to be home, but Roxton was concerned for his wife's safety. The couple went armed, at home and in London. This was not technically legal off of their estate, but few policemen would have the temerity to search the Earl or the Countess of Avebury. And armed members of their staff were always with their children, lest they be kidnapped.
The Malones returned to Brazil, where distance, at least, precluded the long arm of Amarrah from easily reaching out to menace them. But Ned sometimes woke to find Veronica sobbing, shaking as she fought nightmares about being disciplined for failing to satisfy the Sultan.
"That's ridiculous," Malone told his wife. "You'd be able to satisfy any man who ever lived. And make him feel lucky to have had you."
He held her while she got control of herself, and in time, the dreams became less frequent and less vivid. But she admitted in letters and in radio calls to her "sisters" in Britain that she was uneasy. That whipping in Kenya and what she'd done afterwards had taken some starch out of her. She was made a woman afraid, not the brassy jungle princess who would face anything with confidence. It would take time to recover and regain all of her self respect, although she loved the way that Ned nurtured her. She began to understand some of what Finn had felt for Challenger when she had poured her heart out to him in this very Treehouse, in the early days of their love.
But if she had nightmares, she was brought closer to Ned, and found that she loved him more fully and with less reserve than ever before.
Xma'Klee, the Zanga Indian shaman, came and told her that he had seen her imbalance with nature. He cast a spell and told her that she would heal, and to be grateful for her husband and children.
Assai, the Zanga chief Jacoba's daughter, and Sa'eera, the chief's youngest and preferred wife, came and Veronica told them what had happened to her. They clung together and cried and then they told her that she must heal, for the sake of Ned and their children. Then, they insisted that she tell them about their friends and what else they had done together. They loved seeing photos of strange animals and of the Roxtons and the Challengers and their children. Veronica showed them souvenirs that she and Ned had brought home. And she began to heal
But she continued to be very glad to have Ned at her side, especially at night, when what walked below the Treehouse might not frighten her as much as what lurked in her head.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 25 2008 : 04:22:33 AM
In a little over a month the explorers and their guests returned to Nairobi. Susan paid off the lease on her flat, and was assisted in packing her few belongings while the others stayed in the New Stanley. She closed out her bank account, receiving the often rather jealous well wishes of her former co-workers.
Holly dreaded telling her beau that she had had a change of heart and knew that she could not marry him, although she had had no proposal from Geoffrey Blacklaws.
The matter was solved more easily than she expected. Her beau telephoned her and she agreed to meet at his family's majestic home. There, he led her into a sitting room and told her that his interest in her was ended. He apologized, and was courteous, but explained that in view of her "situation" having become public knowledge, he of course could not entertain ideas of marrying her. People supposed that she had probably "done things" that girls "such as she" would be forced to do while in chains enroute to an Arab dhow. He even had the audacity to ask eagerly if she would tell him what acts had been compelled from her. It was clearly a matter of lewd interest, and she was disgusted. She left in a huff, driven by her father's chauffeur.
On arriving home, she found a message from Blacklaws, asking if he might call on her. Although not in too charitable a frame of mind concerning men just then, she had rung back, and Backlaws took her to dinner at a restaurant as good as colonial Kenya afforded. He treated her not as "soiled goods", but more like a princess.
And he did a rather good job of trying to sell her on his prospects and on his potential as a father. He pointed out that he was well off, if not truly wealthy,and that he could show her more adventure than most men might. He apologized for not having known her better over a period of time. and then, he asked if she would consider marrying him.
"You'd meet some interesting people," he promised. "And I can offer you a life less dull than if you marry that auto dealer's son whom I've heard about. Will you at least think about my proposal?" He looked anxiously at her over the rim of his wine glass.
Holly said that she would need to think about this, and hoped that he would understand. He assured her that he would and asked when she might have an answer for him.
"Soon," she said. She motioned for him to wait, and studied her wristwatch. She held up five fingers, then lowered them one by one. When she was out of fingers, she said, "All right. I took time to think about it. Geoff, if you were serious, you are now officially an engaged man. Yes, I'll marry you! I have been hoping that you might ask, for I have dreamed of little else since you came into that room where you saw me in such humble circumstances and showed me so much compassion...not to mention staring at me like I was a goddess. I felt more like a whore, but you looked at me with respect and pleasure as well as with lust. Don't say that there was no lust, but I liked the way that you handled it. I felt desirable, not like a fallen woman. And you have always been such a dashing figure! I think I have been a little in love with you for years. You seemed so glamorous as I watched you lead your safari clients and read of your exploits in the papers. Are you sure that I am what you want? I now have a certain reputation in some circles, and many men might find that unacceptable. You saw me and what I was about to become. Can you live with that?"
He shrugged. "I asked, didn't I? The Sultan of Amarrah's loss is my gain. If you'll have me, I'll be proud of you. And any man who sullies your honor will have to answer to me."
"Oh, Geoff! Then, yes, I will marry you! May I tell my family that we are engaged?"
"Unless you want us both to tell them," he grinned. "But first, I suggest that we order a bottle of champagne. I think we have something to celebrate."
Holly thought that champagne had never tasted better.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 25 2008 : 02:19:28 AM
As it turned out, it was the better part of a week before everyone had all of the trophies they wanted, including a bushbuck shot by Susan, carefully coached by Finn and Challenger. It was her first kill of a live animal, unless one considered that her .303 bullet in the buffalo's chest might have proven fatal in time. They had not checked penetration of the bullet, and it might not have had the mass to travel straight and deep enough to destroy vital organs. Finn's heavier solid .400 bullets had that power, causing her to favor it or her .375 H&H Magnum for bigger animals.
But for bushbuck and similar game, the .303 was entirely adequate.
It also culled several wild dogs and baboons before they left.
Susan's eyes lit up like incandescent bulbs when Finn told her that she could keep the .303, although she would have to transfer title and arrange the appropriate licenses after they returned to Britain. (In 1920, Britain had enacted the first of a series of gun laws that by 1997 had seriously hampered the ability of the ordinary honest British subject to legally own firearms. The 1997 law would be especially grim and sweeping, and would have been entirely intolerable to the explorers and their friends. Had they still been alive, they would have probably long since moved to another land. But for the length of their days, they were able to keep what they wanted, although having to deal with more red tape than seemed good in a free nation. This was only the birth of the socialist "big brother" octopus, of course. Its tentacles would eventually reach into all areas of British life. But that was many years in the future, and would not affect our heroes. Susan would soon own several guns, on grounds that she was free to shoot them on Challenger or Roxton lands, and needed them to accompany her employer on dangerous expeditions.)
For a girl of common parentage, the opportunity to own fine guns and to hunt was unusual. She was thrilled, and felt better about herself and the new job. She now dwelt among the gentry, and her imagination was full of excitement and the sense of privilege that this produced. Her future seemed brighter than she had dared to hope.
She had even been taught to shoot by an Earl, and sat near him at table, hearing his tales of derring-do in war and the hunt. Her life felt full, and she faced each day with a joy previously unknown.
How strange that this change had come as a result of having been kidnapped, intended for a far different fate...
