Ron frowned. "What are you driving at?"
"Exactly this. I intend that if this ship reaches Callisto, I'll be the only man alive on it. On the other hand it may reach Earth; if it does, you'll be the only man alive on it, and you'll have my signed statement clearing both yourself and your brother."
Ron was listening. "Go on," he said.
Tarnuff indicated the pistols in Ron's belt. "Two identical atom pistols there. The Martian V'Nith—you have heard of it?"
Ron was suddenly tense, standing there; his brain was spinning with the idea. Yes, he had heard of it—the cunning dueling game which men like Tarnuff sometimes engaged in, mostly on the dark asteroids; the duel which called for the most infinite precision and cunning; in which the first mistake usually meant death.
Tarnuff was watching Ron shrewdly now; he saw his indecision; he said sharply:
"All or nothing, man! Get it over with quickly! After all, you've more to gain than I ... your brother's life and your own."
"Also more to lose," Ron muttered. He glanced around the control cabin. "But here, in the ship? How—"
"No, of course not here! One loose atomic bullet would blast through the hull. We combat outside, and only one of us will enter this ship again."