Vic: Time Doesn't Matter E-Book

Jerry Gill

• Herausgeber: Ann Darrow Co
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Serie: The Incredible Adventures of Vic Challenger
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 316

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

In 1919 a farm girl visits Africa and has a life-altering experience recalling a previous life.  The recall empowers her with primitive instincts and abilities from that past life. It also rouses a love from that time and she must decide if and how to fulfill her vow of love from that life. How would you find the reincarnation of someone who died with you 100,000 years ago?

Leseprobe

Vic: Time Doesn't Matter

Title Page

Meet Vic Challenger

Biographer’s Note

Part 1 Chapter 1 Savage Ending

Chapter 2 Dangerous Encounters

Chapter 3 Kidnapped

Chapter 4 Back to the Stone Age

Chapter 5 Beyond the Restless Sea

Chapter 6 Death-defying Descent

Chapter 7 Prisoner of the Hive

Chapter 8 Escape From The Pit

Chapter 9 Hairy Ape Folk Attack!

Chapter 10 Eternal Vow

Chapter 11 Savage Recall

Part 2 Chapter 12 A Perilous Profession

Chapter 13 Passage to Mexico

Chapter 14 The Ancient City

Chapter 15 Killer Swarm

Chapter 16 The Beast!

Chapter 17 Evil Slavers!

Chapter 18 Deadly Gunfight!

Chapter 19 Savage Challenge!

Chapter 20 Dark River!

Chapter 21 Return of the Beast!

Chapter 22 Going Home

Quotes

The Adventures Continue…

Curious?

Copyright information

Inspiration and Dedication

Cataloging information

Title Page

Vic: Time Doesn’t Matter

Book 1

Series: The Incredible Adventures of Vic Challenger (The reincarnated cave girl)

Author: Jerry Gill

Editor: Keeley Monroy

Published by: Ann Darrow Co

Meet Vic Challenger

Grueling trauma and savage emotional torment can reduce someone to a vestige of their former self. That same unmerciful agony can instead mold a person into something exceptional, a figure of near-superhuman ability, capable of extraordinary feats and heroic deeds even when confronted with mind-numbingly vicious adversaries or against staggering odds!

Victoria remembered her savage life and brutal death, and the vow she made to her eternal love 100,000 years ago. That searing inferno of recollection forged her into something more than she had been. It awakened her keen animal senses and revived the instincts of her neolithic persona and spirit of primal ferocity, and eliminated every vestige of fear!

Her recall also roused a desire un-weakened by passage of 2,000 generations! As Vic Challenger, she now lives an epic quest to realize what might have been in her savage past, even as her civilized side readily responds to any plea for help! Without falter, she confronts grim perils and ventures into situations so terrifying they make the bravest men cower and weep for their mother. Vic never cowers. She does what needs done!

Vic Challenger travel tales deliver chapter after chapter of riveting, heart-pounding action & unpredictable adventure! Guaranteed!

Biographer’s Note

It is amazing what one can find at an estate sale. Recently, at one of these events, I purchased a massive old trunk from the first half of the 20th century. It was locked, contents unknown. I did not expect to find anything of great value, but the contents turned out to be priceless! The trunk held dozens of handwritten personal journals. A young woman by the name of Victoria Custer penned those chronicles. She was a travel writer in the 1920s who wrote under the pen name of Vic Challenger. She traveled the far corners of the earth, and the stories of her trips made her very popular. The public stories, however, were never complete. Her journals tell the whole story of her treks, including things she felt the public would not accept. I read her journals and researched her accounts. I have no doubt in the veracity or accuracy of her stories.

Victoria was an amazing woman who lived at an exciting time in modern history, and she dared many truly incredible adventures. It would be unpardonable if her exploits became lost. I decided to transcribe her handwritten journals and reconcile them with other references from her time. The work is now ready to be shared. I emphasize Vic’s adventurous, brutal travels, but also share a bit of her home life. There was a sharp division between her amiable modern personality and the savage power which her primitive alter ego brought to her aid when needed.