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 25 2008 : 01:19:31 AM
Susan sat by Finn, across from Holly. She was still a little shy of Holly, the rich girl whose father owned the bank where she had worked until so recently. She also felt pale in comparison to Holly's world class beauty. But Susan was underrating herself. She was quite attractive in her own right (slavers do not steal plain girls!) and Finn was a little worried that some young bachelor would soon marry her and she would be without a secretary again.
Susan brought her notebook to the table, and recorded what they ate and who was there, showing Finn her notes. Finn beamed, and told Challenger. "See? I told you that hiring Susan was a good idea. Now, I don't have to write down all of this stuff, myself. I can work on deciding what else to say and how to get it all together."
They decided to hunt bushbuck and leopard that day and the next, going after Lesser Kudu once everyone had the other species.
Hardy wanted two leopards killed off before they ate too many of his sheep, and Marguerite volunteered for that. Blacklaws would sit in a thorn "blind" with her until after dusk. Then, the hunting car could collect them, leopard or no leopard. It wasn't a good idea to stay the night in the bush. Not only might a leopard prove a threat; there were lions and other animals best not met in the dark.
Roxton tried to pay Hardy to hunt on his land, but the tall Kenyan waved him off. "Look here, Lord Roxton, John, you people rescued my daughter from those Arab and African ruffians. If you had not been there to assist, my darling child might now be crawling on her knees, begging to please some dusky despotic sultan in Amarrah. I plan to write to the Governor, asking that more be done to stifle the slave trade and that illegal ivory smuggling. Besides, one of your hunters is my future son-in-law. We have no intention of letting you pay. Just pass along the word about Stuart's safari business if you like his results. Can't hurt him to have more clients." And he would hear no more of anyone compensating him for his hospitality.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 25 2008 : 12:44:55 AM
The next morning, all rose to servants knocking on the doors of their rooms, bearing pots of tea, that deep amber liquid staple of the British Empire that has calmed so many English hearts at times of stress and brought joy to those just weary in the afternoon. It also served well to begin the day.
Everyone staggered out of bed and dressed before assembling at the Hardy table. There, fresh bread, eggs, and antelope steaks with jam and butter stimulated discussion.
The couples sat next to each other, as was their way, with Angus Hardy at the head of his table and Diana opposite, as his hostess. But in fact, she seldom had to go to the spacious kitchen, as the African maids brought whatever was required. One, Wanjiru, was a pleasant faced girl who was curious about the visitors. She spoke fair English. The other girl, Frances, communicated in Swahili.
The houseboy, Joseph, oversaw everything to perfection. Among the African help, he was the headboy for the entire estate. He had been with the Hardys for 10 years, and knew well the way of Europeans. He was Somali, not Kikuyu, and his English was quite good, as was his Arabic.
The other guests looked around, carefully deciding where to sit. Diana made a point of seating her fiance next to her, and his friend and fellow hunter next. Not coincidentally, she fitted Holly in next to Blacklaws, having warned Hamilton in advance that he must sit so as to allow his fellow hunter to be next to Holly.
When he had looked puzzled, she rolled her eyes and whispered into his ear the news about Holly and her interest in his friend. Other than poor Blacklaws, Hamilton was probably the last to know that Blacklaws was a romantic target. But he had looked amused and told Diana that Holly was a striking woman and one worthy of Geoff, if she could take him off the market.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 24 2008 : 12:59:22 AM
Finn and Challenger lay with each other, Finn excitedly telling him how it had felt to see the raging buffalo bull through the sights of her Jeffery .400 rifle.
"If you hadn't bought me that rifle, Genius, I might be dirty red paste in the dirt where I stood. That was one of the scariest things that I've ever done. And I was responsible for Susan's life, too. I knew that she can barely load and fire a rifle. She doesn't know where to shoot animals to hit them right. Marguerite is right: Johnny probably should have stayed with us. But if some of us hadn't walked back out of those trees, the baboons would have known that we were still there! Diana and her dad need those pests thinned out!"
Challenger smiled and brushed a lock of blonde hair off of her cheek. He kissed her tenderly. "Darling, you brought five rifles on this trip. The way you shoot, any might have sufficed. But I suppose that the .400 is the heaviest and the best, for that. It was a bargain if it saved you, or just pleases you to have it and hold it."
"It is heavy for me, a little," she admitted. "I'd use my gunbearer if I had to carry it a long distance. But when the chips are down, it will save my skin. And maybe, someone else's."
"Well, I am delighted that you managed so well. I only wish that we were at home, and I'd set you on your pedestal." He laughed at the thought.
Finn glowed and hugged him. "You're a silly man, George Challenger, but you're totally MY man, and I love that pedestal. It took awhile to get over the embarrassment, but I sort of like it now, when you put me up there. Sometimes, it even turns me on a little. Remember the night you set me up there after we'd heard that my book was accepted and would be published soon? I was like, so horny, and your doing that just made it worse. You looked so smug when I went for you and you played me like a violin. Hey, I need a less trite simile. How about saying that you played me like a Stradivarius? That's the only brand of violin that I know."
"You need to pay more attention to violins and less to rifles, I expect," he teased. "I think you know every major make and model of hunting rifle and many used by the armies of the world. Good heavens, you own a dozen! Well, those guns give you and Roxton something to discuss and play with when he visits. And I do enjoy talking to Marguerite while you two Gun People entertain one another. She is a remarkable person. You should spend more time with her."
"I know, Genius," she admitted. "Really, I spend quite a bit of time with her. I like her. She can still be snarly, but she's really less judgemental than Vee is about a lot of things. Not that I don't love Vee, too. We'd have all been goners if she hadn't let us stay in the Treehouse. I'm so glad that she and Ned finally got together. They seem really happy. Poor Ned was going nuts while those slavers had her."
Challenger sobered, and a grim expression crossed his face. "Nicole, that was an awful time for all of us. Marguerite taken, too. John was far more affected than he let show, but even what showed made my heart go out to him. I kept giving mental thanks that you were out with us and weren't taken, too. I don't know if my heart could have withstood that."
"It would have had to," she pointed out. "I'd have been desperate to see you again, and I'd need you to rescue me."
He looked carefully at her. "There was a time when I thought that you needed no one, and would insist on taking care of yourself."
"And I might not have been able to," she confessed. "Remember when Burton took Marguerite and me? (See the Fic, "Spirit Jaguar" on the other Orth board.) I was still training to be a slave when that Indian let us out of our cell. I'd like to think that we girls would have thought of something, but I can't be sure. And you and our other friends might never have found us. I was terrified most of that time. Marguerite was, too. She's just too proud to admit it. But I know her, and she was scared silly."
"With good cause," Challenger said. "Burton had reason to hate her, and he did. But I would have found you, as Roxton would have found Marguerite. Neither of us would have given up until we did. You women had already become part of us. Losing you would have been like losing a limb." His face told the tale of his anxiety then and of his determination.
"Which limb?" she teased, hoping to lighten the mood. "Not this one, I hope?" Finn toyed wth his maleness, stroking it with skilled fingers before lowering her head and taking him in her mouth.
