"Asimov Isaac - Gold, The Final Science Fiction Collection" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asimov Isaac)

Calumet Smithson sat in his arm chair, his eagle-eyes sharp and the nostrils of his thin high-bridged nose flaring, as though he could scent a new mystery.
He said, ДWell, Mr. Wassell, tell me your story again from the beginning. Leave out nothing, for one canТt tell when even the smallest detail may not be of the greatest importance.У
Wassell owned an important business in town, and in it he employed many robots and also human beings.
Wassell did so, but there was nothing startling in the details at all and he was able to summarize it this way. ДWhat it amounts to, Mr. Smithson, is that I am losing money. Someone in my employ is helping himself to small sums now and then. The sums are of no great importance, each in itself, but it is like a small, steady oil loss in a machine, or the drip-drop of water from a leaky faucet, or the oozing of blood from a small wound. In time, it would mount up and become dangerous.У
ДAre you actually in danger of losing your business, Mr. Smithson?У
ДNot yet. But I donТt like to lose money, either. Do you?У
ДNo, indeed,У said Smithson, ДI do not. How many robots do you employ in your business?У
ДTwenty-seven, sir.У
ДAnd they are all reliable, I suppose.У
ДUndoubtedly. They could not steal. Besides, I have asked each one of them if they took any money and they all said they had not. And, of course, robots cannot lie, either.У
ДYou are quite right,У said Smithson. ДIt is useless to be concerned over robots. They are honest, through and through. What about the human beings you employ? How many of them are there?У
ДI employ seventeen, but of these only four can possibly have been stealing.У
ДWhy is that?У
ДThe others do not work on the premises. These four, however, do. Each one has the occasion, now and then, to handle petty cash, and I suspect that what happens is that at least one of them manages to transfer assets from the company to his private account in such a way that the matter is not easily traced.У
ДI see. Yes, it is unfortunately true that human beings may steal. Have you confronted your suspects with the situation?У
ДYes, I have. They all deny any such activity, but, of course, human beings can lie, too.У
ДSo they can. Did any of them look uneasy while being questioned?У
ДAll did. They could see I was a furious man who could fire all four, guilty or innocent. They would have had trouble finding other jobs if fired for such a reason.У
ДThen that cannot be done. We must not punish the innocent with the guilty.У
ДYou are quite right,У said Mr. Wassell. ДI couldnТt do that. But how can I decide which one is guilty?У
ДIs there one among them who has a dubious record, who has been fired under uncertain circumstances earlier in his career?У
ДI have made quiet inquiries, Mr. Smithson, and I have found nothing suspicious about any of them.У
ДIs one of them in particular need of money?У
ДI pay good wages.У
ДI am sure of that, but perhaps one has some sort of expensive taste that makes his income insufficient.У
ДI have found no evidence of that, though, to be sure, if one of them needed money for some perverse reason, he would keep it secret. No one wants to be thought evil.У
ДYou are quite right,У said the great detective. ДIn that case, you must confront me with the four men. I will interrogate them.У His eyes flashed. ДWe will get to the bottom of this mystery, never fear. Let us arrange a meeting in the evening. We might meet in the company dining room over some small meal and a bottle of wine, so the men will feel completely relaxed. Tonight, if possible.У
ДI will arrange it,У said Mr. Wassell, eagerly.

Calumet Smithson sat at the dinner table and regarded the four men closely. Two of them were quite young and had dark hair. One of them had a mustache as well. Neither was very good looking. One of them was Mr. Foster and the other was Mr. Lionell. The third man was rather fat and had small eyes. He was Mr. Mann. The fourth was tall and rangy and had a nervous way of cracking his knuckles. He was Mr. Ostrak.
Smithson seemed to be a little nervous himself as he questioned each man in turn. His eagle eyes narrowed as he gazed sharply at the four suspects and he played with a shiny quarter that flipped casually between the fingers of his right hand.
Smithson said, ДI'm sure that each of the four of you is quite aware what a terrible thing it is to steal from an employer.У
They all agreed at once.
Smithson tapped the shiny quarter on the table, thoughtfully. ДOne of you, I'm sure, is going to break down under the load of guilt and I think you will do it before the evening is over. But, for now, I must call my office. I will be gone for only a few minutes. Please sit here and wait for me and while I am gone, do not talk to each other, or look at each other.У
He gave the quarter a last tap, and, paying no attention to it, he left. In about ten minutes, he was back.
He looked from one to another and said, ДYou did not talk to each other or look at each other, I hope?У
There was a general shaking of heads as though they were still fearful of speaking.
ДMr. Wassell,У said the detective. ДDo you agree that no one spoke?У
ДAbsolutely. We just sat here quietly and waited. We didnТt even look at each other.У
ДGood. Now I will ask each one of you four men to show me what you have in your pockets. Please put everything into a pile in front of you.У
SmithsonТs voice was so compelling, his eyes so bright and sharp, that none of the men thought of disobeying.
ДShirt pockets, too. Inside jacket pockets. All the pockets.У
There was quite a pile, credit cards, keys, spectacles, pens, some coins. Smithson looked at the four piles coldly, his mind taking in everything.
Then he said, ДJust to make sure that we are all meeting the same requirements, I will make a pile of the contents of my own pockets and, Mr. Wassell, you do the same.У
Now there were six piles. Smithson reached over to the pile in front of Mr. Wassell, and said, ДWhat is this shiny quarter I see, Mr. Wassell. Yours?У
Wassell looked confused. ДYes.У
ДIt couldnТt be. It has my mark on it. I left it on the table when I went out to call my office. You took it.У
Wassell was silent. The other four men looked at him.
Smithson said, ДI felt that if one of you was a thief, you wouldnТt be able to resist a shiny quarter. Mr. Wassell, youТve been stealing from your own company, and, afraid you would be caught, you tried to spread the guilt among your men. That was a wicked and cowardly thing to do.У