Believe or disbelieve as you will. Here begins the uncensored saga of Vic’s incredible and often strange adventures. They are tales of a re-incarnated cave girl, re-born in the final years of the 19th century - a cave girl who traveled the globe in search of her eternal love, her soul mate, whom she lost 100,000 years ago!

Part 1 Chapter 1 Savage Ending

Today Nu would change the history of his tribe. The caveman sought Gr, the long-toothed cat, apex predator of that time. In the collective memory of his tribe, no one ever stalked the beast. The cat could open the man with a single swipe of its razor-sharp claws. The fearful canines could pierce him through. Yet Nu had no fear. He intended to bring the head of the beast to his beloved Nat-ul, the warrior maiden. Nothing less could convey his love for the savage cave girl.

In that time, when the notion of love was in its infancy, millennia before the concept of eternity was first imagined, the two cave dwellers, in their way, swore fierce eternal love to one another.

Nu loved Nat-ul since the two were but children. Her father Tha taught the girl to wield an ax as soon as she could lift it. She loved the feel of the weapon and spent hours each day practicing. Then one night a low growl awakened Nat-ul and she fearlessly ventured out of her cave to investigate. As she came out, Ur, the giant cave bear, ambled over the beast fires and rent open the midsection of the warrior on watch. The valiant young Nat-ul grabbed her ax and called out for the tribe’s warriors as she raced down to battle Ur! She met the bear without fear and inflicted many wounds, but as warriors charged down from the caves, Ur lashed out! A claw raked Nat-ul’s left cheek and knocked her half-conscious to the ground. As Ur reached for the brave girl with open maw, a dozen spears pierced his hide, and he fell dead beside the young huntress!

That night Nu fell in love with Nat-ul. Each grew to be a consummate warrior and hunter, yet something beyond those traits strengthened their bond. They often concocted words for things without a name and pondered ideas which befuddled other members of the tribe.

On the previous evening, the two walked hand in hand beneath the great yellow-orange equatorial moon, along the shore of the Restless Sea. Nat-ul told Nu she would rather have him than the head of Gr, but the cave dweller could not be dissuaded. Nothing less than the head of Gr would suffice.

The Barren Hills were odd outcrops of giant boulders pushed up from deep inside the earth. Natural caves in the hills provided safe homes for the tribe, and the summit formed three domes, which the people could recognize from many miles away.

The tribe of Onu dwelt in one end of the small range. An especially large specimen of Gr lived on the distant end of the range, on the side away from the sea. Gr did not venture to the sea side. The jungles and grasslands that lay away from the sea were a better hunting ground for the cat. An uneasy peace existed with the great predator, but today Nu would end it. He would confront the devourer of men and mammoths at his own doorstep and take his head.

The time of Nat-ul and Nu was incredibly brutal, so the killer cat was not the only danger which the caveman faced as he sought the trophy head. Yet those hearty souls did not think of danger, bravery or cowardice. It was all just living. If something needed done, it was done. If you needed to eat, you killed something. If something wanted to eat you, either you killed it first, escaped, or you died. Life was uncomplicated, but it was stupendously savage.

Earlier, a behemoth wooly rhinoceros chargedthe caveman and he took to the trees. Now his nostrils again warned of danger. The stink of the hairy ape folk was strong! Not a moment too soon, Nu dropped back to the ground to continue his journey. A dozen of the hairy ape folk showed themselves in the trees above and beat their breasts and taunted him. Nu understood what they said. His people shared a common language with the hairy ape folk and the lesser simians.

The hairy ape folk were less man than Nu but more man than the lesser apes, the gorillas, and monkeys. They were more vicious than any. They were as large as Nu and stronger than a bull. From their lower jaws rose a pair of four-inch tusks and canines nearly as long protruded from the top jaw. If they so decided, the hairy ape folk could attack Nu, easily tear him apart and eat him in short order, but the caveman didn't worry. Seldom would they attack a man unless he showed some sign of hostility. That is why Nu kept his spear on his shoulder and his ax and knife in his waistband.