She was an artist at this, and Challenger soon overcame his stress. Her talented tongue quickly led them into other activities, which might well have seen her pregnant with a third child, had she not been taking his birth control formula pills. These were one of the fringe benefits of being married to a brilliant scientist and inventor.
After, exhausted, they lay in one another's arms, murmuring sweet somethings. Finn liked that term. "Why say 'sweet nothings' when you can mean it,?" she often laughed. Her man was amused and told her that he never spoke 'nothings', anyway. When he spoke to her, it was from the heart, and Finn could rely on the sentiments that he expressed. That had melted her own heart and she had clung to him, kissing, telling him in return that her heart was his.
"And the most priceless thing that I will ever touch," he had confirmed. "Compared to your love, irridium and gold are cheap items. You are ever the most valuable presence in my lab."
"Our lab, Lover," she corrected. "I first seduced you in a lab and I've liked them ever since." She giggled, and he played with her butt, the way that made her purr.
In time, they slept, looking forward to seeing more of Africa and having experiences that they would treasure forever. Finn was thinking of how best to get wildlife films as she drifted off to sleep. Her man kissed her eyes as she dreamed and then slept, himself. His last thought was how lucky a man he was. He teased Finn about her fondness for guns, but that Jeffery .400 was one of the best investments that he had ever made. It had bought him the life of his wife, without whom he would have been devastated. What would I tell the children?, he wondered, glad that the need had been avoided by her bravery and her keen marksmanship.
Challenger decided to say a prayer of thanks before he slept.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 23 2008 : 10:50:50 PM
They stayed the night at the Hardy farm, with spacious bedrooms and black servants. Marguerite thought this far superior to a canvas tent out in the bush. She had come on safari only to please Roxton, although she had enjoyed some aspects of the experience far more than she'd expected. And one, far less. Being kidnapped to be sold as a slave tends to put a damper on any trip...
In their room alone at last, she was undressing when she became aware that John was lying nude in bed, propped on an elbow, watching her.
"What?!", she demanded. "Do I have a wart or something? Why are you staring at me?"
He smiled, came off the bed and held her gently as he kissed her and then led her to the large mirror above the dresser. "Look in there. Tell me what you see," he ordered.
"I see you standing behind me, looking at me like you're a dreamy schoolboy," she muttered. "Are you in one of your sentimental moods?"
"Yes," he answered, bending to nibble at the side of her neck and the lobe of an ear. His lips were soft, but persistent, and she soon turned and engaged them with hers. She was tired, but when John did this just right, she usually became energized and responsive.
She felt her nipples harden in her white lace bra cups and a tingle ran through her whole body.
Roxton turned her back to the mirror. "Watch," he said and ran his hands down her arms, his fingers encircling her waist, making small motions that ignited her desire even before he reached back and unclipped her bra. She always marvelled at how his deft fingers managed that so effortlessly. He could even do it one-handed most of the time. Tonight, he used both hands, his fingers caresssing her as he slowly removed the garment and folded it before putting it on the dresser.
His hands moved to her now naked breasts and ran over every bit of their flesh before he used his thumbs and forefingers to tweak at the now engorged nipples, pulling gently on them until she moaned softly.
"Roxton, I knew that you'd do this to me. You're still not out of the doghouse for not staying with Finn and Susan. But don't let that stop you. Keep on entertaining yourself at my expense. It isn't wholly uninteresting for me. You do have a certain way with your hands. Slip off my knickers and see what your imagination can manage with me bare."
"You won't be bare," he murmured, nibbling again at her ear. "You still have these pretty gold loop earrings like you tease Finn for wearing. I believe that you have been known to refer to them as slut earrings?" His hands moved down her hips, catching the elastic waistband of the panties, lowering them slowly as he turned her and stood in front of her, his lips following the panties down her body.
He lingered to run his tongue around the mound of her lower belly, above the pubes, and her fingers seized his hair and squeezed as if she was clutching the edge of a cliff, lest she fall. She heard herself making small squealing and moaning noises that sounded like something that she would tease the blondes for making. Or, maybe like a mouse in heat, she thought, trying not to laugh at that image.
She lifted first one foot, then the other, as he pulled off the panties and tossed them on the dresser. His hands played again with her breasts as they kissed, lips and tongues probing and licking lghtly until she pressed her body to him and shivered. He knew then that she was ready for him, and a quick test conducted by slipping a finger within her nether lips told him what he wanted to know.
"Oh, all right, so I'm as wet as the ocean," she confessed. "You do this to me so easily. I'm surprised that you aren't even more smug about it than you are. But kiss me a little while longer before you lead me to the bed and have your way with me. I like just kissing and being held, too."
"Ocean is a good comparison," he acknowledged. "You taste salty down there, too, which I will re-establish in a moment, although I vividly recall it. Marguerite, I'm teasing you, but I love every inch of your body, and playing with it is an endless delight. If you like this half as much as I do, we will never part."
"Unless some slave dealer sells me where you can't buy me," she replied. She grew cold, frightened. She pushed away from him for a moment. "John, what would you pay for me on the slave block, if I was sold again, and you could pose as an Arab buyer? Would I excite you as much as the younger slaves?"
He stepped back a pace and looked directly into her eyes and she knew that he was speaking the truth. "Marguerite, dearest heart, I would spend far more on you than on a younger girl. She wouldn't have your experence, or your spirit, or your mannerisms, to which I have managed to become accustomed. And I know what you like in bed: I can fine tune you like a master horologist sets a watch to indicate the precise second. But your blend of beauty and sauciness is rare, with your intelligence on top of it, and your worldly experience. Yes, I'd buy you first, and pay a pretty penny to put my collar on your neck. Want that neck kissed some more, by the way?" He showed her what he meant, and she quivered as he demonstrated his skills in that realm.
"What about Finn or Veronica," she wanted to know. "What would you pay to own them?"
"A lot, I suppose," he admitted. "They are also beautiful women, and I share some things with Finny that I don't with anyone else. And Vee is also a good friend with whom I share many memories. But if I bought them, I'd return them to George and Ned. They are so much a part of my best men friends that I'd feel too out of place playing with their women. 'Doing' either would feel like fucking my sister. You, on the other hand..."
"Yes?" she gasped as his hands played with her again, warming her passion.
"You are the ultimate woman, and the only one whom I want badly enough that I'd try to beat a friend's time to have, if I had to. I'd try to seduce you away from anyone, even Challenger, I'm embarrassed to say. And George is like a brother. You have brought sin and moral dissolution into my life, Marguerite. I hate even thinking of cuckolding a pal to have you. But I believe that I would." He chuckled. "I just hope that my former male friend wouldn't shoot me for making a play for you. No man would relinquish you willingly." He played with her bare butttocks, and she moved to join her tummy to his, kissing desperately and deeply, then more lightly, longer, as his hands travelled her body, down her shoulders, along her spine, lingering again at her bottom, making her want him like nothing else on this Earth. I am SO his woman, she mused. I hate myself for not trusting John sooner and letting him have me. I know now that he treats me like a fine porcelain sculpture, and would never drop me. He would be as shattered as I would be if anything happened to me, Oh, I never dreamed that a man could feel this strongly about a woman, especially me! I have been so blessed to find him and keep him, after all that I have done, all that I have been. "Oh, John!" she heard herself say.
