The Amazon Revelations

by Gemini Explorer

The explorers join a war between the Amazons and cannibals. But to their astonishment, Queen Selena and the leader of the Men have become wary allies. Both visit a truce village where they seek normal relations between men and women. Ned learns of a child, to Veronica's pique, as Phoebe and Finn stare at each other as if looking into a mirror. Hippolyta menaces Marguerite.

THIS IS A MATURE-RATED FIC! You all know what that means. It's for grownups. Content includes some sex and violence, and a few naughty words.

As with all TLW Fan Fics, the rights to most characters and the basic Plateau plotline belong to the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and New Line Cinema, the Over the Hill Gang and other interested parties. Certain other characters are the creations of this writer. Some relationships are different than on the TV show. Mainly, there are three couples in the Treehouse, as with my prior Fics. These are the Roxtons (John and Marguerite), the Challengers (George and Finn), and the Malones, (Ned and Veronica). All are engaged, although George and Finn anguish over the issue of adultery, not knowing yet that Jessie Challenger died of flu in 1921. In this Fic, they will face added complications to their love. (When you visualize Challenger, keep in mind that Finn has been cutting his hair neatly for all of my Fics. He looks much better groomed and younger than he did on TV after the first season.)

And now, our play, er, Fic! Please read and review. Please excuse any Americanisms. Most UK readers have been kind about those, but a couple have been pretty explicit in their disapproval. I do try to have some characters speak English and the others to speak American. But I've never been in England and have to go by books and movies that I've seen. Also, most readers outside the British Commonwealth use American English, and I have to use words that they'll understand, where any confusion may occur. Frankly, some weeks, I have more German readers than I do from the UK. My stories are read in about 50 nations! However, I have more US readers than from any other country. Moreover, the British explorers would have picked up American expressions from the others, and vice-versa. Thus, they might use words like, "okay" or "candy."And please pardon references to other Fics. If I didn't mention in parentheses where to find the references, many readers wouldn't know where to look to read those stories. I especially want to thank Henge and a few other British readers for their kind comments and occasional help. Of course, only I am responsible for the content.

The Amazon Revelations

by

Gemini Explorer

February, 1924, the Treehouse, remote northern Brazil:

Dinner was almost over, the ladies serving blackberry pie and coffee as the meal wound down. There had been much enthusiasm for the splendid roast of venison and fresh garden vegetables that had provided their repast.

Challenger was intrigued with the larger species of deer that had provided the venison. Usually, they relied on the small brocket deer for such meat, but this newly discovered species was bigger, and seemed related more to the European Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) or to the American elk or wapiti (Cervus canadensis). It also resembled the Asiatic Sambar (Cervus unicolor), a favorite food of tigers in India. All of these similar deer were of the genus, Cervus, noted Challenger. He had decided to name this new variant species after himself, to no one's amazement. Although he had mellowed in his time on the Plateau, modesty was still not George Challenger's most noticeable characteristic .

True to type, the "Gun People", John Roxton and Nicole Finnegan (better known to her surrogate family as Finn) were as enthused as was Challenger. As hunters, naturalists, and adventurers, they shared the eminent scientist's joy in discovering a new source of food and sport. Ned Malone and his woman Veronica Layton, and Marguerite Krux, were less intrigued with the biological issues.

"It tastes good," Ned summarized his feelings.

Marguerite snorted. "Well, that's simplifying it, Ned. But what matter does it make whether it is closer to a Sambar or to our own Red Deer in England and Europe? It looks like either, and tastes like both. And I have certainly eaten each, as has John. All we need to know is that a .275 Rigby bullet behind the shoulder will render it into venison. And, before the Gun People rush to inform us of this, I feel sure that any similar caliber, or any other that we have, will also suffice. I say, Veronica, this pie is scrumptious. May I have another slice?"

Veronica had been about to sit down. She started to tell Marguerite that she could get her own pie, but decided to be gracious. She took her brunette friend's plate and returned to the kitchen to get the pie. Veronica had baked it, and was visibly pleased to hear the universal accolades that had accompanied its arrival at the table. About time that this motley crew agreed on SOMETHING, she mused. But she was proud that they all liked it.

Finn poured coffee into her man's cup and took the pot to the kitchen, also. She slapped hands with Veronica as the two passed. "Great pie, Vee! You outdid yourself on it!" She smiled at her "big sister", and Veronica's heart warmed. She glowed, forgetting Marguerite's laziness. After all, she had been up, and Marguerite was seated.

"Setting aside the matter of the new deer for the moment, we need some copper," said Challenger.

"Why, for crying out loud?" demanded Marguerite. "We have a fortune in gold and gems taken from Xochilenque. (See, The Crystal Skull of Xochilenque on this board.) What need have we for a cheaper metal? Besides, it isn't as lovely to look at or to hold as is gold. It even tarnishes." She forked a bite of blackberry pie into her often sarcastic mouth.

Roxton and Malone laughed. "Darling, I rather think that George has some scientific purpose in mind," explained Roxton. "Life's not all about riches. Not that I'm unhappy to have them, mind you!"

"We need the copper for conduction experiments that I must do to provide better refrigeration and heating to the Treehouse, not to mention powering the windmill," Challenger commented. "Our small supply of copper is becoming exhausted, and there is no reasonable substitute."

"So, where do we get this copper?" asked Finn. "Is it anywhere that we can go fishing while we get the stuff?"

"Alas, Darling, we had better not tarry to fish where we must go. The mines lie near the border between Zanga lands and the cannibal country adjoining the haunts of the Amazon women. Besides, you and I and John went fishing yesterday before Marguerite shot the stag. That will have to hold you until we can get the copper and get safely back to our domain."

Veronica looked sober as she took her seat beside Ned. "George, that's not the best place to be, if we can possibly help it. The Amazons weren't too thrilled with us after they were attacked by those men that we set free. And the cannibals...let's just say that they deserve their reputation, which isn't good."

Challenger made a defensive gesture. "Unfortunately, we have little choice in the matter. The only other copper deposits of which I know are much further, and lie in a region populated by still worse peoples. They remind me of the Scythians in ancient days, and like them, have the unpleasant habit of blinding their captives, to preclude escape."

"Where is Tribune with his reptilian legionaries when we need him?" asked Marguerite.

"I'm not sure that we need him," spat Malone. "That creep is nuts, and he just takes advantage of us. The jerk would probably rip us off of any profit he saw."

"I also am happy to leave Tribune pursuing his demented dreams," agreed Lord John Roxton. "But if we have to have this copper, I suppose that we'll have to go and get it. When do we leave?"

"We definitely need the copper," Challenger confirmed. "We may as well plan to start in the morning. Finn, I wish that you'd stay here, and perhaps Ned will remain with you. Where we are going is dangerous."

Finn gave him a raised eyebrow and took his hand. "Genius, I swore to you that where you went, there I would go, also. Yeah, like Ruth in the Bible... I can't stand not being with you, knowing what's happening. I'm going. Please. I generally don't disobey you, but you may need me. Anyway, who cares if these cannibals are dangerous? I'm pretty dangerous, myself." And she grinned her impish grin that melted Challenger's resolve.

"Very well," he grumbled. "To tell the truth, I'd miss you too much to leave you behind, anyway, I suppose." He took her hand and the two of them looked into each others' faces and both began to smile at the same moment.

Marguerite started to say something snide about their love, but thought better of it. She was actually rather touched by what she saw, and Roxton, too, noticed. He turned to Marguerite, took her hand, and kissed it.

"What was that for?" she asked.

Roxton smiled. "Why, Madam, I should have thought that it was obvious. That was for you." And he laughed, melting Marguerite's heart. She bit her lower lip and blushed, her breast warm with emotion.

"Honey," said Ned Malone. "I think I want some more of that pie, too."

Veronica rolled her eyes and took his plate.

XXX

Following dinner, they set out most of what they would need in the morning, taking extra canteens, for much of the way had only limited access to water. They would take packs, and carry added supplies on a travois, each of the men taking turns pulling it. This could be cached as they approached the danger zone, where its burden might prove cumbersome if they had to move quickly.

Roxton drew a map of the area where they would go and how, and each of them studied it, those who had been there making slight suggestions until the drawing was exact.

"Hey, Ned," asked Finn. "Didn't you and Vee say that there's some chick among these Amazon babes who looks kinda like me?"

Malone shifted nervously. "Ah, yes, she sort of looks like you, I guess. A little." He was uncomfortable with Veronica's eyes on him. The others grinned.

"Phoebe is her name, as I recall," remarked Marguerite. "It seems that she and her sister enticed poor Ned into their bed and took advantage of his manliness. But Veronica rescued him before he was fully taken advantage of. Isn't that right, Ned?" She looked sweetly at Malone, enjoying watching him squirm.

"Oh, sure, " he mumbled. He looked up, defensively. "Hey! Will you all 'cool it', as Finnykins says? Nothing happened. Repeat, NOTHING HAPPENED! Okay?"

"If you say so, Ned," Marguerite replied. "I'm sure that we can all believe what a man says that he did in a lady's bed, right? Especially if there were two ladies present?" She looked into his eyes, and Ned saw that she meant devilry tonight. Damn Marguerite! Why did she have to have this cruel streak in her?!

"So, you and these two chicks had a 'threesome'?" asked Finn. "'Way cool! Was Vee pretty mad when she caught you?" She looked to her "big sister" for the answer.

"Leave Ned alone," said Veronica. "I was really more amused. I think I caught Romeo here before anything crucial occurred. Anyway, we weren't together then. We were really more like brother and sister in those days." She blushed, as eager as was Ned to change the subject.

Finn shared some of Marguerite's streak of devilry at times, and this was one of them. She and Marguerite looked at one another, and grinned. Finn asked, "Brother and sister. So, Ned was into incest then as well as threesomes. Ned, you dog! I never knew that you had it in you!" Finn and Marguerite broke out laughing, and Roxton and Challenger colored and cleared their throats self consciously. But Roxton was smiling, in spite of his sense of decorum. It was rather funny...

Ned was mad. "Well, you never know, Finn. Why don't you ask your beloved 'genius' if he'd like a threesome? Maybe you and one of those Amazon girls could show him what a grand time I supposedly had!"

Marguerite was intrigued. "Would you do that for George, Finny? He might just like that. Stop blushing, George. It could be the highlight of your love life this year." She erupted into more peals of laughter. Roxton tried not to laugh in front of Challenger. He had to turn his face away, but Marguerite saw and laughed even harder.

Veronica saw the chance to get back for her and Malone. "Yeah, Finn," she smirked. "You're the kinky chick here, maybe even more than Marguerite. And I know that both of you kept those handcuffs that Burton's slavers used on you. I know what goes on in your bedrooms sometimes when you two play 'slave girl' with your mighty masters." She stopped short of mentioning the time that she had seen Challenger spanking Finn before Finn had performed a rather intimate act on him, on the balcony when she and her man had thought that everyone else was asleep. She had promised Finn that she would keep that in confidence. (See, "The Crystal Skull of Xochilenque" on this board.)

This role playing was something that some of them knew about, but which had never before been broached, except in private between the women. Now, it brought a sudden silence, and everyone shifted uncomfortably. Veronica suddenly wished that she had kept her mouth shut. She might have really hurt her "sisters'" feelings, and made the men angry.

She said, "Look, everybody, I apologize. I got carried away. What you all do in the privacy of your relationships is none of my and Ned's business. I was really out of line there. Please forgive me. I need to think more before I speak." She blushed crimson, and Marguerite walked over and hugged her.

"Veronica, you do need to learn to keep your mouth shut sometimes, but we love you, and you have forgiven me for far worse trespasses. Maybe we should change the subject."

Ned wouldn't let it drop. "George, would you like that? I know Phoebe and another of those Amazons pretty well, I think. If Finn wants to play that way, maybe we can set it up." He gave Finn a dirty look for having teased him about his tryst in the Amazon village.

Roxton cleared his throat noisily. "We need to select rifles. Finn, do you want your Mannlicher, or would you prefer the .44 Winchester? The latter might be best if we get into a shootout with those cannibals. It has enough range, and it's easier to operate fast and carries more cartridges."

"Shut up, Ned," said his woman. "Now, please. I've done enough to spoil the evening for everyone. Don't keep needling."

Finn was flushed, but she wasn't going to be intimidated by Ned Malone. She turned to Challenger and held both his hands in hers, standing very close to him. "Genius," she began, "Ned is razzing us, but if you want to try that, I'll do whatever you want. Just don't bring the other girl back here with us and don't lets do that too often, okay? I want you to do whatever you choose about this, if we can find the right girl. Really. I mean that. I love you so much..." She looked anxiously into his eyes, wondering how he would respond.

"Hey," said Ned. "Wait a minute. George, I'm sorry. Finn and Marguerite just got to me. I shouldn't have said that. I wasn't serious. I hope you know that." Veronica, seeing his real distress and regret, moved to take his arm and caressed his hair.

Challenger said, "Nicole, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Most women wouldn't offer me that choice. But I can tell you sincerely, that you are the only woman whom I need. Your little fantasy games more than provide me with all the variety that I desire in the bedroom. Now, let's get back to planning this expedition. If that's all right with our comedians..." He looked meaningfully at Malone and Marguerite. Then, he pulled Finn into him and kissed her eyes, one after the other, then her lips, and stood by her holding her hand as they turned back to the supplies they were assembling. Marguerite didn't miss the tears in Finn's eyes as she gazed adoringly up at Challenger.

"The Winchester, then, Finn?" repeated Roxton, trying not to show the emotion that he felt at what he had just seen pass between his best male friend and his woman from the future.

Finn sniffled a little, leaned into Challenger and said, "Yes, Johnny, thanks, and I think I'll take extra ammo, too. This might be a rough road that we're about to travel."

XXX

In bed, Veronica and Ned agreed that they should have been less crabby, not to mention keeping personal confidences.

She asked him if there was anything that she should know before they might encounter the Amazons again.

"Neddy, I don't want to find ourselves in their city and get any surprises."

"What surprises?" he replied, a little too glibly, she thought.

"Ned, I demand that you tell me right now if anything happened between you and those girls!"

"Veronica, I was pretty much forced to 'serve my purpose', and we weren't together then. Do you really have any right to be asking me this? If you had responded to my advances earlier in our acquaintance, I would never have looked twice at any other woman. Well, I may have looked...but all men do that. We can't help it, if the girl is pretty enough. And a very few women on this planet are almost as lovely as you are."

She dug him playfully in the ribs with a fist. "Mr. Malone, flattery will not let you evade this question. Did you screw Phoebe and her sister or not? Truthfully! If you did, it's better that I know now, believe me."

"Okay, Veronica! Damn it, I did fool around some. But I didn't enjoy it as much as I would if it had been you, instead. Really! Every time we've made love has been like heaven, compared to what I did with those girls. And, you, Jungle Princess, laid that creepy musician, remember. I haven't had any tantrums over that, and he tried to KILL you! So, there!" Ned was very upset, knowing that he trod on exceedingly thin ice over this issue.

Veronica was silent, considering. Ned did have a point about her and DuCart...Becoming infatuated with the insane musician had not been one of her brighter moments.

"Why wouldn't you tell me before?" she finally demanded.

"Because a man with any brains doesn't discuss prior girls with his wife, that's why; what do you think? I not only didn't want you leaving me or making me sleep on the couch for a month; I didn't want to hurt you. I love you, Honey."

She thought, and decided to forgive him, although she would be grumpy whenever she thought of the Amazon sisters.

"Okay, Ned," she managed. "You're forgiven. I do love you, too, and we need one another. But don't lie to me anymore, okay? "

Ned breathed a sigh of deep relief. "Sure, Baby. I hated keeping that from you. I was just afraid of how you'd react."

"It does help that you risked your life coming after me and getting me out of that cage in Xochilenque. (See, "The Crystal Skull" on this board.) And I believe most of those cheesy compliments that you give me." She smiled in the dark, and ran a hand down his body. "Okay, you're forgiven. But don't expect me to make you an offer like that one Finn made to George. No threesomes in this bed! I'd better be all the woman that you need, buddy."

Ned was intrigued. "Okay, Sweetie. But what do Finn and Marguerite do with their guys when they play those games that you mentioned?"

"Forget it, Ned. You're not getting handcuffs on me. I don't want to play slave girl, even with you. Let alone Prisoner of the Pirate or that other stuff that Finn comes up with. You wouldn't believe what we girls discuss when you guys can't hear." She snickered.

"Well, what about what you learned after she had you practice on those bananas? You got to be really great with what you learned then. I bet that you're even hotter than she is when you do the things that you WILL do!" He looked at her hopefully.

"Oh, so you think that Finn is 'hot', huh? But that I'm better? Nice try, Malone. Go to sleep. You'll need your rest tomorrow. That copper territory is a long way off."

He tried to sleep, but a few minutes later..."Honey? What about a quickie? I can't sleep, thinking of how hot you can be. And I sort of need some help with something that 'came up' from lying next to the most beautiful woman in the world, and the most wonderful and forgiving one."

Veronica's heart softened. She was, in truth, lonely for his embrace, too. And she could do her best for him, ensuring that she eclipsed anything that those damned Amazon sisters had come up with.

She snuggled closer, kissed him for awhile, then rolled over and peeled off her panties, dropping them on the nightstand beside Ned's .45 pistol.

"Okay, Buster, you asked for it. I am going to wear you out so much that you can't even make it downstairs to eat breakfast. You won't be able to think about women again until we're back here, well away from any Amazons."

"Prove that to me, " he challenged.

The heck of it was, she did leave Ned so satisfied that he could honestly say that Veronica was more fun than a whole harem of Amazons. It was nice to have a mate who could do that for a man, and she cooked pretty well, too. I'm a lucky man, he thought, as he drifted off to sleep over an hour later, his woman curled next to him, playing with his hair just before her own eyes closed for the night.

XXX

Marguerite Krux lay next to her mate, Lord John Roxton, looking at his countenance in the dusky room before they slept.

"John? Can you believe that Veronica said those things? She is normally the soul of discretion. I promise you, when I heard her; I was shocked to my core! She seems really stressed, and I think it is about that Amazon girl and her dead sister. Do you suppose that Ned really did anything with them? In fairness to Ned, he and Vee were not involved at the time. She really has no cause to make an issue of it."

Roxton shrugged. Marguerite felt the motion more than saw it in the dark. "Women are women, Marguerite. You, above all of us, should know that. Your fair sex doesn't reason sometimes so much as you emote. Veronica is now involved with Ned, so she extends her interest back beyond the point where Malone was a free agent...mainly because SHE wasn't interested in becoming involved with him. Now, she wants to blame him for something that most men would have enjoyed doing, although the Amazons forced themselves on him! All of our lives were at risk from those damned women and their cursed double standard."

Marguerite thought, then told him that she was glad that he, at least, had been trying to escape from the woman who had sought to force him to mate with her. "I wasn't really involved with you then, either, John. It was sort of on-again off-again between us, and usually off-again. But I think I knew deep down that someday, I was going to lose my battle to reject you as a lover...and even be glad of it. Thank you for not doing anything with her. I know that there were many women before me, but I didn't see you with them. I did see you with her!"

"You're very welcome, Madam. But the real reason why I didn't want her is because I have been saving my strength for you and this very night. Care to show me how much more desirable a woman you are than she would have been?"

Roxton knew from talking with Ned that he had enjoyed the two Amazon girls' favors to the utmost, and wanted to steer the conversation away from the matter, lest Marguerite worm it out of him that Ned had lied about not having done anything. If Marguerite knew, she might become angry at him for keeping this from her, and from Veronica. Women were strange, and always likely to become emotional over old issues. Besides, maybe she actually would be inclined to give him a pleasurable hour or so before they slept. It certainly wouldn't hurt to try...

"Waiting, all of this time? Come, John! You have not been saving anything up at all! You've had me; at length, whenever you thought you had a chance. Am I so awful a lover that you've managed to forget all those times? I suppose that I may as well just go to sleep, if that's all the memories that I've left you with." She sputtered with laughter, flattered and amused that Roxton would even bother to try such a silly line on her. But it was funny.

"Joking aside, Marguerite, I want you, badly, now. How much energy do you have left? Care to prove to me, once again, that you are the consummate lover? I could definitely go for that."

"When could you NOT go for a deal like that?" she rejoined. "We have to be up early, John. And quit sidestepping the issue: if we have to be among those Amazons again, do you think Veronica can behave herself if she sees Phoebe? It wouldn't do to upset those women. I'd rather bypass them altogether. "

"Sound idea," he agreed. "I trust that George will concur. But if we do have to enter their walls, their queen at least took a liking to George. Maybe she'd grant us some concessions on his behalf."

"There's another rattlesnake poised to strike," Marguerite pointed out. "Finn may be curious to see how much Phoebe looks like her, but if she thinks for a moment that Selena wants George, Finn is capable of rash action. Most women who have squabbles with another woman over a man would content themselves with name calling and hair pulling. They'd try to intimidate each other and humiliate their rival in public. They'd try dirty, backstabbing tricks to manipulate the situation. Finn is different: she came here from a savage, cynical world, and she is a stone cold killer if she thinks that she or her friends are being threatened. George is her world, her primary hope of happiness, now and in the future. She all but worships him: you know that!

"If she senses that Selena is plotting something against us, or they get into a vicious contest over George, Finnykins is fairly apt to just pull out her Smith & Wesson and blow out Selena's brains! I really wouldn't put it past her. Sometimes, it scares me to realize just how alike she and I are. But even I am not usually as violent as she can be, if menaced. "

"You aren't a Brazilian; she is," remarked Roxton. "But both of you can be fairly grim enemies, I should think. And you've raised a valid point. We shall have to keep a keen eye on Finn if Selena is fool enough to try to make a play for George. Of course, if he tells her straightaway that he is committed to Finn, that may squelch any problems. Unless Selena is fool enough to press the issue… She is vain, and she is a queen. She may forget how mortal she is. Finn would be just the lady to remind her that the road to Hell is wide open and well paved, if she transgresses too much. Finn is very protective of us, and she's not going to let Selena have her man."

"I think you're right," Marguerite concurred. "The answer is for George to tell Selena flat out that he has no interest in her and that he is committed to another woman. Then, unless Selena thinks that she could have him if she orders Finn killed, the situation should subside. I think she knows George Challenger well enough to realize that if she has his woman slain, all that it would get Selena is his undying hatred."

"No," observed Roxton. "If she harms Finn, Selena will get more than undying hatred. She will get 250 grains of lead from a Colt .45 bullet in her heart as soon as Challenger finds that she hurt Finn. He loves her almost as much as Finn loves him. Hell, maybe it is fully as much, if there's that much love and adoration to go around. But those two dote on one another, and if Selena menaces either, the other will ensure that Selena comes to grief by the shortest possible route."

The Roxtons discussed the issue further, and agreed that it would be best to avoid the Amazons.

"I just hope that we can," admitted Marguerite. "I wasn't too sure that we wouldn't die there on our last visit to their charming little town. It'll never become a tourist mecca, unless they learn to treat guests far better than they did us!"

"Come here," joked Roxton, " and I'll treat you really well!"

"Will you rub my back afterward?" she wanted to know.

"I'll rub whatever you want rubbed," he promised. "Back, and all."

"Back will do," she said drolly. "I feel quite sure that you'll have rubbed everything else to your heart's content by then."

As it turned out, she was right, although Roxton told her that he never managed to rub her to his heart's content, for Marguerite was an endless source of delight.

"Flatterer!" she snorted. But she slept happier for his compliments.

XXX

Finn and Challenger lay next to one another, a bedside candle illuminating their night. Finn decided to see whether she could get her man to illuminate her further about the Amazons, also.

"George, what actually happened between Ned and those girls? Do you think he fooled around on Vee?"

"Eh? No, how could he? They weren't involved then. Really. She may resent him having done it, if he did, for women often blame men for things that took place before they were a couple."

"Does that girl Phoebe really look like me? Veronica says that she does, and that she was shocked to see me when we first met, once she realized why I looked familiar."

"As I recall," he explained, "Phoebe has a slightly wider face and her hair is different, not as pretty as yours. Of course, she could get a new stylist and improve that. I trust that she has. But to my recollection, she resembles you enough that unless you two were side-by-side, if you were wearing similar clothes, one of you could indeed be mistaken for the other."

"Did you like her, or was she just involved with Ned?"

"Oh, she and her sister went after Ned. I wasn't especially drawn to her, in any event, nor, I think, was John."

She looked carefully into his eyes. "You were drawn to ME. I look like that. You can tell me if you liked her. It was before we met. Let alone got involved."

"True, but I didn't particularly register her except as a lovely girl. There was much else to keep track of. But in any event, she didn't have the impact on me that you did. The looks are similar, but the chemistry wasn't there. You had an immediate effect on me, although much of it was just an impulse to reach out and shelter you from harm. There was more, but it didn't grow until our acquaintance did.

"As I got to know you, your insouciant attitude and need for a mentor got to me more than I had anticipated. I saw through your sarcasm and you soon mellowed, once you realized that we all cared for you and were growing to like you, and that you could stay here. In time, I came to cherish you, and when I found that you cared for me, I suppose we saw stars and heard the same bells and whistles, and here we are, sharing a bed and our lives."

Finn laughed and took George's hand. She held it warmly, leaned over and kissed him.

"Why do I have the feeling that you aren't telling me the whole story, George? There is something more, isn't there?"

"Actually, yes. Would you like to know what?" He smiled at her, a little impressed that she had read him so well.

"Sim, Senhor Scientist. I won't sleep until I get it from you, and neither will you, so give, Lover! Is it pretty important?"

He sobered. "Yes, Finn, it may be. I hope to avoid further contact with the Amazons, but if we are forced to interact with them again...There are things that you should know.

"I told you, in all candor, that I was not especially attracted to this girl Phoebe or her sister. But their queen, Selena, is another matter. We need to discuss Selena and you may be distressed to hear some of this. But it is best that you know what passed between us on that prior visit."

When he had told Finn about Selena, she was thoughtful, doodling on the sheet with a forefinger.

Finally, she said, "Genius, thank you for being honest with me. We have always told each other the truth, and that is one of the foundations of our love. I can handle knowing this about Selena, and you were pressured, anyway. And you are a man; you have had other women before me. I'd be a fool not to realize that and accept it. If we do meet these Amazons, I'll do my best to behave. But do you still feel anything for this bitch, I mean, queen?"

Challenger chuckled. "Bitch? A trifle jealous, are we? I'm flattered, Darling. But to answer you, I was deeply impressed by Selena. She is beautiful, even truly regal. And she is one of the smartest women whom I have ever met. There was certain chemistry between us, I admit.

"But, Finn, Selena also has an imperious manner, and she feels entitled to get her way. She makes love well, but without full emotional involvement. Of course, I was mainly her breeding attempt, on a feast day. If we were closer, she might be more vulnerable, more loving. But I sensed a detached coldness, an air of superiority, which I dislike."

"So, does she fuck really well? As well as I hope that I do?" Finn looked a little anxious, thought Challenger.

"Darling, she is technically very learned in the arts of lovemaking. In some things, she parallels you, but does not ever exceed your abilities. But your love comes with warmth and a giving nature that she cannot or did not offer. And I know what you told Marguerite about your feelings toward me. Selena would never even infer that she could care that deeply for a man, I fear."

Finn looked cautiously at her lover. "Okay, George, what did Marguerite tell you about me? Was it bad?"

He looked mildly shocked in the candlelight. "Good Lord, no, Finn! Marguerite teases you about how much you care for me, but she'd never say anything bad about your devotion. Specifically, I gather that you told her that you had rather kneel at my feet than to be a queen elsewhere. Did you actually tell her that?"

Finn blushed crimson, even in the darkness of their room. "Oh, gad, George! She couldn't! She didn't! She really told you that?!"

Challenger nodded. "Is it true?"

Finn felt subdued, and angry at her brunette friend. Still, maybe Challenger should know the truth...

"Genius, I told her that, but I was trying to make a point. Like, maybe I exaggerated a little, you know? But, yes, I'd rather be with you than be a queen, even of England. I'd have hoped that you knew that by now. Like, I don't totally fawn over any other guy like I do you. I never have. Baby, you make me feel full inside and it just bubbles over, and I want to tell the world how happy I am. So, did I make a total fool of myself? I had no idea that Marguerite would repeat that!"

"Finn, you hardly made a fool of yourself. On the contrary, your saying that, and your writing me that letter in Xochilenque when you thought that you might be killed at any time, just enhance my esteem for you." (See, "The Crystal Skull" on this board to read Finn's emotional letter to Challenger on the eve of battle against the evil Tecamaya tribe.)

"Darling," he continued, "you are the sun that lights my life. I was made humble by what you told Marguerite. I only hope that I deserve the devotion that you show me daily, and certainly in that statement to Marguerite. Selena is a great queen of an impressive people, but she can never reach your own stature in my heart. I built our pedestal for you for a reason. I don't want you kneeling at my feet; I want you on that pedestal or in my arms! But the fact that you see me that way is perhaps a major contributing factor in why I think so highly of you. Does this make sense?" He looked hopefully at her.

She nodded, trying to stop the tears that came as she rolled over and embraced her giant of a scientist, her icon of a man.

Challenger held her for awhile, whispering to her, caressing her, until they found themselves making explosive love, driven to outdo one another's lust and expressions of tenderness.

When they had finished, Challenger held Finn in his arms as they came down from the heights to which their passion had lifted them. They spoke softy, and embraced several more times, helpless not to reach for one another as they studied each others' faces.

"Genius, I love you so much that losing you would be like losing my canteen in a desert. I'm honored to be your woman and nurture you however I can. Marguerite be damned. Well, danged. I love her, too, as a good friend. But I'm going to keep on giving her reasons to tease me about how much I love you.

"By the way, she loves Johnny a lot more than she lets on, and sometimes when they think they're alone, she sort of melts in his arms. I guess that I'm not surprised that we can hear them through the walls a little when they're going at it, and she can't help but make a little noise." Finn snickered, thinking of Miss- In- Control- Of- Herself -At- All -Times Marguerite and how she was with Roxton in private.

Challenger chuckled and asked Finn to check his watch, lying beside his Colt .45 on the nightstand. Told the hour, he said that they had better get some sleep while they could, for the next few days might place a strain on them.

"Finn? As much as the image of you kneeling at my feet excites me, I am even more thrilled to have you lying beside me in real life. Neither Selena or any other woman, including Jessie, has ever had the impact on me that you have."

She snuggled into his arms, pressed herself against him full length and kissed him like there was no tomorrow.

They soon slept, more secure in their union than ever. Finn decided that maybe it was good after all that Marguerite had told Challenger how she felt about him.

XXX

At breakfast, all were happy to be leaving on an adventure, although apprehensive about the Amazons and the cannibals, not to mention the usual jungle hazards. Roxton recalled the time on the way to Xochilenque when a Bushmaster (Lachesis muta, a deadly pit viper) had struck him on the heel of his boot as he lifted a foot.

"You lead a remarkably charmed life, old boy," said Challenger. "That snake is not the most venomous, drop-for-drop, but it is bad enough, and the tremendous amounts of venom it injects usually kill its victims. As you know, it is capable of reaching at least 14 feet in length, and the one that hit you was nearly ten feet. God's hand must have been in its striking you on that hard boot heel instead of an ankle, where those long fangs might have pierced the leather, or up on your leg. Trousers would have been no impediment at all to fangs like that, and a snake so strong."

"The truth is, I brought John luck," Marguerite offered modestly. She looked slyly around to see everyone's reaction.

The reaction was a collective groan, although Roxton took her hand and kissed it, saying that he felt that she always brought him luck.

They made final decisions on what to take and what to leave. Roxton told Marguerite that they should have rifles using the same cartridges, and they elected to carry .303 Lee-Enfields. Hers was a sporting model built by Holland & Holland, and his was the same military rifle that he had carried for several months in the trenches of France and Belgium during the recent Great War. He had also kept the bayonet.

"Does the Crown know that you got away with those? " asked Ned.

"No worries, Ned, "he replied. "As an officer, I was entitled to buy it Out of Stores, to use the official term. Officers also purchase their own sidearms, and my Colt .45 automatic and my Webleys are also my own property. The wild stories that you may have heard about my being a fantastic lover who cut a wide swath among the ladies of England and France are true, but I'm not a thief of anything but hearts." He chuckled, as did they all.

"Certainly stole my heart," Marguerite admitted. "Feel free to keep it, though. Those stories about your prowess in bed are true, and you're good for carrying things on the trail, too." She stuck out her tongue at him, provoking additional laughter at the table.

"Who wants more coffee?" asked Ned. Two did, and he rose to get the pot.

Finn remembered something, and she rolled a small ball of old paper. "Marguerite," she accused. "I learned last night that you told George about my being willing to kneel at his feet rather than be a queen anywhere else. You've got a big mouth on you, you Limey brunette. Take this!" And she cast the paper wad at her friend, who yelped as it struck her chest.

Marguerite caught the ball before it rolled off of her skirt. "You lusty Brazilian blonde bimbo," she howled. She stood and threw the ball back. It hit Finn in the throat, and she caught it and poised her arm to throw again. Marguerite shrieked, and both women began laughing. Marguerite got ready to dodge the throw.

