"070 (B079) - The Devil Genghis (1938-12) - Lester Dent" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

Moreover, there was nothing but air over his head.

It was so strange that a legend was at once made up about it, and will probably go down through time to puzzle and awe future generations of little innuks.

Kummik, the Eskimo, kept jumping around and wielding his spear. He fought a great battle right there among the igloos, surrounded by astounded Eskimos. He fought for hours. He seemed unaware of the other Eskimos, and he did not call on them for help. He went at it on his own. He would jab with his spear, leaping up. Then he would retreat, holding his spear ready, and suddenly stab again with all his might.

It was comical; but nobody laughed.

The expression on Kummik's face kept anyone from laughing. The expression was horrible. It consisted of rage, desperation and utter terror.

Kummik's fight was so real, but nothing was there for him to fight.

Kummik never uttered a word.

There probably is not a primitive people who do not believe an invisible devil drops around to haunt them occasionally. In the case of these Eskimos, this undesired fellow was an evil spirit called Tongak.

The existence of Tongak had been vaguely discussed at times by the Eskimos, and he'd been used as bogey man to frighten little innuks out of wandering off bear hunting with their toy spears.

But here was a grown man fighting Tongak, the evil spirit.

"What will we do about this?"

Decision was simple. Only Kummik saw Tongak, so the spirit devil must be after Kummik alone. Better let him have Kummik. Better stop Kummik from fighting the devil, before the devil got aggravated about it. Better cooperate with the devil, and please him, in hopes he would go away.

So the other Eskimos grabbed Kummik, tied him hand and foot, and left him.

Sure enough, very soon the Tongak got Kummik's spirit, and went away to Eskimoland again. At any rate, Kummik died.

An American doctor, skeptical about Tongak, would have said Kummik froze to death.


AN American doctor would have done something with Kummik that was probably more terrible than what his fellow Eskimos did to him.

An American doctor would have put Kummik in an insane asylum. Like the English doctors did to Fogarty-Smith, for example.

Fogarty-Smith was an aviator, and a capable one, who had a reputation for brave flying, as well as being known as the man who at one time held the England to Australia speed flying record. He was a tall, quiet man, well-liked.

It was Fogarty-Smith's job to fly supplies to the English weather observing station on the arctic ice pack in the far north. There was currently an international epidemic of arctic weather observing, and the ice pack station was England's contribution. Fogarty-Smith flew food and fan mail up to the meteorologists.

One gloomy day, Fogarty-Smith took off from the ice pack weather station to fly back to England. He left in his plane. Fourteen hours later, Fogarty-Smith came back to the weather station - on foot.

He had his clothes. He didn't have his plane. The behavior of Fogarty-Smith completely confounded and horrified the arctic weather station
personnel, from head meteorologist to newspaper correspondent.

But then, the same kind of behavior had confounded the Eskimos.

There seemed to be nothing in the air for Fogarty-Smith to be fighting, either.

He had saved some cartridges for his pistol. He shot those away at nothing overhead. He began hurling his empty gun at whatever it was. He would throw the gun as hard as he could, then rim and get it and throw it again.