"Yes?" He pulled away from her lips briefly.
"Just,'Oh, John'," she muttered. "I think you'd better take me over to that bed and fuck me now, before I melt in your arms. I just wish that I had believed in you before I did. Can you ever forgive me for my doubts?"
He chuckled, a low, sensual sound. "What will you do for me if I do?"
"Nothing that you need," she admitted, "for whatever I have to offer is already yours. Why not test me? I'll keep you up all night, Mighty Hunter!" She snickered and locked lips with him again as they moved sideways, holding each other, toward the bed.
There, she remembered what he liked, and pulled away to kneel on the foot of the bed, bottom high, thighs widespread, head low as she leaned on her folded arms. She waited to be entered, but he rolled her onto her back.
"I want to do that later," he said. "Right now, I want to have you from on top, so that I can look into those wonderful green eyes and get lost in them. Marguerite, you did something to me from the moment that I saw you in that auditorium during Challenger's speech about going to the Plateau. I knew that I had to have you, even then. As I got to know you, peeling away the layers, I knew that I had to keep you, forever, or my life could never be complete. Please believe that, for it is totally true. Lady Roxton, I love you beyond expression."
"Hmmm...what if you asked Finn or Ned for expressions? I could stand to hear what they'd come up with. They're good writers." She reached for his lips with hers.
He kissed her for awhile before answering. "Oh, I think that I'll do that! Ned may be embarrassed, but Finn will think it's funny. And romantic! She'll come up with some good words, and I'll tell them to you. But they won't be any more sincere than what I have just spoken. You are the light of my life. And I love you. Now, open your legs and lets' see how interesting I can make this night for you."
She complied, wadding the sheet in both hands as he began probing, teasing with his mouth before finding her center of pleasure. His hands played with her waist and breasts, sending waves of passion throughout her.
An hour later, she knelt before him, wiped his member with a wet cloth to clean it of her juices, and addressed her mouth to his delight. I know that John probably thinks of this as the best use for my mouth she thought, and suppressed a giggle.
Later, spent, they lay touching one another, their hands now expressing affection more than trying for arousal. They continued to kiss, holding each other tenderly, lips and thoughts touching and bringing union beyond what she had once thought possible.
"I love you," they said simultaneously. And what they said with their eyes spoke volumes, thoughts so refined that neither of the authors in their group could approach them with words on paper. Some words have to come silently from the soul, but they surpass anything that can be typed. Although not everything that can be felt...
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 22 2008 : 10:33:38 AM
Just before they ate, Musgrave arrived back from Ft. Hall. He had read a message from Mombasa about the dhow being intercepted and other white girls being saved from slavery. He was also very pleased to recover so much illegal ivory. The telegraph lines were repaired, too.
During dinner, Roxton suggested that they get in some hunting as the Hardys' guests, then go after elephant in the Northern Frontier District. Following that, they could hunt back south again, picking up any species of animals that they really wanted and hadn't gotten yet.
This suited everyone, but Holly pointed out that she was frightened to travel alone, and in any event, hardly had railway fare back to Nairobi. "Now that the telephone lines will soon be up again, I'll call Daddy and see if he'll come for me," she said. "I don't know what else to do."
Marguerite decided to play matchmaker. "Geoff, will you and Bwana Hamilton here mind awfully much if Holly comes with us? I mean, if she wants to? She needs protection, in case any of those slavers are still after her, and we need to be off soon, if we are to finish our safari on time and get back to our children. Holly, you'd be our guest, and I can loan you a rifle, if you want to shoot something on my licenses. Or, Sir John can surely write out a license or two at my expense, when he goes home tomorrow."
"Where would I sleep?", asked Holly. "I would love to come, if everyone agrees. Daddy will probably pay you back for my food and licenses."
"'Guest' means that you don't have to reimburse us," said Challenger. "Roxton and I will split your expenses, and I expect that you and Susan might like to share a tent. I'm assuming that Susan isn't too keen on returning to her flat in Nairobi and living there alone, after what has happened. Finn will surely want her along, if she cares to come."
After some discussion, this was agreed to by all, Hardy saying that Holly could use his radio that night to get a message to her family, telling them of the arrangement. She could also convey Susan's resignation to the bank.
So, it was decided that the group would remain together, save that the Musgraves would return to their home on the morrow, and that Diana would stay home with her father. They had a huge farm to run, and she would see everyone else on their way back to Nairobi.
"Do you and Susan know the best reason for you to share a tent, Holly?," inquired Blacklaws politely. "It's so that if one of you sees a snake, she can scream and warn the other." He laughed at their expressions.
"Don't mind him," said Veronica. "Boys like scaring girls whom they really like. Geoff is probably just wishing that you'd share HIS tent." Holly blushed as everyone laughed.
But she looked intrigued at that prospect, thought Lady Musgrave. This safari had become much more than the hunting trip that it began as, and perhaps some good would come of it. Holly might indeed shoot some game, but the primary trophy that she wanted was a certain sexy white hunter.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 22 2008 : 09:19:27 AM
By dinner, Marguerite had decided to make up with her husband. She had known all along that he was not as much to blame as she had pretended, but she still felt that he should have been the responsible one. Letting two women hunt here on their own was rash. One was barely able to use a rifle!
Finn countered that this was to act as if women were incapable of managing on their own, and neglecting that she was a quick, instinctive user of guns who knew the anatomy of most game animals. "I'm pretty brave, too, when I have to be," she pointed out. "I've helped to save YOUR neck on occasion."
"Well, John should have looked after you better," said Veronica. "Men are supposed to do that."
Finn shrugged and went out to have tea with Roxton and Malone. She also wanted to admire the buffalo trophy, which she felt was well earned. Very feminine in most respects, she was still less inclined to find fault on female emotional grounds than were most of her sex. And Johnny Roxton was her best friend, perhaps even more so than either Marguerite or Veronica. She was the one who had suggested the hunting arrangement, and saw no reason to blame Roxton for going along with it. Had only baboons been the problem, their plan would have worked well.
An hour later, Marguerite looked out a window and saw Finn standing between her husband and Roxton, an arm around each. They were looking at the buffalo, laughing and gesturing enthusiastically as Finn and Roxton told the story to Challenger. Hardy, Hamilton, and Blacklaws were also there, looking impressed.
Veronica came over and said, "That darned Finnykins! Whatever else she is, she is definitely a man's woman. George will put her on that damned pedestal in their bedroom for this when they get home, and she gets all of those guys to tell her how hot she is! She SO knows how to work men to get them to admire her."
"I think that almost all men would admire Mrs. Challenger," said Susan. "But she just did what had to be done, very competently. I think I'm going to like working for her. But you ladies probably make dresses better. Thank you so much for what you're doing for Holly and me. We really needed something to wear."
"Given the situation, it was the least that we could do," said Veronica. "Come on, Marguerite, lets' finish making these outfits. I want to get out there before Ned gets so enchanted by Finn that he forgets me."