Challenger leaned over and caught Finn's arm. "Darling, if this persists, one of you ladies will hit the other in the eye, or that paperwad will land in someone's cup." He was chuckling, but thought that things had gone far enough.

Veronica was intrigued. "Did you really say that about George, Finn?"

Finn blushed scarlet."Yeah, maybe. It was just an exaggeration, by a little, to make a point. But I'd really rather be Mrs. George Challenger than be the Queen of England and Empress of India."

"I don't know about this, George," Roxton mused, a smile on his face. "Does that sound unpatriotic to you?"

Marguerite snickered.

XXX

At last, merriment and breakfast behind them, they sorted the gear and began taking it down in the elevator. All three women would wear packs, although smaller than the men's, and the travois would carry two more packs, loaded mainly with food , water, and ammunition, the heavy stuff.

They exited the gate, and Roxton paused to set the electric fence. They had added signs on the fence, in English and in Brazilian Portuguese, warning of the powerful current. Animals would just have to learn the hard way, as would illiterates.

"Why do we have to post that in Portuguese?" asked Marguerite. "Although this bloody Plateau is in Brazil, most of the people we meet here haven't a clue to that. They ARE Brazilian, because of where we are, but they don't know about the world off the Plateau, or speak the national language. Oh, I know! Finn is Brazilian, and she's blonde, and SHE speaks Portuguese! It must be to remind her blonde brain about the danger!" She hooted with laughter.

Finn stuck out her tongue at Marguerite, and Veronica said, "Give it a rest, Marguerite. We don't need any more paperwad fights. This trip is going to be hazardous enough without you two casting projectiles at each other."

"Well, you're another case in point, Vee," Marguerite commented charmingly. "Finn is coaching you in your national language, so both of you blondes can read the sign."

"Here," said Roxton, handing Marguerite her rifle. "Use that on jaguars, raptors, wild tribes, and cannibals, not on blondes." He shook his head in wry amusement at the girls' ongoing battle of the Anglo-Brazilian blondes and the English brunette.

"We'd better get underway before Marguerite wants to stop for tea," said Ned. Everyone laughed at this, and they began their journey into the unknown.

XXX

Several miles on, they did stop for tea, which Marguerite commented was always the most civilized part of any of their excursions.

Finn ran her hand through Challenger's hair and noted that he needed a haircut when they got home. She had been cutting his hair for some two years, making it shorter and neater than it had been. She also kept his reddish-golden beard fashionably trimmed.

Ned and Veronica sat together, talking quietly, when Marguerite glanced up and saw an Emerald Tree Boa hanging down from a branch above them. They moved quickly out of the way, and debated whether to kill it.

"We're almost done, anyway," Roxton pointed out, "and we don't need the meat. That snake is about nine feet long, so I don't want to mess with it using a machete, and firing a shot might alert people whom we'd rather not have know that we're going this way. Get your things and finish eating and let's get underway. We'll just leave the boa here."

They continued on, to the edges of the Zanga lands, where they met a hunting party. It was led by Jarl, husband of Assai, Chief Jacoba's daughter.

He bade them pass in peace, and said that he would tell Jacoba and chief shaman Xma'Klee where they were going, for copper.

"Good fortune accompany you, hunter," he told Roxton, "I would not walk in your path. Both cannibals and Amazons are not to be regarded lightly. "

"We'll take great care," Roxton assured him.

XXX

At lunch, they studied their map, and Marguerite and Veronica told where they thought they had been attacked by cannibals and seen the dead raptor that had injured the Amazon girl who was saved by their men. (See the episode, "Amazons" in the "Lost World" series.)

Roxton sent Finn up a tree with her binocular, and she scanned the area ahead with the 8X30 Zeiss glass. The expensive German binocular was one of her fondest possessions. It had belonged to one of Avery Burton's slavers who no longer required worldly goods

"Nothing unusual, Johnny," she called down softly. "Just a deer and a couple of trachodons (duckbilled dinosaurs) going down toward a small lake. We could purify the water and fill our canteens there. But there's a stream off to the right that would give us better cover, and the water may not be as polluted."

"Right, Finn; come on down," he replied, and Challenger stepped over and assisted his woman as she dropped from the tree.

They finished eating, and decided to visit the stream. Challenger had devised activated charcoal filters to strain the water, so they chose not to light a fire to boil it. They also had iodine to purify jungle water. Halazone tablets do not suffice in tropical areas.

Finn gazed thoughtfully at a wide, deep pool. "Genius, I wish that I had my tackle. I bet there are some good fish in there." She looked longingly at the water.

Challenger chuckled and hugged her. "When we get home, Darling, I promise that I will go fishing with you. I do so enjoy that, myself."

"Hush! Listen!," demanded Veronica. "Do you hear that?" And when they paused, they heard something moving in the jungle behind them.

They sought cover, arranging themselves in a defensive circle, rifles and Veronica's bow ready for whatever might appear.

XXX

Their worst fears were soon realized. An Allosaurus came stalking toward them. It was enormous as it strode out of the copse of trees and jungle growth. Its feet were almost silent for an animal its size. It was hunting. Fortunately, the wind blew from it toward the explorers, preventing its keen nose from scenting them.

Roxton whispered for everyone not to shoot, lest it find them.

It quested about, testing the swirling wind currents. It seemed to scent them, but paused and went off to the left after something.

The explorers stayed hidden for some time after it disappeared.

Finally they came out of hiding, and cautiously gathered their things and left, pulling the travois with care, lest it rattle or otherwise make noise.

Several hundred yards on, Finn went up another tree with her binocular. She became agitated in short order, and motioned for everyone to be quiet, before scrambling down into Roxton's arms.

She whispered that the Allosaurus was about 300 yards away, feeding on the remains of a big sauropod, probably a Brontosaurus or Apatosaurus..

It was lying dead at the edge of the lake, and the odor of the putrefying carcass had probably carried on the breeze. Fortunately, the tall carnivore had scented the dead dinosaur and gone after that and not them.

They were very quiet as they worked their way to the right, crossing the stream on rocks where it was shallow. Then, they moved quickly away from this area. Now, they saw pterosaurs and vultures circling above the dead animal, awaiting their turn. Probably, the big carnosaur had scared them off their feast.

XXX

It was an hour later that they found the cannibals. They were resting by trailside, hiding in foliage, when they heard a commotion. Several cannibals ran past, following shouts from ahead and to the left. More black voices rang out from that direction, and then there were female screams and the sound of a scuffle.

Everyone looked at their friends, wondering what to do.

"Let's move carefully over there and see what we can," suggested Challenger. "This may be something that we need to check on. I don't like the way that those women screamed."

"Probably because you aren't a sadist, George," quipped Marguerite. "It always helps to be a sadist if you want to really enjoy hearing women scream."

"Marguerite, shut up," said Ned. "This isn't funny! Those girls sounded really scared."

"It's probably those damned Amazons," Marguerite retorted. "If the cannibals get them, the Amazons won't get us! And if they're chasing Amazons, the cannibals won't find us!"

Veronica told everyone else to stay in place while she went ahead. She climbed a tree and swung on vines where she could; going from branch to branch until she could see what was making the noise. When she found the struggle, she took in a breath sharply, then withdrew to tell her friends what was taking place.

"Those cannibals have caught three Amazons. One is down, and she's either dead or unconscious. The other two were being stripped and tied when I left. One is the girl who you had that mock swordfight with, John, when we were last here. I didn't recognize the other, but I couldn't get too close, or they'd have seen me."

"I don't understand," said Marguerite. "Aren't the cannibals supposed to be afraid of the Amazons, and leave them alone, because they give them captured men to eat?"

"I thought so, too, but I saw what I saw. Maybe their truce is off. But they definitely have those girls. What are we going to do?"

Challenger and Roxton looked at one another. "We have a moral duty to save them from those savages," Challenger pointed out.

"Agreed, but can we do that? Veronica, how many cannibals were there?" Roxton wanted to know the odds before making any decisions.

"I saw about ten, maybe less. Not many more. Some may have been out of sight," the blonde jungle beauty said.

"Hush!" interjected Ned. "I think they're coming this way!"

They soon heard the procession of the cannibals and their captives. Roxton took Challenger and Finn and they slipped off to see what they could.

They were back in a few minutes. "Get ready, everyone. They'll be coming through here in about a minute. We'll let them pass. Then, I want Veronica to get arrows into as many as she can before they see us. As soon as she gets a couple of them down, we'll shoot the others. I think we can get all or most before they react and locate us. Then, we'll grab the girls and run somewhere off to the side, away from the path." Roxton was tense, anticipating action.

"And we need these girls, why?" demanded Marguerite. "We aren't going to eat them, ourselves, and you fellows have each got a woman. Why not just let the cannibals have them? It will keep them busy while we get away!"

"Marguerite, you can't mean that?!" Ned Malone was aghast.

"We're helping, Marguerite," said Roxton. "We can't NOT help, and respect ourselves. Maybe if the cannibals just had captives from another tribe like themselves, I'd have to think about it. But these are white women they have, and I can't stand by and let them be eaten."

"Okay, okay, I stand corrected. Male gallantry in action...where do you want me?" And the sarcastic brunette cocked her rifle, loading a cartridge into the chamber. "Veronica? If I save these bitches, they have to clean the Treehouse for me for the next three months, right?"

Veronica rolled her eyes in despair, and everyone moved into position, some on each side of the trail.

"Get ready," muttered Roxton. "We have less than a minute before they're here!" He moved the safety lever of his .303 rifle forward, to the Fire position.

When the gaggle of cannibals and captives had just passed them, Veronica stepped from behind a large palm tree, arrow nocked to her bowstring. She took quick aim and launched an arrow that struck the rearmost cannibal directly between the shoulder blades.

He gave a cry as he fell, alerting the next man. Veronica had been hoping for a silent kill, and had shot the last man, hoping that others wouldn't see him fall.

As the next man turned, Veronica loaded a second arrow, held between her fingers for this purpose. She shot that man, too , before he fully registered that his companion was down with an arrow in his back.

The explorers came out of hiding and shot every cannibal that they saw, taking care not to hit any of the three girls.

Two of the prisoners were walking between their captors, nude and with their hands bound behind them. The one that Roxton recognized, Hippolyta by name, also had her arms bound to her sides just above the elbows. She must have resisted more than the other girl, or maybe a captor just wanted her trussed more securely. Hippolyta looked mussed, her hair awry, but she and the smaller girl, both blonde, seemed otherwise well. They were leashed together, with the end of the rope to their necks being held by a cannibal.

The third girl, whom Veronica had seen lying on the ground, was still dressed and was being carried on a long pole by several warriors. Her hands and feet were lashed to the pole, and her waist was tied to it. Her head hung down, and she might or might not be alive. The cannibals presumably wanted her for meat, and would not have left her body behind.

When the shooting began, the men carrying her dropped the pole and fled or turned and brandished their weapons, depending on their individual bravery.

The girls began screaming; adding to the din caused by the shots and the war cries of the cannibals.

Roxton shot three, working the bolt of the Lee-Enfield in the very rapid manner taught to soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force of World War One. Marguerite shot one who tried to seize Hippolyta's companion as she ran, and Finn worked her .44 Winchester coolly, shooting down four men almost faster than one could tell of it.

Challenger shot one cannibal with his .450 Nitro Express rifle and chased the fleeing girls. The smaller ran directly into the arms of Ned Malone, who stepped out from a bush and caught her. He shot a pursuing cannibal, and tripped the girl, holding her in place. Hippolyta, leashed to the other girl, was jerked to a halt by her neck rope.

Veronica killed another man with an arrow, and then caught Hippolyta by her hair. "Come with me, you Amazon wench! We're trying to save your miserable lives! At least, let us help!"

Hippolyta stopped struggling and looked at Veronica in shock. "I know you," she stammered. "You are Veronica, who was here before!"

"Hell, she knows that," Marguerite joked.. "Look, Veronica, you had better cut that neck leash before one of these bimbos stumbles and breaks her own or the other's neck."

"I'll get that," said Challenger. He drew his Bowie knife and with a quick slash or two severed the rope midway between the girls. Now, each had her own leash.

"Marguerite, you and Ned each hold onto a girl until we make some sense of what's happening here." And he went to look for Finn, worried about his woman.

In another minute, all of the cannibals were down, dead. Roxton counted 12 of them. He lifted a spear taken from one and used it to finish off another, who was twitching in agony, a bullet having struck him in the stomach, another breaking his pelvis.

"What about this girl on the pole?" asked Finn, stuffing fresh cartridges into the loading gate on the side of her M-92 Winchester carbine.

Roxton knelt by the side of the still girl, feeling carefully for a pulse. "She's alive!," he announced.

"Oh, wonderful," Marguerite complained. "Another bloody mouth to feed! At least, she's a brunette. I'll have company among all of these blondes."

Veronica ran over and drew her knife, cutting the bonds to the girl's feet. Roxton drew his Bowie knife and easily cut the cords around her waist before freeing her hands, being careful not to cut her.

He put away his knife, rammed a five-shot clip of .303 ammunition into the magazine of his rifle, and set the safety before slinging it over his back. He lifted the girl, calling for Challenger to help.

The two big men got the girl under her arms, and trailing her feet on the ground as little as they could, took her into cover. They called for everyone else to follow.

"What about the travois?" demanded Ned.

"George, can you get that if Ned helps me with this girl?" asked Roxton. And they switched places, the girls' leashes now held by Veronica and Marguerite.

"English!" stuttered a stunned Hippolyta. "You once left me bound to a bed. Now, you find me bound again. Free me, quickly! These savages will hear the shooting and come to see what has happened. And I think one ran away. He will bring his tribesmen."

"Can we trust you not to attack us or warn your kind that we are here?" Ned wanted to know. "Maybe you girls should stay tied, for now."

"Hey, Amazon! " shouted Finn to the smaller girl. "Where the hell are your clothes? The guys have had enough of a show. We'll let you dress as soon as soon as we can stop, but we need to find what they made you take off!"

The girl stared at her, as did Hippolyta. "Phoebe? How you are here, dressed like that, with that strange weapon? What is going on?" The girl looked about to cry.

"I'm not feeble, you dope, but we need to find your stuff. What about your weapons, too?" Finn had misunderstood what the girl had called her.

Roxton laughed as Challenger walked up with several knives, swords, two bows and quivers of arrows, and one spear, which caught Hippolyta's eye. Clearly, this was her own.

"Finn, she's mistaken you for that lass with whom Ned tarried a bit on our last visit. Phoebe."

"Phoebe?" Finn scowled. "What kind of rinky-dink name is that? I thought you guys were teasing me when I heard it back in the Treehouse. Anyway, Johnny, did you find their clothes?"

"A big cannibal with a woven straw bag put all of our clothes and jewelry in it. He was walking near the head of the column." Hippolyta gazed thoughtfully at Finn.

Finn ran back to the trail, found the bag and another Amazon dagger, and trotted back to her friends. She put on her pack and handed the bag to Challenger. He set the injured girl down and looked into it. "Their clothes, all right. Pile their daggers in here, and let's get out of sight before we have unwelcome company."

They trekked on as fast as the travois and the injured girl let them move, and angled off toward the stream. Once there, they walked in the water for several hundred yards, to avoid leaving tracks. The limestone bed of the stream had little silt in most places here, and scant mud was stirred up to lead the keen eyes of cannibal trackers to them. What mud was disturbed drifted downstream rapidly with the current.

When they felt fairly safe, they paused. They made the Amazons sit side by side and cross their ankles for binding.

"Don't try untying each other, or I'll whack you upside the head with this." Finn displayed her Winchester, and the crafty look in Hippolyta's eyes faded into one of despair.

They laid the other girl out on a grassy hummock and Challenger carefully pried her eyes open. He shined his flashlight into them, studying her reaction. He felt her pulse, which was thready, but fairly strong.

Taking his handkerchief, he spilled water onto it, and cleaned the wound at the back of her head. "I think she may have a concussion," he announced, "but don't think she has a fractured skull. I want to wash this out better with boiled water later and get a proper dressing and some antibiotic salve onto it now. Darling, will you get my smaller medical bag off of the travois, please?"

Finn brought the bag, and helped him to clean the injury and treat it. She checked for fever but the girl's temperature was actually cooler than it should have been.

Hippolyta called to Finn, "You, blonde girl! 'Darling!' Is Professor Challenger your man? You aren't Phoebe. Your face is smaller a little and slimmer, but not by much. Your hair is different, too. You can't fool us."

"Who said that I was trying to?" Finn was irritated. "Look, I've never even seen this Phoebe. Why should I pose as her? Do I look to you like I need to be anybody but myself?"

"What are you to Challenger? His wench? His daughter? You are dressed as a free person, and are armed; you are not his slave. He treats you as free, too, and with affection. "

"Finn is my fiancée and life companion," Challenger explained, tying a bandage around the unconscious girl's head. "She and I have been together for the past two years, having met soon after we encountered you before. Look, what happened to this girl? What hit her and how hard?"

The second Amazon spoke, a little afraid. "I saw it happen. A cannibal struck her head with the butt of his spear as we fought. He swung it at her from as far away as he could be and still hit her. She dropped at once. I feared that she was dead. She is called Neela. She is a good girl, a brave companion. Please save her. "

"I'll do everything that I can," said the scientist. "She is resting well, her pulse being just a little reedy. I think that it's stabilizing. The bleeding was modest, and I have cleaned the wound. If we can find a place to camp for the night, I think she will recover. Is she a friend of yours? How are you called?"

"She is my cousin," said the girl. "And I am called Laralei. Please, must we sit nude like this? I am embarrassed. We are so exposed!"

Marguerite had been thinking much the same thing. "Yes, George, she has a point. You fellows have had a good eyeful now, and Ned is beginning to leer. Why don't we untie them one at a time and let each dress? We can hobble them when we re-tie them if you and Roxton think they're going to run off. Personally, I think they'd be fools to run. They need our guns for protection if those cannibals find us."

Laralei looked at Marguerite gratefully. "Thank you, gracious lady. What will you do with us? Keep us, or sell us? We will please your men well when you are tired of that, and work diligently to keep your homes clean. I ask you; do not sell us to the Men, or to those beyond them, the Sjkaarl. They are brutal with their slave girls."

"We won't sell you, and you aren't getting a chance to please my man. I take care of that on my own." Marguerite was amused. She tried not to smile too broadly.

"But," said a puzzled Laralei, "does he not wish variety? What of his other girls? Do you beat them when they look on him, for jealousy? Are you not pleased when they lie with him when you are tired, or are inconvenienced by the time of the month?"

Veronica and Finn laughed, and after an instant, Marguerite joined them. "John? What of your 'other girls'? Do I not treat them well and let them stand very close when they fan you as you sit in your easy chair on the balcony? Do I not pat them on the head and give them candy as they wash your feet? I am a kind mistress. I just will not share you in bed!" And she laughed harder than ever.

"What is funny, Mistress?" asked Laralei. "Have I offended? I have no wish to feel your whip." She managed to look both fearful and sullen.

"Shut up, Laralei," said a disgusted Hippolyta. "Be an Amazon, not a slave girl. Whatever they do to us, be brave, and remember your heritage. Our sisters will find us, and these people had better treat us well, if they know what is good for them. Our Queen was not fully satisfied when she let you leave before. Beware of her wrath!"

"You aren't in too good a position to be threatening us, Hippolyta," reminded Ned Malone. "Maybe we should sell you to the Sjkaarl and keep Laralei. She's nicer. Veronica, may I keep Laralei? For when you and Marguerite want a girls' night out?" He was trying to keep a straight face, but a smile crept into his expression.

"Men!" exclaimed Veronica. "Marguerite, you aren't helping, either. Girls, we don't keep slaves. We don't sell our fellow humans, either. As soon as we decide that you aren't dangerous to us, you can have your weapons and go your way. And now would be a really good time to let you dress. I'm the only woman who Ned needs to be gawking at with her clothes off. "

Laralei persisted, a surprised look on her face. "Mistress?" She looked at Marguerite. "This man of yours is satisfied with just you, one woman? I would be happy to please him tonight if you are tired. You must have had a long journey."

"Laralei," explained Roxton, "I find you enormously attractive, and if it was the custom of our kind to have harems, you would be welcome in mine. But Marguerite is all the harem that I need. Of course, she is remarkably talented in satisfying me, and she tells me wonderful stories in bed, too, of exotic places and strange flying carpets and djinns. I think that I will be content with her. And she makes me laugh. That is important."

"Careful, John," Marguerite admonished. She was struggling not to laugh outright again. "You're revealing too many of my secrets. These Amazons will be after me to teach them how to excite men and tell them all the tales of Scheherazade. What more could a man want?" And she did laugh.

Finn grinned, too, upsetting Veronica. "If you LADIES will act like ladies, I think we should free Laralei and Hippolyta. If they will promise not to cause us harm... Hippolyta, tell me the truth. Will you pledge peace between us if you are freed, and given your weapons? Those cannibals are our common enemy. How will Selena view us if we free you? Is she angry with us?"

Hippolyta shrugged, as best she could, her arms bound. "We pledge truce. And Selena will treat you well if we are allowed to take our injured sister home and care for her. You truly will not sell us, or collar us as your own property?"

"That is not our way," said Challenger. "I am appalled at the direction some of this talk has taken. It is not funny to taunt you because you are in our hands. We are above most of what other peoples on this Plateau practice, and it is only our concern for our own welfare that has prevented us freeing you at once."

Finn was genuinely contrite. "Genius, I'm sorry if I upset you. I just got a little carried away there for a minute. Girls, please forgive me. I have embarrassed George Challenger, and that embarrasses me. If the situation was reversed, I'd want you to treat us better than we have you. George, Johnny, can I cut them loose? Vee, can we trust them?"

Veronica looked deeply into Hippolyta's eyes and Hippolyta nodded, more demure now. "You can trust us. We will stay with you for awhile, for the cannibals are close. We will need each other. But let us carry our companion home tomorrow. You need not enter our city . But I think that Selena will not order your pursuit. If anything, she would thank you for saving us."

Veronica looked around at her friends, and they all nodded their assent. She drew her knife and helped the Amazons to stand after their feet were freed. She began cutting Hippolyta's bonds, and Finn walked over and opened her Swiss Army knife and sliced the thongs on Laralei's wrists.

Malone brought over the bag of clothes and daggers. The girls hastily, self consciously, dressed and buckled on their sword belts and scabbards, putting the daggers in place after examining them. Fortunately, their weapons were all undamaged.

"Thank you," said Hippolyta. "Marguerite, you and I may have some unfinished business after we are safe from the cannibals. I'm not too happy with the way that you razzed us. You may taste the steel of my sword when we reach a point when that can be arranged." She looked seriously at Marguerite, who colored, and dropped her eyes. Now that she thought it over, she hadn't been very gracious. But she'd never liked Hippolyta, and that other girl...it had just been so tempting!

As the others busied themselves getting ready to go on the trail again, Finn eased over to Marguerite and said softly, "Marguerite, don't sweat that bitch. I don't like her, either. When this is over, if she tries anything, I'm in your corner of the ring. She'd better hope that she doesn't upset me too much, or cannibals will be the least of her worries!" She held out a hand for Marguerite to slap palms with her, as she did more often with Veronica.

Marguerite normally thought that this was a silly affectation of the blondes. But now, she was grateful to do it, knowing that she was smiling a silly grin of comradeship with the impish, but very dangerous, girl from the future. When one might be tangling with Amazons, the knowledge that help was at hand was very comforting...

XXX

That night, they camped in a grove of trees that shielded them from the setting sun, and among bushes that would provide some warning if predators came in the night. Not only cannibals hunted here.

They made a small fire, in a hole dug in the stony ground, and packed it round with clay from the river bank. to mask its presence from wandering cannibal scouts. The smell of cooking food was also a danger, which might attract any enemies, two-legged or four- legged. They ate as soon as the food was ready, sharing generously with the Amazon girls, who were now calmer and less aggressive, in the case of Hippolyta. Laralei seemed actually friendly, and was curious.

She sat by Finn and asked why she so closely resembled Phoebe that they would have to be side-by-side not to be mistaken for one another, apart from their obvious differences in dress and in weapons.

"How would I know? I've never even met this Phoebe, but I want to, if she looks that much like me. Genius, can you tell me from Phoebe? Are you sure that you aren't attracted to her?"

Challenger chuckled. "I love it when you're jealous, Nicole. But the truth is as I have told you: I barely noticed her, apart from recalling what she looks like. Ask Ned. He knew her rather better, I daresay." He laughed outright, as did the other explorers. But Hippolyta only looked thoughtful, gazing long at both Ned and at Veronica. She seemed subdued, and a little apprehensive.

After they had cleaned up, Finn asked to see Laralei's dagger. It was silver-mounted, with an ivory handle probably made from the tusk of a dead mammoth. (They had seen mammoth remains, but so far, no living mammoths.) The handle was decorated with an inlaid silver oval for the owner's initials, and the pommel was in the shape of a graceful crescent moon. The seven-inch long double-edged blade was carefully polished, and the name or mark of the talented maker was on the ricasso. The blade seemed to have been forged from steel stock about a quarter-inch thick, but ground a little thinner as it was shaped and polished. Had Finn known more about arms history, she would have realized that this was a medieval Swiss style of dagger eventually copied by Nazi Germany for use by SA and SS troops as a dress sidearm. It was probably pure coincidence that this one so closely resembled that shape. The guard and pommel were engraved with a scroll and oak leaves pattern. It was clearly an expensive weapon, very carefully made by a skilled master craftsman. Laralei's sword was essentially a larger, longer version of the dagger.

Finn showed her own small Bowie knife, with nickel silver hilt and matching pommel made from aluminum salvaged from the wreckage of an airplane. The six-inch blade had a sharpened clip, or false edge, to allow slashing in either direction. She explained that this knife and the tooled black leather sheath had been made for her by Lord Roxton, who had received training in making fine knives from a former Sheffield cutler who was employed on his parents' estate. Making knives had once been his hobby, and he was capable of doing superb work. Fortunately, Veronica's father had left an anvil, a grinding wheel, and other tools needed to make such items.

Laralei held the knife, noting its balance and how well it moved in the hand. It was lively, and the dark rosewood handle fit her hand as if made for it. But she sensed how much this knife must mean to Finn, and suppressed a temptation to offer her gold or trade items for it. She was even more fascinated with the Victorinox brand Swiss pocketknife, with its wonderful blades and tools. She did not understand the need for a can opener on it, never having seen a can. The bottle opener was of little more interest. But she liked the screwdriver features, the large and small cutting blades, the small saw, and the corkscrew. The toothpick and the tweezers stored in little recesses in the handle enchanted her, too.

"Come to stay with us tomorrow, and I will find you a bottle of good wine to open. Or, we can open a small amphora of the best wine for which we trade. A tribe called the Bordelais makes it many miles from here, and it is splendid wine. Your man will also like it, I think. By the way, thank you for this hot drink that you call, 'tea'. I enjoyed it very much."

Finn showed Laralei her guns, the Smith & Wesson .38 Special revolver with five-inch barrel and beautiful, checkered stocks or grips, and the Winchester lever-action rifle, and their cartridges. She explained how guns worked, and why they could kill. "I like them a lot better than the miserable little crossbow that was all I had when I arrived here," she admitted. "I feel much better protected now." She wiped off her .38 with an oiled cotton patch and returned it to her holster.

"I like you, " Laralei said suddenly. "Please do come and have that wine, and my mother and sister and I will provide a good meal for you and your man. I think we should be friends."

Finn smiled back and took Laralei's hands, having wiped her own first on a clean, wet cloth, to cleanse them of any residue of gun oil. "I like you, too, Laralei. I'm sorry if I was crabby earlier. I was just scared of the cannibals and we didn't know how you would act. The last time my friends came here, your people tried to burn them at the stake!"

Laralei blushed and bent her head in embarrassment. "I know," she said softly. " I am sorry for that. I think there were misunderstandings, and Mr. Malone should not have released the male prisoners. They are not as nice as your men. But I know now that he meant well. Tell me about your clothes. What are those black shorts and top made of? They fit you well. I see why your man wanted you. You are truly as lovely as Phoebe, or a little more so. Wait until you see her."

As the girls talked, Challenger rose and went to the sleeping Neela. She was breathing evenly now, and her temperature was normal, as far as he could tell.

Hippolyta noticed his concern, and the gentle way that he touched her and brushed a lock of hair into place. She looked over at Finn, talking intimately with Laralei. She thought carefully, and went to Veronica.

"Veronica, get up. I need to say something to you in private, if Mr. Malone will let you go. It is rather important. Something that you must know, before you visit our city. Phoebe will be a surprise for your friend Finn, but she is not the only surprise that awaits you. We must talk."

Curious, Veronica smiled at Ned, squeezed his hand, and rose to follow Hippolyta into the shadows where they would have privacy.

"If this is about Ned, "began Veronica, "I saw him looking at you while you were still naked and tied, and couldn't cover yourself. He looked at your friend, too. I apologize, and I am going to talk to him about that. Our other men got an eyeful, too, but forgive them. They didn't mean to be cruel. It is their nature to look at women, and they behaved better than many of their sex would have. They didn't fondle you, and they didn't make coarse remarks."

Hippolyta tossed her head scornfully. "Veronica, it is about Ned, but not because he looked on me when I was naked. Oh, I was angered. It was humiliating. But, as you say, he is male, and is governed by his genes, as are all men. I would be more angered if he had NOT wished to look. I would fear that he found me unattractive! His gaze was appreciative, although I think he found Laralei more appealing. Many men do. She is very feminine for an Amazon. She smiles shyly, and they shake with desire for her.

"No, what I have to tell you about Ned is far more serious than that he looks at other women. Listen carefully, please, and do not be angry with me for being the one to tell you this. You have a right to know."

Veronica nodded, frightened now of what she was about to hear. "All right, Hippolyta," she said, "Go ahead. What about Ned?"

The girls returned to the firelight, Veronica biting her lower lip, unhappy and troubled. Ned looked at her and had misgivings at once. He knew her well, and the signs were not auspicious for him. Yet, he had no idea what he had done that might upset her. Maybe it was just over his having looked at the nude Amazons earlier. But he had limited that to almost furtive glances for the most part. Veronica had seen, and apart from rolling her eyes and jabbing him in the ribs lightly with an elbow, she had said nothing of it.

When the couples and their guests retired, leaving Roxton to take the first sentry watch, Ned quizzed Veronica about Hippolyta's secret. "What did she say? You looked pretty upset, Vee."

"Nothing, Ned. Someone we know in their village has had a child. She wants me to be sure to visit with her and to see the little girl. Remember, I once lived with the Amazons. I know many of them. We were girls together in our teens. Go to sleep."

He tried to kiss her, but Veronica pleaded that she was too tired for more than a peck on the cheek. So, Ned had to go uneasily to sleep, knowing that something was brewing, and he knew that it involved him. Why couldn't Veronica just tell him? Women were so strange...

XXX

They made breakfast soon after dawn; when there was light enough to see, but still shadows in the forest. The fire was again lit and tea made. Eggs were too fragile to carry, but they had bread and biltong, the sun-dried meat that Roxton had learned to make during his time in Africa. Fruit was available, from a pack on the travois, which let them carry much more than they could have on their backs.

Everyone was still a little tired, and they were somewhat stiff from having slept in their blankets on the ground.

But food and tea made a difference, and even Hippolyta was more congenial, although she shot Marguerite some hard looks. Finn noted that and warned Marguerite not to drop her guard when near the aggressive Amazon.

Laralei also noted this and took Finn and Marguerite aside to tell them not to be angry.

"Hippolyta's pride was injured. She is a vain girl, sure of her prowess. But yesterday, we were shamed by being made captives of revolting, primitive tribesmen and you all looked upon us naked. Hippolyta likes to dominate men, not please them. She is one of those girls."

"Also," she continued, "despite herself, I think she has longings to be taken by Lord Roxton, whom she admires, despite herself. Marguerite, you stand in her way, should she devise some plan of seducing him, or of forcing him into her bed. So she scowls when she looks at you. But I doubt that she will challenge you to fight for Roxton. For one thing, she would have to admit that he appeals to her, even makes her knees weak. Roxton has this effect on many women, I think. I myself blush when he looks appreciatively upon me, and I know you saw me raise my body, that I might better present my breasts for his view. I am sorry to have done that, for I know that he belongs to you. I will not take a man from a sister of my tribe, and I must respect your rights as our guests and as our rescuers. Without you, I would have been a meal in some savage's belly by now."

Marguerite stiffened. "Laralei, do you really think that you could seduce John away from me, if you did not have these moral scruples? I might surprise you in my ability to keep his interest. I am not without resources of my own. Be a good girl, and maybe I'll tell you how to REALLY get and keep a man's attention." She smirked a little

Actually," admitted Laralei," that is one of the things that I want to talk to you about. You, too, Finn. I am young, just 18, and have little experience of men. You are both confident in your relationships. I see the way in which you and your men look at each other, the way your hands casually brush against one another's. I saw Finn rest her head on Prof. Challenger's shoulder as they sat by the fire, and then look up at him in adoration and happiness, and he returned that look. There is much love between them."

