by Nick Carter
"What is it?" I asked, hearing the awe in my own voice. "This is the yeti?"
"It is the yeti, or at least it will do as the yeti," the monk answered. "The legend of the yeti is a thousand years old, and this creature is but some twenty years, but who am I to say he is not a reincarnation of the original yeti?"
"Don't be so modest," I said. "This is what killed the patriarch Leeunghi and the others and almost killed me."
"This creature is a product of forces you in the Western world do not understand," Ghotak said. "Only here in the East do we recognize that there is more that happens which cannot be explained than that which can be explained. As often, the women in the mountain lands, when their sexual appetites can no longer be held back, have used animals. This is so in the lands of the West, also."
He was right, of course. Not so much these days but once, the practice was far more widespread than authorities would admit.
"A Sherpa woman used a pet bear she had on her mountain farm," Ghotak said. "I was but a seminarian then, but I would visit the woman's farm. In the strange ways of nature, a child was conceived and borne by the woman who immediately tried to throw it off a cliff. Even a few hours old it was a creature too horrible to gaze upon. I took the child and brought it here and kept it alive. As I saw it grow, and saw it was more wild than human, I had the cage built and brought here by a team of European engineers. I was quick to see what a valuable asset I had in my reincarnation of the yeti, whom your people call the abominable snowman."
"And this… this thing obeys you?" I asked.
"After a fashion," he answered. "I let him out and he roams the mountains, killing and devouring animals and humans he can catch. But, with his limited intellect and highly developed instinct, he always returns. I always leave more meat for him in the cage. When he takes the meat, the door drops shut and he is imprisoned."
"Suppose he turns on you when you let him out?" I asked. The monk shrugged. "A remote danger. His rudimentary intellect is enough to tell him I am instrumental in his existence. You must remember, he is part human."
"A damned small part," I grunted. The creature hadn't stopped its high-pitched screams but merely lowered them to a snarling, guttural sound. I looked into its eyes and saw the burning orbs of a vicious animal. Ghotak stepped behind me and with a knife he produced from inside his robes, cut my wrist bonds and instantly stepped to the door of the cage, his hand on a chain that would pull up the door.
"You can start to run," he said. "You have a chance to escape the yeti. Sporting of me, is it not?"
"Tremendously sporting of you," I said. "Why?"
"Because I want you found slain in the mountains. I want the Sherpas as they travel through the mountains to find you and the yeti's tracks. It is especially important that you be so found."
"Thanks, sport," I said. He obviously hadn't a thought in the world that I could get away from the creature or slay it instead. I looked at the thing again and I had to agree with his reasoning. He started to raise the door.
"A last thing," he said. "I am very aware that you are armed. You no doubt carry the revolver and the small knife you gave to the girl before you fought the cobra. They will be useless to you. The yeti's skin is as tough as an elephant's hide."
I saw his arm pull down and the door begin to rise. Talking time was over. It was definitely running time, and I started to run, putting every bit of speed I had into it. I started down the trail, slipping and sliding and falling. I could hear the creature emerge, his high-pitched scream now echoing in the wind. He was catching up to me with ridiculous ease. The trail had leveled off to where one side of it was a steep drop over the edge of a cliff. Looking back, I saw that the creature walked upright in a kind of shuffling, bear-like gait. I saw a tall rock, dropped out of sight behind it, and waited.
The creature came shuffling forward, past the rock. I dived, hitting the creature from the side with a perfect tackle. I drove with every ounce of power in my body, slamming into him with the force of at least three good tackles. It did knock his leg out from under him and he went down with a roar, but I missed sending him off the edge of the cliff. He was flat on his back for a moment and I aimed a kick at the one spot where it might most quickly bring him up short. But the creature turned a powerful leg and took my kick on its thigh. It rose to a crouch and saliva dripped from its bared fangs, but it was in a perfect position for a right cross. I couldn't resist the chance and I swung with all my shoulder muscles behind the blow. I felt the blow land and send sharp pains up my arm. The creature merely sprang up and tried to strike me with a tremendous swing of one arm. I ducked and felt the wind of it as the blow just missed my head. He tried another but I was fast enough to backtrack. I saw a rocky series of steps against the cliff and bounded up them, cutting my knees and legs as I slipped and stumbled. The last rock was near enough to the edge of an overhanging ledge so that I could just reach it and pull myself up. I brought my body up over it and lay there for a second, gathering my strength and thoughts. I peered over the side and saw him coming after me. Below was the narrow ledge and below that a series of jagged rocks.
I had climbed up to the overhang with a desperation I could never muster under ordinary circumstances, but the creature was bounding up after me with the effortless, powerful agility of a bear. I knew that to run further would only delay the inevitable. He'd catch up to me, somewhere, and I'd be caught by one of those sweeping arms, ripped apart in minutes by the huge clawed hands. I couldn't outrun him here in these icy, rocky mountains, and no human could outfight him. I yanked Wilhelmina out of the holster and shifted the gun to my left hand. Then I let Hugo drop into my palm. I had but one chance and this was the place for it. It would be dirty and nasty, but it was the only thing that stood between life and the death of AXE Agent N3. I lay down on the ledge, facing the edge of the overhang. I waited, every muscle tight and tensed. Ghotak would be on his way back by now, supremely confident that all was over. He could damn well be right, I knew.