"Mr. Malone is never going to forget you," said Lady Musgrave. "You should have seen the anguish on his face as he worried about you, Veronica. Go on out to him. You treated him and Lord Roxton a bit shortly, I think. The rest of us will finish the sewing."
Veronica thought about that, dressed in a new outfit, and went out to her man. She was well received by the men, and Ned made it clear that she was very special to him. Finn also hugged her, and Veronica decided to forget that she had been jealous a few minutes earlier.
Holly chose a dark green knee-length dress that set off her figure well, thanked the ladies for making it, and went out, too. If Blacklaws was out there, she needed to get in some time with him before she had to return to Nairobi. She thought that Finn and Veronica were tough acts to follow. Good thing that both were happily married! That was something that Holly looked forward to, herself.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 21 2008 : 09:22:05 AM
They soon found the reason why the bull had been alone, not in a herd, and why it had charged so quickly.
One hind leg was badly lacerated by a wire snare from some native's trap. The pain must have been awful, and the animal was probably looking for any humans it found, with murder in its heart.
"Bloody Africans set these traps for buck, even though they're illegal," said Hardy. "We destroy them if found on my farm. As you can see, there's no way that one of these snares will really hold a buffalo. They're much too large and powerful. But they suffer terrible wounds like this from them, and it turns them very surly, to say the least. There's no infection in this case, so the injury is probably fresh. The meat will be fine, and this fellow was well along in age in buffalo terms. He wouldn't have lasted many more years. Better shot cleanly than to get old and be pulled down by lions or succumb to disease."
They found a warm reception when they reached the house. After Marguerite and Veronica had let Roxton have their opinion of his letting Finn and Susan nearly get killed (such things are always a man's fault, it seems), they congratulated Finn on her courage and shooting.
"You should have seen Mrs. Challenger," gushed Susan. "She was so brave, and she saved my life."
"Had to," said Finn. "I hate typing, and you don't." She grinned to show that she was teasing. "And Susan put a bullet right into its chest, too. Probably went in just above the heart and would have been lethal in a little while. I just had to brain shoot it to save our hides."
"Well, Susan is needed in the sewing room," said Marguerite. "You can come tell us all about it while we fit her with some clothes. Fortunately, Diana and her late mother stocked some nice fabrics. Ned, you'd better stay out here and let Roxton explain why he left Finny and Susan alone. If he's lucky, I may sit with him by dinnertime."
Ned shook his head in sympathy with Roxton, and the men went out and looked at the buffalo head.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 20 2008 : 8:31:02 PM
The girls were back when the trucks arrived, and they told Blacklaws, Hardy and others what had happened. Finn noticed that Holly had come and kept standing near Blacklaws.
Challenger was there, and he took Finn's hand and asked if all was well. Told that he was still married to a living, breathing, uninjured woman, he chuckled and hugged her.
They measureed the horns and found that they went 56 inches from tip-to-tip. A large, if not world record, Cape buffalo. A fine trophy, Blacklaws exulted.
"Finn," he said, "you shouldn't have been out here like this without Geoff or me. If you'd gotten killed, we might lose our professional licenses. But I must say, you're a deadly shot, and here is the proof of that. George, you must be terribly proud of your missus, I reckon!"
Holly went over and talked quietly to Diana and Susan and told them how she admired them. "I'm glad that it wasn't me who had to stop that beast," she admitted.
Diana looked at her with cool amusement. "You needn't worry, I fancy. Holly, unless my eyes deceive me, you're well along to getting Bwana Blacklaws to protect you from big, nasty animals. I thought that you were all but engaged to that chap back in Nairobi, the one whose family has the car dealership?"
Holly flushed scarlet. "Am I being that obvious? Well, one has to make some things clear, or a man won't catch on, eh? And Geoff is so much more dashing and exciting than most men. I think that life with him might be much more fun than marrying someone mainly for financial security and social status. My family would love to see me married to that other fellow, but when I'm with Geoff...I sort of tingle. Don't dare tell, will you?" She blushed even more.
"Your secret is safe with us," said Susan. "I'm just not sure that it's much of a secret, at least to the women here." She raised her voice. "Mrs. Challenger, should I record the size of those horns, or how you did this, for your next book?"
Finn beamed. She turned to her husband. "See, George? I told you that Susan would make a good secretary. Sure, Susan, write that down. Not that I'm likely to forget any detail of today."
She took Challenger's arm. "Genius, I want to mount this head. I want to remember this day whenever I look at those horns and give thanks that they didn't get into me. By a margin of about eight feet...Can we do that"
"Of course, Darling," the eminent scientist answered. "I am rather proud of you, but I must say that I would have expected you to handle this well. You are a remarkable woman, after all."
Finn kissed him and saw that Susan had her notebook out. "Susan, please add how that long grass looked when we first saw it moving and heard that snort and the black women ran off. That was scary! By the time I write that part of the story, it'll read really well, I bet."
"Yes, ma'am," said Susan. "I'm getting that down now. I know just how you felt, except that I was more frightened than you."
"Susan?", said her boss. "Just call me Finn, will you?"
"Yes, ma'am," said Susan. "I'll try to remember that, Mrs. Challenger." She blushed as she realized what she had said and saw both Challengers grin and look at one another. But Finn was a little larger than life to Susan. She was rich, and she was brave and Susan would never forget how bold she had looked as she had joined the men in rescuing her from Khalid and his slavers. She was naturally shy, and Mrs. Challenger was a heroic figure to her. It surprised her to think that this seemed to be how Finn viewed her own husband and Lord Roxton, except that they were very clearly male.
Oh, well, she mused. The world needs icons. It gives the rest of us hope that everything will be all right. And I'm not going to muff this new job. It gives me more hope for a decent future than I ever dreamed that I'd have. And I think it's going to be fun. too. Certainly, exciting!
Hardy sent a truck to bring back another, larger one with a winch. They'd take the best meat and the head of the buffalo back to the main house, leaving the rest for the natives.
He kissed his daughter on the forehead. "Diana,
you are truly a goddess of the hunt! You and your friends did this very well, indeed! I can't wait to show this head to Stuart. He went scouting, and will be back soon."
"Oh, Daddy!", she exclaimed. "Finn and Susan did all the shooting. Lord Roxton and I couldn't get in a shot."
"Nonetheless, you brought them luck, I'm sure. I'm proud of you, as always." He hugged her and Diana looked embarrassed but happy.
The skinners had begun their work, slicing out the most tender parts of the animal as they worked, taking care to leave enough hide behind the neck to allow the taxidermist enough to make a good mount.
"Write down how they do this, Susan. I want to make this stuff come alive for my readers," said Finn.
"Yes, Mrs. Challenger," said Susan. I'm getting it. Ma'am? This is lots more fun than working in a bank."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 19 2008 : 5:25:50 PM
Roxton had impressed that on her as the two friends looked at mounted animals in the trophy room at Avebury, one of Finn's favorite places on Earth. Sometimes, her husband and Marguerite Roxton gave up on the two hunters and went off to have tea as The Gun People talked calibers, rifle makers, and shot placement on various game animals.
