"E. E. Doc Smith - Skylark 1 - Skylark of Space " - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

`I don't say anything I don't mean. I've done a lot of dirty work for you people and never
got much of anything out of it -I couldn't force you without exposing myself. But this time
I've got you where the hair's short and I'm going to collect. And you still can't kill me - I'm
not Ainsworth. Not only because you'll have to have me, but because it'd still send all you
big shots clear down to Perkins, to the chair, or up the river for life.'

`Please, DuQuesne, please don't use such language!'

`Why not?' DuQuesne's voice was cold and level. `What do a few lives amount to, as
long as they're not yours or mine? I can trust you, more or less, and you can trust me the
same, because you know I can't send you up without going with you. If that's the way
you want it, I'll let you try it without me - you won't get far. So decide, right now, whether
you want me now, or later. If it's later, the first two of those figures I gave you will be
doubled.'

`We can't do business on any such terms.' Brookings shook his head. `We can buy the
power rights from Seaton for less.'

`You want it the hard way, eh?' DuQuesne sneered as he
came to his feet. `Go ahead. Steal the solution. But don't give
your man much of it, not more than half a teaspoonful - I want

-20-
as much as possible of it left. Set up the laboratory a hundred
miles from anywhere - not that I give a damn how many people
you kill, but I don't want to go along - and caution whoever does the work to use very
small quantities of copper. Goodbye.'

As the door closed behind the cynical scientist, Brookings took a small instrument, very
like a watch, from his pocket, touched a button, raised it to his lips, and spoke. 'Perkins.'

`Yes, sir.'

M. Reynolds Crane has in or around his house somewhere a small bottle of solution.'

`Yes, sir. Can you describe it?'

`Not exactly.' Brookings went on to tell his minion all he knew about the matter. 'If the
bottle were only partly emptied and filled with water. I don't believe anybody would notice
the difference.'

`Probably not, sir. Good-bye:

Brookings then took his personal typewriter out of a drawer and typed busily for a few
minutes. Among other things, he wrote:

`. . . and do not work on too much copper at once. I gather that an ounce or two should
be enough ....'