"Well, George and I have the romance of the ages, the love of the centuries," Finn confessed modestly.

Marguerite laughed. "Laralei, Finn tells that to anyone who she thinks will listen. She and George do have it bad for one another, but all three of us love our men a great deal, and they return that affection. We are fortunate women. They are good men, and tender with us. John has given me more emotional security and happiness than I ever thought to find. And before you ask, yes, he does make me go weak in the knees. When he looks at me a certain way, my heart races, and I blush and all but run to him, in heat. I used to detest myself when that feeling came over me, and I struggled mightily to remain aloof, and not admit to myself how I felt about him. But in time, his patience and his love overcame my resistance, and I know now that I am his. Fortunately, he returns that love." Marguerite was glowing, and felt stupid for revealing this personal information, but realized that she was also proud to say these things. She stood a little taller and looked especially beautiful in the cool morning light.

Finn squeezed her shoulder and said, "Marguerite, you were brave to tell us this. I know how private you usually are. But Laralei needs to hear this. I want her to know that the right men can be good to have. Hell: you know that joke that I tell? A hard man is good to find? Well, if he doesn't just get hard when you're with him, but wants to stay with you after he screws you, and looks at you like you're a princess in his eyes... Wow, that's just so cool!" She shivered slightly, blushing and smiling like the sun was shining within her.

"Listen to her, Laralei," said Marguerite. "This girl has a pedestal in her room. George built it for her, a couple of feet high. When he wants to tell her what he thinks of her, he lifts her up onto that thing and looks at her like she was a goddess. We have some really wonderful men. Of course, we deserve no less. We are amazing women. Right, Finnykins?" She laughed, to Finn's and Laralei's delight.

Veronica saw Hippolyta looking at them, and the expression on her face was not congenial. Veronica walked over to her and said in a low voice, "Hippolyta, let me give you some free advice that may prove to be really valuable. Don't mess with Marguerite. She's good with a sword if you challenge her, and if Finn thinks you're a danger to her friend, you'll have both to contend with."

Hippolyta swung toward Veronica and hissed, "You think I'm afraid of your little friend in black? I could take her with one hand tied behind me!"

Veronica bristled. "Listen, Hippolyta: yesterday, you had BOTH hands tied behind you, if you recall. Finn helped to save your arrogant hide, and I suggest that you be more grateful to her. But don't let her easy laughter and racy jokes fool you. She's a stone killer if you menace her or her friends. She once killed a man in about six seconds with her bare hands. (See the palace guard scene in, "The Crystal Skull".) She not only knows quite a bit of judo; she practices some Brazilian fighting art called copoeida (sp?). She could probably qualify as an Amazon, well above minimum admission standards."

"She is good with a sword, or just with those strange fire sticks?" Hippolyta looked shrewdly at Finn.

Veronica admitted that Finn had no training with swords. "But I've seen how she holds a knife, and I've seen her practice with her Bowie, on melons hanging on strings. I wouldn't want to get into a knife fight with her. Forget challenging her to a sword duel, though. She knows her limitations, and if she thinks you mean her harm, she'll just shoot you from 20 feet away. She's deadly with those guns. You saw her yesterday. When she was killing on YOUR behalf, I might add."

"Another thing, Hippolyta," Veronica added. "You may not fear or respect Finn or Marguerite. But if you hurt them, you'll have me to answer to. Do you think that you can take me, with swords, or any other way?"

Hippolyta reddened, but said, "I have no quarrel with you, Veronica. You were once almost one of us."

"And I was good at fighting when I had to be. Don't forget it. Finn, Marguerite, and I stick together. We're family in all but blood, and Finn's blood runs in Challenger's veins. She gave her blood once that he might live, after a medical problem arose. Our men are behind us. You will not get Roxton, even if you slay Marguerite. Do that, and you'll be the first woman that John Roxton ever killed. And you won't have to wait long for that honor."

Hippolyta shrugged, trying to appear unconcerned. Inside, she admitted the truth of what Veronica had just said.

"Veronica, I mean none of you any harm. As you so tactfully pointed out, I owe you all my life. And Queen Selena will be displeased if any Amazon lifts her sword to you, after what you have done for us. I am not your enemy. May I have some more of this thing called tea?'

"Certainly," replied Veronica. "You are our guest, and we offer our hospitality and our protection to our guests." She looked meaningfully at Hippolyta, who nodded.

"I will do you or your friends no harm, Veronica. I just don't like Marguerite. She acts so condescending. She made fun of me. And, of course, she has Roxton, with whom I would like to become much better acquainted, were she not his woman. He has just her?" She looked hopefully at her hostess.

Veronica laughed. "Yes, each of our men comes from a society where each man has only one woman. Thank goodness. I have no desire to share Ned. Which Phoebe had better understand. Child or no child, lies from Ned about fucking her the last time he had the chance, or not, Ned is now mine and I am his. Phoebe had better acknowledge that."

"And the child?" asked Hippolyta triumphantly. "How will you acknowledge her?"

CHAPTER TWO

They cleaned up the camp, burying the fire area, stamping down the clay walls to cover and smother any sparks that might linger in the ashes. They had no wish to risk a fire in the jungle, which had much dry brush and fallen wood here. And they used bushy tan weeds to sweep the area, making it harder for cannibal scouts to detect that they had lingered there.

That done, they moved off toward the Amazon village, carrying Neela on a cot improvised from two cut poles and two blankets.

The injured girl had wakened during the night, and had been given water and a tablet that Challenger had devised to reduce headache and fever. She had taken a little food at breakfast, just fruit and bread, but had relished a cup of tea.

Neela was fascinated to see the strangers, who were so kind, and she was relieved, of course, to be alive and free. She felt dizzy and weak, and was not expected to walk. She was carried by the men, spelled at times by Hippolyta. The more gracile Laralei was excused this duty as were the Treehouse women. Nonetheless, Veronica took a few turns, and this impressed the still sullen Hippolyta.

In time, they came to the edge of the jungle, emerging into broad, sunlit uplands [thanks, Mr. Churchill; Winking Smillie here] which preceded the final approach to the gates of Amazonia, their capital city. Finn remarked that Amazonas was a state in modern Brazil, or had been before the war that had devastated her country. She wondered whether this Amazon village was the forerunner of New Amazonia, her former home.

"Bet Old Amazonia is a better place than New Amazonia is right now," she ventured. This was said to the Roxtons and Ned, beyond hearing of the guests. She seemed wistful, sad that such a dreadful fate had overtaken her land in the future.

They came to rough ground, where exposed rock, possibly granite, had deep fissures in places. It offered uncertain footing. Neela was taken off of the litter and given her spear, which she used to steady herself. Her pace slowed the others, but as Roxton remarked, a naval convoy must proceed at the rate of its slowest ship. Thus it was with their group..

"What if the cannibals come now?" asked Neela. "I will slow you. You must leave me."

"Not awfully likely," said Challenger. "You are under our protection, and our rifles may see them off. If they come in large enough numbers that we cannot repel them, they would probably catch us, anyway."

Marguerite was also encouraging. "Not to worry, Neela. I'll look after you. We brunettes have to stick together."

Neela smiled and expressed her deep thanks for their kindness. "You have risked your lives to save us three. Selena will honor you. Our sisters will greet you warmly."

"That's what I'm afraid of," admitted Ned. "They tried to burn us at the stake a couple of years ago."

Laralei said, "I was too young to participate much in that event, but Selena did allow you to leave after you escaped and stood with us. Your thundersticks drove off the Men, and you left in peace. Now, return in peace, and having saved three Amazons. I will tell the others that you are my friends, especially Finn. You need fear nothing. At worst, Queen Selena will thank you and send you on your way. But I think that you will be shown warm hospitality."

Roxton paused to lift his binocular and scan their back trail, "glassing" the fringes of the jungle, looking into the serrated shadows where danger might appear.

He called out, "I doubt that this is the welcoming committee. The cannibals have found us!"

Sure enough, a gaggle of the strangely marked black men, painted white on one half of their bodies, straggled out onto the grassy savannah and began gesticulating and jabbering. A war chief arrived, and they formed two lines about fifty yards wide.

They began slapping their spears on their shields and chanting a war song.

"We're for it now," complained Marguerite. "They'll charge us any minute! Can this day possibly get any better?!"

XXX

In the city ahead, a sentry on a watchtower saw the cannibal minions emerge from the forest and begin demonstrating before they advanced. She called out a warning, and the standby alert unit of Amazons, some 50 strong, turned out.

Selena came to the wall, saw what was happening, and called, "Alert! To arms, everyone! Many cannibals! They are pursuing three of our number, probably the girls who went missing yesterday, and some others with them. Hurry!" And she rushed to supervise a counterattack.

The explorers paused briefly to fire into the ranks of their pursuers. This slowed them, for the cannibals had never experienced gunfire, other than the limited amount from Marguerite almost three years before. Few recalled that, or had been present when she shot at some.

Roxton and Finn, their best shots, knelt and aimed at the cannibal leader over the tall grass. But both missed, as he jogged along the uneven ground.

"Go, everyone! " ordered Roxton. "I'll soon get a better shot at that fellow!"

"No way, Johnny!" responded Finn. "I'm not leaving you out here by yourself!"

"Neither am I," declared Marguerite, unslinging her own rifle.

Roxton, seeing that he was exposing the women to danger if he stayed, opted instead to run for the Amazon city. "We can't wait to get that leader without them getting too close to us," he yelled. "Marguerite, Finn, come on. We must run, after all!"

"Why can't I think great thoughts like that?" Marguerite demanded, provoking laughter from a nervous Finn.

Challenger and Malone caught the unsteady Neela under her arms and tried to run with her, but this slowed everyone down. Roxton began looking for a place where the group could take cover and make a stand, in hopes that the Amazons would see and come to their rescue.

It was at this time that the gates to Amazonia opened, and the first 50 warriors sallied out. They soon joined the little group and all stood to face the oncoming cannibals.

The appearance of the armed Amazons stopped the cannibals momentarily, for bullies and predators do not like to tackle armed people instead of easy victims. Finn sat, aimed carefully, and shot two of the cannibals who passed before the man she really wanted.

"I should have brought my Mannlicher," she groused. "This is too long a range for best results with the Winchester."

"Let me try," offered Roxton, and snapped off a quick shot that took the charging cannibal leader in the solar plexus.

This worthy gasped as portions of his lungs and heart blew out the back of his chest. The effect of a .303 softpoint hunting bullet on a man was considerable.

This impressed the other cannibals, more so when the whites all began firing at them. They lost ten men before the Amazons arrived and launched a shower of arrows from their bows. The range was now less than 100 yards, and the effect of both arrows and bullets was considerable.

"Lock shields and advance!" commanded the Amazon battle leader. And her troops stood shield-to- shield, with their spears facing the foe.

Another line of Amazons now approached, for a search party that had been looking for the missing women had returned just before the cannibals had arrived. The women were soon ready for battle.

Challenger identified the present cannibal leader, and dropped him and another man with two quick shots. Finn killed another who tried to rally the savages. Then, the cannibals broke ranks and fled. Others died before they reached the jungle.

Selena had arrived now, in full battle array. She halted her women before they reached the jungle. "We must now retire to our city," she ordered. "If we pursue these men into the jungle, we cannot maintain ranks, and we will be in their preferred terrain. They may decimate us! Return to the city, now!"

All were soon safe within the walls of the Amazon fort, with medical personnel attending their wounded. They took the half dazed Neela from her rescuers, assuring them that she would be well cared for.

"And now," said Selena, removing her helmet, "who do we have here? Hippolyta, Laralei, introduce us to your friends, although I believe that we have met before. Have we not, Prof. Challenger?"

"Indeed, Your Majesty," replied Challenger. "I want you to know that we had no intention of trespassing on your lands, but were just on our way to buy copper from the mines at La Metallica. However, we were forced off course by the cannibals, who had captured three of your ladies."

"Three of my soldiers, please, George, or at least, three Amazons."

"Ah, certainly," said Challenger, who had cultural conflicts about thinking of women as soldiers. "Well, we have escorted them safely to you, and as soon as it seems that the cannibals have left, we will be on our way. If we may refill our canteens first from your wells, we would be grateful."

Selena was surprised. "George, the area will be unsettled until the cannibals are given a mighty blow to their pride. I am preparing an expedition for that very purpose, although we are short of the numbers required to do the job right. To this end, I have sent for the leader of the Men, with whom I wish to make a treaty to join forces to eliminate this common threat. Until then, I do not advise that you travel. Their scouts will be watching our walls, to see who might leave, so that they can attack them."

Marguerite was stunned. "You sent for the leader of the Men? I thought that you were mortal enemies, and that you sold or traded his subjects to the cannibals after you had used them to procreate your own people."

Selena shrugged. "We have been trying to change since the time of your last visit. You made some good points then about how men and women need one another. Now, we have a truce. And there is a Truce Village between our domains. There, those of our girls who wish to take the risk can meet members of the Men. If they reach accord after several dates, they may co-habit. If it does not work out, the Amazon girl may return here. But if she goes a second time, she may not return. If their union is good, the couple lives there. They may keep any children whom they produce. It will not be necessary for the boys to live with the Men and the girls to come here. Their own parents may raise them."

"What an astonishing concept," Marguerite marveled, trying not to sound too sarcastic.

Selena, being very intelligent and perceptive, caught the thought, anyway, even as the explorers tried not to smile at their friend's bravado.

"Marguerite, if I recall your name, I see that you retain your caustic tongue. Give us some credit. We have been trying, and even that is a momentous change for our peoples. And it required us to cease dealing with the cannibals. The Men never sent girls to them; they just retained any females whom they captured as slaves. Some they kept; some they sold. But they did not give them over to be eaten by the savages. Probably, we should not have, either.

"Is this Lord Roxton, as I recall? " The queen smiled at the Earl of Avebury, who smiled back and graciously inclined his head in greeting.

"Marguerite and I have become engaged since our last visit, and we would like to share quarters, if we must remain the night." Roxton offered his most charming smile with the request.

Selena beamed. "Engaged? Indeed, we can find you accommodations. And, of course, separate rooms for Veronica, whom we know well, and for Mr. Malone, and the young girl. George, you must introduce us. Is this your daughter? I see that she stands with you, but didn't realize that you had children."

"I'm not his child," Finn said, a bit tartly. "I plan to BEAR his children. I am the professor's woman."

Selena's eyebrows rose and she looked Finn over carefully. She took in the brief black shorts and cropped top, the matching boots, and noted the weapons. She sensed a fighting spirit, but also much femininity, and a sense of closeness with Challenger. The girl stood very near him, a little apart from the other visitors.

"She is called Nicole, Selena, but we call her by her nickname of Finn, based on her last name, Finnegan. We plan to marry when we return to my land. I must divorce my present wife, and then Finn and I will wed. (He had no idea yet that Jessie Challenger had died of flu in London before he and Finn had ever met.)

"I see. I think." Selena seemed thoughtful. "You have known one another long?"

"A little over two years," Challenger explained. "Finn came from afar, and joined our number after a terrible war had devastated her own people. We became close, and in time, fell in love. Until then, I had never realized just what love fully was, or how perfect a union a man could have with a woman. I thought that I had, but as I grew to know Finn, I realized just how short I had fallen of the perfect marriage."

Selena looked them over as a couple, and hiding her skepticism, turned to the Malones. "Veronica, I see that you have moved over next to Mr. Malone, and wear a ring that I do not recall from your last visit. Have you also become engaged?"

"Yes, Selena," the blonde girl answered. "Ned and I are together, and expect to marry as soon as we find a priest of his faith. All three couples in the Treehouse where we dwell are committed to one another, and we are almost a family, as well."

"How lovely," acknowledged the Amazon ruler. "Well, we will house you as couples. Because of our customs, I must ask that the men not walk around without their women. That might lead to confusion and problems. Now, I will have you shown to your quarters. I suggest that you freshen up and wash away the sweat of battle and of flight. I will summon you to my own chambers when dinner is ready. You will be my Royal guests this night."

"Majesty, may I show Finn and her honorable mate to their accommodations?", asked Laralei. "We have been talking, and Finn and I are now friends. You should have seen her in battle! She was very brave, and killed several of the black demons." The young Amazon was excited to know the visitors, and it showed.

Selena considered her request, and then nodded. "Yes, see that they are housed in the guest suites in the left wing of my palace. Ensure that they have bedding and water. Dinner will be served at six, and you may sit with them. But go first to your mother and sister after you have settled the Challengers in their rooms. Your family was worried sick over your absence.

"Oh, Mr. Malone! When you have rested and eaten, perhaps you will wish to meet Phoebe, with whom you had a close, if brief, acquaintance on your prior visit. She has missed you, and you will wish to meet your daughter." She glanced shrewdly at Veronica, whose face went pale.

Ned was dumbfounded. "What daughter, Your Majesty? I've never been married."

"Indeed? Well, marriage is hardly required for procreation. And Finn will wish to meet Phoebe, also. The resemblance between them is remarkable. I thought at first that Phoebe had left the fort and was dressed in strange clothing. And now, I must change from my armor into something more suitable for greeting distinguished guests. Will you excuse me?" And she was gone with her bodyguards and secretary, leaving the explorers with many questions.

The explorers were settled in adjoining suites in the palace, and after briefly conferring, they retired to their rooms. They were delighted to be able to bathe, and water and fruit juices were brought.

Challenger and Roxton conferred afterwards in the hallway, and started to include Ned in their discussion. But at the door of Ned and Veronica's room, they heard a loud discussion through the door, and decided that this was not the best time to intrude on the Malones' privacy.

Marguerite and Finn chatted briefly, deciding what to wear at dinner. They had not really brought any fashions beyond their usual trail wear. Marguerite did change her lavender blouse for a white one that was clean, and Finn donned her spare outfit. Other than changing lingerie, that was all that they could manage. They did share a bottle of cologne. It was Marguerite's lavender scent, not the citrus- based one that Finn and Veronica preferred, but it was what they had.

Everyone agreed to wear their sidearms, but to leave their rifles unloaded in their rooms. It might seem untrusting to carry the rifles, but they did not wish to go unarmed, in case of treachery. Roxton said that he would hide his Colt .32 automatic on his person. If they were disarmed, it might not be discovered.

"If Selena tries anything, one of us will try to get her at gunpoint and negotiate for our release," said Roxton, and the others nodded.

"It worked for Cortes when he grabbed Montezuma," noted Marguerite.

There was nothing to do but lie in their rooms for an hour, so they rested. Finn wanted to see both Laralei and Phoebe but Laralei needed time to be with her relatives, and would be at dinner. Phoebe would presumably turn up for dinner, too, or soon thereafter.

Finn and Challenger cuddled, leaving their clothes on, embracing, talking. Finn loved these times in bed, when they shared their innermost secrets and concerns, and where each told the other most intimately how much they were loved.

Then messengers came to escort them to the dining area.

The Malones looked strained, but refreshed from that morning. Whatever they had said to one another, they had taken time to clean up, and Veronica asked Marguerite for her cologne.

Marguerite loaned it, stifling an impulse to say that not even a fine scent like this one could make a blonde smell good. Veronica was clearly not in the mood for their usual banter. And all of their party knew the probable reason...

XXX

They had some time to wait until Selena and her entourage arrived, and were served nuts, cheese, and fruit, with wine. Guests drifted in and out of several rooms just off the main dining area, talking, the Amazons eager to see the strange visitors. Some Amazons wore graceful flowing gowns in a garden of floral colors. Others were in their battle dress, wearing swords and daggers. These were presumably on standby alert, in case the cannibals attacked.

Finn looked for Marguerite, didn't see her, and went to find her.

She was in the next room, with Roxton. With them were several Amazons. Things seemed congenial. Then, Hippolyta arrived, still looking sullen.

Finn turned to let a girl refill her glass and exchanged small talk with two others. She set down her glass and reached for nuts in a silver tray. When she looked back, Hippolyta was in front of the Roxtons, looking at Marguerite, who seemed apprehensive.

Finn was shocked to see Hippolyta's hand move to her sword. Instantly, she drew her Smith & Wesson. She called out, not especially loudly, but her voice carried all over the room.

"Hippolyta! Are you looking for a place and time to die? If not, get your hand off of that sword and move away from Marguerite!

Most of the Amazons present were startled, but not particularly alarmed. They barely recalled what they had heard of firearms, and the .38 revolver didn't immediately register with them as a deadly weapon. They stared, looking from Finn to Hippolyta, seeing Finn's anger, but puzzled.

The Roxtons saw at once what had happened. Marguerite retreated from Hipployta, eager not to stop a bullet if Finn fired. She had never missed a target as large as a human at this distance, barely 20 feet, but Marguerite was taking no chances.

Roxton shook his head at a shocked Hippolyta, laying a hand on her arm.

"I'll talk to Finn, Hippolyta. She just misunderstood your intentions. "

"Finn" he continued, " holster that gun and step over here. Nothing is wrong. Hippolyta was just about to show me her new sword. It has a silver hilt with some really impressive work. Come see."

"Did she just...?" Hippolyta began.

Marguerite walked to Finn, took her arm as she holstered the S&W .38 and walked her over to the others, talking quietly to the angry, shocked blonde girl.

Veronica gave Hippolyta and John Roxton a level, rather exasperated look. "You two should be more careful, considering the way that Hippolyta has been glaring at Marguerite. You know that Finn's very protective of her friends, and we just narrowly avoided a real tragedy here. Hippolyta, you wrote off Finn earlier as being someone you didn't think was very dangerous. You were wrong, very nearly dead wrong. We all need to have a talk and clear the air. No more misunderstandings."

The Amazon was angry now. "Do you mean the little girl in black almost slew me with the strange fire hammer? "

"Well, it wouldn't do to have a closer call," admitted Veronica. "Girls, we need to have an understanding."

"We certainly do," said a cool, regal voice from behind them. "I saw what almost happened. Finn, why were you so quick to threaten one of my best warriors?" Selena, Queen of the Amazons, had entered the dining room, with her bodyguards, secretary, and personal maid. Obviously, she had seen and realized what had almost happened.

Finn bristled. "Well, Selena, if your favorite lady warrior hadn't been looking daggers at Marguerite for the past day, I wouldn't have assumed the worst. We saved this babe's life, and all she's done since is to scowl and look like she wanted to get Marguerite alone and cut off her head! Marguerite is my friend, and I'm not about to let that happen!"

Selena digested this, and said, "Perhaps it would be best not to call Hippolyta a 'babe'. We are sensitive to such gender issues. But I think I may know the problem. Hippolyta, are you shamed that you needed to be rescued from the cannibals? I know you as a proud woman, and that must have infuriated you."

Hippolyta hung her head, and then nodded. "Majesty, I was shamed. I am grateful for these people's aid. Still, the dark -haired one smirked at me and made a joke at my expense."

"Get over it, lady," snorted Finn. "She makes blonde jokes about me and Vee all the time. We don't think about killing her for it. Well, not too seriously." She winked at Veronica, beginning to calm after her adrenaline rush. Finn was upset, and trying to settle down now that she had realized her grievous error. She flushed in anger and embarrassment.

"Look, Hippolyta, I'm sorry. It looks like I jumped to conclusions. Will you promise me and your queen that you won't try to hurt Marguerite while we're here? I'm as sorry as hell that I almost overreacted, but I'm not without cause. You just scared the devil out of me. Marguerite is like my sister. Unless she's just told a blonde joke. Then, maybe she's more like a cousin. But no kidding, I'm tired of having to be jumpy ever since you gave her a nasty, sneaky look this morning."

Selena raised her eyebrows. "Truly, you were afraid for your friend? Hippolyta, what is the meaning of this? Do you intend harm to Marguerite? Under my roof?!" She drew herself up, and was an imposing sight in her long jade gown, with impressive jewelry and her golden crown in place.

"Majesty," confessed Hippolyta, " I have been deeply angry with Marguerite. She said things that wounded me. But I never intended her actual harm. Certainly, not under your protection."

Marguerite finally grasped the depth of the Amazon's rage. "Hippolyta, I was careless with my tongue, at an inappropriate moment, I should have realized that you might take me more seriously than I meant. Please, accept my apology, very sincerely. I regret that I offended you. Can there be peace between us?" She reached out and rested her hand on Hippolyta's arm, looking beseechingly into her eyes.

Hippolyta, her feathers still ruffled, saw the logic of accepting the apology." Very well, if you are sorry, I must put aside my anger. But put yourself in my place, and recall that Laralei heard you and knows my embarrassment. I was hurt."

Marguerite nodded quickly. "I'm truly sorry. I was afraid that you were going to make a play for Lord Roxton's interest, and I was resentful. He is mine. That must be understood." She looked grimly at her presumed rival.

"Ah!" exclaimed Selena. "So, a man is at the root of this quarrel? Hippolyta, Lord Roxton and Marguerite are engaged and obviously in love. I will not tolerate anyone trying to come between them. Although I must say, Marguerite, many a woman might be tempted. "She winked at Roxton, who colored at being discussed this way in public.

"I just thought of something," said Ned Malone. "Where is Challenger? If he'd been here, maybe this little scene wouldn't have happened."

"Here I am, Ned, " said the enthusiastic scientist. "Did I miss something? Selena, look at this wonderful mushroom! It is one of the Morel family, and much valued as a delicacy. I was astonished to find it growing on the Plateau, and your cooks have shown me that it is raised here in Amazonia. How extraordinary! I say, what did I miss? You lot are certainly looking stressed." He looked back and forth, puzzled.

Finn went to him, and the story came out, with Challenger taking Finn's hand and saying that he, too, had sensed an animosity between Hippolyta and Marguerite. "I am glad that nothing awful happened, but I ask your forbearance, Selena. Finn had good cause to be apprehensive. I'm sure that she did nothing unreasonable, given the information at her disposal."

"Can we all just agree to get along, and eat? I'm hungry. Queen Selena?" Ned wanted to change the subject before further problems arose. Veronica rolled her eyes. Trust Ned to say something guileless...

Selena bristled briefly, but decided to be amused. "Very well, Mr. Malone. I would not wish you to think that I failed to feed a hero who has returned three of my warriors to me from grave peril." She clapped her hands. "Everyone, take your places! Dinner will be served momentarily! Lord Roxton, will you and Marguerite sit at my left arm, and Prof. Challenger and his fierce fiancée at my right, as he is the leader of your group? Hippolyta, you shall sit across from me. Where are Laralei and Phoebe? I was told they would join us at our Royal table."

Laralei raised her arm, and she and Phoebe made their way forward through the assembled Amazons. Both wore knee length gowns, Laralei in yellow and Phoebe in mint green.

Selena introduced Phoebe to Finn, and both girls stood transfixed, staring at one another. They were fascinated to be looking at almost mirror images of themselves, save for their hair styles. Finn was perhaps an inch shorter, and slightly more gracile, but the difference was slight. Laralei sat next to Finn, on the side opposite Challenger, and Phoebe sat beside Laralei.

Servers brought in large platters of roast meat, fish, carrots, corn (maize), and spinach. Wine was offered, and water. Conversation began, and the mood brightened.

Veronica leaned in next to Malone's ear and said, "Neddy, I'm sorry that I thought you were being gauche a moment ago. Looks like eating was just what we needed to defuse that situation." She kissed his cheek. Ned was glad that he weighed about 160 pounds and that there was such a thing as gravity, or he might have floated off the chair in rhapsody. But he had seen the way that Vee looked at Phoebe as they were introduced, and he dreaded that he was still not altogether out of the doghouse over his session with the young blonde Amazon who had apparently borne him a daughter.

Roxton studied Veronica and Phoebe and spoke softly to Marguerite. "I think that Selena deliberately invited Phoebe here and seated her where Ned and Veronica can't talk to her until later. Would she do that?"

"Why ask me? Am I Selena?" Marguerite whispered back.

"No, Madam, but you are both devious females, and I hoped that you might understand her better than I can."

Marguerite gave him a grin worthy of a Cheshire cat. "Why, John, how unchivalrous of you! Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Poor Ned! Not to mention Veronica. I hope this plays out better than I fear it may."

Queen Selena leaned toward Challenger and whispered, "George, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't go off roaming through my kitchens or other areas without Finn. She stays with you from now on, agreed? That may prevent any tragedies of the sort that nearly happened here tonight." She smiled brightly, as if she had just told a joke, and Challenger nodded, looking thoughtful.

XXX

Following dinner, dessert of melons was served, and the assembly was then free to mill around and meet the guests.

Selena soon excused herself to meet with the leader of the Men in the Truce Camp. Before she left, she looked shrewdly at the explorers talking with Phoebe. Marguerite noted that look, and would later report it to her friends. For now, she wanted to meet Ned's child.

This was soon accomplished, Phoebe and Laralei escorting the visitors to Phoebe's home.

The little girl was named Leila, and she was charming, for a two-year-old. Everyone was enchanted with her, and she hugged Ned and Veronica, somewhat mollifying Veronica's wrath. She had expected to dislike both Phoebe and the child, but grudgingly admitted to herself that they were unworthy of her hatred. It was quite true that Ned had been under no commitment to her when he had had his session with Phoebe. Indeed, he had been pretty much forced into the Amazon girls' bed.

Finn stood back a little distance from the group around the child and whispered to Challenger, "Genius, what if her sister was pregnant, too? Do you think that thought will bother Ned?"

Challenger shrugged. "Who will ever know? Nothing can be gained by crying over spilt milk. Of course, a cat that licks up the milk can see some use even in that. Anguish over the fertile status of Phoebe's late sister is even more fruitless than spilling milk. It will only breed sorrow and disharmony."

Finn smiled sadly, and took Challenger's hand. "Genius, I knew you'd have the best way to say that. I guess we all need to think of it that way. Did the sister look like Phoebe?"

"No," the scientist replied. "Frankly, I shouldn't be surprised if they were half sisters. They may have had different fathers, especially in view of how the Amazons mate, or did. I wonder what those who don't go to the Truce Village do for male company? Surely, they must still crave that on occasion."

"I heard, you George Challenger," spoke Laralei. She had keen ears, and was standing in a "sound corridor", where words were audible for a considerable distance.

"The answer is, we hold several annual mating festivals, where the men may visit us with amnesty. In turn, they host such events for us. That is how many meet who later go to live in the Truce Village."

"Can't a man just walk his dog and meet some chick and tell her that she's cute, and ask would she like to have a drink sometime?" Finn thought that all of this ceremony was phony and limited free unions between potential mates.

Laralei was amused. "Is that how you and Prof. Challenger met?"

Finn stopped smiling. "No. George rescued me from a thoroughly bad situation in a place that had seen some really tough times after a war so terrible that what Amazons and cannibals do to each other seems tame. Not that it is tame. If it's okay, Laralei, I don't want to talk about that now. Maybe later, when we know each other better."

Laralei looked into Finn's face, and saw the sorrow there. She smiled slightly, and reached out a hand to touch Finn's upper arm. The look that she gave Finn spoke more than words could, and Finn opened her arms to Laralei, who hugged her as the girls bonded.

Roxton wandered over and said, "I must say, Finn, this girl looks like you more than I had recalled. The resemblance is astonishing. George, what are the odds on two women looking that much alike and not being related?" He was grinning, making a joke as well as asking a question.

Challenger looked soberly at him. "John, I have been wondering that very thing. And Finn was born on this plateau...She knows that her father was an American mining engineer. Relatives told her that when she was old enough to understand. But her mother was from here. That is a very interesting question, indeed. Let me see whether I can conceive of a blood test or something that would tell us whether Phoebe and the little girl are of the same line. Hmmm...very interesting, more so than any other question which I have recently researched."

Finn was stunned. "You mean that these two may be, like, my ancestors, or something?"

He nodded. "I want to examine that issue. Would that matter, as far as our relationship goes?'

"No, Genius, I'm your woman, no matter who my ancestors were. But I'd sure like to know the answer to that question. I may be the only human to ever meet an ancestor going that far back."

"I daresay that you are, Finn, if this is true. Well, lets' go over and hold the child. I want to see your face as you hold her. It may be as interesting as Veronica's face when she held her...but for different reasons."

They all held Leila, who was laughing, and excited at the attention.

After a time, Challenger asked whether it might be possible to meet Phoebe's mother.

Finn picked up on his intention, and said, "Yeah. Does she look like you, Phoebe?"

Phoebe looked puzzled. "But you have met Mother. You know what she looks like, although not much like me or my late sister."

Roxton was baffled. "I'm sorry, Phoebe, but which lady is your mother? If we've met her, no one told us of your relationship to her."

Phoebe looked surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that you knew. Mother is Selena, Queen of the Amazons. I am Crown Princess Phoebe, heiress to the throne."

The explorers were stunned. Veronica turned red in embarrassment as she related why she had not picked up on this relationship.

"I was not well acquainted with Phoebe or her late sister, Thea, because when I lived here, they were mostly living at another Amazon city, Pharsalis. Quite a few high ranking Amazons stayed there, because it was further away from the Men and other tribes who were at war with the Amazons.

"I knew that Thea was Crown Princess, but haven't thought much about it in years. When we were last here, so much was happening that I just never told anyone who was who among the Amazons. But Thea's death would in fact make Phoebe the Crown Princess."

