One he had overlooked, familiarity breeding contempt.
'The bonus,' reminded Dumarest. 'I'll take it now.'
He collected it all in cash, thick coins which weighted down his pocket, his eyes thoughtful as he walked from the cashier's office. It was time to disappear, to vanish like a stone thrown into water, to move on before it was too late.
He could catch a lift into the city, hope for a quick passage, hide if he had to wait. For a lone man it would be simple. Nyther would be annoyed, but he had received value for his money and would quickly forget. A casual worker who had turned down the offer of a good job-why be concerned when there were so many others to take his place? And, if he had the sense to contact the Hyead, his worries would be over.
The problem was the boy. Dumarest thought about him as he moved towards his hut. Caution dictated that he keep going, head for the road and flag a truck, bribe the driver if he had to, but in any case to keep moving. No one would bother him and no one would argue. Leon, Nyther, the whole mess and approaching danger of the works could be forgotten.
But the boy had not lied? Nerth-the name was a bait. A chance he could not afford to miss. Even if the planet offered but a single clue he had to find it. Find the location of the planet of his birth. His home world. Earth!
And, to find Nerth, he needed the boy. The name was too similar. Someone, somewhere would have heard of it, and yet it appeared in none of the almanacs he had studied. A mystery which had to be resolved.
He sensed the tension as soon as he entered the hut. A crowd was clustered around the table, men who should have been sleeping remaining awake, responding to the excitement, the mounting desperation. A sure sign that big stakes were being wagered, that someone had lost all restraint.
A man turned as Dumarest touched his shoulder. His face was flushed, annoyed.
'Earl, thank God you're here. The kid's in trouble.'
'Leon? What happened? Why did he play?'
'Nygas caught him dozing on duty. He broke a couple of ribs, I think. Anyway, he kicked him off the job. We strapped him up but he's unfit to work. I guess he hoped to make a stake.' The man scowled. 'Against Elg Sonef that's asking for a miracle. The kid doesn't stand a chance.'
Leon sat at the board, sweating, his face strained, his eyes distraught as he stared at the small heap of coins remaining in his pile. Sonef's voice was a rasping purr.
'You lose again, son. Too bad. Better luck the next time. What'll you take, high, low or man-in-between?'
'I-' Leon broke off as Dumarest reached down and covered his few coins. 'Earl!'
'You want in?' The gambler was unruffled. Big, unrestrained in his violence, he was fearless. 'You!' He pointed at one of the players. 'Move over. Make room for a real man. Cash down, Earl. Let's go!' He poised the cards.
'No.'
'You don't want to play?'
'Not this game. It's for kids. Let's try something else. Poker.'
'House dealing?'
'Do I look stupid?' Dumarest met the other's eyes. 'We deal in turn, no limit, five card draw.'
Sonef said, dangerously, 'Are you saying there's something wrong with the deal?'
'Did I say that?' Dumarest shrugged. 'Of course, if you're scared-'
'Like hell I'm scared!' The big man bristled. 'You name it and I'll play it.'
He'd been pressured and must have known it, but was unable to refuse the challenge. Big and tough though he was, previous losers could bear grudges and it took little strength to slip a blade into a sleeping man. He grunted as Dumarest sat, heaping coins before him, the glitter of his accumulated bonuses.
'Anyone else want to sit in?'
Two men accepted the invitation followed by a third, a pale man with slender hands who rarely played. Dumarest gave him one glance, recognized him for what he was and made his own, mental reservations. The two would play in partnership, operating a squeeze and manipulating the deal. Against them a normal player would have no chance.
Dumarest was not a normal player. Too often during the tedious journeys between the stars he had run the tables in the salons, providing a means to beguile the passengers traveling on High passage. These were the men and women drugged with quicktime, the magic compound which slowed their metabolisms so that, to them, hours passed as quickly as minutes. And there had been others, gamblers who had become friends and who had taught him the tricks of their trade.
Even so, it took time. The cards had to be stacked, the backs marked with slight indentations of a nail, a trick which if noticed by the others would be put down to each other. And the system of play had to be recognized and used against those who employed it.
Sonef was the lesser of the two, Lekard dangerously skillful. The other men were padding, caught up by the excitement, limited as to resources and quickly disposed of. Dumarest used them, adding to his pile, throwing in good hands when he knew that Sonef or Lekard would have given themselves better. Cautious play, as he waited for the moment he knew was sure to come.
Sonef grunted as the three were left in sole possession of the table. 'Now we can really get down to it Your deal, Lekard.'
The moment, Dumarest was certain of it. He watched as the cards fell, picked up his hand and looked at it. Three aces, a nine, and a deuce.
'I'll open.'
Sonef was to his left. 'I'll just double that, Earl. Lekard?'
'I'll stay.'
Not an obvious squeeze play, then, but that would come later. Dumarest met the raise and raised in turn. Sonef doubled, Lekard stayed, Dumarest raised again and was raised by Sonef. Lekard dropped out.
It was between the two of them, and Dumarest knew exactly what was intended. He frowned at his cards, apparently uncertain, a man tempted but a little afraid.
'Earl?'
Dumarest looked at his money. 'I'll raise,' he said. 'All of it. Table stakes, right?'
'No limit, Earl, that was what we agreed.'
From the circle of watchers a man growled, 'What the hell, Sonef, aren't you ever satisfied? You trying to buy the pot or what?'
Draw poker, no limit. A man with enough money would always win because he could put down more than his opponent could match. A risk Dumarest had taken, one lessened now that Lekard had dropped out. He could match the other's bet, but after? He knew what would happen after.
'Table stakes,' said another man from among the watchers. 'We always play that way. No limit, but you can't beat a man into the ground. I say meet his pile, draw, and show.'
'You're not playing,' snapped the gambler. 'So you just shut your mouth. Earl, if you want I'll accept your paper. Good enough?'
I.O.U's which would carry a high rate of interest. Registered with the company cashier, Dumarest would be working for the gambler until the debt was paid. Again he pretended to hesitate.
'Any amount?'
'As high as you want. And I'll meet it with cash.' Sonef, certain he would win, could afford to be generous. 'Hell, Earl, shove in the cash and I'll match it. Then we can draw. Fair enough?'
Dumarest nodded, waited until the money was placed, and looked again at his hand. Three aces. No normal player would do other than draw two cards hoping for a pair, or a fourth ace.
He said, 'Put down the deck, Lekard.'
'What?'
'Put it down.' Steel flashed as Dumarest lifted his knife and slammed the point through the pasteboards into the table beneath. To a man standing at his side he said, 'Pull them from the top. I want no seconds or bottoms- just deal them as they come.'
The man was uncertain. 'Elg?'
'Do it.' Sonef was confident. 'Just deal them as he says. How many do you want, Earl?'
Dumarest dropped the nine, the deuce and one of the aces. 'I'll take three.'
He heard the incredulous suck of breath from a man behind him, a kibitzer who had seen his hand, saw the