She would sit, thrilled, as Roxton told of his own and other hunters' exciting experiences, and actually going to Africa was one of Finn's greatest ambitions. She had been almost beside herself with glee as they planned this trip. Challenger tried not to be amused at his wife's almost childish enthusiasm, and had rejoiced that she would get to do something that she had longed to for years.
But now, she was there, and in great danger. Like many before her, she performed much as she had been trained to do, as she had programmed herself to do. She knew that to stop this huge animal that was bent on destroying her and stamping her broken body into the red African soil until she resembled nothing human, she would have to place her bullet with precision. It had to hit at the base of the horn boss, just where the horns joined, as the bull lowered his head to make a thrust. If that bullet missed, Finn was going to the Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky, and she knew it. She also knew that if she wounded the animal, it would only be further enraged. Engaging a buffalo was a fight to the finish. Huntress or hunted, one or the other would die.
She heard a shot to her left and realized that Susan had fired the borrowed .303. A pulse of red blossomed on the buffalo's chest and it flinched slightly. It switched direction for Susan.
Finn was appalled. Where could she now shoot to kill it in time!?
She pivoted and fired into the neck as the big beast ran by and saw it stagger and fall. She must have barely missed the spine.
As it rose, Finn ran around in front, yelling at Susan not to shoot. She didn't want to be shot, herself.
In line with the front of the animal again, she fired her second barrel into the exact spot that she wanted to as it surged forward. The bull dropped and Finn immediately reloaded with the two cartridges held in the fingers of her left hand. She put a second shot into the same place, praying that they went home, striking the brain.
As Roxton ran up, his .416 Rigby at the ready, they heard the bull's lungs give that mournful bellow that buffalo did as they died. In this case, it was probably just air escaping from the lungs, for the brain was ruined.
They stood off and threw a few rocks at the animal without reaction, then Roxton touched the nose with a long twig as Finn and Diana stood ready to shoot if the animal as much as twitched.
It was dead, and Finn sat on a big log, overcome with relief. She laid her rifle next to her and breathed deeply as Roxton patted her shoulder and told her how proud he was of her for her heroism. He looked over at Susan and also praised her courage.
"It took some brass not to run, Susan," he said. "First time hunters usually don't have to face a charging buffalo. Welcome to our little group of survivors. Fools we may be, but we're all still here. Finny, your Genius will be very proud of you for this. I damned sure am! Wait until I tell Marguerite!"
"You tell Marguerite and George what happened, and George may divorce me for idiocy," Finn muttered. "And Marguerite will yell at you for getting us into this. You know how women always have to find fault if anything happens."
Diana laid a hand on Finn's cheek. "Mrs. Challenger, because of you and your raw courage, nothing DID happen. If you hadn't been here, that African girl would be dead. Daddy will be delighted to hear of this, and I have seen you with Professor Challenger. He would not divorce you, even for far worse things. I think the two of you have one of the closest unions that I have ever seen. Watching all three of you couples has eased my final fears about marriage. Oh: Stuart and Geoff will love hearing about this, too. They will just be sorry that they weren't here. Technically, as your professional hunters, they have a duty to be with you at times like this. We should have told them we were coming. But two more people would have just made a crowd for what we planned to do, and I wanted Susan to have an easy time of it on her first hunt. Susan, how are you? Did you remember to work the bolt and reload after you shot?"
Susan drew back the bolt and caught the the shiny cartridge as it flipped from the rifle's chamber. "Looks as if I did," she said proudly. She reloaded the rifle and rocked the safety lever back to Safe, as she had been taught.
"Mrs. Challenger, may I sit beside you? My legs are rather weak just now." Susan felt a little flushed, too.
Finn looked up and smiled, patting a place next to her on the log.
"Sure, Susan. Sit. And call me Finn."
"Yes, ma'am," said Susan. "Mrs. Challenger, I don't know about you, but I was a little frightened. Is it all right to admit that?" She took off her borrowed sun helmet and fanned her face with it.
Finn laughed. "It had better be. Because I was scared out of my skin! Johnny, do men get get frightened by stuff like this?"
"Certainly," admitted Roxton. "But I am a veteran of quarrels with Marguerite. After that, I am up for hunting buffalo any day!" He laughed, and they all did, venting the emotion that had drained their bodies as they realized that they were alive and the buffalo was dead.
In the distance, they saw trucks coming. Those at the house must have heard the reports of the heavy rifle and realized that they probably weren't firing at baboons. Natives were coming, too.
"N'yama," said Diana. "Meat. That's what the wogs will make of this. We'll take just what we need, and give them the rest. Finn, I'm sure that Daddy will let you have the head to mount. You may have to take this on your license, though. The Game Department are often sticky about that."
Finn said that was all right. "I'll probably never have a closer call. This thing meant to get us. Johnny, how far from me did that animal drop?"
He paced it off. "About eight feet, Finn. That was a nice shot that put him down. Smack where it needed to go. Very cool shooting!"
"Mrs. Challenger, may I be excused for a moment?" Susan asked. "I need to step into the bushes and pee."
"You and me, both, Susan," said her employer. "I'm just glad that I didn't go in my pants when that thing lowered its horns and went for us. If I'd peed my pants, Marguerite would never let me hear the last of it!"
"Watch out for snakes in there, " called Diana as the other women went into the bush. "The ladies' room out here sometimes has prior occupants!"
"Bloody Africa," muttered Lord Roxton. "Everything bites."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 19 2008 : 3:59:09 PM
Roxton and Diana saw, but were not in a position to help. They ran from their hiding place to try to get into place for a shot. But Roxton realized that they couldn't shoot in that direction, not knowing just where Finn and Susan were.
He suffered from the emotional aftermath of having accidentally killed his elder brother when a bullet that he had put into an attacking gorilla had passed through the great ape and into the other Roxton. He had never gotten over this. As he had told Marguerite, it was not something that one really ever gets over. He certainly did not intend to miss the buffalo and hit one of the girls. Diana was equally aware of the need to be sure where her shots went. Her father had drilled that into her as she began learning to shoot, at age 10, with a .22 rifle. She seldom missed anything at which she shot, and if she did, the bullet went in a safe direction.
Finn walked out of the woods and waved at the bull, she and Susan shouting insults at it. Susan, at Finn's instruction, threw a rock at it. This had the desired effect. The enraged animal turned and made straight for the girls!
Finn was using the Jeffery .400 and she knew where to aim on a charging buffalo.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 18 2008 : 04:47:25 AM
Time passed. The usual calls of birds and monkeys that had been interrupted by their arrival resumed. One bird kept up a monotonous call that made Susan drowsy.
From wooded knolls a few hundred yards away, a leopard sawed, and baboons on the stony outcroppings where they lived went crazy with answering calls. Baboons hated leopards, their primary predator.
Finn scanned the area beyond the field with her binocular. She was thrilled to see a trophy class lesser kudu glide between some trees and stand briefly before it disappeared into the the bush beyond. Hamilton had been telling the truth when he said that the Hardy estate was premium hunting territory. Much was undeveloped, and was Africa as the first white men to come here had found it. Primeval, lush, thrilling. Beautiful. Dangerous...