"I, too, stayed much in Pharsalis," announced Laralei. "I am Princess Laralei of Pharsalia, that domain of our people being the furtherest from here. I have come to Amazonia to learn more of my Royal duties now that I am 18. Should anything befall Phoebe and Leila, I will become Crown Princess. Phoebe and I are first cousins. If all goes well, I will rule that division of our realm called Pharsalia, under Selena, then under Phoebe."

"We had no idea of your status, Your Royal Highness," managed Challenger, half in shock. "I trust that none of our company has offended you in any way through our ignorance."

Phoebe smiled slightly. "You have not offended, Professor. Perhaps Veronica has left me a little indignant, having tied me and Thea and spirited Mr. Malone away from us before we were through with him on your previous visit. But I suppose that I will forgive her, for I see that she truly loves him, and will make him a good mate. But Veronica, will you allow Ned to come here and visit Leila, his daughter? I will make no further attempts on his virtue." At this, she laughed, enjoying Veronica's discomfort.

"Ned?" asked Veronica. "Do you want to visit Leila? If you do, I want to come, too."

"Sure, Honey," said Ned. "Yes, Phoebe, I do want to be part of Leila's life. It won't affect what I'll have with my and Veronica's children. And as Crown Princess, you can't take a mate anyway, can you?"

"True," admitted Phoebe. "Neither Laralei or I may marry, for we are in line to the throne. The Queen of Amazons must not marry. But I have a friend in the camp of the Men with whom I spend pleasurable time. Perhaps I may have another child. I do want a child with him, and he will live near, and may visit often. But it is Leila who will be my eldest daughter, the one in line to the throne after me. And my next child may be male, in which case, he will be raised by his father. So you see, you have fathered the next generation of Queen of the Amazons. Take pride in that, for it is no small honor."

They talked further, asking and answering the questions which the reader may well imagine arose.

Finally, they parted, the explorers returning to their quarters. They had an early breakfast meeting with Selena and the leader of the Men, who was visiting her this night.

Before they left, Phoebe gave Veronica an apologetic look, then kissed Ned on the cheek. "You were fun to know, Ned, while it lasted. Thank you for helping me to conceive this lovely daughter, whom I love dearly, as I trust that you will, too."

"I already do, Phoebe. I'm sure that my love will grow. May I come again tomorrow?"

"If events allow," she confirmed. "I suspect that we will do battle soon. I hope that you will help us against the cannibals. They are your enemy, also, and you will have a perilous passage through their country if we do not defeat them soundly."

Ned hugged Leila goodbye, and the explorers went to their rooms.

In the hallway before their quarters, Challenger said, "Well, that was certainly a surprise! How do you feel about this, Ned?"

Malone shrugged. "I'm a little floored by it. Stunned, I guess. But Leila is so pretty and so sweet...I already love her. Not the way that I love you, Sweetie," he hastily added, for Veronica's benefit.

"I should hope not," laughed Marguerite, ever ready to needle poor Ned. "Come on, Roxton. You can 'serve your purpose' here again, then I want my tired back rubbed."

"What purpose?" Finn hadn't been present on their prior visit, and had not heard that term used.

"You tell her, George," teased Marguerite. "Better yet, show her. The girl will love that, I'm sure. Ta, people. Lord Roxton and I are for bed. We need our beauty sleep before breakfast with the Queen."

And so, the explorers went to their separate rooms, each with much to discuss. This was especially true of Ned and Veronica...

XXX

Roxton and Marguerite were nude in their room, and had gotten to the stage where he was to "serve his purpose". Before performing his wonderful techniques in that regard, he asked Marguerite for a favor.

"Oh, that," she muttered. "Why is it that men find that so amusing?"

"Sends shivers up our spines and inspires us to greater effort on your behalf," he grinned. "So, having aroused me in that manner, you get the ultimate benefit."

"Sounds like careful male manipulation of the issue," she replied saucily. But she knelt on the luxurious carpet in front of him and prepared to grant his request.

A thought crossed her mind. "I say, John: I don't like to probe into your romantic past. I feel sure that I would be scandalized, even being the woman of the world that I am. But many find this rather reprehensible, something that nice ladies don't do. Did you have a lot of luck at getting previous girlfriends to do this? Just curious, mind. I do it for you out of love, and neither of us is a sheltered virgin. Remember that comment that you once made to me, about how you were no more a gentleman than I was a lady? Am I proving with this that I am truly no lady? It bothers me a little, although I cannot deny that I have a past that would entitle you to call me any name that you chose."

He reached down and stroked her hair, playing with her ears. "Marguerite, the only name that I want to call you is, 'mine'. Any other names that men have called you are in the past. That you do this for me only increases my esteem and love for you. A sultan once called you 'slave'. I only call you 'wonderful'."

She shivered lightly as his fingers played with her neck and around her ears. "Thank you, John, from the bottom of my heart. I know that what we have together cancels out all that passed before, with both of us. But you're dodging the question. Did other girls do this for you readily? I just want to know. And were any as good at it? How did you get them to do it"?

Roxton decided to make light of the matter. Whatever Marguerite was really after, if he got her to laugh, she would be less likely to blame him for anything.

"Actually," he boasted modestly," I had excellent luck in getting girls to do what I wanted, especially If I had dated them for awhile. In cases where there was some reluctance on the lady's part, I employed the Double L technique."

Marguerite lifted her mouth from what she was doing and said, "I'm afraid to ask, but I'm game for it. What, pray tell, is the Double L effect? Love and Lust?" She returned to her ministrations, raising her eyes to study his reaction. She loved to watch his face as she applied her skills.

"Lust was certainly a factor," he admitted. "Seldom love. But what I meant was Liquor and Lick Her. Worked most of the time, if my charms alone didn't do the trick."

Marguerite was aghast at first. Then she rose and laughed out loud. "John, you are awful! That sounds more like one of Finn's bits of advice! By the way, she tells me that in New Amazonia, this sort of thing goes with the territory of being with a man. Evidently, morals were more relaxed by then. Do you talk about sex with her when you hunt together?"

"Some," he acknowledged. "Just talk, mind you. She asks me for advice about what Challenger might like, and gives me a feminine view of matters. I suspect that she does about everything that you will, but makes it seem like a delightful game. You, on the other hand, come across as more sophisticated. With you, sex is a polished performance, making me feel privileged to have had you. I feel that I have been with a queen, trained by a seductress of marque. Rather like Caesar with Cleopatra, I suppose. Now, where were we? We have an early day ahead, and I want to have some fun before we must sleep."

"Very well, if you let me know that my efforts are genuinely appreciated." Marguerite knelt again and took him in her mouth, her tongue flicking expertly, generating trails of crackling electricity throughout his body.

Soon, he pulled her into bed, and they began a minuet of passion that ranked among their better unions. Neither held back and both gave generously to the other, until they were spent.

Finally, they lay in one another's arms, kissing quietly, talking as they so often did after expending energy in this manner.

"Oh, John! I do so love you! Please tell me again that I am all that you wish for, even in a whole town of females."

"You are certainly all that I wish for in a whole town of females," he mimicked. "After all, when we reach home, you will be all that I wish for in an entire nation with many nubile women. Marguerite, you are the light of my life, the candle that dispels the darkness that once wracked my soul. What I have with you has rebuilt me, from within. I smile more now, and less cynically when I do. You give me pleasure in all ways, what we did being just one of them. And I want you beside me for all time."

"You truly do mean that," she realized. "Oh John! I love you beyond words." And she hugged him to her, and he felt the trickle of her tears as she wept openly with joy at finding a man who was to her as was John Roxton. A man who scoured despair from her and lit her up from within. And gave her hope and love and delight. A man for all seasons and for all reasons. Her man!

"There, there, Marguerite, don't cry, " he comforted. He held her, stroking her hair and her body, until she kissed him fiercely and told him that Finn was mistaken: it was she and Roxton who in fact had the love of all time, the affair of the ages.

"I know that," he agreed. "Just don't tell her and Challenger. I do so hate to see a pretty girl cry. Let Finn believe that of them. She needs it. And they're our friends, and they are much in love. They just don't quite have this, as we do. No one else could."

"What about Ned and Veronica? Can they even approach what we have?" Her large green eyes reflected her curiosity in the dim light.

"No," he answered. "But they have fun trying. Now, come here. I'm not done kissing you and telling you what you mean to me. Then, I need sleep. You have worn me out, Madam." He chuckled as she moved her mouth up to his lips.

In time, they slept, exhausted, but joyous and content in one another's embrace. Believing that they have the love of the ages often does that to a couple...

XXX

Finn lay close to Challenger, as they breathed deeply, restoring their equilibrium after a session that had largely mimicked what the Roxtons had just been doing next door.

"Genius, you're getting so damned good at this! I think I'm becoming a sex addict." She tickled his chest hairs and leaned down to kiss his lips.

"Better that than some addictions," he counseled, chuckling, inordinately pleased that she should say this. Male vanity was not unknown to him, and George Challenger was a proud man, if a true genius.

They snuggled, whispering sweet somethings, and then talked of Leila and of the Malones and of Princess Phoebe.

"I should have known that she was a princess, for she looks so much like you, Darling," he ventured, watching for her delighted reaction. "You, however, outrank a princess, for you are the queen of my heart."

She laid her head in the crook of his neck and sighed with immense pleasure. "Thanks, Genius. It feels good to be appreciated. Hey: I wasn't, like, too slutty tonight, was I?" She raised her head to study his expression.

"I'm not certain," he replied. "But I'm too tired to ask you to do all of that over again while I reflect on the 'sluttiness' of it. Suffice to say, you slaked my lusts exceedingly well, and I love you all the more for it. Well, I would, if I had the ability to love any more than I already did. No man could love more than I do now."

'You say the sweetest things, George." Finn kissed his neck and lay next to him again. "What did you think of Leila? Vee seems to be taking all of that better than I was afraid she would. That Phoebe! Gad, I felt like I was looking into a mirror. Do you like her hair better than mine?"

He played with her golden tresses. "No, of course not. But when she had it in a ponytail tonight, it did look wonderful. You do when you wear it that way, too, but her longer hair suits the style better. On you, that short ponytail is simply erotic. When we get home, wear it that way for me sometimes. But usually, I prefer your hair as you normally wear it. It is so 'you' and my heart sings when I see you each morning."

Finn snickered. "Genius, I think your heart was singing a few minutes ago, and it's nowhere near morning!"

"Actually, it probably is," he realized. "Check my watch, will you?" Finn was closer to that side of the bed by the nightstand with his watch and Colt .45 revolver.

She looked at the gold hunter watch and announced that it was just past midnight.

"We had better get what sleep we can," Challenger declared. "I have a feeling that this will be a rather full day."

"Thanks for making this a rather full night, Lover." Finn laughed and cuddled by him after blowing out the candle that had let him enjoy seeing her splendid body as they had made love.

"Hey!" she chirped. "Do you realize that tomorrow, I can think about meeting my ancestors and not have to worry about dying to do it? Is that 'way cool, or what?"

"Oh, it's surely 'way cool', Darling. But if the cannibals get in among us, you may still die. Please be careful, no matter what happens."

Sobered, Finn told him good night, and they slept, wondering what the day might bring.

Chapter Three

Shortly before seven by Challenger's watch, Amazon soldiers knocked on the visitors' doors, rousing them from sleep which ranged from deep to fretful depending on the individual.

Roxton had slept the best, content with his lovemaking with Marguerite. He was a veteran of many campaigns, and knew the value of sleep before battle. Marguerite had also slept well, after he had rubbed her back, whispering endearments into her ear until she drifted off.

Ned and Veronica had had issues to resolve, but had finally done so, and they faced the day happier than they had the previous dawn. Still, they looked strained, stressed by both the revelation of Ned's parenthood and the coming combat. They dressed somberly, but before they left the room, Veronica pulled Ned to her and said, "Neddy, I love you. Whatever happens today, never forget that."

Ned, alarmed, asked, "What's going to happen today?"

"We fight the cannibals, silly." Veronica rolled her eyes. Sometimes, Ned was a little slow on the uptake.

"Oh," he replied, 'if that's all, I can handle that. What would scare me is if you were still mad at me."

Veronica was touched, and kissed him before she opened the door and they went out, shown to breakfast by their escorts.

They saw the Roxtons ahead of them, and joined them.

Finn was up first in her room, donning bra and panties before taking Challenger's clothes to him. "Here, Genius," she called, tossing the clothes on the foot of the bed before bringing his gun belt and boots.

She was dressed as he finished, and they embraced as they went out. "I hope these broads believe in cooking a real breakfast," she wished. "I like a decent meal before I have to go kill people."

Challenger chuckled and took her hand as an Amazon led them to the dining room.

On the way, they passed several other women who looked curiously at Finn. One stopped them and asked, "Why are you dressed like that, Phoebe? Who is this distinguished gentleman with you?"

Finn was amused, but mildly irritated too, as she told her story three more times before they reached the room where their companions and a reception committee of Amazons awaited them.

Seated near Selena and her elder warriors, they noticed three males who were obviously of the tribe known here simply as the Men. They reminded Challenger and Roxton of Gauls at the time of Julius Caesar. Long trousers, no shirts on many of them, some painted in tribal symbols. Some had no scabbards for their swords, thrusting the bare blades through a leather loop hanging from their belts. Others carried axes.

The three seated near Selena wore shirts, but one had symbols on his forehead, blue tattoos meaning something to his own kind.

Selena introduced King Antipodes and his aides.

Antipodes glared at the newcomers and demanded, "I want your guns."

Now, see here!" growled Challenger, rising.

"Who are you, old man?" snarled the large man with the blue tattoo.

Finn mentally debated whether to shoot him through the left eye, the right eye, or smack in the middle of the concentric looped tattoo. She pushed her chair back and unfastened the strap holding the flap of her holster shut.

Selena rose. "Be calm, everyone. Antipodes, make no more such rash statements. Prof. Challenger's dangerous fiancée is looking at you, wondering where to shoot you, unless I miss my guess. Lord Roxton is deciding which of your men will die next. You cannot bully my guests or trifle with them. I assure you, you are playing with fire. And you are violating our agreement that we will all meet in peace. Be seated, and tell the table attendant whether you wish eggs, ham, bacon, steak, cereals, or other fare. We have several fruit juices, as well. I trust that you will agree to forego mead, as we have serious business before us this day."

Selena wore her red battle dress, the pleated skirt to her knees, her golden armor behind her chair. She wore her dagger, the matching sword by her helmet, breastplate and greaves.

"I said that I want those guns," rumbled Antipodes, but he sat. "I know of their power. I have heard of it from those who have seen their work. I want them."

"We all want things that we cannot have," purred Marguerite. "Be careful that what you ask for isn't your final wish. It almost was."

Antipodes stared at her, trying to intimidate her. He became aware of Lord Roxton looking coolly, appraisingly, at him. He swung to face him.

"I can take you," he blustered.

"You're about to have the opportunity to find out," the Englishman told him. "Keep leering at my woman that way, and I'll save the cannibals the trouble of killing you."

"Perhaps I wasn't emphatic enough, "sad Selena. "We are on the same side against the cannibals, and I will not tolerate conflict and macho blustering under my roof. We will break our fast now, and then we will plan productively to deal with the cannibals. If you cannot accept this, our agreement is off, and you must leave. Is that clear?"

Antipodes glared at her, but finally nodded. "Very well. For now, we will work for the greater good. Later, I want those fire sticks. I can find good use for them."

"How do you spell your name, Bad Guy?" asked Finn. "I want to be sure we get it right on your tombstone." She took out a notebook and her pen, carried in a purse/pouch with extra ammunition, makeup, and a few other articles. "You can spell, can't you?" She looked inquiringly at him; her cool blue eyes measuring him like a cat assessing a mouse that it plans to kill in the near future.

"Finn..." warned Selena."I will speak tactfully just this once. No one will harm your companions or you while you remain friends of the Amazons. Antipodes, these people rescued three of my warriors yesterday, from certain death. One is probably our kin. I haven't learned how yet, but Finn resembles my daughter so closely that I feel that she is of our blood. You will not harm her, or her companions. Now, or ever. If you do, it means war. Have I expressed myself clearly this time?"

Everyone nodded, some grudgingly.

"Shall we serve now, Majesty?" asked the lead attendant.

"Yes," said Selena. "I believe that we are now ready for breakfast. Professor, will you give the girl your order? I believe that we can accommodate most tastes."

Challenger gave Antipodes a final cool look, and turned to the girl poised to take his order. He looked at Finn. "Darling, will you go first, please?"

XXX

Following an excellent breakfast, the attendants removed the plates, but brought cups and a pot of very hot water in which Marguerite brewed tea.

This was served as they gathered to plan a defense.

"What we should do," commented Roxton, "is to draw the cannibals out onto the plain, where we will have a killing ground. If they stay in the forest, we cannot dress our ranks well, and some will become disoriented and separated from others. Formations will be difficult to maintain."

"We have a grave lesson about this from history", Challenger concurred.

"We have? What?" Ned Malone was not particularly a student of European history.

"Do you mean the Roman catastrophe in Germany, George?" asked Marguerite. She sipped tea, satisfied that the fired clay pot had held heat well, making good tea possible.

"Precisely, Marguerite. Ned, have you ever heard of a German named Arminius?"

"No," said Ned." Don't Germans have names like von This or von That?" He smiled at his presumed joke.

"Well, back then, they had different names. And this one was a German king who caught a Roman army in a dense forest. His men knew the area, and they overcame Roman discipline and their ability to hold fighting formations in the trees. They slaughtered what was technically a superior military force. The Romans who weren't killed in battle were nailed to trees or suffered other amusing things that barbarians liked to do to a defeated enemy then.

"The Roman general," he continued, was named Publius Quintilius Varus, and I do not want to be the next Varus. We had better not fight the cannibals among the trees, where Queen Selena's formations cannot maintain their structure and support each other as well as they can on the savannah. Individually, most of her women are not a match for the cannibal men, especially inasmuch as they outnumber us."

Selena looked amused. "Professor Challenger, I'm not awfully concerned about what happened to these Roman people. I do have a considerable army."

"You don't have what Varus had," Roxton protested. "He led 30,000 men into the Tuetoburger Forest, and few or none returned. Does that make my and George's point? Have you got over 30,000 soldiers to sacrifice if anything goes wrong?"

"You do make a point, don't you?" asked an astonished Selena. "Thirty thousand?!"

"My men can fight anywhere," snarled Antipodes. "We have no rigid formations like Selena's legions."

Roxton tactfully refrained from pointing out that the Men also had little discipline or structure. They often ran amok, each running after the enemy on his own, with Antipodes having only loose control once battle was joined. He did have some who ran wild, slaying all in their path, like Norse berserkers.

An idea occurred to him.

"Antipodes, can you infiltrate men into the jungle above and beyond the cannibals? Drive them to Selena's waiting army who can hide within the walls here until the enemy is in sight on the open plains? We could give them a nasty surprise if we can get them trapped between our forces!"

Antipodes gave Roxton a shrewd look. "You are smarter than you look, English. Yes, I was going to suggest that very thing. We need some hours to enter the woods far enough around that we will see few cannibals and can then outflank them. It will be early afternoon before we can be in place. We will then begin a sweep, driving them out onto the plain wherever we can. Be ready from noon thereon. I can give no exact time."

The others agreed, and Selena said that she would ready her catapults and have her female warriors see that all else was ready before the time for battle was at hand.

"I will address my soldiers just before we counterattack the cannibals. They will be inspired when the time comes. Antipodes, I wish you well."

"I wish you well, too," said Antipodes. But his gaze wandered to the explorers' guns, and there was an acquisitive glint in his eye. Challenger and Roxton exchanged glances and grimaces with one another. Antipodes might later become a foe rather than an ally.

The group agreed to have another cup of tea, which those who had not encountered tea before found to be an intriguing beverage. In fact, Challenger had talked with the Amazon horticulturalists, and they had plans to try to grow the plant in a suitable area within their lands.

As they completed their plans, two serving girls entered with fresh, very hot, water for the tea. One was an Amazon girl on kitchen duty that week. She wore a yellow cloth dress that was about knee length and good sandals. She showed only normal deference in the presence of the queen, being a warrior when she was not on kitchen duty. She addressed Selena as Majesty, and seemed proud to serve her, but she was clearly free and respected by the Amazons at the table.

The other girl had not entered until now. She wore a shorter, sleeveless dress, of plain gray material. Her neck bore a slim iron collar, marking her as slave, and she wore the brass loop earrings regarded in this region as suitable only for slave girls. Her sandals were of poorer quality than with most Amazons, and she showed the women at the table great deference. She was afraid to meet their eyes, and she trembled slightly as she served a sweet roll to Queen Selena.

At that point, one of the chieftains who accompanied Antipodes looked closer at the girl. His eyes widened and he rose swiftly and approached the girl, whose chin he lifted, to better see her face.

"Marigold!" he exclaimed. "It is you!"

The girl recognized him in her return glance, and looked shocked. She flushed, and dropped to her knees, putting her head to his feet. "Master!," she cried. "I thought never to see you again!"

"What is the meaning of this display?" demanded one of the Amazon leaders, rising from her place at the table.

"Forgive me, Mistress!" begged the slave girl. "It is he whose girl I once was. I cry myself to sleep many nights, longing to be with him again, to serve his will as I once did."

She looked shyly at the man, but rose and bowed her head to Selena. "Please do not discipline me, Mistress. Great Queen, I was overcome, for this man meant much to me. I was his. I am sorry; I know well who now owns me. Forgive my display of emotion." She trembled, wringing her hands.

The man looked at Selena. "I am Gracchus, second in command to Antipodes, as you know. I stand tall among the Men. We are now your allies. You took this girl in a raid on one of our camps nearly two years ago. We are now at peace, and you need our help. As a token of our friendship, sell this girl to me. I will pay more than her usual market value, for she meant much to me. Six silver drachmas for her. Will you sell, Great Queen?

Selena looked thoughtfully at Gracchus, then at Marigold. She paused, thinking quickly, but serenely.

"Queen Selena?" asked Gracchus. "A whole gold coin of medium size? It is more than you could probably get for Marigold if you sold her in a market. She is lovely, but some of her value to me is sentimental. I would offer more, but I have not brought much money. I wasn't expecting to shop while here."

He looked at Marigold, again lifting her face. She colored, and looked down shyly, but the look that she gave him was of adoration and desire. She virtually quivered in his presence.

Gracchus stroked Marigold's brown tresses, and ran a a hand down her arm, and caressed her back, lingering at her trim, shapely buttocks. She did tremble visibly at this point, biting her lower lip and looking desperately back at Gracchus.

"How much will you give after the battle?" Selena demanded. "You clearly desire this slut whose body you fondle with such insolence in my presence. She is Amazon property, and this is the Royal dining room, not your bedroom or the auction block. Remember the social graces, Gracchus."

"How much must you have for her? Marigold, do you again want to be my favored girl, to wear my collar, not this one placed on you by fellow women? Assuming that you actually had any choice in the matter, I mean."

"Master, I am your girl, if you will purchase me. But you have offered more than I am worth. I do not wish to shame you by costing so much, if Her Majesty will even sell me." She began to cry.

"You will make up for your high cost, I assure you," said Gracchus. "I won't be too embarrassed by what I paid after you earn your price." He laughed, and took her hand. "Selena, name any reasonable sum. Even somewhat beyond reason, as I have offered. Marigold was one of my fondest possessions, so I will pay you what I said. You will be getting a fine price, and it will help to cement our alliance if you vend her to me."

"This is unseemly," muttered the other chieftain of The Men. "It looks, Gracchus, as you might love a slave. Where is your dignity, man? Offer a fair sum for this piece of property, but do not plead, and give an outrageous amount. I have two pretty girls whom I will sell you for what you have offered for this one slut!"

"Look," said Finn impulsively. "I, uh, have a little gold with me. Selena, will you let me advance Gracchus some money toward what he needs to buy Marigold? You have enough other girls here that you won't miss her, I guess. I've seen several. And you Amazons really don't keep too many female slaves."

"We keep HER!" replied another Amazon. "This little (bleep) was captured by us. Although she was of another tribe, we offered her freedom, even a chance to become an Amazon if she could. Not that I think she has the martial spirit, or the strength and ability to use a sword. Then, she tried to run away from us, to return to this man Gracchus! It was only then that we placed our collar on her neck. Now, you see how she grovels at this man's feet, and almost begs to be sold to him!"

"Mistress," said Marigold, looking at Selena, "I do beg sale to this man! Please, Great Queen! He has offered more than I am worth. He needs me more than you do. Inside of me, I remain his property. Please let me again wear his collar. It would be the natural order of things." She looked beseechingly at Selena, kneeling at her feet, her eyes begging pity. "Forgive me, for I know that I may be punished for speaking wthout permission, or for trying to intervene in my sale. It is not my place."

The angry Amazon spoke again. "This girl's rightful place is at the whipping post! Majesty, shall I remove her from your presence?"

Finn said, "Look, how much do you want for her, Selena? I'll lend Gracchus a little gold, and I'll protect you personally with my rifle in the coming battle if you'll sell. Is that a pretty good deal for you?"

Marigold's face turned to Finn. "Mistress, you have a good heart. I bless you for this. I will earn every penny that is paid for me, if I am sold to this chieftain today."

"Finn, this is scandalous!" spoke Marguerite, standing in anger. "What on Earth do you think you're doing?!"

Challenger looked carefully at Finn, and said, "Selena, I also have a little gold, for we came to purchase copper. Is the girl for sale, or not? We need to complete planning our attack on the cannibals."

He sat down, but still looked toward Finn, who smiled gratefully at him, and even glowed a little, for she knew that he had made this offer partly out of concern for her feelings, and partly because he was a romantic, who took pity on Marigold and Gracchus.

Well, I never...," began Marguerite.

"Marguerite, shut up and sit down," said Veronica. "This isn't our home, and these people don't operate by our values. Let Selena decide what is best here."

Selena raised an eyebrow, looking at Veronica. "Veronica, you are wiser than I had realized. You speak well."

She turned to the girl sobbing at her feet. "Stand up, Marigold. Go stand beside Gracchus. Gracchus, she is sold. Give me the six silver drachmas that you originally offered. Marigold is not worth your gold, let alone that of Finn or Challenger."

She accepted the money from Gracchus, as Marigold stood trembling, fearing that somehow, something would go wrong and that Selena would retain her, and send her to be whipped.

Selena gave the money to her chamberlain and told her to see that it found its way into the communal Amazon treasury. "Someone find the key to this slave's collar, and bring thongs for Gracchus to bind and leash his new property. Gracchus, if you do not wish to lead her out with you as you go, we will store her here for you in a cell until after the battle. I will allow her to keep her garment, as it would be unseemly to strip her now. I suppose that six silver coins will buy that miserable piece of cloth, anyway."

Marigold knelt with her head to Selena's feet, "Thank you, Mistress. I am sorry for any trouble that I have caused while I was your property." She couldn't control her tears as Selena lifted her and shoved her toward Gracchus, with a slap on her behind.

"I see where this girl belongs. Gracchus, congratulations on your purchase. I have a feeling that you have gotten a bargain. Remember this after the battle, and remain friends of the Amazons!"

"Great Queen," said Gracchus, "I will remember."

He turned to Finn and Challenger. "I will also remember your offer of assistance, strangers. You have made a friend in Gracchus today. That may be of benefit to you in the future, for I have a long memory, and I stand next in line to Antipodes in my tribe."

He accepted three leather thongs from an Amazon guard, and Marigold placed her hands behind her, to be bound. But instead of tying her, Gracchus took out a handkerchief from his pouch, dried her tears, and hugged her. "Do not expect to be bound just yet, girl. You did not finish serving me this tea drink, and I want to be served by my own slave. Here, lift your head. I will tie a collar of leather on your neck for now, to temporarily mark you as mine. You will be collared properly in a suitable ceremony when we return to my home after this battle."

"Yes, Master," beamed Marigold. "Would you like one of these breakfast pastries, also?"

Then, having served him, she knelt beside him, one of his hands in her hair and playing with her ears and neck. He ate and drank with the other. Marigold laid her head on his thigh, sometimes looking shyly up at him.

"Someone loves a slave," smirked Agarion, another chieftain of The Men. Antipodes said nothing, but sneered.

"Oh, shut up, Agarion," spoke Gracchus. "I will hardly admit to something like that in public." But he did look down rather fondly at Marigold, who looked back and blushed deeply before casting her eyes down in graceful submission.

Challenger and Finn exchanged a glance, and he reached out for her hand, which she placed in his. They squeezed hands and beamed at one another.

"This is ridiculous," muttered Marguerite. "On top of this silly display, my tea has gone cold. Roxton, this is somehow going to be your fault."

"My fault?!" exclaimed the Earl of Avebury. "What on Earth did I do wrong?"

"I'll think of something," Marguerite replied, "What good is a man if you can't blame him for things? Look, is any tea at all in those pots still at least warm?

Selena looked at her guests and down at Marigold. She just managed to suppress a smile.

XXX

Plans were soon completed, and the Men left, Marigold now bound and leashed. She would be chained by the ankles in a wagon that had transported warriors and supplies from the villages of the Men. The wagons would be hidden, with 50 men stationed to protect them, should any cannibals slip past the Amazon lines and get that far.

As they left the dining area, Selena motioned for Challenger to come to her. "I want a brief talk with you alone, Professor." She led the way into an office off of the main hall. Finn followed, but was asked to wait outside. She made a face to show her pique, but agreed.

"George, are you truly committed to this blonde child? What is she, about 17? Are there no grown women where you dwell, suitable mates for a distinguished man such as yourself?"

Challenger was angered by this intrusion into his affairs, and was tired of being teased for the age difference between him and Finn.

"Selena, Finn had barely turned 22 when we met, but will soon be 24. She is not a child, and she has had a stressful life that made her grow up soon. She is no delicate, naive teenager. She has learned to read under my tutelage, and learned many other things. She helps me in my lab, where I tolerate few others, and she warms my heart. Yes, I am committed to her, and she to me. Now, was this all that you wanted? If so, I must get back to my friends and determine where Finn and I will be during the upcoming battle."

Selena said, "Well, if she means that much to you...I cannot marry, but I had hoped that you might visit here several times a year, and let me entertain you in my private chambers. You were pleasing company on your last visit."

Challenger: "Great Queen, I am honored by your suggestion, but I have promised Finn that she will be my only woman. It is our way, and we plan to try for our first child soon. Still, I must say, I am flattered by your interest. I was also deeply impressed by you."

Selena nodded pleasantly in response, acknowledging his compliment. She opened the door and they went out to find an impatient Finn tapping her foot, studying her prized Patek Phillipe pocket watch. Challenger suppressed a smile at her theatrics.

Selena called the explorers over and asked that Finn and Challenger protect Phoebe and Leila. "They are my heiresses, and will need extra security. Finn, I sense that you are of my blood. The resemblance to Phoebe is surely more than coincidental. Someday, when we have more time, I wish to go over your ancestry with you. And Challenger is a healer, should any of the girls of Phoebe's court be injured. I assume that you and George will insist on staying together, in any case?"

Finn shifted uncomfortably. "Look, Queen Selena, I offered my rifle to cover you if you sold Marigold. Should I stay with you instead?"

Selena shook her head. "You gave no gold to buy that slave, and I need you more with my daughter and granddaughter. Your friends will stay with me, however, should that suit them. Lord Roxton? Do you mind?"

"Not very well, he doesn't," quipped Marguerite. "Seriously, John, shall we remain near her? Selena may well need protective rifle fire."

So, it was agreed that the Malones and the Roxtons would be in the Royal war party, and that the Challengers would stay with Phoebe and her retainers and guards. As Challenger and Finn greeted Phoebe and her retainers, six warriors of the Men arrived. They carried swords, daggers, axes, and spears, and three wore chain mail armor.

All had metal helmets, the senior of them having horns on his helmet. Two were bare- chested, and had concentric circles painted in blue on their left shoulders. Those without beards also had blue circles on their faces. Challenger was reminded of Vikings, crossed with Gallic Celts.

"Which of you is Princess Phoebe?" demanded the warrior with horns on his helmet.

"Who wants to know?" replied Finn, her thumb hooked over the hammer of her Winchester, which lay in the crook of her left arm. She prepared to swing the rifle quickly into action. Challenger quietly unfastened the flap of his holster.

"We have been sent by Gracchus to defend this Phoebe and the strangers from elsewhere," said the man, looking cautiously at the rifle and at Finn's face, reading a message in the cold blue eyes. He shivered inwardly, sensing real menace.

"I am Princess Phoebe," said the Royal lady. "And to what do we owe this courtesy from Gracchus?"

"Princess," he answered, looking puzzled from her to Finn. "Gracchus sends us because the strangers did something that pleased him during the purchase of his favorite slave girl. I know not the details, for he was in a hurry to dispatch us to your aid. But he said to tell the big man with the ginger hair and beard and his blonde free woman that he looks upon them with favor, and wishes them well in the upcoming battle. Where do you want us? You will command us during what comes."

Phoebe, impressed, expressed her thanks to the man, who was called Attillus, and bade her servants bring breakfast for the men when she heard that they had not yet eaten.