An hour later, Nu came to the far side of the Barren Hills and was nearing the lair of Gr when the earth began to shake. This was not unknown to the caveman, but the fury of the tremors was unfamiliar. The ground rose and fell and shifted side to side. Nu went to one knee. There was a loud crack like a giant jungle tree snapped in two, but it was the fracture of strata miles below him.

When the convulsions subsided, Nu continued. A few days earlier, he was on this same path when the earth shook. On that occasion, he turned back to the caves, concerned for the safety of Nat-ul. Today though, Nu continued, for he was eager to take the head of Gr. Soon he could smell death in the air and knew he was near the lair of the killer.

Nu came out of the jungle a few hundred feet from the base of the Barren Hills. Between him and the lair of Gr lay an expanse of grass that stood taller than the man. Nu was grateful the wind came from before him so Gr would not be warned early. It would mean almost certain death to meet Gr in this grass. Just days earlier a mighty warrior from another tribe made Nu privy to the only tactic where he might slay the cat and live. Nu had a plan and wanted to meet the saber cat on open ground. He took the ax from his waistband and began to cross slowly through the high grass.

Shortly, Nu stood in a level clearing below several dark caverns. He did not worry that there were many of the great cats for Gr did not tolerate the nearness of another. The bones of many animals were strewn about the entrance to only one cave. Nu stationed himself before that grim portal, loosened the spear on his shoulder and gripped his ax with both hands. Within seconds, the flaming yellow orbs of the great long-toothed tiger glared out from the dark interior, and the devourer of men and mammoths issued an ominous, rumbling growl.

The majestic killer appeared slowly, mouth agape, and glared at the pitiful man-thing that dared to stand before his lair. Gr stretched his forepaws out and arched his back as might a kitten and seemed unhurried by the intruder. Nu was familiar with the ways of the predator, though, so gripped the haft of his ax and murmured, "For Nat-ul!"

Gr suddenly lunged at the man with a blood-curdling screech that made animals for miles around scurry for safety. The instant the cat came within reach, Nu slammed his ax against the head of the gigantic beast with all his might. That stunned Gr, and he stopped, his head hung low. Nu understood that the cat was only dazed so immediately pulled the stout spear from his shoulder and jumped forward. With his full strength, Nu drove the glass-sharp stone age weapon deep into the side of Gr. The spear tore nearly through the body of the cat but missed the mighty heart, the intended target. Now Gr, devourer of men and mammoths, was in pain and angry!

Much life remained in Gr, so Nu instantly jumped on the back of the colossal feline and held tight with his legs and arms. The hind and fore claws must both be avoided because a single slash from either could reduce him to Gr food!

The great cat jumped and turned and struck out with one paw then another. He tried to reach the rash creature on his back, but it was futile. Nu held firm. In time, Gr swatted the spear with a forepaw and snapped it. By so doing, the cat brought his own demise. The move drove the stone tip of the primitive weapon into his heart, and almost instantly his bestial rage ceased. Gr gave up a loud sigh and slumped, burying Nu beneath his great bulk.

With prolonged difficulty, the caveman removed himself from beneath his vanquished combatant and for a moment stood to admire the beast his weapons bested. Then as was the custom with his kind, Nu began to make shrill shrieks which mimicked Gr, then followed with a series of mighty, thunderous cries. It was the war cry of his tribe and to no less extent than the scream of Gr, it sent animals and birds alike to seek shelter!

With a few powerful strokes of the stone ax, Nu removed the head of Gr. The caveman’s spear was broken in the last act of the great cat, and now Nu would repair that necessary implement. Before he began, however, an ominous hush came over the jungle, followed by an ear-shattering crack! The ground vibrated more violently than ever! The mountains shook, and massive boulders careened down the side of the Barren Hills! Nu grabbed up his weapons and the head of his kill and ran inside the lair of Gr to avoid the falling stones. Nu was aware other beasts might seek safety inside the lair of Gr, so he faced the entrance, ax in hand, prepared to defend the gift for his Nat-ul.