The gray-white hairs first appeared over the ledge, then one clawed hand gripped the edge of the overhang. The horrible snout-faced countenance came next, the huge canine teeth jutting from its mouth. The clawed hands were both on the ledge now, pulling the huge body up. I shot one arm forward with Hugo held outstretched, plunging the stiletto deep into the creature's eye. The yeti screamed, its huge mouth opening wide. It was the moment I'd counted on. I fired the Luger three times, sending three slugs into the open mouth of the creature. The slugs Ghotak said could not penetrate the thick skin slammed into the soft inside of the mouth, tearing great holes and penetrating into the base of the skull.
The blood-curdling screams abruptly stopped and the creature clung there, its head turning sideways, and I saw a strange expression suddenly come into its remaining eye — a look of human sadness. It opened its mouth again, this time soundlessly, and I saw its clawed hands digging deeply into the snow of the ledge, still trying to pull itself up. The damn tiling was inhuman in every respect. I fired Wilhelmina again, sending another slug into its gaping mouth, and now blood spurted from the creature, from its mouth, its ears and even its eyes. I saw the clawed hands go limp, and it slid from the edge. I leaned over to watch the huge body hit the narrow ledge below, bounce off it and hurtle down onto a series of jagged rocks, finally to hang on one in the stillness of death. Slowly, it slipped from the rock and fell into the snow.
I climbed down to where it lay and stood over it in awe. If either of these clawed hands had ripped into me I'd be dead. I took hold of one foot and began to drag it after me. When the going got too hard, I pushed it down ahead of me until I found a place where I could pull it along. Finally, my arms aching, I reached the plain approaching the village, and I dragged the lifeless trophy behind me. Each step grew harder but now I met wide-eyed natives who ran off to tell others and in minutes I had a crowd marching alongside me, excitedly jabbering and pointing in awe to the yeti. I noticed that, though it was plainly dead, no one offered
to help me pull the thing. I didn't blame them. Even dead it could scare the straw out of a scarecrow. I marched down the streets and headed for the temple and Ghotak.
Tremendously sporting of you," I said. "Why?"
"Because I want you found slain in the mountains. I want the Sherpas as they travel through the mountains to find you and the yett's tracks. It is especially important that you be so found."
"Thanks, sport," I said. He obviously hadn't a thought in the world that I could get away from the creature or slay it instead. I looked at the thing again and I had to agree with his reasoning. He started to raise the door.
"A last thing," he said. "I am very aware that you are armed. You no doubt carry the revolver and the small knife you gave to the girl before you fought the cobra. They will be useless to you. The yett's skin is as tough as an elephant's hide."
I saw his arm pull down and the door begin to rise. Talking time was over. It was definitely running time, and I started to run, putting every bit of speed I had into it. I started down the trail, slipping and sliding and falling. I could hear the creature emerge, his high-pitched scream now echoing in the wind. He was catching up to me with ridiculous ease. The trail had leveled off to where one side of it was a steep drop over the edge of a cliff. Looking back, I saw that the creature walked upright in a kind of shuffling, bear-like gait. I saw a tall rock, dropped out of sight behind it, and waited.
The creature came shuffling forward, past the rock. I dived, hitting the creature from the side with a perfect tackle. I drove with every ounce of power in my body, slamming into him with the force of at least three good tackles. It did knock his leg out from under him and he went down with a roar, but I missed sending him off the edge of the cliff. He was flat on his back for a moment and I aimed a kick at the one spot where it might most quickly bring him up short. But the creature turned a powerful leg and took my kick on its thigh. It rose to a crouch and saliva dripped from its bared fangs, but it was in a perfect position for a right cross. I couldn't resist the chance and I swung with all my shoulder muscles behind the blow. I felt the blow land and send sharp pains up my arm. The creature merely sprang up and tried to strike me with a tremendous swing of one arm. I ducked and felt the wind of it as the blow just missed my head. He tried another but I was fast enough to backtrack. I saw a rocky series of steps against the cliff and bounded up them, cutting my knees and legs as I slipped and stumbled. The last rock was near enough to the edge of an overhanging ledge so that I could just reach it and pull myself up. I brought my body up over it and lay there for a second, gathering my strength and thoughts. I peered over the side and saw him coming after me. Below was the narrow ledge and below that a series of jagged rocks.
I had climbed up to the overhang with a desperation I could never muster under ordinary circumstances, but the creature was bounding up after me with the effortless, powerful agility of a bear. I knew that to run further would only delay the inevitable. He'd catch up to me, somewhere, and I'd be caught by one of those sweeping arms, ripped apart in minutes by the huge clawed hands. I couldn't outrun him here in these icy, rocky mountains, and no human could outfight him. I yanked Wilhelmina out of the holster and shifted the gun to my left hand. Then I let Hugo drop into my palm. I had but one chance and this was the place for it. It would be dirty and nasty, but it was the only thing that stood between life and the death of AXE Agent N3. I lay down on the ledge, facing the edge of the overhang. I waited, every muscle tight and tensed. Ghotak would be on his way back by now, supremely confident that all was over. He could damn well be right, I knew.