Challenger and Finn examined the weapons of the Men, finding them to be surprisingly well made, with obvious knowledge of metalworking showing in the forged blades and axe heads. The swords looked Frankish or Viking, as did the axes. The sword hilts of the two most important Men bore inlaid gold trim, in the form of runic symbols, and graceful scroll engraving further enhanced them. Their scabbards were of wood, overlaid with heavy leather, the throats and chapes being of iron or of a reddish metal that he thought looked familiar. He had come here in quest of it...

"Oh, George Challenger, "noted Attillus, "Gracchus also bade me tell you that he has a pleasant surprise for you after the battle. All I know is that he said not to buy any copper until he has spoken with you."

XXX

Hours passed. Lunch was served, and proved enjoyable. The defenders sat within cool buildings, relying on sentinels in the watch towers to warn if any cannibals appeared.

The Men who had come to protect Princess Phoebe soon singled out three slave girls to whom they enjoyed talking when they were not serving. Phoebe allowed this, for she felt responsible to the Men to some degree for coming to her aid, and she sympathized with the girls. But members of her retinue soon shooed the girls away and tried to monopolize the men's' time.

"Gad, Phoebe, don't these chicks ever see any men?" wondered Finn, as they chatted.

Phoebe smiled. "Not too often. We are still in the tenuous stages of establishing peaceful relations with the Men, and few other male travelers arrive here. Most have heard terrible tales of us, and avoid this area.

"But," she continued, "things are improving. So far, 58 girls have tried living in the Truce Village, and 43 remain. Some left and returned here to stay. Six left and went back, although Mother warned them that they must now remain there. If they cannot get along with the man they are with, they must find another, or be homeless. But it seems that other Men are available, if the first chosen does not work out. Excuse me a moment, Finn. I think I will recall my ladies-in-waiting and send those slaves out to the Men again. I have something in mind if all goes well." She smiled mysteriously and called her maidens inside. They were soon laughing and giggling, obviously happy about whatever was being discussed.

The slaves were soon with the Men, attending their every need. They were called Sunshine, Poppy, and Lily, and the Men enjoyed their company a great deal. Attilus offered to buy Sunshine, but Phoebe said that this would have to be discussed later, although she would approach her Royal mother on his behalf.

CHAPTER FOUR

It was still early for the Men to have outflanked the cannibals and worked their way down through the forest when a sentry called, "Cannibals! Many cannibals! To arms!"

At once, the Amazons formed battle units. After Selena confirmed her worst fears by looking at the plain outside the town from a tower, she called the Roxtons and the Malones to her, with her bodyguards, messengers, and other staff.

The main gates were opened, and Selena sent out her troops, three full centuries, marching in step, their shields on their arms, spears flashing in the early afternoon sun. Behind them came archers, with additional warriors carrying sheaves of spare arrows.

XXX

Challenger and Finn ascended a tower with their binoculars and showed Phoebe how to use a binocular. The princess was astounded at what she could see, once she had managed to find things in the lenses.

"Look!" she exclaimed. "There goes Mother, riding her favorite black horse!"

And Selena indeed rode forth, with other equestrians accompanying her. Behind her came two catapults, with heavy rocks for their ammunition. Selena marched her forces some 600 yards before halting them and forming a shield line, where she would do battle.

Phoebe and her ladies now donned their weapons and stood ready in case any cannibals outflanked the Amazon forces and struck at the rear of their compound. She was dressed in red like her mother, with a short pleated skirt with gold trim. Attilles looked up as she descended the ladder from the tower. He raised his eyebrows appreciatively and shared grins with the male warrior next to him. Phoebe had excellent legs...

XXX

Facing Selena were at least a thousand cannibals. They formed long skirmish lines, and began banging their spears on their buffalo hide shields. The sound was like that of a freight train in the distance. Dancers in front began taunting the Amazons with lewd motions and stamping their feet in a frightening war dance. The enemies' voices drifted down on the faint breeze, singing war chants.

"This must be what it was like for our troops at Rorke's Drift," remarked John Roxton, loading his rifle. He referred to a famous incident in the Second Zulu War in which a small force of the South Wales Borderers held off a prolonged assault by vastly superior Zulu impis. (Regiments.) That action had produced 11 Victoria Crosses, the most ever awarded in a single engagement of the British Army. Desperate circumstances produce gallant men. (This is a true story.).

"I was thrilled," admitted Marguerite, "but I promise you, I was content to read about that. By the way, I won't amuse you fellows by asking whether this day can possibly get any better. It MUST get better, or we may find ourselves in a stewpot!"

"Relax, Marguerite," teased Veronica. "Even cannibals won't eat you. No one wants to eat anything that'll cause that much indigestion!" She whooped at her joke, drawing an arrow from her quiver as the enemy now approached in short rushes, shouting insults and taunts as they came.

Now they were trotting, making short jabs with their spears, their shields held before them. They made a chant that sounded to English ears like, "Gish! Gish!"

"I'm very concerned that the Men have not had time to get into place," admitted Selena. "If we must, we will do what damage we can, but we may have to withdraw into the fort and try to beat them off until we receive help. I have four cohorts coming, from outlying Amazon towns. I had hoped that they would arrive by now."

She turned to the artillery commander. "Lucenia! Launch, now! Aim at the center and the ends of their lines!"

Malone turned to Marguerite. "Would you like to take the first shot, Marguerite? Ladies first, you know. "

"Hey!" demanded his mate. "What am I, suddenly forgotten, or something?"

"No, Honey, but your bow doesn't have the range of her rifle. Just think of yourself as our close range lady. I only hope to Heaven that your archery skills won't be needed."

Veronica pouted, clowning. "Well, Neddy, you didn't mind my close range skills last night!" She stuck out her tongue at Malone as Marguerite grinned.

Roxton shook his head, smiling. He set the rear sight of his rifle for 400 yards, and prepared to kill. Then he surprised everyone by producing a bayonet from his pack and fixing it in place.

"John, I didn't realize that you still had that thing," commented Marguerite. "Do you really think you'll need it?"

"The Fates alone know," he responded. "But it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. It's been through a few Germans. Let's see how the cannibals like cold steel."

"I think we're about to have that opportunity," noted Ned Malone. He rolled over the safety of his .30/06 Springfield rifle to "Off" and took a formal sitting position. He drew a bead on an advancing savage and took a deep breath." Marguerite, if you want to take the first shot, now would be a good time."

The first stones from the catapults smashed into the enemy's ranks, and their carnage was terrible. Antipodes had loaned a dozen men to assist in loading catapults, and their strength enabled the Amazons to operate these terrible machines more rapidly than when the women alone did so.

The stones from the artillery created havoc within the cannibals, but the rifle fire was even more devastating. Roxton and Malone singled out the leaders of the black men as they came, and soon their ranks were faltering. Marguerite carefully shot any who drew near Selena's entourage, before they had gotten within a hundred yards.

Before the enemy could recover, Selena turned to her troops and shouted, "Prepare to advance! Let the enemy hear the music of your swords!"

The warriors drew their swords and began slapping them against their shields, much as the cannibals had their spears. But the Amazons were better trained and when they marched forward, their ranks stayed dressed, the lines straight, the steps confident and firm. They had fewer troops than the cannibals, but better discipline and superior weapons.

As the lines of the opposing forces closed, the Amazon archers loosed flight after flight of their deadly arrows before the cannibals were within reach of their spears. They had few archers, the bow not being a weapon widely used by their kind. But the Amazons relied heavily on the effectiveness of arrows, for they had less strength than men, and an arrow does not need great strength behind it to kill a man. The bows were strong enough for their needs, for their foes did not much use them. More powerful bows employed by men were not endemic to those whom they had so far faced in battle.

Just as the tide was turning came a chief of the cannibals who had remained in reserve until now. Called Imbu Suthulezi, he was a powerful bull of a figure, famed for his exploits against other tribes, and successor to their leader who had fallen to a bullet from Lord Roxton's rifle.

Suthulezi roused his followers, and the Amazons were soon hard pressed to hold their own as more savages emerged from the treeline. Selena looked quickly around, assessing the situation, preparing to give the order to retire.

To add to her problems, Hippolyta had been wounded, and was lying about 100 yards away, with the enemy being held at bay from her only by the explorers' rifles and a few archers. She would soon be overrun and killed, unless something was done. Hippolyta would be a serious loss, for she was a popular figure among the Amazons, and one of their best warriors.

Roxton ran to the side of Selena's horse. "Your Majesty, do you recall our conversation before the battle, when we discussed the Turtle formation? Can you send out a Turtle now, to recover Hippolyta? If that isn't done soon, she will perish, and morale will be damaged!"

"You are correct, Lord Roxton; my thoughts are the same," replied Selena. She turned to her drummers. "Beat 'Turtle'!" she called.

The drummers signaled, and 30 Amazon warriors locked shields on the sides, with those in the interior ranks raising their shields to prevent falling spears or arrows from reaching them. This formation advanced to recover Hippolyta, and as they retreated, killing those cannibals who came close enough to feel the sting of their spears and swords, a cheer arose within the Amazon ranks.

As soon as the litter bearers within the Turtle deposited her within their lines, Selena dismounted and examined Hippolyta. She was seriously injured and the Amazons treating her had trouble stopping the bleeding.

"Get her to Challenger!" roared Roxton. "He is a healer. Marguerite, go with them. They will need you to stitch up those wounds right."

Marguerite looked desperately at her man, wanting to stay by his side. But he knew that she would be safer within the walls of Amazonia, and pleaded with her to go. "You can do stitches better than Finn or George, anyway," he pointed out.

Marguerite grudgingly agreed and went with the litter bearers, shooting the occasional cannibal who drew close.

The situation was becoming untenable, and Selena was preparing to order an armed retreat when cries broke out from the rear ranks of the cannibals. Malone ran up a small hill, shooting a cannibal as he did so. On the hill, he was even higher than Selena and her horsewomen, and he could see over the melee. "Look!" he pointed, as a great cheer arose from the Amazons on the watchtowers of their city. "The Men are coming out of the jungle and attacking the cannibals from behind!"

Now the cheers from the towers grew even louder and Malone, on turning, saw thirty Amazon cavalry gallop from behind the fort, the vanguard of reinforcements. These horsewomen spurred their mounts across the lines of the enemy, pouring volleys of arrows into the cannibals. When they reached the end of the lines, they whirled and repeated the procedure.

In places, they charged into the lines of the enemy, slashing with their swords, breaking up formations as the cannibals attempted to reach Selena and her staff.

Suthulezi saw what was happening, and he led a charge to reach Selena and kill or capture her, which would be a crucial loss for the Amazons. Selena called in the nearest century, and they formed a protective hedge, their shields and the spears behind them slowing the enemy advance. Roxton ran up beside Malone on the hill and shot Suthulezi, causing an enormous wail from the ranks of the cannibals.

Now, the reason for the added cheers from the fort was visible, as the first cohort of reinforcements came into sight. Selena recognized them as being from the Legio VI Pharsalii, from Princess Laralei's home city. They were crack troops, trained to lead assaults on an enemy force. Their Eagles and standards bore the honor streamers of many battles. Trumpets announced their arrival.

Their leader saw what was happening on the field of battle, and staggered her eight centuries, with six in front, and one following. The eighth remained with her, ready to rush forward and exploit any sudden weakness in the cannibals' swarms. These 800 fresh troops would vastly increase the odds for the Amazons and their allies.

XXX

Within the fort, Marguerite had Hippolyta taken to the Princess Phoebe's door, where Finn and Challenger joined her. She ordered water to be boiled, and Challenger applied pressure to stop the bleeding.

They cleaned Hippolyta's wounds, and then with Finn applying pressure above the deepest cut, Marguerite stitched the edges of the slash with her superb needle skills. Challenger opened a small amphora of red wine and doused the wounds, then bandaged them. Later, he would crush herbs that they had brought and make a paste which he would apply to kill germs and to promote healing.

Hippolyta was dazed but conscious, and she stared as the visitors worked in unison to save her. She couldn't take her eyes off of Marguerite as that lady expertly stitched her injury, and her eyes spoke volumes about her puzzlement.

"I disrespected you," she murmured her voice weak "Yet, you work now to save me. Why?"

"She has to, "retorted Finn. "She promised to make me a new dress next week, and she needs the sewing practice."

Challenger couldn't suppress a bark of nervous laughter. "Now, Darling, be nice. Hippolyta is pretty badly injured, and she probably won't appreciate your sarcasm. " But he was smiling as he turned his face away to get more bandages. Marguerite grinned broadly, shaking her head at her black-clad friend's irreverent battlefield humor.

Phoebe and her retainers took all this in, looking at one another with puzzlement. They knew how Hippolyta felt about Marguerite, yet she attended the fallen warrior as if Hippolyta had been one of the explorers' own.

"Set her aside where she'll be out of the sun, and let's get the next injured lady on the table," commanded Challenger.

He had just finished dressing the wounds of a fifth girl, Marguerite again lending her sewing skills as needed, when there was a commotion. The girls on the nearby tower warned that a large group of cannibals had broken out of the jungle behind the fort, and they were rushing the walls, carrying scaling ladders.

Finn ran up a ladder to a tower and joined the Amazons there in shooting down into the ranks of the assault party. She killed 11 of the foe, and Amazon arrows slew others. Then, the enemy had reached the wall, laid their ladders against it, and scrambled up them.

They battled their way down into the fort, several dozen of them. The Royal bodyguards and the warriors of the Men moved forward, swords and axes slashing and hacking as both sides struggled to gain supremacy.

Phoebe donned her golden helmet and drew her sword. She took a cannibal spear on her shield, turning it expertly, then ran her sword into the leg of a cannibal trying to get at her from behind his own shield. The point of her sword ruined his femoral artery, and he went down, his leg pumping blood, the savage fatally injured.

"Finn! Professor!" called the princess. "Get back into my quarters! Defend Leila!"

The Challengers shot several cannibals as they ran to do her bidding, and then joined two of the Men who had been tasked as the final protective unit to protect the doors of Phoebe's quarters. Within, Leila was waiting, with a few Amazons determined to die before they would allow harm to come to the tiny daughter of the Crown Princess.

Finn rapidly reloaded her Winchester, hoping that she wouldn't have to fire any shots from within these marble halls. The sound would be deafening, and she worried that it might affect their hearing. But she was glad to give the hot barrel of her much-fired rifle time to cool.

Marguerite stayed outside, defending the wounded from the cannibals trying to kill the helpless women. Hippolyta tried to lift her dagger, but was so weak that it clattered from her hand.

One of her fellow Amazons scooped it up and sheathed it by her side. "Keep that by you," the girl told Hippolyta. You will recover, and some day, you may have need of it. It is a fine dagger!"

Two cannibals charged the injured. Marguerite shot one, and then her rifle was empty. Before she could set it down and draw her revolver, one of the Men stepped forward and slashed with his sword. The blow was ferocious. It took a savage under the jaw and hacked through his spine, sending his head sprawling. Marguerite joined the Amazon women in screaming. But she was grateful that help had been at hand when needed.

XXX

Out in front, on the plain that would become known as the Savannah of Heroines, a second cohort of Amazons arrived and deployed their might against the right of the cannibal line, which was already crumbling.

The surviving cannibals turned to retreat into the jungle, but the warriors of the Men, nearly a thousand now as they found their way into the battle, caught them, and the screams of the wounded and the dying were pitiful to hear.

After the melee had subsided, Selena sent squads of executioners around, killing any wounded cannibals.

Malone protested, but Roxton reminded him that they had no facilities for keeping prisoners of war, that the cannibals had eaten human beings, and were unlikely to be easily salable to other tribes. In any event, he preferred that they die rather than be enslaved.

"Mr. Malone," said Queen Selena," I admire your humanitarian instincts, but these people are not fully human, as you would understand the term. They are not really down out of the trees yet. They always killed us, or if a girl was captured, she was more likely to be eaten than enslaved or sold to others. Come; look at this man's teeth."

She prodded the mouth of a dead cannibal with a spear point, opening the jaws. Malone leaned over and saw that his teeth had been filed to sharp points. This was done to make it supposedly easier to chew meat, and to terrify their enemies. Roxton commented that it was common among African cannibals.

"Ned, most groups on the Plateau have no long term prison facilities. Why use their resources to feed prisoners and guard them? They are usually killed, unless they are to be kept as slaves or sold. That is the way of this place. It makes sense when you view it through their eyes." Roxton was honest about the situation, if not happy with it.

Malone still shuddered. But he had to accept this cold logic. Veronica came now to stand by him. She took his hand and kissed his cheek.

"Neddy, you were so brave! You saved my life twice! I'm going to get over this thing about your child with Phoebe, and I am going to make you a very happy man tonight!" Her eyes glowed as she looked at Ned, finally aware that he was as brave as any man, and that he had proven his worth in battle. She knew, too, that he had made a point of staying where he could protect her. He had killed at least 20 cannibals with his Springfield, and several more with his Colt .45 automatic pistol.

Ned hugged Veronica to him. "Princess, I hate this. Violence isn't the way to solve things."

Selena heard and said, "Mr. Malone, sometimes violence is the only course open, other than annihilation. You are an intelligent man. Be a realistic one, too. But why do you call Veronica 'Princess'? She is not a princess, as far as I know."

Ned looked smug and pulled Veronica into his arms, where he cuddled her. "Selena, she is the princess of my heart, and always will be."

Selena's features softened, and she smiled. "What a beautiful thing to say. May it always be so."

Roxton came over with a bag of cartridges. "Here, Ned. Be sure to reload your guns before you get carried away with romance. Some of these damned people aren't dead yet, and they'll make you or Veronica dead, if you don't pay attention."

As if to prove the hunter's point, a wounded cannibal rose from among a cluster of his kind. He seized a spear and cast it at Antipodes, who had come over to talk to Selena.

Antipodes gasped as the heavy, iron-headed spear slammed into his back between the shoulder blades. He collapsed at once, as Roxton and Malone swung their rifles toward the savage who had cast the spear.

Several of the Men blocked the line of fire, swarming over the wounded cannibal, their swords hacking and slashing.

Antipodes clutched the arm of an aide. "Send for Gracchus, quickly. I am dying."

"He has seen," said Selena. "He comes now."

Gracchus ran over and knelt beside the mortally wounded Antipodes. They spoke briefly, with Antipodes naming his successor, and urging him to honor the truce with the Amazons.

"I will honor this truce, and your trust, Antipodes," spoke Gracchus.

Antipodes could not reply, as his lungs flooded with blood. He gasped briefly, and was dead.

A senior aide rose and lifted his sword to the sky. "Antipodes is dead! Hail Gracchus, new King of the Men! Hail, Gracchus!"

"HAIL, GRACCHUS!" rose the cry from a thousand throats.

The body of Antipodes was taken to Amazonia, to lie in honor before being taken home, to the fort of the Men. Wounded were also escorted to medical care and details formed to raid the main cannibal village.

Malone wanted to see the village, and Veronica accompanied him. "At least, with me along, you won't be screwing any more Amazon girls, "she noted grimly. "Anyway, I've gotten rather fond of you, Neddy. Someone has to look after you. I plan on having some children by you, myself."

Roxton, amused, declined to come, saying that he was greatly concerned for Marguerite. He elected to return to Amazonia, to be with his own love.

In Amazonia, the invaders were finally wiped out by Amazon reinforcements and the Men who had been sent to help.

None of the Amazon wounded had been reached by the enemy, and they were now moved indoors, out of the sun. Water and fruit juices were brought, and their wounds were better dressed than time had allowed earlier.

Princess Leila remained within secure quarters, safe from any more cannibals who might scale the walls.

Her mother, Princess Phoebe, joined Finn and Challenger in scouring the area for wounded and for surviving cannibals. One apparently dead savage came to life as they passed, springing up and swinging his "simi", the native sword. Finn raised her Winchester and put a .44 bullet between his eyes before he had moved three steps. She had seen his muscles tense, and known what was coming.

Phoebe stared at the American rifle with awe, then looking at the death that it had wrought so easily. She studied Finn carefully. "Truly, you are a warrior, Finn," she conceded.

"Can I see your sword later?" Finn loved fine weapons, she and Roxton being the two of their number who were especially fond of such items. Marguerite teasingly called them The Gun People when their discussions of such matters bored her. Then, she joined Veronica for girl talk and coffee, Veronica amused at Marguerite's attitude.

Marguerite came now, rifle ready. But the enemy had been exterminated. "How is that blonde bitch Hippolyta doing? " she queried.

Finn snickered. Phoebe looked shocked, and Challenger hastened to smooth ruffled feathers.

"Princess, Hippolyta and Marguerite are both enamored of Lord Roxton, to whom Marguerite's heart and loyalty belong. She is his declared woman. And there seem to be some other female issues involved. Marguerite would not speak of your other warriors in this way."

Phoebe considered the matter, and then she also grinned. "I see that Finn is amused by this. I do see the humor in it. But Marguerite, if you hate Hippolyta and know that she lusts for your man, why did you treat her wounds?"

Marguerite sniffed. "Well, Fate decreed that we are on the same side, for now. Besides, if anyone is going to kill Hippolyta, it should be me, not some damned painted savage. John Roxton is mine, though, and Hippolyta had better remember it. Or, I'll wait until she's well again, and then pull her hair out. Or, something."

She sulked, and Phoebe's grin grew wider. "You might perhaps find Hippolyta hard to abuse when she is whole. She is one of our best warriors. But I will be sure to tell her that she owes her life to you twice now, and not to compete for Lord Roxton."

"Thank you, Princess," answered Marguerite. "You're a nice lady, for a blonde." She smiled, her green eyes twinkling to show that she was teasing.

"What has being blonde to do with it?" demanded a puzzled Phoebe.

"Your Royal Highness," interjected Challenger, "our women tease one another about their hair color. They are good friends, but derive pleasure from such silly female ribaldry. Marguerite means no real insult. She probably said that mainly for Finn's ears."

Phoebe realized that she liked Marguerite and Finn. She decided to play the same game. "Marguerite is surely just jealous, then, that she would have to use bleaching dyes in her hair to be as beautiful as Finn, Veronica, and I were born." She looked at Finn, and the two almost identical blondes erupted in laughter.

Marguerite managed to look wounded and sniffed primly. "George, are you going to let these children annoy me?"

Challenger was saved from making an answer when Finn looked over his shoulder and saw Roxton approaching. "Johnny!" she called, and enthusiastically waved him over.

Marguerite looked, and ran to Roxton, setting her rifle down on a nearby table. "Oh, John, I have been so worried! Thank God you have come!" And she was in his arms, kissing like there was no one else present but them.

Phoebe studied this, and announced, "I will tell Hippolyta to abandon any hopes that she may have for taking Lord Roxton from Marguerite. I may be blonde, but I know real, true love when I see it, and I have just seen it."

XXX

On returning to her quarters with the Roxtons, Phoebe looked over and saw Sunshine and Poppy treating the wounds of Attilus and his friend Phillipi. There seemed to be more touching going on than was required to clean and dress the cuts and scrapes, which were not really too serious, considering.

Then another slave girl, named Amethyst, brought out a large jug of fruit juice. It was clear that the Men were being well looked after.

Two of Phoebe's retinue noticed, and started across to chase off the slaves and take over what they were doing.

Phoebe clapped her hands, having sheathed her sword some minutes before. "Girls! You are needed up front, where you may treat other wounded warriors, some from the Men. Leave those slaves alone. You, Cassandra, attend me. The rest of you go aid those who need you."

"Thank you, Princess," said Attilus. "I have grown fond of Sunshine. Remember that you promised to consider selling her to me. I will pay well beyond usual market rate. She pleases me."

Sunshine blushed scarlet, and knelt by Attilus. She looked at Phoebe and said, "Please, Mistress, sell me to this warrior. I will serve him well, and make him glad that you did him that kindness. I will not shame you; I will make him think of my sale as a gesture of your kind hospitality. Forgive my boldness, but I beg to become the property of this man."

Attilus ran his hand through Sunshine's hair, and her blondeness reminded Phoebe of Marguerite's sally against blondes. The princess looked mischievously at Finn and spoke. "I will consider this, Attilus. I have said so. But are you sure that you do not mind that the slave is blonde? If she is too sexy, and would embarrass you, I can find a nice brunette girl whom you may like."

Attilus, not knowing about Marguerite's barbs, looked astonished. "No, Princess, I swear: I am pleased with this girl. She has artful hands, and I feel sure that she has other skills. She pleases my eyes, and I need someone to tend my wounds. Did I not fight well for you this day? A whole gold drachma for this slave! I can pay you now, if you do not need your gracious mother's permission to sell Sunshine."

Phoebe turned to Marguerite and smirked. "It seems that some men do not mind too awfully much if their beds are warmed by the bodies of girls with yellow hair."

Marguerite blanched, and Finn, Challenger and Cassandra laughed. Roxton tried not to smile, knowing that Marguerite was watching him.

Phoebe turned to Attilus. "You did fight well, Attilus. Keep your gold. I will compensate our tribe for the girl, if Mother decides that it was inappropriate to offer Sunshine as a gift of state. The slave is yours."

She glanced at Sunshine's brief tan cotton dress.

"Leave her garment on until you get beyond our walls, unless you need a room here for the night, that she not offend the sensitivities of our women. How you lead her into your own village is up to you. Poppy, go bring Attillus some cords to bind and leash his gift. Bring some for yourself, too, for when you return, you will kneel in submission to Philippi, if he will have you as a token of my gratitude for his gallantry today."

Phillipi looked startled, then grinned broadly. Poppy, stunned, looked first to Phoebe, then to Phillipi. "Yes, Mistress, " she exclaimed, reddening. She pressed her body to Philippi's and asked, "Shall I kneel to you, Master? Do you find my neck suitable for your collar?" She moved against him, and Phillipi gasped in pleasure. He held her at arm's length, looking her over as Poppy blushed over every inch of her body.

"Bring cords to secure two girls, slave. Your neck is suitable for my collar, which it will soon wear. Princess, thank you, deeply. I am honored to have served your cause." He turned Poppy, slapped her on the bottom, and shoved her toward the hallway.

Phoebe noted that Poppy had brown hair. "It seems that even a brunette girl may intrigue a man," she remarked casually. "But perhaps Phillipi is easily pleased." She looked directly at Marguerite, as Finn took Challenger's arm and laughed outright.

"I am not that easily pleaseid, Your Highness." Phillipi had caught on that there was some rivalry between Marguerite and the blondes. "Be sure that Poppy will work as hard as any blonde to amuse me. If she fails, her hair will be dyed blonde, and she will have to start over and see if she can do better."

Poppy heard as she entered the doorway. "Do not be concerned, Master," she called. "My hair will not have to be dyed." She laughed as she ran to get the binding cords and some salve for her new owner's wounds. Then, it struck her that tonight she would serve a man, not other women. As soon as she was out of sight of those in the courtyard, she jumped for joy and clapped her hands in glee.

Two passing Amazons stared, and one said to the other. "Well, it is good to see a slave who enjoys her duties. Phoebe must have given her a candy."

Outside, Roxton pulled a sulking Marguerite to him and said, "Some brunette women manage to please quite well. This is the finest of them." And he took her lips with such intensity that Marguerite was embarrassed as she glowed with pride.

"Don't mind them, Phoebe," said Finn. "Johnny just likes her because she finally learned how to make coffee right, after Veronica and I taught her!"

As the wounded were treated, Selena sent details, mainly from the late arriving cohorts, to clean up the battlefield. The dead enemy were stacked in groups, where they would be burned, lest their decomposing bodies taint the area. Vultures and scavenger pterodactyls swirled above the battlefield, descending to feed where warriors didn't chase them away.

The Men helped, and some potential friendships were struck up between them and attractive Amazons. Flirting made the gruesome work go easier, and water was sent out from the fort for the workers.

The dead Amazons, of whom there were over 200, would also be burned, but on sacred funeral pyres just far enough from the city gates that the burning bodies would not constitute a fire hazard. Their remains would be stored in porcelain jars within the holy Shrine of Heroines, where the Amazons would annually visit the remains and conduct solemn ceremonies in honor of their fallen.

"Do you have similar ceremonies to remember your own war dead?" asked Selena of Lord Roxton. She was now back in the city, visiting with her daughter and granddaughter.

"Yes," he said, explaining Remembrance Day. Ned Malone remembered a poem about the fallen from the recent World War, about poppies growing in Flanders Field, and recited it. When it was explained to Selena, she was aghast to hear how many men had died in that terrible conflict, even to learn that so many people existed off of the Plateau.

Marguerite said proudly, "Lord Roxton is among our greatest heroes. He has been awarded a most honorable medal, called the Victoria Cross, which is the highest decoration that our King can give for great gallantry in the face of the enemy. He also has the Military Cross and the Order of the British Empire, and other awards. He is a true hero."

"He's also done some really brave things while hunting dangerous animals in a place called Africa, not to mention here," added Finn, who loved Roxton's tales of the African bush.

Roxton was visibly embarrassed. He was proud of his honors, but shy about discussing them. He took Marguerite's hand as she sat next to him and said, "And I have won the heart of the most fabulous woman to have ever lived. This is my finest achievement, not my honors on the battlefield and in the hunt."

Marguerite was visibly moved. "Oh, John! Don't say that! I am far from the finest woman who ever lived. You know that, very well. I am just proud that you lowered yourself to accept me after I finally realized that you wanted me as something more than your latest trophy." She blushed scarlet, and held his hand tightly. Then, she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Phoebe informed her mother that she had seen the Roxtons interacting, and that they needed to tell Hippolyta not to interfere with their love,

"I had discerned as much, Daughter," said the Amazon monarch. "I may be older than you, but I am neither deaf nor blind." She smiled to take any sting from her words. She had already approved the gift of Poppy and Sunshine to the warriors who Phoebe felt deserved to own them.

"We must eat. I have ordered the slaughter of enough cattle and lambs to feed us all, and Gracchus has sent over some from the city of the Men. We shall all eat well. Dinner will be served before long, in the area at the rear of the compound, furtherest from the carnage of battle. I have already had the bodies of the dead cannibals removed from there, and the area is cleaned."

One of Phoebe's ladies-in-waiting nudged her. "Princess, remember what we discussed? Will you now ask this of your noble mother?" She looked anxious and anticipatory.

"Oh," said Phoebe. "Mother, my court and I earlier today decided that it might be fun to invite the Men over for a feast, and to meet them. It would enhance our alliance, and let us pass a pleasant evening in their company." She looked hopefully at Selena.

Selena thought. "In a week or so, perhaps. We need to complete our work with cleaning up the remains of what happened this day, and allow the wounded to recover, except for the most gravely injured. They will need longer to recuperate.

"Also," she added, "although we are at peace with the Men, we will not allow all of them within our walls at once. The party will be conducted with that in mind, or held in front of our gates, with armed Amazons hidden in reserve. The girls may rotate this duty, so that all may meet the Men who come. We can be social, without exposing ourselves too badly to any treachery they may plan."

Phoebe nodded. "Mother, you are wise, as always. But I think that Gracchus can be trusted more than Antipodes could."

"I agree, "said Challenger."I rather like the cut of his jib." Then, he had to explain the sailing term.

"I also trust him...most of the time," replied Selena. "But men are men, and I am wary of the Men whom we neighbor. For too long, we were not at peace. I do not wish to risk the possibility that they, being stronger, may attempt to seize us while our guard is down. I wish to know Gracchus better, and perhaps we will tarry together in my quarters on occasion. But we must be cautious, lest we find ourselves captured. I have no desire to find myself kneeling at the feet of Gracchus, my neck in his collar... Phoebe, if they took you, you might soon bear a name like 'Sunflower'. I am sure that you would be some man's preferred slave, but the Fates have destined you for greater things."

Phoebe blushed.. "You are wise, Mother. Yes, seeing them only some at a time is best. I do not argue that."

"And tonight," asked a warrior. "Shall they eat only in small groups? Shall they be allowed inside our walls with weapons?"

Selena reflected briefly. "They will be insulted if we insist that they come unarmed, and they probably do not fully trust us, either. Free men bear arms; they will insist on wearing at least their daggers. They are not serfs. Allow swords, too, but they will eat in groups of no more thirty. Others will be served out front. Other weapons, they can leave in their wagons.

"Oh." A thought struck her. "Allow their own slave girls in to serve them, those few present. If they have their own girls here, they are less likely to try anything against us. And Lord Roxton, will you and your companions do me the honor of dining with me, in the Great Hall? We will allow Gracchus and a few of his senior Men to join us. But I would like you and your friends and my personal bodyguards to join me and Phoebe for dinner. This will further lessen the chances of treachery."

Challenger and Roxton looked at one another and agreed.

"I still want to see Phoebe's sword and dagger," piped up Finn. "Can we do that before dinner?"

Marguerite said, "Let Roxton look at them, too. He and Finn are easily amused by that sort of thing." She smirked and others laughed.

A slave girl came running in. She was one of those assigned to the Royal court, and wore a pale green gown, short, but not transparent, of some silk- like material, in apple green. Being a Royal slave, her collar was of golden brass, kept polished, not the plain iron collar of other slaves. The leash ring on it jingled as she ran. She also wore small silver bells chained to her right ankle.

She knelt at the feet of Selena and said, "Mistress, those who went to take the cannibal village have returned. The commander wishes audience in your chambers. They bring back some of your warriors who were awaiting death there, and she asks that you send medical aid for some who need it."

