{"product_id":"2940013691551","title":"The Nirvana of the Seven Voodoos","description":"Inch by inch, The GIANT figure in the leopard skin crept forward\u003cbr\u003ethrough the waving prairie grass. The fierce tropical sun beat down\u003cbr\u003emercilessly on the mighty shoulders, but a fresh easterly breeze\u003cbr\u003ecooled the bronze forehead. Ki-Gor froze momentarily and hugged the\u003cbr\u003eground, as a chorus of snorts and the thud of many sharp hoofs\u003cbr\u003estamping the turf told him that the quarry he was stalking was getting\u003cbr\u003euneasy. Ki-Gor cursed the inadequate little spear beside him, his sole\u003cbr\u003eweapon. It was a small, flimsy assegai the Pygmies had given him, and\u003cbr\u003eit was all but useless in the important business of hunting game. Not\u003cbr\u003eheavy enough to throw, not strong enough to kill anything bigger than\u003cbr\u003ea jackal.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut, weapon or not, game had to be killed today. Ki-Gor was hungry.\u003cbr\u003eHis nostrils twitched and his mouth watered as the breeze bore to him\u003cbr\u003ethe scent of his prey, the herd of white-throated wildebeests--the\u003cbr\u003egiant antelope of the East African plateau. With infinite caution he\u003cbr\u003eraised his head and peered through the swaying grass tops. Fifteen\u003cbr\u003efeet away, a young, full-grown buck stared suspiciously upwind toward\u003cbr\u003ethe rest of the herd. He was nearly five feet tall at his thick\u003cbr\u003eshoulders, and the coarse, matted hairs of his mane fell over but did\u003cbr\u003enot conceal the cruel horns that dipped downward from his forehead,\u003cbr\u003ethen upward and outward.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was going to be no easy task to subdue this creature barehanded,\u003cbr\u003ebut Ki-Gor was desperate. He and Helene had not eaten meat for over a\u003cbr\u003eweek, ever since they had left the friendly back of Marmo, the\u003cbr\u003eelephant, at the edge of the Congo jungle to trek on foot, ever\u003cbr\u003eeastward through the grassy uplands of East Africa. There had been\u003cbr\u003egame in plenty, but Ki-Gor had been remarkably unlucky in his hunting.\u003cbr\u003eFive times he had patiently stalked plump gazelles, only to be cheated\u003cbr\u003eout of his prey at the last minute by roving packs of wild dogs. On\u003cbr\u003etwo other occasions, he had lain hidden, after dark, beside water-\u003cbr\u003eholes, hoping to make a kill undisturbed by the dogs who would be\u003cbr\u003easleep. But each of those times he had found himself dangerously close\u003cbr\u003eto a half dozen lions, who apparently had the same idea. That many\u003cbr\u003elions was too much competition, and Ki-Gor had gone back to Helene\u003cbr\u003eempty-handed, and with a very empty stomach.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardly breathing, Ki-Gor slid forward another six inches through the\u003cbr\u003egrass. He must get that buck. For if he and Helene did not eat pretty\u003cbr\u003esoon, they would be so weakened from fasting, that they, too, would\u003cbr\u003efall prey to some prowling carnivores, and their bones would bleach on\u003cbr\u003ethe wind-swept veldt. Closer and closer to the gnu, the jungle man\u003cbr\u003ecrept. If only I had a fire-stick, Ki-Gor thought--rifles, Helene\u003cbr\u003ecalls them. They have a potent magic which kills at incredible\u003cbr\u003edistances.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut he had no rifle, only the toy spear of the Pygmies, so that he\u003cbr\u003emust be close enough to the gnu to be able to reach it in one spring.\u003cbr\u003eOnce the herd discovered him, even his powerful legs could never\u003cbr\u003eovertake them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCloser and closer, Ki-Gor crept, muscles tensed for action. Suddenly,\u003cbr\u003ethe herd upwind of him grew ominously silent. Something had disturbed\u003cbr\u003ethe gnus. Was it he? Had they discovered him? Again, he raised his\u003cbr\u003ehead to peer through the grass stalks. No, it wasn't he the antelopes\u003cbr\u003ewere worried about. They were all facing away from him, muzzles\u003cbr\u003eraised, testing the air. A few does danced about nervously, ready at\u003cbr\u003eany second to break into a headlong gallop. Ki-Gor decided it was now\u003cbr\u003eor never.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGathering his feet under him, he crouched on his haunches for one\u003cbr\u003eprecious moment. Then, noiselessly, he sprang. As he did, the entire\u003cbr\u003eherd jumped forward. Ki-Gor's leap carried just short of the young\u003cbr\u003ebuck's back--and the buck was going away. Desperately, Ki-Gor clutched\u003cbr\u003eat a flying hind hoof, and held on for dear life. The buck went down\u003cbr\u003ewith a crash. Instantly Ki-Gor leaped for its head and seized a horn\u003cbr\u003ewith each hand. The buck lunged upward, sharp hoofs scrambling. They\u003cbr\u003ewere levers in Ki-Gor's hands. Using all his mighty strength, he\u003cbr\u003etwisted the shaggy head viciously around. There was a tearing sound,\u003cbr\u003eand a snap. The gnu sank to the ground trembling--its neck broken.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47083147657456,"sku":"2940013691551","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013691551_p0.jpg?v=1763597247","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013691551","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}