The caveman waited, but the wait was short. More boulders tumbled down the side of the cliffs. The quake knocked Nu to the ground, and a thousand tons of stone buried the entrance to Gr’s lair. There was only enough time for the caveman to cry out just once for what mattered most in his life. “Nat-ul!” Then the sanctuary of the mighty Gr, devourer of men and mammoths, became the tomb of Nu!

That was a hundred thousand years ago.

Chapter 2 Dangerous Encounters

Victoria Custer departed thecompound early. The Waziri warrior Udur, and acclaimed big game hunter Lord Lawrence accompanied her.Victoria first planned to hunt alone. Then, to allay the anxiety which beset her brother over her pursuit of dangerous encounters, she acquiesced to Udur’s accompaniment as gun bearer. Her brother Barney, however, remained distraught over what he perceived as reckless behavior. Finally, the girl agreed to the escort of Lord Lawrence, a long time friend of Lord Grainger.

Days after their arrival Victoria caused a stir not to mention a great worry for her brother when she ventured out alone, without notice. Just before noon, those at the ranch heard a single shot from the weapon Victoria carried. It was a Wesley Richards .577, a powerful rifle that weighed fifteen pounds unloaded. Barney wanted to investigate but Lord Grainger reassured him that of course he should hear a shot. After all, Victoria went hunting. She sauntered into the compound after lunch with a full grown male leopard slung across her shoulders!

Lord Lawrence accompanied Victoria and Udur on this hunt to ease Barney’s concern. The three arose earlier than the rest of the household and were a mile from the ranch when the sun first peeked over distant hills.

A fourth member of the hunting party walked on all fours. Within an hour of their arrival at the ranch, a great wolfhound called Terkoz took a strong fancy to Victoria and was by her side whenever allowed. He evinced a desire to go on other hunts, but Victoria thought his presence might hinder her stalking. This day he was going and before they departed she whispered to the animal, “If three people tramping along don’t frighten the game, you shouldn’t be a problem, Terkoz!”

An hour from the ranch house, Lord Lawrence halted and pointed ahead. Victoria saw it. They were at the edge of the jungle, with hundreds of yards of open grassland ahead. Something was stirring up dust a quarter mile away beyond a small thicket. Lord Lawrence asked Victoria to wait with Udur while he investigated. “May be elephants or may be buffalo,” he said. The great pachyderms were not hunted on Lord Grainger's property.

Victoria waited at the edge of the jungle behind an enormous fallen tree. Udur stood beside her as they watched Lord Lawrence stoop low and move in experienced silence across the open.

Again, Victoria carried a Wesley Richards .577, an older single shot model. Barney argued for her to take a newer model with a dual barrel and single trigger. “It gives you two shots instead of one. It’s safer. More sane,” Barney told her. Victoria preferred the older single shot, not in arrogance or to gain an extra thrill, but simply because it was enough. So, in the way of big game hunters for decades, Udur, acting as gun bearer, carried the same. If a hunter missed a shot or if a shot did not bring an animal down, the second rifle was swiftly passed to the hunter. It was not unheard of for a hunter to have several bearers or to load up one unfortunate bearer with several rifles. If the hunter was a poor marksman, the life of both hunter and bearer often hinged on how fast the bearer could pass weapons to the hunter.

As Lord Lawrence moved across the open to the distant trees, he skirted a patch of small bushes. The brush camouflaged a hollow where water collected during rains. As he came even with the brush patch, a loud snort warned him of the danger lurking inside.

He swung his rifle around as a huge cape buffalo came from the brambles. The bull caught him between its horns and tossed him. By good fortune, the horns did not pierce the man, but the impact broke ribs and stunned him. The toss hurled him twenty feet distant and heaved his weapon ten feet farther.