"Thank you, Tulip. We will attend her at once. Show her to my conference table and see that refreshments are sent." She looked around. "Will Princess Phoebe and our foreign guests join me? Professor, will you and your friends bring your firesticks, just in case of any treachery, although I think this will be a joyous occasion?"

And she rose, still wearing her embossed golden armor and short red war skirt, her greaves in place, sword and dagger at her waist. But she had a slave carry her helmet, so as not to appear too warlike as she greeted the male guests, her worthy allies...

Gracchus and his most senior Men and the leader of the Amazons who had gone to the cannibal village walked in with several Amazons who had been saved from the cannibals. With them were others, strangers, who were also found there.

Selena examined with interest the markings on some of the former captives. Portions of their bodies had been marked with some sort of charcoal or similar "pen", showing the body parts and the name of the cannibal who had purchased them.

When all of the major portions of the victim had been sold, the person was slaughtered, the meat being given to the cannibals who had paid for it. In the meantime, the victims were kept bound or chained to posts in the center of the village. They had been fed, so as not to lose weight, but were almost in shock in some cases. They were still trying to comprehend that they had been saved. The Amazon girls, three of them, were also ashamed that they had been taken alive. Glad to have survived, but with their honor tarnished...

Two were very bitter toward the third, saying that she had run when they were attacked, and that this had let the cannibals kill others in their patrol, and capture them.

The accused girl would not meet Selena's eyes, and shyly admitted that she had fled, only to be run down and captured.

"Varia not only fled," charged one girl, "she threw down her weapons and begged for mercy when they surrounded her. At least, we others were overpowered while trying to fight!"

Selena looked long and hard at Varia. 'What became of your companions?" she wanted to know.

"Majesty," shivered one girl, "the dead were eaten. Had they not been there and dead, we would have been killed already. As it was, they were keeping us alive until next week."

Even the Men looked somber at this news, and one reached out to touch an Amazon girl gently on her shoulder. She looked at him, startled, and then laid her hand on his. She looked up at him, grateful for his sympathy, and for having been saved from an awful fate.

The other captives who were able to speak English confirmed this story, as far as they knew. They were part of a trading expedition from another tribe.

The released captives were clad in whatever clothing could be scrounged by their rescuers. Some wore loincloths found in the cannibal huts, and others wore brief gowns made by tearing up portions of trade cloth found in one hut. They looked embarrassed and wan and hungry.

The Amazon leader of the rescue force, Helena, told how they had fought their way into the village, killing some 40 cannibals who tried to resist. They had also killed about 30 others en route to and from the village.

"We slew all whom we found, Majesty, save for a few who evaded us. But they have no shelter nearby. They will have to try to live in the jungle with what they have with them. We burned their village, of course."

"The Men were of some help, I trust?" queried Selena.

"Oh, Majesty," gushed Helena, "They were wonderful! Without their strength and prowess in battle, we would have suffered more causalities. As it is, we have no dead at all. I sent 20 wounded to the infirmary when we came in tonight. All will recover, although some will bear scars."

Selena considered. "Let all of those saved from the cannibals be cleaned up and fed in our mess hall. The two Amazons who fought well will be suspended from duties as warriors, for they allowed themselves to be captured alive. Our laws are strict about this. They will serve for six months as kitchen help and for general duties, relieving other women of chores they find unpleasant. After that time, they may again wear our uniforms and bear weapons. They will have a second chance, for they sought to fight.

"The strangers will be fed, and then conducted to quarters where they will be guarded until I can interrogate them tomorrow. If all goes well, I shall probably free them or offer the males a chance to join the Men, if they fear to try reaching their own kind."

"Wait a minute," interjected one man. "Among our number are my sister and my wife. What of our women?"

Selena smiled. "I will not keep them, out of pity. But unless you can all try to reach your own kind with some hope of success, they will be sent to the Truce Village, where they may seek mates from among the Men who go there. If you wish, perhaps Gracchus will settle you men there, also. Gracchus?"

That worthy nodded. "Yes, they will be given a chance to join the Men and to keep their own women. Unmarried women whom we saved may elect to seek mates from among my people. We will give all some help in establishing homes there, if they will join our tribe."

"Excellent," said Selena. "I hated the cannibals, and mercy to their victims seems warranted."

"What of Varia?" asked Laralei, who stood by Phoebe.

"The law is clear," said Selena. "We will not execute her, lest that trouble our consciences. But she will no longer be an Amazon. Let her be taken away and confined in a slave cell tonight. Chain her after she has been allowed to bathe and has eaten. She will have water. This will be her last meal among us. Her family may visit her until midnight, if they wish.

"Tomorrow, after breakfast, she will be led from her cell, chained at the wrists. She will wear a simple burlap garment fit for a peasant girl. She will be led out the gates by one warrior, while two others follow. As she runs, the ones behind her will strike her with switches until she is at least 500 meters from our gates. Then, her wrists will be freed, and she must get out of our sight as fast as possible. She must be off of Amazon lands within six hours. If she is again found on our territory, she will be slain. She will be given no clothing, salt, water, food, or weapons. She will be as if she was dead, to us. I have spoken."

"Now, see here, Selena, how is this poor girl to survive, being cast out like that?" Challenger was angry, and it showed. "Surely, she is worthy of some sympathy. She is only a girl, and she was deathly afraid."

Veronica tugged at his sleeve, shaking her head, telling him not to intervene. Marguerite caught his eye, and also shook her head.

Selena saw this and said, "George, we expect our women to be more than most of our sex are capable of being. Much is expected of an Amazon. If we allowed this behavior, our discipline would fail in battle. Had Varia not thrown down her weapons and begged to surrender, I would be more lenient. But our code is clear: for her deeds, the punishment is decreed."

Gracchus cleared his throat. "Great Queen, once this girl has been whipped from your gates; she is no longer an Amazon?"

"True," she conceded. "What of it?"

Gracchus continued, "We have a treaty. We Men will not enslave or otherwise capture your women. But if this girl is no longer Amazon, she is fair game for us. Varia! Look at me! If you wish to die in the jungle, you may risk it, if we do not catch you first.

"But you are quite pretty, suitable to wear a collar in my city. If you flee and we catch you, you will be punished. But if you surrender and submit to me, I will take you to serve my Men. You will be raffled as a prize in a drawing from among my soldiers who fought hardest today.

"If you wish to become our slave, look for a green wagon just beyond the tree line, straight out from the gate after you are chased from this place. You will know no special shame in serving the Men, beyond that of any other female slave. The qualities that make you unfit to be an Amazon may make you ideal to wear a collar."

Varia shuddered, held now by each arm by a warrior. "King Gracchus, I will look for your wagon. Please do not leave without me. I will be your girl, and please you well. I have no desire to starve in the jungle, or to be a meal for some beast."

"Then, I will see you tomorrow," said Gracchus, and Varia was led away, weeping.

That business addressed, Selena led the way to the dining tables. She sat Gracchus to her immediate right, the place of high honor. The explorers sat nearby, arranging themselves by couples. Phoebe sat by Finn, on the side beyond Challenger. Next to her was Laralei.

As wine was poured, Finn took Challenger's hand and caught his eye. She smiled sadly, squeezing his hand. She shared his compassion for Varia.

He returned the squeeze, and then heard Marguerite asking about the wine. She was probably trying to turn everyone's attention away from the grisly discoveries in the cannibal village and the fate of the girl Varia.

Finn started to say something sarcastic. She felt sorry for Varia, although she understood Selena's reasoning. Phoebe leaned over and whispered into her ear.

"Finn, say nothing of Varia. It is not the time. We can talk later, if you wish."

Finn was startled at how well Phoebe had read her mind. She looked back at her near double and nodded, grateful for her counsel. Now was probably not the time, at that. And perhaps, if asked later in private, the Crown Princess might help Varia.

Challenger, Roxton, and Marguerite discussed the wine, which they concluded was very similar to Chatteauneuf-du-Pape from the Rhone. It was delicious, obviously properly matured.

Selena confirmed that a number of red grape varieties were used in its making, and everyone gradually relaxed and conversation became livelier. The meal was superb, intended by Selena as a victory feast.

Following dinner and a dessert similar to vanilla pudding, Selena summoned the explorers to a side room and shut the door.

"Professor, you are a learned man of science. Honestly, can you tell me why Finn so muchly resembles my own daughter? I have never seen Finn before. Yet, she looks almost like Phoebe's twin."

Challenger replied that this question had been at the forefront of his mind since they had arrived, saving in the heat of battle.

"Selena, I can take blood samples from Ned, Phoebe, Finn, and your granddaughter, and compare them. I expect to see some similarities. But I cannot confirm the exact relationship with present technology.

"Finn is from the future. You must tell no one this, and I hope that you can believe it, yourself. My honest opinion is that Phoebe is an ancestor of Finn."

And the explorers all confirmed this, to the astonishment of the Amazons.

As Selena and Phoebe struggled to come to terms with this fantastic tale, Finn chipped in with an account of DNA, pointing out that in this time, only she and Challenger knew of this future means of establishing identity and relationships.

"And how does Challenger know of this?" demanded an incredulous Selena.

"I told him, of course," said Finn. "I tell him whatever I can think of that might help him to use future knowledge to help people today."

"Already, I have managed to create antibiotic substances, medicines, that have let Zanga patients survive after wounds, even jaguar maulings, from which they would have died, had I not had that knowledge to use in the lab," the scientist confirmed.

Selena studied first him, then Finn. "You two are really quite close, aren't you?" she said at last. "Finn is truly more to you than a recreational item."

"Hey!" exclaimed an angry Finn. "Lady, I may just be eye candy to some men, but I've always been more to George. I see him as an icon, a giant among men, but he's also my man, no two ways about it. If you think you can take him away from me, you have another think coming!"

She glared at the Amazon queen, who began to wonder whether she should have allowed her guards into the room. She remembered the deadly manner in which Finn had slain cannibals earlier that day, having been told of it by her Royal daughter.

Challenger also bristled, but before he could respond, Marguerite said, "Selena, the Challengers are a couple, no doubt of it. We cannot allow you to interfere with them and their love, which is as strong as I have seen. We make good friends, but we must have your trust and you must have ours. Now, what if George can show some relationship between Phoebe and Finn? Can you do that at all with your present knowledge, George?"

He thought, then nodded. "I can show some preliminary indications. But my instruments are back in the Treehouse, of course. With my microscope and slides, I will be surprised if I cannot confirm some data."

"Phoebe, will you go with Challenger and his companions to their Treehouse and let him see your blood?" Selena was intrigued. "Is this dangerous?"

"No, Majesty," said Challenger. "It will need only a small sample of blood, but is it wise to take young Leila so far in this jungle?"

"Leila will not go; it is far too dangerous," acknowledged the Queen. "But if Mr. Malone admits to his paternity, will not his blood and Phoebe's suffice?"

"Yes," Challenger said. "I can use Ned's and her blood, and know most of what we need. Phoebe, will you be our guest in our home?"

"Wait!" said Veronica. "Amazons may not trespass on Zanga lands, and we have to pass through those to reach my house."

Selena wavered. "Might Phoebe not wear clothes similar to Finn, and tell any Zanga who inquire that she is Finn's cousin, visiting from afar?"

"I want to do this," interrupted Phoebe. "I think that Finn and I are much alike, and I want her for a friend. May I go, Mother?"

And so it was decided that in two days, Phoebe and Laralei would be disguised as ordinary women, not Amazons. They would travel to learn what Challenger could tell them of the relationship between the two similar girls.

Until they neared the line with Zanga lands, they would have an escort of 30 Amazons, who would return in two weeks, to meet the returning Royal women. They would bring their normal clothing and weapons. Until then, Phoebe and Laralei would be dressed as the explorers, Phoebe wearing an outfit identical to Finn's. If they were seen alone, any watcher would conclude that he was looking at Finn, a familiar sight to the Zanga.

"But how shall we be armed?" wondered Laralei. "I understand that it takes much practice with the strange loud weapons to be proficient."

"You can carry our spare guns as disguise until we reach home, but we also wear knives. You can carry any knives that don't look especially Amazon." Finn wanted to be helpful. She was excited that her new friends would be with her for a time.

"Wait," said Roxton. "Earlier today, Finn and I agreed with Phoebe to buy swords and daggers like hers. Why not let her and Laralei bring their own weapons, and say that all were bought here as souvenirs and for our collections?"

"You will have your souvenir weapons, Lord Roxton, " said Selena. "But there will be no charge. Still, our women should not wear these things openly. Carry such things as baggage. We will copy your own knives, making such changes as Phoebe and Laralei desire. Our smiths are very skilled, and I feel sure that Gracchus can have his Men forge suitable blades and make the handles look like your society's, also. He need not know the reason. He will be told that we desire copies of your items. Really, I see no reason why our smiths and handle makers cannot accommodate the need right here in Amazonia."

"I'll help," agreed Roxton. "I can forge blades and make excellent knives. A smith showed me how as a lad, on my parents' estate."

"The Amazon women can carry our machetes in lieu of swords," pointed out Veronica. "Those won't look out of place, and they give more reach than a knife, if they have to be used in combat or to kill a venomous snake. And they can hide slings on themselves. "

"Veronica, do you swear by Juno that my daughter and her cousin will be safe with your friends, that none of you will commit any treachery? If harm comes to these women, I will cross Zanga borders to seek vengeance. You know that I am a person of my word."

"Queen Selena, we swear that we offer only friendship and to seek what knowledge we may find," said Challenger stiffly. He was offended by the suggestion that his companions or he might be lying about their intentions.

"I believe that I can count on your word, Professor," admitted Selena. "But Veronica knows me and she knows my anger, if aroused. And I know her, from her time here. Veronica?"

"Selena," said Ned's woman. "I do so swear, by Juno, and by our own God, about whom we will talk with you, should you desire."

"Then, it is agreed," said the Amazon monarch. "Let us now retire. I have to be up early to formally sentence Varia in the morning. I always suspected that she was weak. She will fare better at the feet of one of Gracchus's men than she will in the wild. It was kind of him to offer her a collar."

They then went to bed, all excited at the forthcoming journey home.

But as they lay beside one another in his and Finn's room, Challenger suddenly sat upright. "Good heavens!" he exclaimed. "I quite forgot to ask Gracchus about that copper. That, after all, is why we are here!'"

Finn reached over and pulled him down beside her. "Unlax, Genius. We'll find him tomorrow. If we just get out of this alive and make friends with Phoebe and Laralei, that'll be a good reason to have come on this trip. I just hate thinking of how many cartridges we had to fire to kill those cannibal creeps. We don't have unlimited ammunition."

They talked longer, and she admitted that she was under considerable stress from recent events. "I kill because I have to," she confessed. "I do it well, to keep us alive. But, Genius, it takes something out of my soul to kill people. Hold me? I think I'm going to cry. If I do, will I have to be banished and join Varia at that slave wagon tomorrow?" Her smile was pretty tight, thought Challenger, as she made a lame joke to relieve her tension.

"Certainly not, Darling. I find your human side to be wonderful to behold. I am glad that you are not without feeling." He hugged her, kissing her troubled brow.

"In that case," she replied, "you'd better hang onto me tight. I think I'm going to bawl like a baby!" And Finn tucked her head into Challenger's shoulder and cried, the tears flowing for some time before she had the sobbing under control.

"Why do some people have to be so evil?" she demanded. "I didn't want to kill those cannibals!" She shook in his arms." I'm sorry, George. I'm just weak, I guess. I shouldn't be doing this."

"Would you have done this when you first came to live with me?" he asked. "You used to repress your feelings, and it ate you up inside."

She sniffed." I know. I couldn't cry. I was dead inside about some things. Thank you for helping me to come out of that dark place, that shell that I lived in. But I feel weak when I do this, anyway. Does it mean that I'm really 'chicken', as big a coward as Varia? I want to be strong for you, for us." She looked beseechingly at him in the darkness of their room.

"No, Nicole," he said gently, stroking her naked shoulder. "You aren't weak. You are brave. But you are also human. Ask John: he'll tell you that some very brave men have cried after battle, especially when they thought of their dead friends. And I value you all the more because you can cry, now. I love you, Darling. more than even Ned could say. Actually, I feel sure that my vocabulary is as good as his, anyway." He chuckled, and held her close.

She snickered, wiping at her tears. "Genius? Don't tell Ned that. He needs to think that he's the best at something. Vee needs to think that, too." She laid her head on his shoulder, and kissed his lips.

He kissed her back and in time, they slept, entwined in one another's arms, the big man of science and his beloved blonde bride-to-be.

But after he was sure that Finn slept, for he wanted to be strong for her, tears also crept from Challenger's eyes. Four years on this Plateau, sometimes in dire danger, with the sorrow and stress of killing others to stay alive, took its toll on this mighty man, and he was overcome with grief and with sympathy for poor Varia.

XXX

The next two days passed in a blur, with knives and clothing being made for the treehouse-bound Amazon Royals, and cleanup continuing on the battlefield.

Challenger and Roxton negotiated with Gracchus for the purchase of 80 pounds of copper, which they got at a favorable price. Obtaining the copper here also saved trekking another 25 miles to the mines where it was found.

CHAPTER FIVE

On the morning of the second day, Finn, Marguerite, and Veronica visited the wounded, with Phoebe and Laralei accompanying them.

They brought refreshments and flowers for the injured, and the looks they got from those in the hospital warmed their hearts.

"I hurt," one Amazon admitted, "but you bring great cheer. Thank you for contributing to our victory. The cannibals spread terror here for far too long."

Marguerite thanked her and went to the next bed, where she had been told that she could find Hippolyta.

That warrior looked suspiciously at her, wondering what might pass between them. But Marguerite tried to be kind, giving her fruit juice and cake from the refreshment cart.

"I suppose that I should thank you for stitching my wounds," she admitted. "Will your work leave any scars?"

"I hope not," replied the brunette Briton. "I do good work, and I used thread as fine as I could that would do the job. If there is any scarring, I hope it won't be in your heart. Can we ever get along? I mean, if some mad urge ever seizes me to come here again?"

In spite of her bitterness, Hippolyta smiled, if a bit wanly. "English, I try hard to hate you. But you amuse me. Let us bury the hatchet."

"Whoa, here!" exclaimed Finn. "Whose skull are we going to bury this hatchet in?" She grinned to show that she was teasing.

Other girls laughed, and the visit went well, with the explorers encountering much curiosity from the Amazons.

Finally, they were ready to depart for home. Queen Selena came to see them off, charging the commander of their escort to bring them safely to the border of Zanga lands, then to arrange a good meeting place where they could rendezvous with the visiting Crown Princess and the Princess of Pharsalia when it was time for them to return to Amazonia.

"Professor, I trust that you will be able to shed some light on who Finn is, for my curiosity is now much aroused," admitted Selena.

"I already know who I am," Finn said.

Selena gave her a cool look, mitigated with a twinkle in her eyes. She had decided to like the young beauty who had fought so well alongside her own daughter. And she was intrigued that Finn was so like Marguerite in her droll sense of humor. They were often sarcastic, but they were honest, and they were often very funny.

"Who, then, are you, Golden Girl?" the Queen asked.

"I'm somebody who's damned happy to be going home," Finn quipped. "Oh. I'm also Mrs. Him." She jerked a thumb at Challenger, who stood next to her.

"True, although we shall have a few hurdles to clear before we have a minister pronounce us man and wife," the scientist agreed. "Selena, I promise you that I will endeavor to discover her relationship to your family, and I feel almost certain that there is a connection. I will send you a message via Phoebe when the time comes. I thank you for your generosity. Perhaps we shall see you again before too long."

"I hope so," added Ned Malone. "I want to see my daughter."

Veronica flinched, and then eased her posture. She took Ned by the hand. She still wasn't happy that his first child had been carried in the womb of another woman, but had decided to make the best of it, and not to deny him access to Leila.

The travois were loaded, two of them, and others for the Amazons, who carried food and water for their journey, along with spare arrows and spears. With luck, they would encounter no dangers, but they would be ready if they did.

A surprise guest came to see them off. Gracchus shook the men's' hands and bade them farewell. "We must meet again," he said affably. "I shall hoist a glass to you tonight, for you fought bravely. May Thor guide you safely home."

The assembly parted to allow Marigold, Sunshine, and Poppy to bring in glasses of mead. They passed these around from a trolley, and Selena joined Gracchus in offering a farewell toast.

"I thought that you were going to lift a glass to us tonight," said a puzzled Marguerite.

"Oh, I will," promised Gracchus. "But that will be ale, drunk in memory of your visit. This is a farewell drink. Never pass up a chance for a good toast, I always say."

Roxton and the other Treehouse men laughed and lifted their glasses. The women grimaced, and tried not to laugh as they exchanged glances. Men...

Finn noticed the Amazon princesses joining her in looking at the slave girls' new attire. In lieu of the plain tan or gray cloth shifts that they had worn while serving women, they now had prettier, shorter gowns, of some silky material. They retained gold loop earrings almost identical to Finn's, which she had been asked to remove while here. Such earrings were the mark of a slave girl. They were thought to be too erotic for dignified free women. Finn had also been told that her gold ankle bracelet was something not worn by free Amazons. Fortunately, she had not worn it in their sight. She knew that Marguerite would tease her the next time she wore these items, and decided to think of a suitable reply. She smiled at the thought.

"Bless you, Mistress," said Sunshine to Phoebe. "We are happy serving our Men. May your journey be pleasant and safe."

Selena caught Gracchus's eye. "Great King, are you determined to drink ale in your own hall tonight? If I may tempt you, I offer our best wine here, and if you stay too late after dinner, I can find you accommodation." She smiled in a way that left little doubt that she was offering her fullest hospitality.

"Mother!" exclaimed Phoebe, shocked.

"Daughter, have a safe journey. I will miss you," Selena said, and hugged the girls.

And thus, the Challenger Expedition set out for home. Its leader wondered what secrets his lab slides would tell when he compared the blood of the girls. Most interesting, he mused. He shouldered his rifle and followed the Roxtons out the gates of Amazonia.

XXX

Many hours later, they left their escort behind and trekked onto Zanga land.

Finn took Veronica aside and asked something about which she had been curious since leaving Amazonia. Only now did she feel secure in raising the issue.

"Vee, that girl Varia chose to become a slave rather than try to live on her own in the jungle. What would you have done in her place? Couldn't you live off of the land? I think maybe I could, and you know more about this place than I do."

Veronica shrugged. "Sure, I'd have tried to survive alone, or to find another tribe to join. But it would be hard there. Amazonia isn't near anybody but the Men, and the way they usually take in stray women is to lead them home naked on a leash! But most Amazons don't have my knowledge of the jungle, and Roxton and I have taught you a lot. Either of us could find food and make weapons better than poor Varia probably could. She was raised in Amazonia, where they grow food and raise livestock. She wouldn't have gone out and learned what I taught you. She probably made the right decision, for her. Don't worry: they'll take good care of her, as long as she's obedient and pleasing. I think she will be. I saw it in her eyes."

"How long could you or I live in the jungle? I mean, sent out like she was?"

"I'd rather not have to guess," the jungle beauty replied. "Weeks, maybe even years, if we were lucky. But even if we could make a spear or a bow and find sharp flint flakes for knives, and make small shelters, it would be tough. If we got sick and couldn't make any natural medicines, that might kill us before a dinosaur or jaguar or puma could. Without a good machete or axe, even making a safe lean-to shelter is hard."

Ned had heard, and mentioned an Indian in the American western states. This man had been the last of his tribe, and was discovered living a primitive life not long before their expedition had left London.

"But he was pretty scruffy, and there had to be times when he went hungry. And he didn't have jaguars and dinosaurs and hostile tribes to contend with. Maybe pumas or bears, though, and rattlesnakes..."

"So, what should I do if I find myself in that situation?" Veronica was aroused at the thought, and wondered what Ned would say, with her having put him "on the spot". Finn grinned, enjoying Ned's blushing and attempt to think of the "right" answer.

"Just come find me, and I'll take you in, and even get rid of all my other women that Princess Laralei thought that we Treehouse men have."

"Oh, good answer, Ned!" laughed Roxton.

Marguerite jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow. "John!"

"Surely, he came up with the best answer that any man could," suggested Phoebe. She walked beside Finn, the two of them dressed alike. A drunk would have thought that he was seeing double. They now even wore the gold loop earrings, Phoebe feeling a tingle of forbidden lust as she donned them. So, this was how such earrings made a girl feel! No wonder Finn wore them, or that Men made slaves put them in their ears. She liked the way they made her look in the mirror. Finn had promised to loan Laralei a pair when they reached the Treehouse, as she had only two pair with her. Laralei looked forward to tasting this forbidden fruit, and had refrained from teasing her cousin.

Veronica relented, admitting that Ned's answer was the best he could have phrased, and took his arm. "Neddy, what would I do without you?" She kissed him.

Roxton laughed. "Careful, Veronica. Do that much, and 'Neddy' will feel so tall that he may bump his head on a tree!"

All laughed, and Laralei said, "I like you Veronica, and your friends. You enjoy life, and love one another very much."

"Only because I'm a creature of great sacrifice," quipped Marguerite. "You have no idea of what all I've put up with from John Roxton here."

"Oh, I suspect it has been worth it," said Phoebe, eyeing Roxton. "If he becomes too much to bear, send him my way."

"I hope you're a good dreamer, Phoebe," said Veronica. "That's the only way that you'll get John away from Marguerite: in your dreams. Don't believe everything she says."

"True," confessed the brunette Briton. "No way in Hell am I giving up John now that he's tried so hard to catch me." She smiled up at her man.

"Then you should take care, Marguerite, for we are not in Hell. Is this jungle not really a paradise?" Phoebe enjoyed teasing Marguerite. She wanted revenge for her blonde jokes.

"It looks as if Phoebe will fit in very well at the Treehouse," observed Challenger. "She's as bad as you other girls." But the distinguished scientist chuckled at their antics.

"We'll soon see, "Roxton said."By late tomorrow, we should be home."

"The jungle is often pretty," acknowledged Phoebe. "We Amazons seldom penetrate far into it. Our formations fight better on open ground, where we are less likely to be ambushed. But this area and that stream we just passed are lovely. I see why you wish to reside here." She looked around, enchanted by some orchids growing by a fallen tree.

Roxton called a sudden halt while he and Veronica examined tracks and some downtrodden grass.

"Zanga passed here, about an hour ago," he concluded. "Be quiet. We don't know where they went. They may double back. If we can avoid them, we don't have to explain Phoebe and Laralei."

They proceeded quietly until clear of that ground. Phoebe might be mistaken for Finn, but the two of them together would be noticed. And Laralei, although dressed much like Veronica, would be recognized as a stranger. Moreover, she carried a spear, which Veronica seldom did. She preferred bow and arrow. But the Princess of Pharsalia wanted a spear heavy enough to let her plant the butt in the ground and take the impact of a jaguar on the blade. It was the only way that she, a woman, could take on the big jungle predator and live. Even the Zanga fought jaguars this way, rather than throwing spears at them. (Note: that the late Sasha Siemel, a Latvian immigrant to Brazil, was known for spearing jaguars to 400 pounds. He also shot some cattle killers with a Winchester rifle like Finn's, but with a shorter barrel. Some libraries and specialty sportsmen's book dealers have his work, Tigrero! My copy has furnished many useful details on life in the wild regions of Brazil in the 1920's. It is strongly recommended.)

They camped near a clear-flowing stream that night, making a small fire to heat their food and to brew tea. ''Civilization in the savage lands," Marguerite joked, eager to taste her tea.

After dinner, they hung their food bags from a tree far enough from camp that a roving raptor dinosaur or big cat wouldn't come directly into camp if they smelled food.

Phoebe and Laralei slept next to the Malones and the Challengers, with the Roxtons on the other side of the fire. Because of the lack of privacy and being so tired, no one made love, although giggles and muffled endearments came from the couples before they slept. Laralei reached for Finn's hand and squeezed it, holding Phoebe's hand on her other side.

"This is fun, a wonderful adventure. I'm glad that we came," she exulted. "We will have much to tell Aunt Selena!"

"I hope that all of it's going to be pleasant," cautioned Veronica. "Remember to look for snakes and for stinging bugs on trees."

After breakfast, they trekked on. By ten that morning, they exited the edge of the jungle and started across an expanse of open grassland. Veronica pointed into a large tree. "There's our home! The big house in the branches."

"Surely, it is larger than I had thought," admitted Phoebe. "How do we climb up and get in it?"

"There's a lift," Challenger said. "We can go up in ones or twos. To save time, in a pinch, three will fit into the car."

"What's a lift?" wondered Laralei.

"They're called elevators in American English," explained Ned.

"Yeah, they're like Ned's elevator eyes." Finn was in the mood to razz Malone. "They go up and down a girl like an elevator working."

Several laughed, and Roxton ventured the opinion that if a girl was lovely enough, Ned was justified in running his eyes up and down her. "He just has to be sure that Veronica doesn't catch him," he added.

Soon, they stood beneath "their" tree and summoned the elevator. The area beyond the electric fence seemed undisturbed, and they ascended. When all were up in the Treehouse, the princesses were astounded by the view.

"It is better than being on a watch tower in Amazonia," marveled Phoebe.

"I'm just looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight," commented Marguerite. "Even if Roxton here bothers me, it's good to be home!"

The Amazon girls took the spare room where Assai and Sa'eera normally stayed when they visited. They were surprised to find the room spacious, but one could see that they regarded the whole structure as a bit "rustic" and primitive, compared to their own marble quarters in Amazonia and Pharsalia.

"Princess Phoebe," said a shy Veronica, "I apologize for the accommodations. But at least, the roof doesn't leak. Much. Often." She managed a bashful, apologetic laugh.

"Honey, you're here, so this place is better than a palace!" Ned took her hand and gave it a supporting squeeze.

She squeezed back and looked fondly at him. Ned could be such a wonderful mate at times!

"The Genius and I want a really nice place in England when we manage to leave here," admitted Finn, "but this is better than what I had before. I'm just grateful to be here and to have my friends. Vee, don't be embarrassed. Without you and the Treehouse, my life wouldn't be too wonderful right now, I bet."

"You came from a troubled place?" asked Laralei.

"Very troubled," answered the girl from the future. "It was a dark place, and it created a dark space within me, too. But George Challenger and the others here have let me become a new woman. I'll be forever grateful to them all." She looked around at each of her friends, and they smiled back at her. Roxton reached over and gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze. Challenger pulled her to him and held her, kissing her and giving her a look that made Finn almost faint with joy in being so close to someone whom she loved so dearly.

"I think it's my turn to be hugged, " Roxton said, and he pulled Marguerite to him. When she got her lips free and came up for air, a furiously blushing heiress demanded, "What was that about? John, you have a palatial home. Why do you need comforting?"

"I fancied that it was my turn to be hugged, and you do that so well that I didn't want to miss the opportunity," he teased and kissed her eyes.

"Please pardon Lord Roxton," stammered a flushed Marguerite. "You know men: if they think they have half a chance of affection, they have busy hands." But she was smiling when she looked back up at him.

"I would hardly object if Lord Roxton felt that he needed affection from me," grinned Laralei. "Would you like to exchange places, Marguerite? If this is too stressful, surely you can find something else to do." She tried hard not to laugh.

Marguerite blushed even more deeply, and said, "Thank you, Princess. But John is my man, and even if he embarrasses me this way, I believe that I'll manage to be the one to whom he wants to do this."

"Blush a little more, Marguerite," razzed Malone. "Maybe he'll take you to your room and 'embarrass' you really well."

"Ahem." Challenger cleared his throat. He was embarrassed, too, partly for Marguerite, and partly because he felt that the new guests shouldn't be exposed to too much of the Treehouse crew's goings-on. What was just affectionate clowning among themselves was perhaps too intimate to be displayed to guests...especially when the guests were visiting royalty and women, at that!

"Perhaps we should begin making lunch," he decided. "What shall we have?"

Veronica and Finn took the Amazon girls down to the garden, where they plucked spinach and yams from the ground, then, they visited the chicken coop, where they collected eggs.

The wire netting had held, and the chickens hadn't been killed by birds of prey or other predators, although a big snake had slithered close to the coop, leaving its trail in the dust. Apparently, it had been unable to insert its head into the wire, and had finally left in disgust. The chickens had fed on bugs and seeds, as wild birds did. They were desendants of Red Jungle Fowl, bartered for from the Zanga.

Veronica fed the chickens from a sack of grain, and they went back up and made lunch.

They would need to hunt, for they had left no meat in the refrigerator, lest it spoil. Finn announced that she wanted to fish, and the Amazons wanted to try that. They had never fished with hook and line, only seen nets used.

Lunch finished, they decided to try the nearby stream that was a tributary of the river that lay halfway to the Zanga village. This was safer than going further toward Jacoba's kraal, lest the foreign girls be seen. It had the advantage, too, of being far cleaner water, with a wide pool some four feet deep, where the Treehouse women swam in relative safety.

