He paused and glared as his fist with the needle-gun moved slowly from side to side. "But if it's your ball of gristle that comes back, I'll just be a bit disappointed. And when I'm disappointed, there's no telling what I'll do. I just might be disappointed and mad enough to fire this needle-gun into the crowd, and there isn't a thing in the world any of you can do to stop me from clenching my fist ten times. So if there are ten of you bored with living, just hope that your boy beats Lucky Starr."
Bigman waited there desperately, his right hand holding the needle-gun, his left arm crooked over the V-frog in its container. He longed to order Summers to bring the two men back, to end the fight, but he dared not risk Lucky's anger. He knew Lucky well enough to know that the fight couldn't be allowed to end by default on Lucky's side.
A figure whizzed past the line of sight, then another. There was a crash as of a body hitting a wall, then a second and a third. Then silence.
A figure drifted back, with a second gripped firmly by one ankle.
The person in control came lightly out into the corridor; the person being held followed and dropped like a sack of sand.
Bigman let out a shout. The man standing was Lucky. His cheek was bruised and he limped, but it was Armand who was unconscious.
They brought Armand back to consciousness with some difficulty. He had a lump on his skull resembling a small grapefruit, and one eye was swollen closed. Though his lower lip was bleeding, he managed a painful smile and said, "By Jupiter, this kid's a wildcat."
He got to his feet and threw his arms about Lucky in a bear hug. "It was like tangling with ten men after he got his bearings. He's all right."
Surprisingly, the men were cheering wildly. The V-frog transmitted relief first, swallowed up at once by excitement
Armand's smile widened, and he dabbed at the blood with the back of his hand. "This councilman is all right. Anyone who still doesn't like him has to fight me, too. Where's Red?"
But Red Summers was gone. So was the instrument he had dropped at Bigman's order.
Annand said, "Listen, Mr. Starr, I've got to tell you. This wasn't my idea, but Red said we had to get rid of you or you'd make trouble for all of us."
Lucky raised his hand. "That's a mistake. Listen, all of you. There'll be no trouble for any loyal Earthman. I guarantee it. This fight is off the record. It was a bit of excitement, but we can forget it. Next time we meet, we all meet fresh. Nothing's happened. Right?"
They cheered madly and there were shouts of "He's all right" and "Up the Council!"
Lucky was turning to go when Armand said, "Hey, wait." He drew in a vast breath and pointed a thick finger. "What's this?" He was pointing to the V-frog.
"A Venusian animal," said Lucky. "A pet of ours."
"It's cute." The giant simpered down at it. The others crowded close to stare at it and make appreciative comments, to seize Lucky's hand and assure him that they had been on his side all along.
Bigman, outraged at the shoving, finally yelled, "Let's get to quarters, Lucky, or I swear I'll kill a few of these guys."
There was an instant silence and men squeezed back to make a path for Lucky and Bigman.
Lucky winced as Bigman applied cold water to the bruised cheek in the privacy of their quarters
He said, "Some of the men were saying something about needle-guns in that final crush, but in the confusion I didn't get the story straight. Suppose you tell me, Bigman."
Reluctantly Bigman explained the circumstances.
Lucky said thoughtfully, "I realized that my controls were off, but I assumed mechanical failure particularly since they came back after my second fall. I didn't know you and Red Summers were fighting it out over me."
Bigman grinned. "Space, Lucky, you didn't think I'd let that character pull a trick like that?"
"There might have been some way other than needle-guns."
"Nothing else would have frozen them so," said Bigman, aggrieved. "Did you want me to shake my finger at them and say, 'Naughty, naughty?' Besides, I had to scare the green bejeebies out of them."
"Why?" Lucky said sharply.
"Sands of Mars, Lucky, you spotted the other guy two falls when the fighting was fixed, and I didn't know if you had enough left to make out. I was going to make Summers call the fight off."
"That would have been bad, Bigman. We would have gained nothing. There would have been men convinced the cry of 'foul' was an unsportsmanlike fake."
"I knew you'd figure that, but I was nervous."
"No need to be. After my controls started responding properly, things went fairly well. Armand was certain he had me, and when he found there was still fight in me, the fight seemed to go out of him. That happens sometimes with people who have never had to lose
When they don't win at once, it confuses them, and they don't win at all."
"Yes, Lucky," said Bigman, grinning.
Lucky was silent for a minute or two, then he said, "I don't like that 'Yes, Lucky.' What did you do?"
"Well-" Bigman applied the final touch of flesh tint to hide the bruise and stepped back to consider his handiwork critically-"I couldn't help but hope that you'd win, now could I?"
"No, I suppose not."
"And I told everyone in that place that if Armand won, I would shoot as many of them as I could."
"You weren't serious."
"Maybe I was. Anyway, they thought I was; they were sure I was after they saw me needle four buttons off that cobber's shirt. So there were fifty guys there, even including Summers, who were sweating themselves blind hoping you would win and Armand lose."
Lucky said, "So that's it."
"Well, I couldn't help it if the V-frog was there and transmitted all those thoughts to you too, could I?"
"So all the fight went out of Armand because his mind was blanketed with wishes he would lose." Lucky looked chagrined.
"Remember, Lucky. Two foul falls. It wasn't a fair fight."
"Yes, I know. Well, maybe I needed the help at that."
The door signal flashed at that moment, and Lucky raised his eyebrows. "Who's this, I wonder?" He pressed the button that retracted the door into its slot.
A chunky man, with thinning hair and china-blue eyes that stared at them unblinkingly, stood in the doorway. In one hand he held an oddly shaped piece of gleaming metal, which his limber fingers turned end for end. Occasionally the piece ducked between fingers, traveling from thumb to pinkie and back as though it had a life of its own. Bigman found himself watching it, fascinated.
The man said, "My name is Harry Norrich. I'm your next-door neighbor."
"Good day," said Lucky.
"You're Lucky Starr and Bigman Jones, aren't you? Would you care to come to my place a few minutes? Visit a bit, have a drink?"
"That's kind of you," said Lucky. "We'll be glad to join you."
Norrich turned somewhat stiffly and led the way down the corridor to the next door. One hand touched the corridor wall occasionally. Lucky and Bigman followed, the latter holding the V-frog.
"Won't you come in, gentlemen?" He stood aside to let them enter. "Please sit down. I've heard a great deal about you already."
"Like what?" asked Bigman.
"Like Lucky's fight with Big Armand and Bigman's marksmanship with a needle-gun. It's all over the place. I doubt there's anyone on Jupiter Nine who won't hear of it by morning. It's one of the reasons I asked you in. I wanted to talk to you about it."
He poured a reddish liquor carefully into two small glasses and offered them. For a moment Lucky put his hand some three inches to one side of the glass, waited without result, then reached over and took it from Norrich's hand. Lucky put the drink to one side
"What's that on your worktable?" asked Bigman.