Tiger By The Tail

Tux came along the passage, humming under his breath. Ken caught sight of him through the half-open door. His fingers tightened on the neck of the bottle.

Johnny had also heard Tux coming and had hastily shut his door.

Tux paused outside Johnny's door, attempted to turn the key, but finding it unlocked, he abruptly stopped humming.

Ken watched him through the crack between the hinges end of the door and the door-post. He held his breath as Tux suddenly jerked out a snubnosed automatic from inside his coat.

Tux turned the handle and kicked the door wide open.

Over his shoulder, Ken could see Johnny backed up against the opposite wall, his face waxen.

"Hello, Johnny," Tux said softly. "Who unlocked the door?"

"How do I know?" Johnny said hoarsely, staring at the gun. "Maybe O'Brien forgot to lock it. What does it matter? I'm leaving, anyway."

"That's right," Tux said, and he slipped the gun back into his hip pocket. "You're going on a hell of a long journey."

Ken began to creep across the passage towards him.

The boss is sick of you, Johnny, and I don't blame him," Tux said. "I've got a barrel for you and a snug-fitting cement overcoat."

"You wouldn't do that to me I" Johnny gasped, his eyes bolting out of his head. "O'Brien wouldn't stand for it! Keep away from me I"

Ken jumped forward and aimed a violent blow at Tux's head with the bottle, but Tux was too quick for him. He heard Ken's movement behind him and the swish of the descending bottle and he ducked sideways.

The bottle crashed down on his right shoulder, making him stagger. Fragments of glass and whisky exploded over him.

Cursing, his arm momentarily numbed, Tux spun around.

More frightened that he had ever been before, Ken swung a wild, hard punch at Tux's head, but Tux slipped the punch and caught Ken under the heart with a jarring left jab that staggered him.

Johnny made a rush for the door, but Tux kicked out, catching Johnny above the knee, bringing him down.

Before Tux could get his eyes back on Ken, Ken had jumped in close and grabbed his arms. It was like catching hold of a gorilla. Tux threw him off with a heave of his massive shoulders. He jumped away and set his back against the cabin wall.

Johnny scrambled up and backed away while Ken stood by the door, staring at Tux.

"So you've found a pal," Tux said, his small eyes gleaming viciously. "Well, okay, the barrel's big enough to take you both." His hand whipped behind him and reappeared holding a short stabbing knife. "Who's first?"

Both Ken and Johnny recoiled at the sight of the knife and Tux grinned. He began to edge forward.

Ken snatched up the chair and thrust it at Tux. One of the legs narrowly missed Tux's face as he ducked under it, and he cursed; catching hold of the chair leg with his left hand, he tried to pull Ken on to the knife blade.

He was too strong for Ken, and to prevent himself being pulled forward, Ken had to let go of the chair.

Tux tossed the chair away and darted forward. Ken hit out blindly, and his fist crashed into Tux's face as the knife flashed.

Ken had no idea how he avoided the thrust. He felt the blade cut into his coat and he twisted sideways. He fell against Tux, grabbed hold of Tux's knife wrist with both hands and threw his whole weight on Tux's arm. "Get him!" he shouted frantically to Johnny, who, instead of going to Ken's help, tried to reach the door. As he shoved past the struggling men, Tux grabbed him by the throat with his left hand and pinned him against the wall.

It was as much as Ken could do to control Tux's right arm. He hung on, his Angers squeezing Tux's fingers against the knife handle, trying to make him drop it.

Tux hooked his leg around Ken's, heaved and upset Ken, sending him sprawling on the floor. He tried to hang on to Tux's wrist, but the fall broke his hold.

Tux swung around on Johnny and again the knife flashed, but in falling, Ken had grabbed hold of Tux's trousers cuff and he jerked with all his strength, bringing Tux over backwards on top of him.

Johnny kicked violently at Tux's head. The toe of his shoe smashed against Tux's temple, and for a second or so Tux went limp, the knife falling from his hand.

Ken grabbed the knife and threw it across the room, shoved Tux away from him and scrambled up on hands and knees.

Tux was up at the same time. Blood ran down his face from a cut on the temple where Johnny had kicked him. His face was convulsed with murderous rage.

Before Ken could get out of the way, Tux belted him in the face with a half-arm punch that sent Ken over on his back, but Johnny had snatched up the chair and crashed it down on Tux's head and shoulders.

Johnny suddenly seemed to have found some courage. His white, thin face was as murderous and as vicious as Tux's now. He hit Tux again, driving him to his knees as Ken rolled away and staggered to his feet.

Tux tried to shield his face with his arms as he came off the floor, but Johnny battered his arm down and again hit him on the top of his head with the chair.