Part 6 (2/2)

The light snapped out, and in the midnight darkness of that icy cavern the two grappled and fell.

Had Johnny been in possession of the full power of his left arm, the battle would have been over soon. As it was they rolled over and over, their bodies crus.h.i.+ng frozen bits of pay-dirt, like twin rollers. They struggled for mastery. Each man realized that, unless some unforeseen power intervened, defeat meant death. The Russian fought with the stubbornness of his race; fought unfairly too, biting and kicking when opportunity permitted. Three times Johnny barely missed a blow on the head which meant unconsciousness, then death.

At last, panting, perspiring, bleeding and bruised, Johnny clamped his right arm about his antagonist's neck and, flopping his body across his chest, lay there until the Russian's muscles relaxed.

Sliding to a sitting position, the American began feeling about in the dark. At last, gripping a flashlight, he snapped it on. The face of the Russian revealed the fact that he was not unconscious. Johnny slid to a position which brought each knee down upon one of the Russian's arms. He would take no chances with that man.

Slowly Johnny flashed the light about, then, with a little exclamation, he reached out and gripped the handle of the Russian's revolver.

”Now,” he mocked, ”now I have you, sir. Now I shall kill you, sir.”

He had hardly spoken the words when a body hurled itself upon him, knocking the revolver from his hand and extinguis.h.i.+ng the light.

”So. There are others! Let them come,” roared Johnny, striking out with his right in the dark.

”Azeezruk nucky.” To his astonishment he recognized the voice of Iyok-ok. What he had said, in Eskimo, was, ”It would be a bad thing to kill him,” meaning doubtless the Russian.

”Azeezruk adocema” (he is a bad one), replied Johnny, throwing the light on the sullen face of the Eskimo.

”Eh-eh” (yes), the other agreed.

”Then what in thunder!” Johnny exclaimed, falling back on English. ”He tried to kill me. Kill me! Do you understand? Why shouldn't I kill him?”

”No kill,” said the Eskimo stubbornly.

Johnny sat and thought for a full three minutes. In that time, his blood had cooled. He was able to reason about the matter. In the army he had learned one rule: ”If someone knows more about a matter than you do, follow his guidance, though, at the time, it seems dead wrong.”

Evidently Iyok-ok knew more about this Russian than Johnny did. Then the thing to do was to let the man go.

Before releasing him, he searched him carefully. Beyond a few uninteresting papers, a pencil, a cigaret case and a purse he found nothing. Evidently the revolver had been his only weapon.

As he searched the man, one peculiar question flashed through Johnny's mind; if the Russian had the envelope full of diamonds on his person, what should he do, take them or leave them? He was saved the necessity of a decision; they were not there.

”Now,” said Johnny, seating himself on a rusty pan, as the Russian went shuffling out of the mine, ”tell me why you didn't let me kill him.”

”Can't tell,” was Iyok-ok's laconic reply.

”Why?”

”Not now. Sometime, maybe. Not now.”

”Look here,” said Johnny savagely, ”that man has tried to kill me or have me killed, three times, is it not so?”

Iyok-ok did not answer.

”First,” Johnny went on, ”he induces the reindeer Chukches to try to kill me and furnishes them the knife to do it with. Eh?”

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