Victoria knew well the buffalo might charge the helpless man again, so she didn’t hesitate. Before Lord Lawrence hit the ground, she jumped the giant log to stand in the open and yelled to draw the buffalo’s attention. The bull looked toward her and snorted and shook his head. He looked at the man again, so Victoria yelled more. The bull put his gaze back on her and lowered his head. “He’s going to charge, Udur!” Victoria called to her companion.

The great wolfhound at that point looked like he might attack the bull. Victoria leaned and touched his head and said quietly, “Stay, Terkoz.”

The Waziri moved to stand beside Victoria with the second weapon. Instead of jumping the log, he stood upon it to step over. The log appeared solid but was eaten out by termites. At his first step, Udur’s foot broke through the shell, and he pitched forward over the log. The rifle slipped from his hand and discharged harmlessly into the jungle. Rather than scare the bull, the shot enraged it more!

The buffalo is a dangerous animal and each year accounts for a significant number of deaths. Every white hunter staying at the compound insisted the buffalo was at least as dangerous as a lion. The animal staring down Victoria weighed in at 1400 pounds and was five feet at the shoulder and over eight feet long.

As the bull lowered his head for the charge, a colossal rhino came from beyond the brambles and drove its fore-horn into the side of the bull. Its back was a foot higher than that of the bull, it was longer and much heavier. The effort of the rhino was all but invisible when it tossed the buffalo ten feet beyond Sir Lawrence. The bull hit with a crunchy thud and began to spurt blood and bawl in death throes!

When the rhino appeared, Lord Lawrence began to crawl toward his rifle to gain some means of defense. As it finished the brief dispatch of the bull, the rhino noticed the man’s movement and turned toward him!

Barney was not able to sit still at the ranch house, so he and Lord Grainger followed the trail of the earlier hunters. They were near when Victoria and Udur began to yell but could not yet see what was happening, so they walked faster. When they heard the discharge of the dropped rifle, they broke into a dead run. As they came to the edge of the jungle at that stretch of grassland, they found Victoria waving her arms attempting to draw the rhino’s attention. Udur whispered, “Lord Lawrence is a dead man!”

.

“No, he isn’t!”Victoria growled. She began once again to shout and wave her arms, and Udur followed suit. Lord Lawrence froze. He understood the rhino had poor eyesight but excellent hearing.

Without warning, the rhino charged Vic at no less than twenty-five miles per hour, It kicked up dust, and snorted in rage as it came.

Victoria saw Udur reach for the discharged rifle and told him there was no time to reload. Udur did not retreat. He stood beside Victoria, for he was a proud Waziri warrior, the son of a chief.

Barney and Lord Grainger were both awed by that scene. The proud Waziri stood to the left of Victoria with arms folded across his chest and head high. On her right, Terkoz the wolfhound looked equally proud and calm.

Victoria threw the rifle to her shoulder.

The massive beast, head lowered, bore down on the three with the destructive fury of a runaway freight train. It was no more than fifty feet from the trio! Barney started to yell, but Lord Grainger put a hand on his shoulder and whispered, “Quiet, Barney. You mustn’t distract her.”

Relaxing most of her body, Victoria faced the rhino at an angle, bent slightly forward at the waist. The girl ignored the folding leaf sight - there wasn’t time, the animal was too near. She focused with the forward open iron sight, pulled the .577 tight into her shoulder, exhaled, and with perfect composure squeezed the trigger.

The report of the rifle reverberated out across the plain and back into the jungle. The rifle’s recoil pulled the barrel up a full foot, and Victoria took a step back from the force.

The .577 round exploded the heart of the rhino. Its forelegs folded and it went to its knees. Dust and pebbles peppered Victoria and Udur as the rhino slid to a stop just eight feet away.

“I don’t know why Barney is always so worried. I’m a decent shot,” she said as she handed the rifle to Udur. Victoria took a step in the direction of her injured companion when an awful roar halfway to Lord Lawrence announced the appearance of a huge male lion! It came from the jungle and moved for a swift attack toward the man and the buffalo. The blood-scent and bawls from the dying bull had its full attention.