She wished that she had shot the kudu, but it was gone so quickly that she wouldn't have had time to lift her rifle, and the range was long. Besides, she had promised to shoot baboons. Diana had complained of their raids on crops.
Their hostess worried that her father alone couldn't control animal depredations after she married. But Hamilton promised that he and Diana would stop by frequently to help. Hamilton wanted to sell his home in the N'gong Hills and buy the next farm over. If his safari business continued to improve, he hoped to do this within a year or two. Diana wished fervently that they could do that. Then, their combined holdings would be vast, rather than simply huge.
Finn heard a rustle in the long grass and a dik-dik ran out, disturbed by something big behind it. She and Susan admired the dainty little antleope, which stood barely a foot high. But what had frightened it?
Judging from the way that the grass moved, whatever it was, was large. It snorted, and she ruled out lions. Rhino or buffalo, probably. They were too far from any river for it to be hippo, although she knew that they sometimes ranged far from water. But that was mainly at night. And if this was an elephant, it would probably show above the grass, as tall as it was.
She lifted the .400 double rifle and opened the breech, sliding in two of the long cartridges. She snicked it shut, loving the refined click typical of these finely crafted weapons.
The animal in the bush moved closer, and the native women stood transfixed, staring at the moving grass. Then, one screamed, "M'bogo!", and they ran in panic.
"What in hell is that?" queried a worried Susan.
"Trouble," said Finn. "M'bogo means a Cape buffalo."
Then, a big bull buffalo stepped clear of the cover and tossed its head. The horns must have been over fifty inches, tip to tip. It was the black color of a mature bull, in its late prime. It pawed the earth and bellowed angrily. Then, it saw another girl come by and wheeled to chase her.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 18 2008 : 04:10:27 AM
They went by the hut of the native woman who had been injured, and Diana dressed her wounds as her husband watched. The girl was grateful and the man warned, "Baboon, him bad fella. Mem'Sahibs take care. Hatari."
Diana translated. "'Hatari' means danger. But we'll be careful."
They went to the outermost field, where girls were planting and tending corn, the American maize. Finn and Susan hid in a grove of trees and other growth and Diana and Roxton walked on out and back toward the truck. There was a theory that baboons could count to at least five, but sometimes lost track of how many people were in a party if some hid in cover and others reappeared. If there were baboon sentinels watching, maybe they'd be careless. They could definitely distinguish between native women with hoes or digging sticks and warriors with spears.
Before they reached the vehicle, Roxton and Diana ducked into a thicket of bamboo and other lush growth. Maybe the baboons would grow tired of watching, and think the humans had gone into the tall grass beyond.
Finn laid her .275 Rigby on a log beside her and set her .400 next to it. They had seen tracks of buffalo and lion nearby, and Roxton had advised taking a heavy rifle, in case they became involved with more than baboons. She opened a box of ammunition with "solid" jacketed bullets, and stuffed some into the cartridge loops on her safari vest. Maybe softpoints would be better if a lion came, but she was more concerned about rhino or buffalo. For these, she wanted the added penetration of the 400 grain full-jacketed bullets.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 17 2008 : 8:30:31 PM
Finn took her favorite .275, one fitted with a Zeiss 4X telescopic sight. It was the rifle with which she had killed Ahmed. But she added her .450/400, a double-barrelled rifle made to her measurements by the famous firm of W.J. Jeffery and Son, one of England's top custom gunmakers. It had cost a pretty penny, but she loved it, watching how the sunlight brought out the colorful grain in the French walnut stock and forearm, with the fine checkering and the exquisite English scroll engraving on the action sideplates. The rich bluing on the barrels shone from the oily cloth that she wiped them with and she hefted it, just for the pleasure of feeling it come so naturally to her shoulder and seeing the Express sights align easily on a rock across the yard.
She chose two boxes of ammunition, one with softnosed bullets, the other of 400 grain "solids", heavily metal jacketed bullets designed to drive deep into big animals like rhino, Cape buffalo and elephant. She had fired her husband's .450, but decided that the relatively lighter recoil of her own rifle suited her slim frame better. And, if well used, a .400 was deadly, even on elephant.
Finn wanted to kill at least one elephant with ivory that weighed over 100 pounds a side. She hoped that her nerves would be up to facing one, especially if it charged. She pictured in her mind how the sights would look if she held on the spot just above an imaginary line between the elephant's eyes as it came for her. That was the small path to the brain, and a miss would place her bullet in spongy bone, without enough effect to save her.
"Come on, Finn," urged Roxton, putting his own rifles in a hunting car. "Stop standing there worshipping that rifle, and lets' go." He nudged her in the ribs, and she turned to him with a grin. But she put the rifle back into its case and got into the car.
"Finn is much like me," explained Roxton. "Spends all of her money on good guns." This hit too close to the truth for comfort, for Finn had indeed spent a lot on guns after leaving the Plateau. She had used almost two thirds of the fortune that she had taken from her share of the treasure of Xochilenque so far, and much of it had indeed gone for guns and several pair of Zeiss binoculars and good boots and hunting clothes. And she and the Genius had spent most of the rest and much of his own money on their London townhome and the country estate.
She was glad that her book was selling well, and the publisher was pushing her for more. And George's inventions were selling, too, with royaltes alone making them well off. With luck, they wouldn't have to go back to the Plateau soon for more of their remaining treasure. They had taken out only about half, their balloons pressed to carry even that much. Marguerite had selected pieces that had sold for far more than the gold alone would, to collectors of ancient Aztec and Maya art.
But those guns would last a lifetime, then become heirlooms. And the estate had spacious lawns and hedges for the children to play in. They would grow up in far happier circumstances than she had. Finn missed her children sharply then, and decided that they needed to finish the safari before too long and go back to being parents. George and I may be rich, she thought, but those kids aren't going to be raised just by nannies, like in many wealthy English homes. I'm a mommy, and I'm going to be a damned good one!
"Susan, remember to keep your rifle pointed up," cautioned Roxton. "Never let the muzzle cross another person, unless you mean to kill them. Thankfully, that won't be too often. What happened to us on this trip isn't our usual lifestyle, these days." He smiled reassuringly at her.
"Don't worry. Handling a rifle will soon become second nature to you," Diana chipped in. "Even you blondes should be able to manage that." She winked at Finn.
"Thanks a lot," muttered Mrs. Challenger. "I get as many of those blonde comments from Marguerite as Vee and I need. Don't start on poor Susan."
Little did she know that before the afternoon was out, she would be extremely glad that she had brought that .450/400 double rifle. It would pay for itself many times over before the day was done...
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 17 2008 : 8:05:44 PM
Finn got her own .303 and loaned it to Susan, showing her how to load it without the cartridges jamming, and how to cycle the bolt smoothly. "Don't try to work it as fast as I do," she cautioned. "Johnny showed me how to do that years ago, and I've had a lot of practice. Just try for amooth operation. Remember, this action cocks on closing, so you have to push harder on the return stroke. Now, try, with an empty rifle. Remember to keep the butt firmly in your shoulder socket. If you hold the rifle loosely, recoil will get a running start, and it will hurt more."
