Chapter 13: Hunting

It turned out that there was a spare seat on the afternoon flight to London, but Derek was disappointed to find that Shafiqa was not the one of the stewardesses. Before leaving, Derek enquired further about the hunt; the Ambassador advised him that this was no holds barred full scale traditional English hunting, but in Kobekistan. An outfit of hunting pink was an absolute requirement for him and he was instructed in the etiquette of the chase. He was not a Kobekistani and so must not be in the forefront of the hunt, but should trail a decent distance behind the Emir, or whoever was the Acting Master of Hounds. He was only an outside visitor, so he should not participate in the 'kill' unless specifically invited to do so, though he might watch his betters take their turns with the 'quarry'.

An Englishman transported to Kobekistan and not forewarned might be forgiven for being confused by this hunt meet. The men, to be sure, were mostly of Arab appearance but that was to be expected in this country. They were mounted on superb horses, but that too was to be expected, since their forebears had been nomadic and were experts in breeding fine horseflesh. The costumes were perfect fitting absolutely correct pink, but Kobekistan was a rich country and the outfits were mostly made in Saville Row.

The first surprise was the hounds. They were hounds, it is true, but not foxhounds; the Emir's kennels contained the largest pack of pure-bred Irish Wolfhounds anywhere in the world. The chances of a fox against these pursuers would be slim indeed, but there were no foxes in Kobekistan. If our hypothetical Englishman were to follow the hunt until he caught a glimpse of the quarry, he would be even more surprised to see that it was over four feet at the shoulder, had little or no fur, except the great mane on its head, and used only two legs. It would be difficult to discern any other details against the rough country through which they hunted as its markings were an almost perfect camouflage. The dogs, of course, hunted more by scent than by sight, but men do not have that privilege.

If our man actually arrived in time to see the 'kill' he would discover that it could take two or more hours to deal with the quarry, once it was cornered. The protective camouflage would first be torn off, by the hunters, not by the dogs. This would reveal a naked more-or-less beautiful young woman, usually a concubine of whom the Emir had tired, but occasionally a slave bought specifically for the purpose. The 'kill' consisted of any established hunter who felt so inclined making use of any orifice he fancied for as long as he chose. When all had been satisfied in some esoteric order of precedence which involved seniority as well as order of arrival at the kill, then the woman was returned to the harem from which she had come, sometimes to be brought back to fitness for another hunt, but usually to be put up for sale.

The contest between hunters and quarry was not entirely one-sided, however. The woman was given an hour's start, a map of the hunting enclosure, and was tutored beforehand in the arts of evading capture. Any quarry not caught two hours after the hunt moved off had won the unbelievably valuable prize of her freedom and an annuity to live quietly in Europe, or America, or indeed anywhere else outside the Emirate she chose for the rest of her natural life. Perhaps only one or two percent succeeded in escaping capture, but the Emir was a man of honour and observed the prize rules scrupulously, with the result that there were nine such women alive at the time Derek was invited to attended the hunt.

Of course, the down side of being hunted by a pack of dogs was that sometimes the quarry was injured, though rarely by the dogs; the usual injuries were broken arms or legs during the chase. The dogs were well schooled and although they were very frightening, as they stood slavering and snarling round a fallen quarry, they never bit a human. Any dog which did so would have been destroyed immediately.

The hunt took place over a purpose-built enclave some three miles by four with the triple palace in the south-west corner. The natural features of the area had been adapted and the foothills to the north of the Golden Palace formed a natural boundary. A small river flowed from the hills in a sweeping reverse curve to the side of the palace and could be crossed easily only at one point, where there was a ford. Groves of trees had been planted on either side of the river and at the northern end an artificial swamp had been made, complete with reeds and mud-holes. In the east, just below the foothills an area about a mile across was artificially drained and the topsoil had been replaced by sterilised sand to make a small artificial desert. This was kept drained and the water was used to maintain the swamp. The south-east quarter of the enclosure was a triangle about two miles by one of open grassland where tall grass had been planted and was kept well fertilised. The whole area was enclosed by a double twelve-foot high chain link fence topped with razor wire which served to keep the quarry in and unwanted animals out.

Paths went from the meet to the ford, where two paths separated, the right hand one going through the thickest part of the woods and then skirting the outside of the desert and turning back west through the foothills to finish at an artificial lake which was fed by a small waterfall. It was not possible to cross this water barrier with a horse unless the traveller returned to the ford some two miles down stream, or nearly four miles away on horseback. The other branch of the path crossed the ford and meandered in two branches up to the swamp, where they rejoined having passed on either side of two low wooded hills. After crossing the swamp on a narrow route which was precarious on horseback, though relatively easy on foot, the path returned to the stream and turned north to the foot of the waterfall, past the entrances to some promising caves on the hillside. The path again turned west and wound its way through the foothills until eventually turning north and reaching the boundary fence after passing near some more caves.

One of the caves in the complex actually went through the hills and although the hunters knew about this, it was impassable to a horse, and so provided a way of gaining some twenty minutes for a hunted woman who could slip through the hill while her pursuers had to go round. The dogs would not go through either, since there was a barrier of chemical, which repelled them but which humans could not smell, artificially maintained about half way through. The woods provided places where a woman or the dogs could pass, but a horseman could not pass because of the density of the undergrowth. The swamp also allowed of passage on foot, but not mounted without serious risk of losing a horse. In the twenty-odd years since the enclosure had been created it had grown into a well varied hunting ground which gave the quarry some excellent chances of escape.