Victoria never considered reloading. Before Udur could even suggest that action, Victoria was in a dead run at the back of the lion! As she ran, she pulled her knife and raised it above her head. It was a graduation gift from her father, a custom Bowie with a two-inch-wide, fourteen-inch-long spear-point blade. Victoria kept both sides of the tip razor keen for piercing.

Barney and Lord Grainger took two steps after the rhino went down. Both stopped and were stupefied when the lion appeared, and the girl charged. Udur was reloading a weapon, expecting to need it.

An arm’s length before she reached the unsuspecting, confident lion, Victoria launched herself! The next few moves were so fluid they appeared to be one motion. She landed astraddle the cat just behind the head. She grabbed the mane above the lion’s eyes and pulled back. She reached around and drove the entire fourteen-inch blade into the chest of the brute and pulled it sideways.

As she withdrew her knife, Victoria pushed off the back of the lion. She ran three quick steps back, her knife raised to meet any retaliation.

The girl’s blade had slit the heart of the beast. It began a turn to get at the attacker, but the cut deprived the brain of oxygen and half-way through the turn the beast collapsed.

As the cat hit the dirt, Victoria raised both arms high and struck at the air with the knife. Those savage movements were accompanied by the most horrifying cry ever heard by anyone in attendance. Then, as suddenly, she re-sheathed her knife and went to Lord Lawrence who stood and used his rifle for a prop.

“Victoria!” Barney came running up with Lord Grainger. “Are you OK?”

The nobleman suffered broken ribs and bruises but was otherwise alright. He thanked Victoria, and Lord Grainger and Barney helped him toward the horses, past the dead lion where Terkoz circled, sniffed and growled.

As they walked away, Udur came to Vic, and she looked at him with a timid smile. “Sorry about that yell. I…”

“It is not a thing to cause shame or humility. Miss Victoria, you have the heart of a warrior.”

As Udur walked away, Victoria wanted to tell him she was scared senseless and didn’t know how or why she did what she did. She didn’t say it, though, because she knew it wasn’t true. She felt no fear at any time during the drama and now felt exhilarated and triumphant. As far as why, it was simply something that needed done.

Before they embarked for the compound, Udur assured her he would return quickly and collect trophies for Vic. Barney used Victoria’s camera to take photos for her. She posed alone, then with Lord Lawrence and Udur and with the lion, rhino and buffalo. Of course, Terkoz was in all the photos.

Victoria's feat was phenomenal and amazed everyone at the compound. By noon, Udur brought the rhino and lion trophies and the meat of the buffalo and initiated a feast. The Waziri, the hunters, and Lord Grainger recounted stories of other great hunts, and all agreed they would not forget this day. Udur confided to Victoria that he attended many confabs with renowned hunters. Usually, each became his own jali and would use creative-license to recount his own exploits, This was the first where a woman was not only in attendance but was the center of conversation! That compliment kept her smiling for hours.

To look at her, you would never think Victoria Custer, of Beatrice, Nebraska, at all the sort of girl she really was. Her dreamy eyes and the graceful lines of her slender figure gave the impression of physical weakness which modern men often deem an inherent characteristic of true femininity.

The wavy, coal-black hair that topped her five-foot-nine-inch frame fell halfway down her back. She was quite particular about her hair and usually kept it in a tail or gathered with barrettes. She had an extensive collection of hair fixtures which she began to collect at age six. Her flawless alabaster skin and coal hair were striking, but without doubt, her eyes were her most notable feature. They were the color of light amber and possessed the translucence of that primitive sap stone.

In college, she began to collect cloches along with barrettes. All her life she adored pink and was enamored of frilly dresses. Victoria was the quintessential lady’s lady – when she wanted to be. Yet an honest biography of the girl would never contain a hint of cowardice, sloth, nor mental or physical weakness. To her mother, she was a refined lady, to her father she was tough as nails. Both were correct.

