"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 13 - Eye of the Zodiac" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

"Before we can go anywhere," said Dumarest. "We need the
money."


***

They all needed money, the men who worked on the project,
contract slaves killing themselves with labor to pay an
ever-expanding debt. Men who had accepted an advance, spent
money on clothes, drinks, luxury foods. They had tried to recoup
by gambling and had lost. They stood in the middle of the hut,
watching with envious eyes as others, luckier or more sensible,
played with cash they still could call their own.

The lure of easy money, a fortunate win which would enable
them to pay off what they owed, accumulate a little more, get a
stake with which to beat the system. Some managed it, the
majority did not. They would work until they died, the victims of
speed-accentuated risks, of haste-compounded errors. Fools who
had walked willingly into a trap.

Elg Sonef was not one of them. He was a big man, squat, his
face seamed, the knuckles of both hands scarred, the spatulate
fingers surprisingly deft as he manipulated the deck of cards.
Every hut held one of his kind, the man who ran the game, who
used fists and feet to collect and to maintain his monopoly.

"The more you put down the more you pick up," he droned.
His voice was harsh, rasping, careless of the exhausted men
trying to sleep in the double-tiered bunks. "Come on, lads, why
hesitate? The canteen has a new consignment of liquor and you
get paid in two days time. A little luck and you could take your
pick of the seraglio. Why wait for luxuries?" Cards riffled from
his fingers. "Make your bets. Even money on any choice."

The game was high, low, man-in-between, a simple game with
simple rules. A cloth was spread on the table divided into three
sections, each section with three parts. A card was dealt face up
before each of the three main sections and players bet on
whether it would be the highest, lowest or, the one between the
others in value. Duplicates canceled out the middle. If all values
were alike they paid high.

Sonef was playing by his own rules, ignoring relative odds and
ensuring that, with all sections covered, he had a high
advantage. An advantage increased by his own skillful dealing.

Dumarest watched, a little amused, wondering how the
players could have been so gullible. At his side Leon said,
wistfully, "Earl, we could double our stake in a few minutes with