From beneath his parka he drew his long blue automatic. After examining
its clip, he laid it down on the sled with two other clips beside it.
Then he drew the two knives also from his belt; the one he had secured
at the time of the street fight in Vladivostok, the other had belonged
to the Chukche who had attacked him. For the twentieth time he noted
that they were exactly alike, blade forging, hilt carving, and all. And
again, this realization set him to speculating. How had this brace of
knives got so widely separated? How had this one found its way to the
heart of a Chukche tribe? Why had the Chukches attempted to murder the
Japanese girl and himself? Had it been with the hope of securing wealth
from their simple luggage, or had they been bribed to do it? Once more
his brain was in a whirl.

But there was business at hand. The black spot had developed into a
reindeer, driven by a man. How many were following this man Johnny could
not tell.




CHAPTER IV

A NARROW ESCAPE


As Johnny stood awaiting the arrival of the stranger, many wild
misgivings raced through his mind. What if this man was but the
forerunner of the whole Chukche tribe? Then indeed, for himself and the
Japanese girl things were at an end.