Victoria Custer grew up a normal girl in most terms of description. Yet in a few odd ways, she was both precocious and possessed extraordinary curiosity. At age six she did usual farm chores. She fed animals, collected eggs, picked vegetables, and more. She also insisted on learning to cook from her mother and learned to keep accounts for the farm from her father. She was not good with numbers at first, but seemed fascinated by them and soon could do most common entries.

At age seven she began to hunt with her father and brother. Her aim was uncanny, and she proved herself to be a competent hunter on their first outing. She possessed extreme self-reliance. It took no time for her to learn to track game. By her ninth year, she often went rabbit hunting alone. She hunted with only the most primitive of weapons - stones - and she never returned empty-handed. By the time she was twelve, she was an accomplished swimmer and equestrian.

Her elemental intelligence was remarkable. Yet formal learning was not easy. Her grades were always high but came with countless hours of study and difficulty. It surprised friends when she attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln to earn a degree in mathematics. Victoria graduated cum laude and went straight to work on a second degree in astronomy. In spite of her difficulty, Victoria was an ardent advocate for education. She persuaded most of her friends to pursue degrees.

Victoria did have peculiarities. They began on the night of her thirteenth birthday. That night she dreamed vividly about the lives of two cave people. There was a cave girl, Nat-ul, daughter of Tha, and a caveman Nu, son of Onu. The two were warriors and hunters for the tribe of Onu who lived 100,000 years ago, beyond the Barren Hills, beside the Restless Sea. Their prowess was extraordinary, and Victoria always awoke from her dreams in a good mood. Those dreams continued for years, and the only person she ever told was her brother Barney.

Victoria awoke as a thirteen-year-old with an attitude as well. She was an attractive girl, so as she grew older, she had no shortage of suitors. However, everyone who tried to become more than a friend always brought to her mind the same words – pusillanimous weakling. None of them ever roused any interest whatsoever.

A more sinister affectation also surfaced on that birthday. Vic felt a morbid fear of earthquakes. Even reading about an upheaval of earth made her tremble and sweat and sometimes cry. The few times she felt even the most modest shaking, she froze with fear and lost consciousness. That morbid fear was all the more peculiar in that Victoria feared nothing else. Her childhood seemed a continuous series of reprimands from her parents. She often did things dangerous to the point of being deadly, but Victoria never felt concern, much less fear.

It was these peculiarities which Victoria took with her into 1919, shortly after she received her second degree. Soon after her birthday, Lord Grainger invited Barney to visit his African estate, and her brother suggested that Victoria accompany him.

Victoria accepted the invitation and immediately fell in love with Africa. From the day they arrived, she felt comfortable and secure. To the dismay of her brother she often wandered into the jungle alone.

More than once Vic ascended the heights of giant trees around the compound. She ran along the huge limbs with abandon, jumping from one to another, laughing as she went. On more than one such occasion, Lord and Lady Grainger disappeared into the house and came out in loincloths. They mounted the trees with Vic, and the three frolicked like children at a playground. Often they gathered fruits and enjoyed an exclusive picnic 80 feet above the ground. Later, Lord Grainger confided to Barney, “No need to worry about your sister. She has a natural facility for climbing and seems to possess no native fear.”

One place, however, did arouse dread for Victoria. On a group hunt, they rode south, and two miles from the compound, an odd outcrop of hills came into view. The hills towered in stark contrast to the plain and verdant jungle below. They were an almost vertical space occupied by only a few solitary cacti and tufts of brown grass. A series of three domes capped the small range and endowed it with a profound distinction. From a distance, Victoria stared at them and said to Barney, “Those barren hills are magnificent!“ Yet, as they neared the hills, she began to drop back. Aware of her move, Barney slowed and fell in beside her to ask what was wrong.

