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.Chiun wasn't afraid of being gored or trampled by the great, unwieldy beast.It would require some effort for him to destroy the elephant, but that wasn'this goal.The Master of Sinanju had a very different plan in mind.He circled wide around the animal while it was drinking from the stream,approaching slowly from the downwind side.It wouldn't smell him coming thatway, and the gamy reek that stung his nostrils was a small price to be paidfor the advantage of surprise.When he had closed the distance to a dozen paces, still outside the creature'sstriking range, Chiun halted, stood with hands clasped at his waist andwatched the elephant.A low-pitched trilling sound began to issue from histhroat, almost hypnotic in its tone.The elephant froze where it stood, its trunk poised midway between the waterand its small pink mouth.Another moment passed before the gray behemothturned its head to stare at Chiun, the small eyes narrowed with suspicion.Chiun stopped trilling and addressed the forest giant in Korean.He had noillusion that the elephant could understand him, but a soothing tone wasall-important as he made the first advances, opening communication between manand beast.The elephant, in Chiun's opinion, had an intellect on par with mostwhite men he had encountered, and a memory superior to all of them.It wouldremember injuries inflicted by the hands of men, but he believed that it couldalso differentiate between one human and another, given half a chance.Five minutes into the one-sided conversation, when the pachyderm had stillmade no aggressive moves, Chiun advanced one slow step at a time.He made nosudden moves, continued speaking in the same mild tone until the elephant wasclose enough for him to stroke its tough hide with his fingertips.Thecreature snorted at Chiun in warning, but he showed no fear and responded withthe trilling sound that acted as a sedative upon the beast's nerves.Five more minutes passed while Chiun allowed the elephant to test his scentand prod him with the soft tip of its trunk.He waited, knew when it was timeto make his move.The handlers used commands to make an elephant kneel down,or hoist them with its trunk, but Chiun preferred another route.He steppedback from the beast four paces, got a running start and scrambled up the graycliff of its side as if the hulking creature came complete with ladders.Inanother instant, he was seated on the giant's neck, his knees dug in behindthe floppy ears.There was a moment when the creature trembled, seemed about to spin and throwhim off, but Chiun resumed his trilling, and the elephant relaxed.He let itfinish drinking, then asserted his control, a nudge from his right heel thatmade the creature turn in that direction, facing eastward.Another nudge bothheels this time and Chiun was on his way.It would require some patient guidance for the elephant to pick up Dr.Stockwell's trail, but he had time.His days of plodding through the mud werePage 90ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlover now.Chiun was traveling in style.The first thing Audrey Moreland noted, on regaining consciousness, was theungodly throbbing in her skull.It felt as if a tribe of gremlins had moved inwhile she was dozing, and the little monsters were engaged in frenziedrenovations, moving things around to suit themselves.She knew that Renton Ward had punched her, even though she never saw theknockout coming.He was fast, that one, and she would have to be alert,tip-top, when she set out to pay him back.His hands were good for somethingmore than milking snakes and foreplay that could drive a woman crazy.Hands.The second thing she noticed was that her hands were immobilized behind herback.A heartbeat later, she was conscious of the gag, a cool night breezeagainst her flesh that told her Ward had ripped her sleeves off and used themto bind and muzzle her.Goddamn him!Audrey's legs were free, however, and that marked his first mistake.It tookten minutes of intensive effort, straining till she thought her spine wouldsnap, her shoulders pull completely out of joint and leave her crippled,helpless.She finally succeeded, worked around her aching legs to get herhands in front of her again.And it was easy after that.She used her thumbs to pull the gag down, off herchin, and worried at the knotted shirtsleeve with her teeth until the knotgave way and she was free.Another moment, stretching stiffened muscles,working achy joints, and Audrey knew she was as ready as she'd ever be.Another flare of anger burst inside her when she missed the Geiger counter,realizing instantly where it had gone.Ward knew her business now, what shewas looking for, and it appeared that he was bent on getting there ahead ofher.But what did that make him? Forget about the serpentarium in old New Orleans.Renton might know snakes, but Audrey doubted whether any desk-boundherpetologist could move like he did, decking someone like Pike Chalmers witha single blow.Where had he come from, popping up behind her on the trail thatway? Was he some kind of gymnast, in addition to the other talents hepossessed?Or could he be some kind of spy?It hardly mattered at the moment.He had duped her for a while, and it hadbeen a pleasure some of it, at least but she saw through him now.They had thesame goal, more or less, and while she had no way of knowing who his sponsorswere, she didn't really care.There was a million dollars riding on the line,half of it sitting in a special numbered bank account already, and she didn'tplan on giving back one solitary cent.Worst case, if Renton got to the uranium ahead of her, and she could find noway to rid herself of the intrusion, Audrey had a fallback plan that wouldallow her to escape with the half million she had already received.Of course,successful execution of the scheme required her to survive this foray in thejungle, but she still had confidence, despite her inexperience and the factthat she was now entirely on her own.She was determined to track Safford's party and would willingly proceed onhands and knees if necessary.Renton said the others had been taken prisonerby natives, which would mean she had a larger group to follow, with a greaterlikelihood of clues along the way.The downside, Audrey realized, was that thetribesmen might be taking Safford and the others anywhere, perhaps away fromthe uranium, and in the absence of her Geiger counter, Audrey couldn't knowfor sure if she was getting warm or cold
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