The gray-white hairs first appeared over the ledge, then one clawed hand gripped the edge of the overhang. The horrible snout-faced countenance came next, the huge canine teeth jutting from its mouth. The clawed hands were both on the ledge now, pulling the huge body up. I shot one arm forward with Hugo held outstretched, plunging the stiletto deep into the creature's eye. The yeti screamed, its huge mouth opening wide. It was the moment I'd counted on. I fired the Luger three times, sending three slugs into the open mouth of the creature. The slugs Ghotak said could not penetrate the thick skin slammed into the soft inside of the mouth, tearing great holes and penetrating into the base of the skull.
The blood-curdling screams abruptly stopped and the creature clung there, its head turning sideways, and I saw a strange expression suddenly come into its remaining eye — a look of human sadness. It opened its mouth again, this time soundlessly, and I saw its clawed hands digging deeply into the snow of the ledge, still trying to pull itself up. The damn tiling was inhuman in every respect. I fired Wilhelmina again, sending another slug into its gaping mouth, and now blood spurted from the creature, from its mouth, its ears and even its eyes. I saw the clawed hands go limp, and it slid from the edge. I leaned over to watch the huge body hit the narrow ledge below, bounce off it and hurtle down onto a series of jagged rocks, finally to hang on one in the stillness of death. Slowly, it slipped from the rock and fell into the snow.
I climbed down to where it lay and stood over it in awe. If either of these clawed hands had ripped into me I'd be dead. I took hold of one foot and began to drag it after me. When the going got too hard, I pushed it down ahead of me until I found a place where I could pull it along. Finally, my arms aching, I reached the plain approaching the village, and I dragged the lifeless trophy behind me. Each step grew harder but now I met wide-eyed natives who ran off to tell others and in minutes I had a crowd marching alongside me, excitedly jabbering and pointing in awe to the yeti. I noticed that, though it was plainly dead, no one offered to help me pull the thing. I didn't blame them. Even dead it could scare the straw out of a scarecrow. I marched down the streets and headed for the temple and Ghotak.
Chapter VIII
Ghotak had sounded the temple bells and called his followers, and as I approached, dragging the creature behind me, I saw his guards dash inside in excited alarm. I left the creature at the bottom of the temple steps and took them two at a time. I glanced back to see Khaleen coming on the run. I waved to her and entered the low-roofed meeting hall at the rear of the temple. Ghotak's men had alerted him, and as I made for the stage, he pulled the revolver from beneath his robes and fired at me. It was a move I hadn't expected, and the first shot sent a splinter of wood from the wall an inch from my head. I hit the floor and the second shot winged past harmlessly. Ghotak's move told me he knew the game was over. There was no longer any pretense at being the lofty holy man before his people. The shots had sent the crowd racing for the exits and I looked up past rushing forms to see Ghotak disappearing at the back of the stage where it led into the temple itself. I vaulted the platform and went after him. His men seemed uncertain, unsure of what to do. I saw two of them leap down and flee with the crowd. One tried to bar my way. He lunged at me, and I cracked his jaw with a sharp right cross. He went down, a sprawling blue bundle. I ran through the narrow passage linking the temple with the meeting hall. I heard my name called, and I halted to see Khaleen running up after me. She ran into my arms and we embraced for a moment.
"Get out of here," I said. "Ghotak will be desperate. He might do anything."
"You go," she said, stepping back. "I will follow. You may need me."
I hadn't time to argue with her. Besides, I knew her tradition-minded stubbornness made it imperative she be here.
"Stay back," I yelled as I ran forward into the temple. I had the thing wrapped up if I didn't let Ghotak slip through my fingers. With these people and their superstitions and ancient beliefs, he could start the whole bit over again. Besides, the bastard had had four tries at killing me. I deserved a shot in return, and I was going to make mine stick.
The temple was silent, and I halted, listening. I heard scurrying footsteps and saw one of the blue-shirted figures racing up from a small stairway at one side of the building. He wanted no part of me and raced for the doors. I let him go. I wasn't interested in the small-fry, the hired hands. I headed for the stairs and glanced ba
ck as I started down. I saw Khaleen coming up, and from the open doors of the temple I saw a blonde head appear. I headed down the stairs. A shot creased my shoulders as I reached the bottom step, and I fell backwards and lay still a moment. It wasn't followed by another, and I pulled myself up to see that I was in a large, wood-beamed cellar with statues of various deities lining the walls. I caught a flash of saffron at the far end of the room and Ghotak stepped into view. He aimed his revolver at me and I ducked. I heard the dull click of a hammer hitting an empty chamber. I got up and headed for him. He tossed the gun away and stood waiting for me. My hands opened and closed in eager anticipation, and I was halfway across the room when the floor opened beneath me, and I plunged down. I looked up in time to glimpse Ghotak's arm reaching behind him, pressing a wall panel, and then I was on my hands and knees on a dirt floor. I heard a door open and slam shut and the monk's voice echoed back in wild laughter. The trap door hung open some ten feet over my head. There was no possible way to reach it.