“Those hills are so beautiful, Barney. I can’t explain the feeling of welcome they rouse in me. Yet, they also fill me with enormous dread, and I find it hard to breathe. They overwhelm me with a feeling of unutterable personal loss as if a boundless love were taken from me!”

Barney rode with her silently for a bit then asked, "Have your avatars made the customary appearance?" He long before began to call the cave dwellers of Vic’s dreams her avatars.

"Oh, Barney," she cried. "You are such a dear to never laugh at my eccentric dreams. I might become mad as a hatter did I not have you in whom to confide. They have been coming so often! Every night! Sometimes the girl Nat-ul is there, as is Nu the man. More often it has been me with Nu. I have walked hand in hand with him beside a restless sea, beneath a great equatorial moon. I have seen his form and features clearer than ever in the past. He is tall and strong, and clean-limbed -- I wish to meet such a man in real life. I know it is a ridiculous thing to say, but I can never love any of the pusillanimous weaklings who are forever falling in love with me - not after having walked hand in hand with such as he and read the love in his clear eyes."

At this juncture, the hills came in full view. Their barren slopes and strange tri-domed crest loomed in austere contrast to the African plain. Victoria whispered, trembling, “It is so good to see them again!”

Barney looked questioningly and asked, “Again?”

Victoria was confounded, with no explanation for the comment. Then she claimed a headache and said she would return to the ranch. It was past noon, and the heat was scorching, so the entire troupe decided to return.

They reached the compound late afternoon and found a surprise. Two khaki-clad young men came walking out to meet them while they were yet a hundred yards from the gate.

One was a tall, athletic-appearing man. As Victoria Custer recognized his features, she did not know whether to be pleased or angry. Here was the one man she ever met who came nearest to the realization of her dream man. Still those words arose - pusillanimous weakling. His companion also came forward, and the set of his shoulders and his stride betokened his military vocation.

"Mr. Curtiss!"Victoria exclaimed, and looked past him, “and Lieutenant Butzow! Where in the world did you come from?"

"The world left us," replied the officer, smiling, "and we have followed her to the wilds of Equatorial Africa."

“We found Nebraska a very tame place after you and Barney left," explained Curtiss. "When I discovered Butzow would accompany me, we lost no time in following you. Now here we are throwing ourselves on the mercy and hospitality of Lady Grainger."

That lady now joined the party at the foot of the veranda steps. "I tried to convince them that the obligation is on us. It taxes our ingenuity to keep the house even half full of congenial companions."

Throughout the day Curtiss made several attempts to draw Victoria out to the garden where he wished to speak with her privately. Victoria, however, avoided being alone with Curtiss.

The next morning, an hour before sunrise, the household was up as usual for a community breakfast. As everyone enjoyed the delicious fare prepared by the Waziri cook, Curtiss asked about Victoria. “Does she often sleep late?”

That brought brother Barney to his feet. “Never. She’s likely gone out on her own again!” He rushed to find his sister but shortly returned alone. “She’s not in her room,” he announced and at the same time Udur came into the dining hall. “The rifle Miss Custer uses is gone. She must be hunting.”

“I’m sure she will be alright. She can handle herself,” reminded Lord Grainger. The episode with the rhino and lion curtailed Barney’s apprehension some. Words from Lord Grainger helped. Yet he still held a sense of responsibility for his younger sister.

“Look here, Barney,” Lord Lawrence spoke up. “In all my years of hunting all across the continent, I’ve never known anyone more capable in the jungle than your sister.” That gentleman then reddened, and smiled at their host, “Except for Lord Grainger, of course!”

Grainger returned the smile and said, “I dare say her inherent skills are equal to mine, Lord Lawrence.”

Lord Lawrence looked back at Barney. “There you have it! From someone who would know better than any man alive. Your sister is more than capable of dealing with any animal unfortunate enough to cross her path!” Muffled laughs and “Here, here!” were heard all around the table. Every hunter in attendance admired and respected the young woman from Nebraska. So Barney capitulated and sat down to finish breakfast and plan the day’s hunt.