Susan liked it even better when Lord Roxton showed her how to hold the rifle in the back yard, and she was allowed to fire a few shots at dirt clods in an earthern embankment. His arms on her felt reassuring, and he was kind and friendly, and funny. Susan was jealous of Lady Roxton. She wondered what it took for a woman to find a man as good and as exciting as this.
Diana Hardy was amused. She teased, "Susan, try not to glow so much. Lord Roxton is a married man." Finn snickered. Roxton blushed. It was true that he enjoyed Susan's reaction, however loyal he was to Marguerite.
"Hey, people," said Ned Malone. "I think I'll get a rifle and join you."
"No you don't, Buster," said his wife, walking out the door and taking his elbow. "You're stuck here, watching me try on the things that Marguerite and the others are making for me. Susan, don't be too long. We need to fit you with some clothes, too."
"Speaking of clothes, Vee, shouldn't you go put some on?" joked Roxton. Veronica was wearing just a blue shirt and panties, barely covered by the shirt tails. She was being fitted for a skirt and had walked out of the sewing room when she saw Ned trying to escape the house.
She looked down at her shapely legs and blushed. "Come on, Neddy," she said. "You're embarrassing me out here."
"Tough luck, Grandpa," razzed Finn. "At least, you'll get to see Vee undressed. You always like that." She grinned before realizing that she had just addressed him as her grandfather, which he was. Actually, her great-great- grandfather...(See the Fic, "The Amazon Revelations", on the OLD Orth board, www.americanbty12.proboards62.com , in Fiction there.)
"Why do you call Mr. Malone 'Grandpa'?", asked Diana. "He's barely 35 or so."
Finn paled, but Ned quickly covered for her. "I used to sleep badly sometimes in the Treehouse," he explained. "If I said that I felt like an old man, Finny here teased me by calling me her grandfether. It sort of stuck, and she's teased me about it ever since."
Veronica turned her head to prevent the others seeing her smile. Roxton looked down and chuckled.
"Well, 'Grandpa', you're stuck here with your wife for awhile," said Veronica. "Come on, buddy. Tell me what I look good in. I don't want you very far from me for awhile, while I recover from what I went through at the hands of those damned slavers. I thought that I'd never see you again." She tugged Ned's arm and the Malones went back in the house.
As they went in the door, Ned raised her shirttail and smacked her firmly on the behind. She squealed, and Ned chased her down the hall, Veronica giggling as she ran.
"They seem so in love," said Susan dreamily, and Diana nodded, looking wistfully after the couple. She decided to ask Stuart if they could move their own wedding date forward. Veronica had a point. After her own ordeal, Diana was uneasy about sleeping alone, even in her beloved bedroom. Daddy wouldn't mind, she hoped. May tease me about being a bitch in heat, but that's what I've become. I don't want Stuart with me just for protection. I think I'll find other uses for him...
"Shall we venture forth and pop a few baboons?," asked Roxton.
The girls came back to reality, and nodded, Susan hoping that she would prove worthy of the others' trust. That rifle had hurt her shoulder a little, but it was thrilling to see her bullets hit a big dirt clod, even just 50 yards away. She hoped that shooting at living creatures wouldn't freak her out too badly. She wanted to look good for Mrs. Challenger. She sensed that Finn was going to be a fun boss, and nicer than most, by far. And her husband...so distinguished, yet so kind, even when he pretended to be gruff. Nice people. She wished there were more like them in the world.
She concentrated on what Roxton was saying about 174 grain softnosed bullets as he handed her two boxes of .303 ammunition.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
| Explorer |
Posted - July 16 2008 : 11:35:07 PM
Back at the huge Hardy farm, Diana loaded a rifle and told Susan and Finn where they could go to shoot baboons. "We'd better smack that lot soundly," she cautioned. "They ripped one native girl quite badly last week, and the African supervisor for the mealie fields says that they've been stealing all the grain they can. Daddy's quite unhappy about that. We have a lot of money invested here, and the crops need to be gotten to market, not used to feed baboons!"
Susan, of course, had no rifle. Diana showed her the selection in their well stocked gun racks. "How about a nice .303 sporter?," she asked. "You can use a full 10-shot military magazine in these, and if there are a lot of those blighters and any come for us, that's a nice feeling to have, that many cartridges without having to reload. What are you used to? I could loan you a .275, if you'd rather, or a .256 Mannlicher-Schoenauer. No need for the big stuff, and that ammunition is awfully expensive. We try to save those for animals large enough to need that much power."
Susan looked shyly at the guns and held the .303, a nice rifle by the BSA company. It felt pretty heavy to her inexperienced arms and she awkwardly raised it. The stock was too long, and Finn suggested trying another, stocked for Diana. "More a woman's size," she noted. "If it doesn't suit you, you can try my .303. We're about the same height and have the same arm length." Her rifles were made to measure.
"Um, Mrs. Challenger, Miss Hardy," Susan stammered. "Maybe I should mention a small matter. I've never actually fired a gun. Don't they kick a lot when they go off?"
Diana and Finn looked at one another. The former, like many Kenya women, had grown up with guns. She had killed her first elephant at 14. Not having guns around seemed an alien concept to her. She looked to Finn for help.
Finn sympathized. She hadn't been able to own guns of her own until after she had been rescued by Challenger from the perils of her 21st Century city. Being given guns taken from dead slavers and told that she could keep them was one of the happiest days of her life. Not only did she admire fine firearms for their beauty and mechanical quaities; they often meant simple survival, as well as a means of obtaining meat where there were no butcher shops. Even at her palatial estate in Kent, she and her husband still slept with revolvers in their nightstands. It seemed excessive at times, but Finn wouldn't be without a gun whenever she had the option. The world being what it was, it just didn't seem prudent.
"Susan," she said, "I think we'd better ask Diana to send out some tea while we ladies sit at the table and I draw some pictures to show you how to sight a rifle. Then, we'll go over it with the real gun in your hands, and I'll show you how to hold it to minimize the recoil effect. These calibers don't kick like elephant guns. I'll let you fire a few shots with my ammunition and you can see what you're doing. I'll help you understand how to work the bolt without jamming the works and how to squeeze the trigger to get a clean kill. No jerking, for starters. Diana?"
The Hardy lass sighed. "I'll send for tea. I'll sit in on this, and offer encouragement. Susan, we can't muff this. I don't favor wounding even a baboon, and they can be dangerous. If we encounter other animals, they can be worse. "
"I think you girls need a man along," said Roxton, who had overheard. "Darling! Are you going to teach sewing class? If so, I think I'll join Finn and her expeditionary force against the baboons."
"Go ahead, John," came Marguerite's voice from down the hall. "We'll fight our battles back here with designing dresses and the like."
"Cool!" said Finn, slapping palms with Roxton. "Saved from the sewing circle, are you, Johnny?" She laughed.
"I'd rather face a dozen charging rhinos than that," admitted Roxton.
Diana Hardy smiled. These people were really quite fun. She was going to miss them when they left. And she didn't mind having Lord Roxton along. It was nice to meet an Earl. Especially one who looked like this one and had his personality. That Marguerite woman must be quite something to have caught him.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