Marguerite joined them, with Roxton and Challenger watching nearby, rifles ready. The Royals were self conscious about "skinny dipping", so the girls wore their underwear, having supplied the Amazons with bras and panties of their make. Both were intrigued with these garments, Laralei especially liking the feel of the smooth material against her skin. Phoebe was impressed that they were designed by Finn to 21st Century styles, and made by Veronica and Marguerite, using Veronica's mother's sewing machine. Marguerite sewed the more complex lace overlays by hand.

Laralei and Phoebe felt very desirable in these brief garments, and complimented the makers. They were given three sets each, to wear here and to take home, delighting them.

After their swim, the explorers went upriver to a long pool where Finn knew they would find fish. She showed the others how to cast a line, with Challenger catching the first fish, a pavon. Also called Peacock Bass, this hard-fighting fish was both tasty and fun to catch.

The Roxtons excused themselves to hunt near a game trail. Soon, the crack of Marguerite's .275 Rigby rifle told that they had shot meat.

At the Treehouse, the angling party displayed several fish, and it turned out that Marguerite had slain a brocket deer large enough to feed them all on the next day. It was hung in the meat area behind the living quarters to age overnight, tenderizing the meat. The enclosed area was covered in reed netting, to keep flies and tree lizards from reaching the meat.

After all had showered, the Amazons finding the shower to be ingenious, they changed clothes and cleaned weapons and fishing reels, and then made dinner.

This was a leisurely occasion, with wines opened to celebrate the Amazon Royal visit. The white Burgundy was reaching its peak, and would soon begin to decline in the tropical conditions, anyway. That they had it at all was due to storage in cool limestone caverns not far from home. Some, they had brought. The rest was salvaged from items left by a perished expedition. (See the TLW episode, "Suspicion".)

Phoebe and Laralei were enchanted with the wine, bottles of Meursault Grand Cru from a famous shipper, Joseph Drouhin of Beaune. The explorers showed the princesses where France was on the globe left by Veronica's parents, and where in France Burgundy was. They were surprised to be drinking wine from so far away.

Phoebe was fascinated by the globe. She asked many questions about the outside world, and wanted to shoot a gun. This was agreed to, and she looked radiant throughout the meal, as did Laralei. Finn, too, was especially lively, even for her saucy, vibrant self.

Conversation flowed, with each group learning more about the other. The girls noted that the Treehouse couples showed tenderness toward their partners, and Finn seemed to take real pleasure in seeing that Challenger's plate and glass were well served. Phoebe and Laralei carefully noted the affectionate and often humorous looks exchanged by the Treehouse residents, the way that hands frequently touched, and the way that Finn buttered a slice of bread for her love, although teased by Marguerite.

Phoebe was surprised by this devotion." Why do you take such care of George Challenger?" she marveled. "Finn, you serve him much as a slave would."

Finn blushed and grinned. "That's only because he has enslaved my heart," she rejoiced, and leaned over to kiss Challenger, who was embarrassed but clearly delighted.

Phoebe laughed, but looked thoughtfully at the Challengers throughout the meal. She also noted the lesser demonstrations of affection between the other couples. She and Laralei exchanged meaningful looks. This was something that they would discuss between themselves later, in the privacy of their room. How strange it was to see these men and women so obviously at ease with one another, so clearly in love!

XXX

Following dinner, Ned described the way that their women danced, and asked for a demonstration. The men applauded, as did the visitors, and the self conscious women agreed to show their talent.

Marguerite insisted that the visitors don the brief garments they wore, and dance with them. Unless they did, she refused to perform.

Laralei looked at Phoebe, and they nodded to each other, and followed Veronica upstairs to dress (or undress!) for the performance. The men moved some furniture aside, and readied the Victrola phonograph and the records, some of Arabic music.

In the dressing room, Finn and Marguerite showed the Amazons how to move, and swing their hips gracefully. Phoebe was aghast. "Marguerite! This is the sort of thing that we have slaves do, to entertain male guests! It is scandalous!"

"It sure is, the way we do it," agreed an impish Finn. "I love the way the guys stare at us!" She giggled, partially the result of three glasses of wine on a body that weighed but 117 pounds. All of the women had been drinking, which had much to do with their willingnesss to perform, the men having flattered them and encouraged it, of course. But their natural vanity and desire to be praised and admired was certainly a factor.

"Ignore Finn," advised Marguerite. "She's an exhibitionist at heart. But she's sweet."

Finn stuck out her tongue at Marguerite, and Veronica joined the guests in laughter.

They stripped and passed around costumes. Phoebe was shy at revealing her nudity, Laralei less so. She was excited at the prospect of seeing the men's' reaction to her near nudity in a brief yellow loincloth and halter bra, with a sheer sarong to swirl as she danced. Phoebe chose dark blue, loving the way that she looked when she checked herself in the mirror. She blushed when she saw Finn fasten her golden ankle chain in place. Did this girl who so closely resembled her have no shame?!

Both Amazons received compliments from the Treehouse women, bolstering their confidence. Laralei looked at Phoebe and said. "Cousin, let us dance as the bond girls do for the Men when they visit. No one but us will know, and I wish to see how the fellows like that."

"Oh, they'll like that," said Veronica dryly. "Men are simple creatures. They're easy to predict in some areas."

"Very well," agreed a blushing Phoebe. "But I absolutely refuse to wear a collar or to kneel at the men's' feet after we perform, or to fawn over them."

"No worries," said Marguerite, "We Treehouse girls will take care of the fawning. Roxton and his mates will like that, but we're selective about which women do it for them. You lot just warm them up for us. Finnykins, Vee, and I will handle matters from there." She smirked.

"Drat Ned Malone for suggesting this, anyway," complained Veronica. But she was flushed with feminine exhilaration as she adjusted her aqua bra. Finn stepped over and helped her to tie it. In truth, Veronica was stirred by the raw male admiration aroused by these dances, and felt very feminine, beautiful, and desirable when she performed.

The two Treehouse blondes slapped palms, and Marguerite led the way downstairs, even the visitors feeling a tingle of raw sexuality as they descended the stairs. Phoebe shuddered as she thought of how their slave girls must feel when they were commanded to dance for men. But she could not suppress a frisson of excitement as she saw the way that the men looked at her as she strode behind Marguerite. Now, she understood why those girls didn't usually seem to feel much resentment when ordered to perform, or be punished. She wondered what Sunshine, Poppy, and their companions were doing this night...

She heard the music of the phonograph, exotic sounds of flute, drum, cymbals, and other instruments that she couldn't identify, and watched her fellow women move. Then, she pivoted her own loins to the strains of the strange music, and immediately felt almost orgasmic. She realized that she was smiling, and studying the men's' faces. She reddened at their expressions of appreciation, and wished that she could borrow Roxton from the jealous Marguerite, for even this one night, But she doubted that the Treehouse hospitality would extend that far.

Following the performance, quieter music was played, with the men taking turns dancing with all of the women.

Ned and Veronica had stayed home when the others had gone swimming, fishing, and hunting, and they had baked cakes, fluffy pound cake with chocolate icing. Coffee made the cake all the more scrumptious, and all enjoyed this closing to the evening, with conversation flowing easily. This friendly casualness surprised the somewhat apprehensive Phoebe and she loved it.

Laralei studied the way that Finn, clad in her brief black dance attire, sat on Challenger's lap, an arm around his neck. When she rose to get the scientist more coffee, Laralei followed her into the kitchen.

"Finn, are you truly free, that you sit on your man as you do, and wait on him so well? And dress this way?" She looked genuinely curious, eliminating any insult posed by the question.

Finn blushed and explained that she was free, but a captive of love. "I am chained by George through my heart, not by a leash," she explained, enjoying the look on Laralei's face.

"Do you have no shame? Do you do this when we are not here; Phoebe and me?"

"Sure. I'm surprised that we're doing this with guests present. But you may as well get to know us, if I'm Phoebe's great, great granddaughter, or something. Look, are we girls really embarrassing you and your cousin? She seems to be enjoying herself, now that she's loosened up." She looked carefully at her guest.

Laralei felt goose pimples rise on her flesh, especially as she looked at Malone through the door. "I am shocked," she admitted. "But I have begun to relish the way that this makes me feel. I would not dance this way at home, although perhaps I may do that for a special man, should I meet one at a party that we plan. But how does a man respect a free woman who moves as we have?"

Finn considered. "It probably pays to pick the right guy and do this for him in private, or among very close friends," she conceded. She decided to omit the information that in their own room, or when no one else was at home, she sometimes gyrated atop Challenger in a lap dance. She suspected that Veronica and Marguerite might also do this, but so far, she had been too shy to ask. This was not something that she was prepared to discuss with Laralei.

"But how do you know when it is the right man?" wondered Laralei.

Veronica heard as she entered, and answered. "You just sort of feel really comfortable with him, and want to do things for him that would shock you if you did them for other men. You feel all warm and happy inside when you're with him, and trust him with your life and with your heart."

"Yeah," Finn concurred. "And it means the world to you to just lie beside him, with your head on his chest, loving that you're there together and can say absolutely anything to one another. He makes you feel safe and content. And you want to have his babies, and maybe shout to the world that you're his woman."

Veronica and Finn looked at one another and nodded. "When you meet the right man, Laralei, you'll know it, I think. But as an Amazon princess, you can't marry. What will you do if you ever meet a guy like that?" Finn was curious.

"I wonder," confessed Laralei. "I wear a crown, but you have more freedom than I do, in some ways. Maybe I can arrange to have a continuing relationship with a particular man, although we must not wed. New standards between us and the Men may allow me to have such a man, and often visit one another." She looked wistful, longing. "But some of what you girls here do, I would surely have to confine to times when he and I were alone. I wear a crown, not a slave collar."

She looked primly at Finn's earrings and slim ankle bracelet. And noted that Finn had left her sarong in the living room after their dance. She wore just the trim black loincloth and a matching bra, cut rather low for a free woman's attire. Even her sandals seemed sensuous. Laralei suddenly knew in her heart that Finn sometimes wore only those sandals and earrings and anklet when she and Challenger were alone! She colored deeply as she thought of herself or Phoebe clad thus before Roxton or King Gracchus of the Men!

"Don't worry," said Finn. "In England, where George and I will live, we can't do this stuff except at home, either. And we'll be giving the servants the night off when we want to get this intimate. But I'm going to do that. The servants won't mind, I'm sure." She snickered. "But the Genius is going to get pampered by me sometimes, even after we've got servants to do most things."

Laralei considered this. "I will talk with Phoebe about it. I think we both want some of what we have seen here this night. I hope that we find men who will keep our confidence, and not brag to their fellows about how we behave. Men are often boastful about such matters!"

"I wish you luck," said Veronica. "One reason why I left Amazonia is that I wanted to have a completely free relationship with a man someday. With Ned, I have that situation. And I wouldn't trade it for diamonds. Or, for a crown."

"You do not feel weak for being this way?"

Finn shook her head. "Nope. We feel fulfilled. And I at least, feel very protected and desired and loved. I know that Vee does, too."

Laralei persisted. "But we Amazons are taught to be strong."

"I'm strong," said Veronica. "But I feel even stronger and better about myself as a woman when I feel weak sometimes, to a degree. I let Ned do some things for me that I could do. I just like knowing that he wants to do them. And I want a man to do them for me."

"Yeah," said Finn, "there are compensations. If you flutter your eyelashes right, you can get your man to take out the trash for you. I hate doing that."

Laralei started." They will do this lowly thing, for a woman?"

Both women nodded. "They won't even let you do it, if you play your cards right. They want to shelter and protect you and shield you from some things."

"Why? Is it not beneath their dignity? The Men have their slaves do this."

"We have no slaves here," explained Veronica. "Just men who love us, because we love them, and let them know it. We bake and clean, and they do other things, the heavier work. And we each care deeply for our mates. Together, we complement one another."

"Honey!" Ned was waiting on his coffee.

"Better go 'complement' Neddy, Vee," teased Finn.

"Coming, Ned," the jungle beauty replied. She made a face at Finn and took Ned his coffee, a spring in her step. She, too, had left her sarong in the living room, and Laralei noticed the men watching her hostess as she walked. She flushed crimson. Had they looked this way at her when her head was turned?

Laralei said, "I must think about this. Phoebe and I will talk. We may need to make some secret adjustments in how we treat men."

"Do, "advised Finn, filling Challenger's cup. "It'll make a difference in how they treat you. And, if you're really, really lucky, you may just find a love as perfect as the Genius and I have. But I don't think any other chick has ever had it quite as good as I have. Still, maybe you can be Number Two." She grinned, and took Challenger his coffee.

Laralei stood stunned. Then, she smiled shyly, and followed Finn out to the main room. Based on what she had seen tonight, even being Number Two in love must be an incredible experience. She left her sarong in the kitchen, watching carefully to see who looked at her bared legs as she sauntered gracefully past them. This was empowerment of a different order than she cherished as an Amazon!

XXX

In the solitude of their room later that night, the Amazon princesses discussed their new friends.

"I like them," admitted Laralei. "Especially Finn and Veronica and Lord Roxton. And Prof. Challenger seems a very imposing man. Perhaps he really can tell why you resemble Finn. It's uncanny, you know. I have known you for all of my life, Cousin, and I have to look closely to tell which of you girls I'm seeing."

"I know which one I am," rejoined Phoebe. "It's the rest of you who are confused." Her droll sense of humor paralled Finn's almost as much as did her looks.

"Very funny, Phoebe! Are you nervous about getting your finger pricked tomorrow, for that blood sample that they mentioned.?"

"Some," Phoebe confessed. "But if Challenger is going to do that to Ned Malone, and to Finn, too, it can't be too bad. And Marguerite and Roxton are getting pricked, to show how their blood is different. Finn should have Malone's blood and mine. Laralei, what if I am Finn's ancestor? I'm too young to be her great -great- great grandmother or something. I'm younger than she is! I asked: she's 23. I'm only 22."

"She said that someday, she might tell us of her former world. I gather that it is stressful even to speak of it. If that fate for the Plateau comes to pass, will we be exempt? Our grandchildren?" Laralei looked thoughtful.

"Who knows? She says that she will tell us about an evil man whom we must slay if he comes into this time. I am brave. You saw me in battle. I killed four men of the cannibals. But this scares me, a little." And she tried to hide a shudder. "Does it seem cold to you in here?"

Laralei smiled. "Phoebe, you are not cold. That shiver is from fear, and I feel a chill in my bones, also. I hope that we can somehow prevent the problem that changed our world by her time."

"Let's change the subject. I want to shoot their guns. They say they jump in the hand when fired, from recoil. But I want to see how to use one, to experience that degree of power!"

XXX

Finn and Challenger reflected on what had come to pass, and on what would happen in the morning. "Genius, how sure can you be how I'm related to Phoebe?"

The great man of science thought carefully before replying. "Darling, I cannot get too deeply into these DNA recognition techniques that you have described, My lab is simply not that advanced. In this time, no lab is so equipped! But I hope to find similarities. Personally, I am convinced that you and she are related, probably quite closely. The blood samples from the others will probably show dissimilarities to yours and Phoebe's. But I hope to find some of Malone's genes in you."

Finn laughed softly. "Then, maybe I'll be a good writer, too. I want to be. Hey, Lover: I'm really tired. Do you especially want to ravish me, or can we just sack out?"

Challenger hugged her. "Let's just sleep," he agreed. "I have too much on my mind to want sex tonight, anyway. I am wracking my mind to think of what I might do to maximize our findings."

"Come here," said Finn. "I'll hold you and maybe you'll think better."

And so it was that the Challengers soon slept, George still agonizing over whether some stone was being left unturned in his quest for the Amazon royal line.

XXX

Soon after dawn, Veronica moved along the doors, waking all for breakfast. She wanted to get an early start, for she had to plant vegetables, and wanted to help Marguerite sew new clothing. And there was the lab session. She looked forward to learning about the closeness between Princess Phoebe and Finn.

The Amazon princesses stirred, looked wearily at one another, and grinned. "I am hungry and we have much to learn today," commented Laralei.

Phoebe dressed in her outfit that replicated Finn's usual black shorts and cropped top. She felt a little exposed in the brief shorts, but happily brazen for it.

Laralei chose a simple yellow sundress that she had been given by Veronica. She liked the way it hung on her, and the short skirt. It felt cool and exciting, and a little exotic. She had been told that this dress was intended to be worn without a bra, and she saw how one would show, the straps to the dress being quite slim. The cloth had brown and green floral designs on the yellow background, and she liked the way the colors looked on her as she pirouetted in front of the long mirror on the back of the door to their room.

She sat and put on sandals that were also a gift from the Treehouse girls. Then, as she looked up, she saw Phoebe in front of the mirror, putting on the gold loop earrings that she had danced in. She wore sandals, too, not the boots that Finn wore outdoors.

"Phoebe!" she exclaimed. "You're wearing those?"

Phoebe turned, a stubborn look on her face. "Cousin, we are not in Amazonia! Here, if I like the way these feel and the way they draw men's' eyes, I will wear them! Tell no one at home that I did, or I will deny it, of course. Come here, and tie my hair in a ponytail."

Laralei did that, using a length of black cord, then found her own earrings. "Tie my hair also, Phoebe, and I'm wearing these, too."

The girls inspected one another. "You look wonderful, Laralei," admitted her cousin. "How do I look?"

"Like I should lead you home on a leash, lovely slave! I think I'm going to look in the mirror later, wearing just the earrings and the sandals. This is so scandalous, but I feel so free and desirable! These girls here can do this anytime, though. I think I'm jealous."

"Leave the dress on for now," advised Phoebe. "The women here don't walk out in front of others in their sandals and earrings. Finn said to try that only when alone with a man you love. Just wearing the ring style earrings is slutty enough. These are not the pearl or coin earrings that free women wear, where we live!"

They went down to breakfast, Laralei unarmed. Phoebe wore a belt of Finn's, with her favorite of the British and American knives that the Treehouse men had offered to her. It was American, from the Marble Arms Company, their Ideal model with a six-inch blade and stag antler handle. She trusted their hosts, but felt uneasy anywhere without a dagger at her side. She suspected that Finn slept with a gun by her bedside. Maybe that feeling ran in the family..

At breakfast, the women all eyed one another warily. The Treehouse girls wondered if they had been too open last night, dancing as they had. Marguerite decided to blame the wine if anyone said anything. They had all drunk quite a bit of it.

Someone did comment, but she had no need to place blame. Roxton led her to the table, where they sat quietly talking as the Malones and Finn made breakfast. Challenger was at his end of the table, mumbling to himself as he made notes. He wanted to consider every angle before they drew blood in the lab.

Laralei said, "Marguerite, thank you for teaching me to dance. I know that I require much more instruction to be good, but that was fun! I felt so sensual. It gave me an appetite, too. What's for breakfast?"

Relieved, Marguerite said to expect orange juice, eggs, and venison chops, with fruit. Coffee was brewing, too.

Phoebe went to help, curious as to what one did in the kitchen. She normally had slave girls to prepare her meals, and had seldom paid attention to a kitchen.

When all was ready, Finn leaned out from the kitchen and looked at Marguerite. "Hey, Kruxlahoo! Get in here and carry out a platter! Everything's ready, and you dodged kitchen duty again!" But she smiled to take the sting out of it.

Soon, all were seated and enjoying the meal, although Challenger seemed subdued, quieter than usual.

"Penny for your thoughts, Genius," offered Finn, wondering why he seemed troubled. "Is anything wrong?"

He shrugged. "Darling, I am having second thoughts about this testing. I cannot say for sure just what all we will learn. And I do not relish sticking your finger, however slightly, for a sample."

Finn took his hand and squeezed. "No worries, Genius. I've been hurt lots worse than that needle will jab me!"

"Not by me, you haven't!" Challenger said, a bit sharply.

Finn rose quietly, moved to his chair and leaned over and kissed him, hugging his shoulder. "Lover, this will be okay, and Phoebe and I have to know what can be learned. I'll be fine, and I trust you to do this right."

Phoebe and Marguerite found themselves looking at one another. "He loves her," explained Marguerite. That's why he doesn't want to prick her finger."

Phoebe nodded. "I gathered that. Will it hurt much?"

"Almost none," said the brunette Briton. "I've had similar tests run on me, and it isn't more than like pricking your finger on a thorn. Less, in fact, because thorns have something on them that makes it hurt more. George is just very sentimental about Finnykins."

"I hope that some man cares so much for me someday," sighed Laralei.

"One will," assured Veronica. "Who wants more coffee?"

And before long, it was time to go to the lab and see what secrets the various persons' blood held, when examined under a well lighted microscope.

"Shouldn't we have fasted before this?" wondered Marguerite. "I just thought of that!"

Challenger shrugged this off. "I doubt that it will matter for our purpose," he observed. "We are not scanning for diseases or the like. I just need to examine the basic characteristics of the blood. What I expect to see in Phoebe, Ned, and Finn, and what should be dissimilar in the others, I believe that I can detect without fasting. And a good meal seemed desirable before our adventure here."

"This is an adventure?" muttered Marguerite. "George, you have strange ideas of what constitutes fun!"

He smiled, more at ease now. "Well," he said "lets' get started. Finn, you know how to ready those slides. Let's begin."

Finally, she sat in front of him, their chairs facing, her arm on the table, hands freshly washed. He cleaned her finger with alcohol, and poised his sterilized needle.

They locked eyes and Finn nodded to reassure him. Challenger pushed the needle into her finger, wincing as he did so. Finn just stopped herself from reaching out to him, for she knew in her heart that this stab hurt Challenger more than it had her.

Soon, they had all of the slides ready, with all of the stuck fingers recovering from the sharp, brief pain that was needed to let them learn what they might.

"Very well, Darling," said the scientist. "Hand me that slide of Ned's blood and let's begin."

He leaned forward when the slide was in place, put his head down to the stereo eyepieces of the Leitz microscope.

An hour later, all sat around the dining table, coffee and cake before them, Challenger's notes laid out by his place.

He had briefed each of them in the lab, then they had adjourned to convene here at the table.

"Well, at least there was some good news. I know that I'm not related to Ned," Marguerite had a wicked grin on her face, her eyes twinkling as she looked toward poor Malone.

That long suffering gentleman refused to react to her jibe, although his mate made a face at Marguerite. "That's enough out of you, Kruxlahoo," Veronica teased, having overheard Finn's new nickname for Marguerite Krux.

Phoebe and Laralei laughed, amused at the almost sibling rivalry between the Treehouse "sisters". They liked these people, and felt much at home among them. They sensed that they had found new friends whom they wished to see again. And they were a bit in awe of Prof. George Challenger and his almost magical skills...

Marguerite turned to Lord Roxton. "John, are you going to let these blonde hooligans tease me this way? Marry me, and my last name won't be Krux. They'll have to find a new game."

"I proposed long ago, Marguerite, "protested John. "All we need is a way off of this accursed Plateau, and I'll race you to the church. And it wasn't me who dallied about marriage. I proposed 14 times before you ever accepted, if memory serves."

"I'd have accepted the first time, "said Laralei, trying to keep a straight face. She had quickly grasped how her hostesses played this game.

"I shouldn't be surprised at that, I suppose," Marguerite retorted. "I always said that blondes are 'easy' ".

"If we can be serious for a brief moment," intoned Challenger. "To sum up, Finn is about 80 % likely to be a direct descendant of Ned and Phoebe. Actually, I feel that it is almost certain that the relationship is there, but I cannot claim that there is scientific proof. The necessary techniques are not yet refined enough. But what we saw in the lab does, for me, eliminate all real doubt that there is shared blood."

"So, what? I'm like, Amazon royalty?" asked his woman.

"In all probability, yes," Challenger answered. "You may, of course, be a second or third child of the Queen in your day, and not the Crown Princess."

"Or," said Veronica, ever the loyal friend, "Finn may BE the Queen."

"How shall we ever know?," asked a baffled Phoebe.

"It probably doesn't really matter, I guess," said a quiet Finn, deep in thought.

"Why on Earth would it not matter?" exclaimed Laralei.

"Because Finn had rather kneel at Challenger's feet than to be a queen," Marguerite said softly, looking at her young blonde friend.

"If that is a joke, it is a poor one," said an offended Phoebe.

"It's no joke," said a sympathetic Veronica. "She told us that months ago, and has repeated it when we teased her about it."

Finn looked irritated. "Okay, I was exaggerating for effect. But I basically meant what I said."

Phoebe stared at her. "You must indeed have come from a truly dark time."

Finn nodded. "Phoebe, it was very dark. And this is the man who shined the light into which I walked, and who lifted my spirits. Several times a week, I thank Almighty God that he cared enough to help me when I needed it. George, I love you, and although the throne of Amazonia would be a great honor, I don't care if you find out that I'm the heiress to the throne of England. Being Mrs. Challenger is the title that I really want."

It was as if the Challengers were sitting in a bubble, with the others not present. He reached for her hand, as she reached for his, and they looked into one another's eyes, and a serene smile came to each face. "I love you," they said, simultaneously.

George took Finn's hands in his, and they leaned over and kissed.

The others were silent, even Marguerite looking down quietly at the table.

"So, this then, is the power of love?" Laralei was stunned, thoughtful.

"Yes, love is one of the most potent forces on Earth," said Marguerite. "I was amazed to feel its full impact in my own life. John, thank you for showing me that I could love someone. I'd always feared that I'd never really know that sensation."

Veronica smirked, "Oh, I bet that John has given ladies all sorts of sensations, pretty terrific ones, too."

Ned laughed, amused to see Marguerite wince at his mate's words. He was happy that Marguerite had found love, but had endured enough from "Kruxlahoo" over the years to enjoy seeing her wounded by words.

"But is love enough to cause you to give up a throne?" Phoebe was dumbfounded at this concept.

Finn rejoined the others, mentally, breaking the private moment that she had had with George. "It depends on what you want out of life, I guess," she decided. "Being able to shout cool things, like, 'Off with her head!' is probably fun, but being a queen also has a lot of responsibilities. I have more freedom as myself. And I feel pretty important, just belonging to George. I want his children, and they'll need me to be a mother. If I do that right, I might not have enough time to be a queen. Anyway, I want to have fun hunting and fishing and taking photos of wild animals. Writing books. Stuff like that."

"Are you saying that my mother did not do well by me?" demanded Phoebe. "She is a queen, but she has always found time to be a mother, within the Amazon traditions."

"Cool. Whatever," said Finn. "But I don't plan to raise my daughter to be an Amazon, and I'm damned sure not going to send my son, if I'm lucky enough to have one, away to be raised by his father, just because he was born a boy."

"Ladies," interjected Challenger, "We are forgetting something." He turned to Finn. "Darling, what do you know of Amazons from your own time?"

Finn thought. "A relative told me that my dad was a mining engineer from the United States. My mother may have been descended from Amazons. I just don't know." Finn was troubled to recall even this much of her former world, and she began biting her lip, unaware of it.

"But there were no Amazons on this Plateau then?" Phoebe was horrified. "Where did we go, then?"

"Hell, I just don't know! Maybe to Brasilia, or to Sao Paulo or to Rio de Janeiro. Wherever. Some were probably still living here, but not as Amazons. Maybe they all went to New York and became supermodels. I know that some Brazilian chicks became famous that way before the disaster hit us."

Then, it struck her what this must mean to her new friends. "Oh, Phoebe! Laralei! I wish I could answer you. But something seems to have happened in the next hundred years or so that changed this place so much that none of the tribes that we have now were present then."

"Perhaps there wasn't a disaster until Zoth came," suggested Roxton. "It could well be that after civilization arrived, the indigenous tribes here were just absorbed into a modernizing economy. People forgot about their pasts, unless it was some commemorative date, or some such. Amazons may merge with the Men, too, and become a normal populace. They'd blend in with the Hagens and others, and arriving Brazilians from other parts of your country."

"What about tribes like those barbarians who kidnapped Veronica to sell her?" wondered Ned. "Can you really see them becoming peaceful?"

"Yes," answered Challenger. "They'd either have to behave after police and soldiers came, or be wiped out."

"There were legends of bad outlaws," mused Finn. "Some were supposed to be really scary. But I didn't hear about any women living in Amazonia or Pharsalia or wherever like you girls do now."

"Then, I am the princess of a doomed city," reflected Laralei.

"Not necessarily," contributed Marguerite. "There have been so many changes in planes of reality here that we can't be sure what happened."

Finn brightened. "The Zanga!" she exclaimed. "I knew about them, and some of the Indians were Zanga. And I heard about the Jivaro and the Xingu, when people talked about the past and how they used to be headhunters. So, we knew about some things that are here now. I bet Johnny is right: the Amazons just merged with others, and became part of everyone else."

"But our queendom... our beautiful cities." Laralei looked forlorn.

"We, too, have had kingdoms that have disappeared," pointed out Roxton.

"Yes, but you were not a part of one that disappeared," retorted Phoebe. "We are talking about our own great granddaughters."

"I'm here," pointed out Finn. "I can't have been the only descendant of Amazons."

"True," agreed her love. "Something like that is the most likely explanation. You Amazons just adopted modern ways and became as other Brazilians, as this place was settled from the outside. Which leads us to this: how did people get up here? Oh, some probably came via aeroplanes, but surely, they had roads?I'm convinced that there are routes off this place, and by Jove, I am going to find one!"

"We had a railroad," recalled Finn. "I saw the tracks."

"What is this 'railroad' and this 'aeroplane'?" asked a baffled Phoebe.

"We'll tell you later. For now, is everyone satisfied that Finn is the descendant of these women? And what does that make Phoebe? Her great, great, grandmother? Maybe one additional generation, depending on how long each lived?" Challenger wanted to decide that issue first.

"Probably," agreed Marguerite. "But I'm dashed if I'm going to start addressing Finnykins as Your Royal Highness."

Finn grinned. She turned to Ned. "Hey, Grandpa: will you teach me to write really well, now that I'm your descendant?"

Ned blushed. "Yes, I said that I would, anyway. As my blood relative, I guess I have to do even better by you. But you have already come further than I ever thought that you would. Two years ago, you were just learning to read. Now, you function on an adult level, with new words being added all the time."

Veronica turned to him. "I like that, Neddy. Teach her well. I want to read her stories. And yours."

She looked back at the other women. "Do you girls want to go swim before it gets too late?"

"I'd be careful of that, until those pricks on your fingers fully heal," cautioned Challenger. "Germs in tropical rivers..."

"We'll be careful, George. Ladies?"

"I want to hear of this railroad and this aeroplane thing," demurred Laralei.

"Cool," said Finn. "Let's pack a picnic lunch and sit by the pool where we swim. I want to sit with the Genius, but you two can join us before you swim. We'll tell you what we can while Vee and Marguerite swim. Then, you and I can swim, if you want."

"Your man will see us swim?" Laralei was shy about that.

"I'll sit just out of sight," promised Challenger. "John, will you join us? An extra rifle would be useful if something hungry finds us."

Roxton averred that he had rather stay at the Treehouse with Marguerite, but his woman pressed him to go. "I'll make it worth your while when we get back. Swimming always gives me an appetite, and not just for food." She fluttered those huge green eyes at him, and Roxton knew that he had lost.

"I expect that I've been conscripted then," agreed the hunter.

And so, they prepared a lunch and such else as they needed, and set off for the river.

Along the way, the Amazon girls, now dressed again to imitate Finn and Veronica, were amazed by the the orchids and other things. We would speak more of such, but there will be a separate Fic telling more about their stay in the Treehouse.

In time, they reached the river, and after an adventure that will be told later, swam.

XXX

Their days passed happily, and finally, it came time to return to Selena.

They took with them a letter from Challenger, addressing Queen Selena in affectionate terms and telling her how much the Treehouse crew had enjoyed hosting Phoebe and Laralei. He admitted candidly that he could not prove that Finn was certainly related to the others, but said that the resemblances were more than coincidence would suggest. In other words, in all but official terms, Finn was a descendant of Crown Princess Phoebe of Amazonia and of Edward T. Malone, intrepid American reporter.

The girls asked for Finn to join them on their journey to the Amazon border and she and Challenger accepted. Veronica had to go to intercede with the Zanga, if the visitors were discovered.

The Roxtons said that they had just as soon remain at home and catch up on various projects. Someone needed to feed and protect the chickens, anyway, it being a wonder that they had survived the last trip away by the explorers. Veronica also gave John and Marguerite explicit instructions about what to plant and how to water the garden.

She gave Marguerite Krux a stern look and said, "Plant. Weed. Water. This means you, Kruxlahoo. Got that?"

"Why are people always picking on me?" the heiress demanded. She was greeted with general laughter, her innate laziness being well known. She glowered, then laughed, herself.

"You can count on me, Vee," she promised. "I'm the new, improved Marguerite."

"And talking like Finn," observed Malone, who had never really embraced the nickname Vee for his mate.

Finally, packs loaded and a travois readied, the group set out for the border.

Their trek was not without its moments of danger, as we will see in a forthcoming story. But in time, they found their companions.

After a joyful greeting, Phoebe donned her Amazon royal garb, including armor and sword, and embraced Finn. She introduced her to the warriors as a previously unknown relative.

This seemed the wisest course, for they had no intention of telling others about Finn's being from the future. Most would disbelieve. Others would scheme to use the knowledge to benefit themselves. The explanation given would satisfy all who had wondered about the startling resemblance between the Crown Princess and Finn. And there were many, of course.

