"robert asprin - 06 - little myth marker" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asprin Robert)

(Grunk, I think his name was) was easily two heads
taller than me and had bright red eyes, canines almost as
long as my forearm, and a nasty disposition. He tended
to speak in an angry shout, and the fact that he had been
losing steadily had not mellowed him in the slightest.

"Well? C'mon! What have you got?"

I turned over my four hole cards, spread them next to
the five already face up, then leaned back and smiled.

"That's it?" Grunk said, craning his neck and scowl-
ing at my cards. "But that's only ..."

"Wait a minute," the player on his left chimed in.
"It's Tuesday. That makes his unicorns wild."

"But it's a month with an 'M' in it!" someone else
piped up. "So his ogre is only half of face value!"

"But there's an even number of players...."

I told you it was a complicated game. Those of you
who know me from my earlier adventures (blatant
plug!) may wonder how it is I understand such a com-
plex system. That's easy. I don't! I just bet, then spread
the cards and let the other players sort out who won.

You may wonder what I was doing sitting in on a cut-
throat game of dragon poker when I didn't even know
the rules. Well, for once, I have an answer. I was enjoy-
ing myself on my own for a change.

You see, ever since Don Bruce, the Mob's fairy god-
father, supposedly hired me to watch over the Mob's in-
terests at the Bazaar and assigned me two bodyguards,
Guido and Nunzio, I've rarely had a moment to myself.
This weekend, however, my two watchdogs were off
making their yearly report to Mob Central, leaving me
to fend for myself. Obviously, before they left, they
made me give my solemn promise to be careful. Also
obviously, as soon as they were gone, I set out to do just
the opposite.

Even aside from our percentage of the Mob's take at
the Bazaar, our magic business had been booming, so
money was no problem. I filched a couple thousand in
gold from petty cash and was all set to go on a spree
when an invitation arrived to sit in on one of the Geek's
dragon poker games at this club, the Even-Odds.