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?"

"Maybe."

"Second, he drops a harpoon into my igloo and tries to harpoon me and
blow me up."

"Maybe."

"And now he puts a revolver to my head and pulls the trigger. Still you
say 'No kill.' What shall I make of that?"

"Canak-ti-ma-na" (I don't know), said the Eskimo. "No kill, that's all."

Johnny was too much astonished and perplexed to say anything further.
The two sat there for some time in silence. At last the Eskimo rose and
made his way toward the entrance.

Johnny flashed his light about the place. He was looking for his sack of
gold. Suddenly he uttered an exclamation and put out his hand. What it
grasped was the envelope he had seen in the Russian's pocket at Wo
Cheng's shop, the envelope of diamonds. And the diamonds were still
there; he could tell that by the feel of the envelope.

Hastily searching out his now insignificant treasure of gold, Johnny
placed it with the envelope of diamonds in his inner pocket and hurried
from the mine.

Darkness again found him musing over a seal oil lamp. He was not in a
very happy mood. He was weary of orientalism and mystery. He longed for
the quiet of his little old town, Chicago. Wouldn't it be great to put
his feet under his old job and say, "Well, Boss, what's the dope
to-day?" Wouldn't it, though? And to go home at night to doll up in his
glad rags and call on Mazie. Oh, boy! It fairly made him sick to think
of it.

But, at last, his mind wandered back to the many mysteries which had
been straightened out not one bit by these events of the day. Here he
was traveling with two companions, a Jap girl and an Eskimo. Eskimo?
Right there he began to wonder if Iyok-ok, as he called himself, was
really an Eskimo after all. What if he should turn out to be a Jap
playing the part of an Eskimo? Only that day Johnny had once more come
upon him suddenly to find him in earnest conversation with the Jap girl.
And the language they had been using had sounded distinctly orien