It was explained that Finn was betrothed to Professor Challenger, and that they would eventually live in a far land. Finn was of Royal blood, but not in line for the throne. This seemed to satisfy the warriors in the Royal escort, and they left with fond farewells and promises to meet again, perhaps several times a year for as long as the explorers remained on the Plateau.

Laralei talked with her troops and told the explorers that some roving bands of cannibals had been sighted and that some had been killed. "But be wary on your way home," she cautioned. "Some have crossed onto Zanga lands to evade our patrols."

"Are you still getting along with the Men?" Veronica asked Hippolyta, who was now again able to travel. She could fight if she must, although it would be another few weeks before she was fully recovered. Still, she had wanted to come to greet the returning princesses.

"The Men have kept their word, and our treaty with them remains unbroken, " Hippolyta replied. "Indeed, we have held two large receptions for them, with good results. More of our sisters have gone to the Truce Village, and liked what they found. Others have made friends among the Men. Very good friends," she smirked.

"Princess Phoebe, your Royal mother has even seen fit to host King Gracchus overnight. Forgive my candor, Highness, but Gracchus seemed very, ah, satisfied, with the stayover. As did Queen Selena. They seem destined to become friends, although Selena may not marry. That little slave of his, Marigold, isn't too happy when he visits us. The slut is in love with him, and he seems very fond of her. I suspect that such visits will lead to a deep friendship between Selena and Gracchus, but that he will retain his slaves. Can love exist under such conditions?"

"Yes," said Challenger. "Our friend Lord Roxton is in love with Marguerite, but you should see the tenderness with which he caresses his guns when he cleans them. I think Marguerite is jealous, but she tolerates them. Probably, Selena will tolerate Marigold, whom she will see like Roxton's guns: as recreational equipment." Challenger smiled drolly, his eyes twinkling.

"George!" exclaimed a shocked Veronica. Finn looked horrified, but also as if she was about to laugh. Malone looked away, lest Veronica see him smile.

Laralei said, "I see the parallel, although Roxton's guns are also his protectors and providers of meat. But he certainly uses them for sport, which is how Gracchus uses Marigold. I think he loves her, but maybe he is not IN love with her, if that makes sense. Mr. Malone, can men do this? Love one woman while cherishing another girl, too?"

Ned blushed. Veronica said, "Yes, Ned, could you do that?" She gave him a meaningful look.

"Ah, me? No. But some men could. Of course, they don't have Veronica for a lover. She's all that I need. But I may get a dog someday. Veronica wouldn't be too jealous of one, I hope. Maybe Marigold is to Gracchus like a favorite pet dog is to some men. And a man can love his dog a lot. Just not the same way that he loves his woman. Is this making sense?"

"As long as you don't have any dogs who look like Marigold," said an amused Veronica, to general laughter.

"Marigold is secure with Gracchus. She is more than a favorite dog to him! He will not admit that he loves her, for it would embarrass a free man to do so, especially a king. But I have seen the way they look at one another. His feelings for Selena are different, if similar, and somewhat arise from one ruler liking another. But Gracchus definitely is in love with that pretty little slave, Marigold. He cherishes her beyond what he admits. But their eyes and their body language proclaim their devotion to one another. Queen Selena is jealous, but likes Gracchus enough that she grudgingly tolerates Marigold. Besides, it gives her a cover story, to prevent Amazons fearing that their Queen has fallen for a man." Hippolyta was sure that she was right.

She turned to a peer. "Bring that gift from Gracchus for Professor Challenger."

"What gift?" asked a puzzled Challenger.

The gift turned out to be 20 pounds of copper, offered without charge as a gift to Challenger and his companions for their aid in battle and for offering to help him buy Marigold. It was indeed evident that Marigold was more to him than a favorite dalliance.

"Gracchus said that he would have lost many more men had you not shot so many cannibals," added Hippolyta.

Challenger was delighted, and sent his greetings to the King of the Men. He examined Hippolyta's wounds at her request, and said that she was healing well.

"Tell Marguerite that I appreciate her help," said the Amazon. She turned to Finn. "Finn, would you really have shot me that night when you thought that I was drawing my sword against your friend?" She looked intently at the black clad girl from the Treehouse.

Finn gazed coolly back, unhappy that this should arise. "What do you think, Hippolyta? Was I bluffing?"

Hippolyta lowered her eyes. "No, I think you were serious. Let us be friends. You helped to save me from the cannibals. I will not give you cause to slay me, yourself."

"I would much prefer to be friends," agreed Finn.

"Then, let me give you something for Marguerite," said the tall Amazon. She gestured to a companion, who brought an object wrapped in rich burgundy cloth.

It was a sword, hilted in ivory, with a silver pommel cap bearing the insignia of the Amazons inlaid in gold on the butt.

"Tell Marguerite that I give her this with my gratitude for her setting aside her hatred and caring for my wounds. I think that I will have only a small scar from her stitches. I will not lift my own sword against her. I send this one to her in thanks and in peace."

"Oh, that's nice of you," exclaimed Veronica. "We will tell her. She will be glad."

"And me?" asked Finn. "Are we also friends? I'm sorry that I teased you while you were our captive. I should have been more mature."

Hippolyta smiled slowly, then more broadly. "Your apology is accepted. And now that we know that you have the same blood in your veins as does Princess Phoebe, I may not injure you. You are of our kind, and of our Royal house. We are at peace. May Juno be with you." And she hugged Finn, to the other girl's astonishment.

After filling their canteens with purified water from a nearby stream, the explorers took affectionate leave of their new friends. Hippolyta even turned to wave goodbye as she left, and the Treehouse crew waved back. The princesses also waved.

"Well," said Challenger, "this little adventure has ended far better than I fancied that it might. For a time, especially with those cannibals after us, I was a trifle concerned."

Finn ginned her impish grin and asked, "Why, Genius? I told you that I'd look out for you."

They all laughed. "Well, Darling, you certainly did," he admitted, tugging playfully at her hair. He pulled her into him for a hug and kiss as the Malones cheered.

"Get a room!" yelled Ned, not too loudly, as they could never be sure how far sound would carry in the jungle.

"Let's get back to the Treehouse, and we'll all have rooms," advised the practical Veronica. "Maybe if you're really sweet, Neddy, we'll need our room for stuff like this." She winked provocatively, and Malone felt his heart race.

"We need to get home before dark if we can, anyway," acknowledged Challenger. "Darling, let me help you get your pack on."

"Will you look at this?!" exclaimed Finn, in mock outrage. "I love this man, I kiss him, I hug him, and now he wants to use me as a beast of burden!"

Even Veronica laughed at that, and Ned helped her to get her own pack on. Soon, they were underway, dragging the travois, which held their additional gear and the gift of copper.

Challenger tried to keep his mind on the trail, but Finn's quip about being a "beast of burden" made him think of her in another "beastly" fashion, for she loved being taken in bed in what she cheerfully called, "doggie style." She had even noted that that position was probably best for conception, and they had been discussing having a child…

Malone noticed his color and asked if he was well.

"You look a little flushed, George."

Finn went to him at once, looking tenderly into his face. "Are you okay, Lover? You do look a little red."

He protested that it was just a warm day, and that he would let them know if he felt too exerted.

"Pity that Marguerite isn't with us," joked Veronica. "She'd already be pleading for a break, and George could sit down."

"I'm fine, really," he protested. "Just a bit tired." So, they pressed on.

After a few moments, Finn strayed back to him and whispered her concern. Embarrassed, he told her the truth. Both immediately blushed, then smiled sheepishly..

"Well, that does sort of appeal to me, too," she admitted. "Give me a good screwing tonight, and I'll bake you a blackberry pie. I know almost how to get it just right, and Vee will help."

She shifted her rifle, the Mannlicher-Schoenauer this time, to her other hand, and took George's hand. They walked together, hand-in-hand, talking softly, often looking at one another and smiling.

After a time, Ned got tired of pulling the travois, and Challenger took it over. Veronica ranged a little ahead, studying the trail for sign.

Suddenly, she stopped, holding up a hand to halt her friends, too.

She motioned to Finn, their main hunter other than Roxton.

"Finn, look." She motioned to tracks. "Those are Zanga sandals. I'd just as soon not have to be asked why we've been over this way. Can you ease up a tree with that German binocular that you're so fond of and see what you can?"

Finn shrugged out of her pack and took out the Zeiss 8X30 binocular in its leather case. Putting the binocular around her neck, she went up the trunk of a tree that had fallen against another, giving her easy access to the second, taller trunk.

She was almost to a good branch from which she could scan the area when she heard a nasty buzzing sound. Rattlesnake! About three feet in front of her! She had to use both hands on the tree, unable to draw her .38 without risking a fall.

Helplessly, she looked back at her friends. Veronica heard the snake and walked over for a better look. She saw where it was and where Finn was, and her blood went cold.

Veronica gestured desperately to the others, and showed the snake to the men.

"You can just see it on that limb to her left. I can't shoot an arrow there. One of you is going to have to climb up and shoot it with a pistol, but I don't see how you can. You'd need both hands on the tree, like Finn does." She was very worried, and it showed. Finn was her best friend, ever, save perhaps for Assai, and she was frantic with worry.

Challenger assessed the situation, and unslung his .450 Nitro Express double-barreled rifle. "Hold on, Darling!" he called. "I'm going to put a bullet into the branch right under that snake. Hopefully, it will penetrate and kill the snake, or at least, knock it off the branch, where we can finish it with a machete. Ned, get your machete ready."

Finn looked nervously down. Challenger blew her a kiss and moved under the offending branch.

He sighted on the branch just under the dreaded snake and pulled the front trigger of his Holland & Holland rifle. There was a terrific BLAM! in the enclosed clearing, and the branch was violently jolted. The snake jerked sharply, but kept its hold. It rose, rattling even more furiously, and coiled to strike. A second shot from the elephant gun severed the branch, and the snake was trapped with its tail under the heavy branch as it landed on the ground.

Malone moved immediately to whack at it with his Collins machete. The 22-inch long blade, powered by his youthful muscles, bit deeply into the snake midway through its body, and it began thrashing the forward portion. The spine had probably been damaged and the rear portion was affected.

"Go for the head, damn it!" called Challenger, reloading the .450 with two long brass-cased cartridges that had the power to fell the biggest game animals.

Ned's next blow severed the head, and he whacked again, into the head, to smash the brain. Even so, a dead snake could bite if touched, for some time after death. Muscle reactions...Ned knew this and stood clear. He looked around for some tall dry grass to clean the blood from his blade.

Finn was stuck on the tree, for that was the very branch that she had needed! She called that she was coming down and tried to rest her weight on a thinner branch on the way. It was dead, and snapped off as she had gotten about seven feet from the ground. Challenger had set his rifle aside, and caught her well enough that her fall was softened. She stood up, shivering, and hugged him to her bosom. "Thanks, Genius! That was truly scary!" She knew the power of this snake's venom, having seen two Zanga die from its effects. This one had been over six feet long, and it would have carried enough of that awful venom to kill several grown men, let alone a girl who weighed 117 pounds!

She remembered her binocular, but it was undamaged, to her great relief. She had taken it from the things that they had found after killing Avery Burton's slavers, and it was one of her proudest possessions. She knew that Zeiss optics were expensive, but to her, this one was priceless, the first such luxury item that she had owned, apart from her guns and the Patek Phillipe watch that she had also taken from the body of a dead slaver. (See, "A Night in the Lost World" on this board for that story.)

"Those shots will bring Zanga or others," announced Veronica. "We had better get out of here. George, pick up those ejected cartridge cases. I'll get a branch and try to brush out our trail."

Finn asked the men to roll the five-inch thick branch aside, and she drew her knife and cut off the dead snake's rattles, which she put into her pouch, for a souvenir. Someday, she would show these to her children and tell them about this adventure. She wanted to show Roxton, too, and tell him about this narrow escape.

They hurriedly left, straying off the main trail in hopes of not being discovered. As soon as they were in the jungle off of the trail, Finn tugged Challenger over to her and kissed him passionately. "Thanks again, Lover," she murmured. "That was one of the scariest things that's ever happened to me!"

"Worse than meeting Marguerite?" asked Ned, grinning at his presumed wit.

XXX

Zanga hunters found the clearing, saw the fallen branch, and were impressed by the force that had severed it. They examined the snake, and looked for tracks.

It was fairly obvious what had happened, and Jarl, husband of Assai, wanted to get back to their village with a deer that they had killed. It needed to be dismembered before the tropical heat ruined the meat.

One man kept gesticulating, wanting to find the white explorers. Jarl pointed to the sky, to the position of the sun, and the man reluctantly agreed to leave.

They left for their home, but Jarl, like his men, wondered why the whites had been in this part of the jungle, not far from the border of the cannibals. And why had they tried to conceal their tracks?

XXX

Two hundred yards away, Finn crouched in the branches of a tree overlooking the trail that led to the place where the snake had almost struck her. She looked through the lenses of her precise binocular and watched as Jarl and his three hunters set out for their village. She put her glass away and came quietly down the tree.

She told her friends what she had seen. Veronica agreed that the Zanga village lay on the route that she had seen the Indians take, and all breathed a sigh of relief.

"If we're asked later why we were here," said Challenger, "we can tell most of the truth and say that we went for copper, and were coming home through the cannibal country. There should be no need to mention the Amazons at all." Indeed, they had told Jarl early in their trek that they sought copper.

Veronica basically agreed, but said, "Unless we are asked, let's say nothing about being here."

"Agreed," answered Challenger. "Now, let's get home. I fancy sleeping in my own bed tonight, not on the trail."

"You can say that again, Genius," added Finn. "Snakes crawl on the ground, too, and I've had all the reptilian adventures that I want for one day."

As they walked, Ned Malone drifted back to Finn and asked,

"Are you really serious about doing commercial writing? Books and magazine articles?"

She looked at him in surprise. "Hell, yes, Ned! Did you think I was joking? I'd love to tell people about our jungle adventures, and I want to earn my money, even if we are rich with that treasure from the Tecamaya. I want to feel like I'm SOMEBODY, not just Mrs. Him." She jabbed a thumb toward Challenger. "I want that, too, of course. But I want to achieve on my own."

Ned nodded. "Okay, just making sure. I'll coach you as best I can, and you're doing well. In a month, I'll have you writing better than most new reporters. And I'll show you how writing books is different than writing for newspapers. It's the least that I can do for my great-great granddaughter." He colored at the admission that he was Finn's ancestor.

Finn stopped and astonished Malone by kissing him on the cheek. "Thanks, Ned. You don't know how much that means to me, Grandpa." She laughed, happy again after her adventure with the snake and the stress of the Zanga hunters.

Malone felt inordinately pleased, and walked with a spring in his step. Veronica looked at Finn, shook her head in amusement as Finn grinned back, and joined Ned. Veronica had decided to forgive Ned his tryst with the Amazon sisters, although it was going to feel strange having a best friend who was a descendant of her own mate. But somehow, it made her feel even closer to both Ned and to Finn. And that was kind of nice!

XXX

At the Treehouse, John Roxton and Marguerite Krux had finished weeding the garden and planting new crops.

Roxton drank from a jar of iced tea that they'd brought down in the elevator and said, "Thank God, that's done. I like to eat what we grow, but I can't say that this personal involvement makes me feel like a gentleman farmer. More like a sharecropper who's gotten a sore back from his labors."

"How bloody true," agreed his woman. "I'll be glad when Vee and Finnykins are back. They actually ENJOY this work. Just goes to prove that blondes lack real intellect. I, on the other hand, am perfectly capable of feeling normal revulsion for hard agricultural labor. Or any other labor, for that matter. "

Roxton smirked. "That's all right, Marguerite. You have other uses."

She blushed; surprised that she could still do so with her worldliness. But Roxton could make her do that, damn him. Her heart was already beating faster, just hearing him joke about having his way with her.

"Fancy a shower?" John asked. "I feel pretty sweaty. I'll wash your back if you'll wash mine."

"Lucky for you that Challenger isn't here," she teased, "to say that if we did that, we'd be an example of animals having a symbiotic relationship."

He looked puzzled. "You know," she explained. "Like the Cape buffalo and the tick bird. Where the bird eats the ticks off of the buffalo, and in turn warns the buffalo when danger is near.."

"I haven't ever seen any ticks on you," he answered, "but I'll be happy to check you quite thoroughly for them."

"John, damn it! I don't mean that I have ticks! I just mean that it's when one animal has a relationship with another that benefits both."

"So, if you lie down and open your legs and this leads to me slaking my lust, the pleasure that you get from it benefits you, too, eh?" He leered happily at her. "I could get to like this symbiotic relationship bit."

"Figures. You start out offering to wash my back, and next thing, your mind is on having sex. Men!" She shook her head in mock despair. "Oh, well, as long as you're dwelling on thoughts like that, we may as well get a little sweatier before we have that shower. But I definitely do want my back washed. Promise?"

"Agreed," said a happy Roxton. "Then, you can make lunch while I refill the water reservoir. The others will want a shower when they get home, too."

"Do you trust me to make lunch?" She looked genuinely anxious.

"Actually, yes," he responded. "Here lately, you've gotten rather good in the kitchen. Certainly good enough to manage the basics, and I quite like your cooking, for the most part. As much fun as you make of blondes, I must say that Finn and Veronica have done a good job of teaching you to cook."

"Maybe it's just a case of a brunette being a superior pupil," she retorted. "Joking aside, though, I do feel more feminine and empowered by being able to cook for you, and I take more pleasure from that than I ever thought that I would. Which the blondes predicted that I would. They were right, happily. This time..."

They stepped off of the elevator and Roxton set his rifle in the rack in the living room and tossed his hat on his favorite chair.

"Shall we get underway?', he asked. "We probably have only about three hours before we have to clean up and eat. Don't want to be caught in bed when the others return." He unbuckled her gun belt and laid the Smith & Wesson .38 in its holster on a table and began pulling her shirt from the waistband of her skirt.

Marguerite helped by unbuttoning the skirt and stepping out of it as he held her arm to steady her.

Roxton laid the skirt on top of the gun belt and stared at Marguerite's legs.

"What's the matter?" she demanded, looking down at herself.

"Not much that I can see," he declared. "Marguerite, I swear, those are quite probably the fnest legs that any woman ever grew!"

She snorted. "Flatterer! But don't stop; I'm quite willing to listen, even if I know that this is all blarney designed to get me into bed with you."

Roxton looked hurt. "Oh, it's intended to get me into your good graces, " he admitted, "but I also really believe the compliments that I give you. I mean them very sincerely. For the matter of that, I've heard the other men here say what they do to their ladies, and I think they're sincere, too. We are just fortunate to have three of the loveliest women on the face of the Earth living in this Treehouse."

She studied his face. "I think you do mean that. Thank you, John. That is really very sweet." She rose on tiptoe and kissed him. "Now, I think you'd better lead me to your den and ravish me at length before the other two loveliest ladies on Earth and their fellows return and cramp our style."

He looked at the large couch behind her. "We could just use that."

She shook her head. "No, the bed is larger and softer and just more intimate and more genteel. Let's go up."

And so, Roxton took her hand and led her to their room on the second floor.

As he sat on the bed, pulling off his boots, he looked at Marguerite and said, "Look here, you know that this isn't just lust. Marguerite, I do love you, more than I can express."

She laid her shirt on a chair, unclipped her lacy white bra and smiled at his expression as her breasts came free.

"I believe you, Lord Roxton, and it means the world to me to be able to say that." She walked over and took his boots and set them under a chair. She sat on his lap and kissed his lips, playing with his hair and ears. "Oh, John, I do love you so!"

He caressed her back, and they were soon rolling around in mutual delight, panting as they exchanged further endearments before he tossed her panties aside and lowered his head between her trim, velvet thighs and began tonguing her most intimate region.

"Oh, JOHN!" she gushed. "Keep that up and I'll grant you anything that your heart desires!"

"Lunch, then, made with your own hands. And I'll think of a few other things along the way."

He got a splendid meal later, and the rest of what he requested was given so freely and with such skill that he would recall this afternoon for the remainder of his days.

Marguerite even sang as she worked in the kitchen.

The Roxtons were sitting on the balcony, he cleaning guns and her sewing, when she looked out and saw their friends returning.

Roxton cleaned off his hands and confirmed their identity with his binocular, and the Roxtons washed up and put on water to boil for tea. Marguerite had baked some honey cakes, which she hoped would meet with the approval of her friends. It would certainly surprise them that she had cared enough to bake for them, and had taken the time!

But what Roxton's hands, tongue, and lips had done to her that afternoon, not to mention other portions of his anatomy, had left her so joyful that she had decided to astonish everyone and bake!

CHAPTER SIX

"Gad, am I glad to see home!" Finn was delighted to see the Treehouse looming above them.

"You can say that again," muttered a tired Veronica.

They dragged the travois over to the elevator and unloaded it, stacking the contents so that they could be easily stowed in the right places when they entered the Treehouse.

As the elevator opened, John Roxton greeted them, and helped Ned to store the copper as Challenger directed, in his lab.

Marguerite told them about tea being ready, and everyone sighed in pleasure. "I baked some little cakes, too," she shyly confessed.

Challenger's face lit up. "Is this a prank, or did you actually do that? I could go for some!" The term was an "Americanism" learned from Malone and the Anglo-Brazilian girls but such speech was now sometimes interchanged by the longtime friends.

Finn cautioned him that Marguerite's cakes might not be the equal of those baked by Veronica, but Roxton jumped to defend his woman.

"She truly outdid herself," he protested. "And it was so thoughtful of her to bake them."

Veronica was skeptical, and wanted a shower first, but Ned Malone reminded her that with the limited water, it would be best if they bathed by couples. "And I want some tea and cakes right now, before I starve on the way to the shower!"

She relented and helped Marguerite to serve.

All were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the cakes and the tea was naturally excellent, very reminescent of that grown on Ceylon.

"By Jove, Roxton!" exclaimed Challenger. "I am beginning to see why you want to marry this woman of yours!"

Roxton looked smug. "Oh, she has her uses." He looked at Marguerite in a way that caused her to blush scarlet.

"I hope that gardening has been one of those uses," commented Veronica dryly. "I can guess which other purposes you mean." She stuck out her tongue playfuly at Roxton. "You men are always so simple in your thoughts and desires."

"But John can be quite complex in the way that he carries out those thoughts," Marguerite said, and immediately blushed even redder.

Roxton leaned over and kissed her and took her hand. "This is the finest companion a man ever had," he declared. He looked at Marguerite and she dropped her eyes and glowed, basking in his obvious love and in his praise.

"Oh, I don't know," said Ned. "When I was 12, I had this really loyal collie dog..."

His woman snickered and said, "Hush, Neddy. They're in love, and they even did the gardening. I checked when we came in."
She turned to their brunette companion. "Marguerite, I take back what I said. These cakes are wonderful! Thank you so much for baking!"

Marguerite glowed even more and shyly held Roxton's hand on her lap. She had finally learned what it was like to do something worthy of her friends' praise and love, and she felt very good indeed inside, more than ever before in her life.

Finn predictably ensured that Challenger had more cakes and fresh tea, then they told the Roxtons their adventures.

Marguerite set aside her sarcastic, jaded attitude when she heard about the rattlesnake and told Finn how glad she was that tragedy had been avoided. "After all, Veronica and I'd have had to find someone else to swim with, and George would have to start waiting on himself again, if Finny had 'bought it' from that snake's venom!" She shuddered. Snakes were among her paramount dreads in the jungle

Later, showers and dinner finished, the couples had coffee and talked a little more before drifting off to bed.

Marguerite was again fulfilled with the thanks of everyone for the little cakes, and for her having had supper almost ready when they had returned.

XXX

That night, the Roxtons repeated pretty much what they done that afternoon, John first prevailing on Marguerite to pirouette nude for him before they retired to the bed for more lateral activity.

"I swear, Marguerite, you dance so sublimely that I have trouble deciding whether I'd rather see you move on the floor or in bed!"

"Let me offer you a further opportunity to compare my movements," she teased, completing a coital thrust as she contracted her vaginal muscles, Roxton's member within her.

He gasped with pleasure and that was how their evening went, until they slept in one another's arms. It was one of the most restful nights on the Plateau that John recalled, but part of that was because Marguerite had exhausted him in the hours before they slept.

At three in the morning, Marguerite rose and went down the hall to relieve herself. When she returned to bed, she slipped in quietly next to her love, kissing him before she snuggled next to him, where she slept a dreamless sleep, as content as she had ever been in her life.

XXX

The Malones were tired, but talked for a while before they slept.

"Neddy, that was awful, comparing Marguerite to that dog you had," joked Veronica.

"Yeah, well, she's been pretty 'doggy' herself over the years. There was a time when I didn't think I'd make it through another year without strangling her!"

"I understand, believe me," she agreed. "Hey: want to fool around? I've never been 'done' by a great grandfather before." Her eyes twinkled.

"I believe the definitive word is 'great,'" he jibed. "But aren't I great in bed all the time? You are." He kissed her eyelids, making her moan with growing passion as he played with her naked loins with his now talented hands. Her nipples hardened as he explored her lips with his tongue, his fingers now pulling gently on the nipples as they grew hard.

Veronica growled, and rolled Ned on his back and mounted him, cowgirl style. She rode him to her first orgasm. This position was among their favorites, letting her control her movements as he enjoyed the sight of her splendid body arcing atop him, able to reach her breasts, which he ignited with his tender, yet erotic touch. Sometimes, as tonight, he had her lean forward so that he could play with her hair and toy with her ears and the sensitive sides of her neck.

Later, he took her as Finn and Challenger had discussed that afternoon, "doggy style". Veronica had initially resisted being had in this position, but Finn had talked her into letting Ned "do" her that way.

"Ned needs to feel more masculine, Vee. Let him have you like that. I guarantee he'll be happier, and you'll feel more feminine. Lose control sometimes, and let your man feel like he's in charge. Besides, seeing your butt from that angle will turn him on so much that you won't have to even work it hard." All three girls had giggled on that note. The fact they had ingested quite a bit of rum punch no doubt contributed to that and, probably, to that entire conversation.

Veronica, blushing, had agreed, but asked whether Finn didn't feel self conscious, knowing that Challenger was looking at her in that position.

Finn had hugged herself and almost shivered, thinking about the matter. "George knows what to do to me so that I don't dwell on anything but thinking how I'm making him as happy as I know how. Anyway, he can reach you inside that way so that it will set you off like a holiday firecracker! I never feel quite so rawly female and desired as when he screws me that way. I had to work to get him to do it the first few times. He was afraid that it didn't show me enough respect. But when he realized how much it turned him on, too, we started do it quite a bit. Especially, when I can get him to play Slave Girl with me..."

Veronica had primly cleared her throat and changed the subject at that point, the men coming toward the kitchen where they were talking. She was embarrassed by Marguerite's knowing grin, too. But she had retained the thought, and had soon yielded to Ned's wishes in the matter. Now, she was glad that she had. Finn was right. It not only made Ned feel in charge; it reached parts of her that Veronica had never dreamed existed until she had bucked in ecstasy in that position. Finn told her that this was due to something called a "G-Spot" within her, easily aroused in that pose.

But she was primarily a basics girl, and loved ending a 'sack session' as Finn called making love, in the missionary position. Ned liked that, too, it letting them look into each others' eyes, as he clasped her to him. Even when she swung up her legs to hold him around the waist, Veronica loved it most when they had finished and Ned held her tenderly, praising her and telling her how much she meant to him. She felt so warm and fulfilled then...

Now, they lay together, Ned not having pulled out of her yet, kissing her lips, her eyelids, her neck. She purred, and carressed his back and played with his hair.

When they rolled over and cuddled, before they slept, she asked, feeling very exposed by the question, "Ned, how do I compare to those Amazon sisters? I mean, really. I have to know." She turned over and looked anxiously into his eyes.

"Baby, I don't compare you," he replied. "Just as well, too, because no other woman on Earth compares to you, anyway."
He held her, touching her gently until she slept.

Before Ned slept, too, his last thought was of how well the Amazon girls had in fact made love, especially Phoebe. She had been very talented, and the experience of a "threesome" was unique in Ned's life. It was stimulating in a way that he still cherished. But, he admitted happily, nothing was quite the same as making love to his own woman. If Veronica wasn't yet quite on par with Phoebe in some technical aspects, she was enthusiastic now, and there was something very satisfying (no pun intended) about having her. I guess that's love, he mused.

Then, he thought of how happy he was to find Veronica beside him when he woke each morning. That, he knew, surpassed anything that a whole tribe of Amazons might manage to offer him. Ned was smiling as he drifted off to sleep.

XXX

Ironically, the Challengers, despite their earlier discussion of Finn agreeing to be taken on her knees, were the least active couple that night.

They were tired, and Challenger's mind was half occupied with thinking of his conduction experiments. He was overjoyed to have more copper than he really needed, and he was pleased that they had gotten it and returned safely from this latest jaunt.

Finn snuggled with him and they played around with their hands and with their lips, but she sensed that his mind was partially elsewhere. Fortunately, she realized that this normally meant only that his great wisdom was searching for the answer to some scientific question. She didn't take it personally, as most women would have, wondering if he was thinking of another wench.

And he did tell her enthusiastically of his plans. She listened avidly, honored that it should be her to whom this epic man talked of his inventions. And he managed to arouse her considerably as he toyed with her nipples as she talked.

"I'm probably the only broad on Earth who gets off on her guy playing with her boobs while he talks about conduction experiments," she thought, and suppressed a laugh.

"Play with my butt, Lover," she begged. "It gets me hot when you do that and talk about copper coils." She did snicker at that, but he smiled, and moved a hand to her shapely posterior, as requested. She purred as his fingers played with her flesh.

In time, she kissed him, cutting off his lecture, and he, realizing where he was and his woman's need, reacted as a man should.
He turned her onto her back and she swung her legs wide for him to enter and to probe her feminine depths, until she clenched her teeth and swung her legs up around him and begged him to go deep.

When he did and began to move back and forth in long thrusting strokes, she mewed with pleasure, hugging Challenger like there was no tomorrow.

But when she climaxed, she didn't press for more, just the gradual decline of raw passion to the point that they eventually lay in one another's arms talking. kissing, whispering endearments of the sort that made her a happy woman.

Finally, she recalled their earlier conversation on the trail and said, "Oh my gosh, George! I forgot! Do you still want me on my knees? I'm really pretty tired. Give me a rain check? I'll wake you to a great start of the day, I swear!" She examined his eyes, hoping that he was tired, too.

He was, but they managed to stay awake long enough to discuss the visit of the Amazons.

"How do you like being Ned's great-great-great grandchild, giving or taking one generation? I feel quite sure that he is your ancestor, he and Phoebe." He was genuinely curious.

"Genius, this has just totally floored me! I had no idea that boring old Ned was ever in a threesome, let alone that I would be the eventual result! But I like Ned, and I like her, too. I think that Phoebe and I could get to be good friends. In fact, I hope that we will. It looks as if I'll even be able to get along with that cocky slut, Hippolyta. I really thought that I or Marguerite was going to have to shoot her ass." She flushed, remembering Challenger's inhibitions and gentleman's viewpoint of what was proper for a lady to say. "I'm sorry, Genius. Just smack my butt for my potty mouth." She rolled over on her tummy, and Challenger laughed and halfheartedly spanked her a few strokes.

She giggled, thinking that tomorrow afternoon, she would coax him to play Headmaster and Naughty Schoolgirl. Then, her spanking would be more emphatic, probably with a ping-pong paddle, and lead to other things, when they were more rested. Her heart beat faster, just thinking of that.

Then, as he held her again and talked, she told him that she felt that if anything, her revealed relationship with Ned would bring them closer.

"I think I'll be closer to Vee, too," she speculated. "We are already best friends, but with this new relationship, I feel closer to Ned and to Veronica. Hell, I'm their relative! I'll always be closer to you, though, than to any other human, unless it's our children."

He chuckled softly. He kissed her eyelids as she made a happy sound, then moved his lips to her breasts. "We haven't got any children," he pointed out.

"Keep kissing my boobs like that, and we're probably going to have," she purred. She shifted her loins, rolling so that both of her legs clasped one of his.

"I love you, Genius," she murmured, already half asleep.

"If you try really hard, with all of your strength, you may be able to love me half as much as I love you," he informed her.

"Mmmm..." she replied. "When we wake up, I'll convince you that I go the whole distance, George. No halfway loving for this chick."

He kissed her, then rolled on his back, leaving his leg within her clutches. She had him by the heart: why not by the leg?

He thought back over the Amazon affair, trying not to be sidetracked by his plans for that copper. Finally, he leaned over to her face, looking at her expression as she slept.

He kissed Finn's nose and brow, her closed eyes, and each cheek before he withdrew.

"Good night, fair Princess," he murmured. "You may be Amazon Royalty, but I am going to give you a better time in life than you'd know in any palace on this accursed Plateau. You deserve it. You are a woman worthy of me, George Challenger. That sets you apart among women. And I feel blessed for your presence and for your love. Ned may be glad to have learned your genetic secret, but I have benefitted far more from your arrival. For the first time in my life, I feel whole. Who knows what I may accomplish with you by my side, helping me to achieve my best?"

And he slept the rest of a gratified man.

The End