"Gordon R. Dickson - Time to Teleport" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dickson Gordon R)

and he smiled to himself. He had thrown his weight in the wrong direction at the wrong time for Sellars.
Now the natural suspicions of the others would fight against their cupidity. A more powerful Sellars might
be risked for the increase of power they themselves would gain.But a possible Sellars-Eli combination?
Not if they knew it.

So Eli smiled. But abruptly the smile faded, to be replaced by a scowl.

"You're a damn quixotic fool," he murmured to himself. "Why the hell didn't you keep out of it?"

2

The offices belonging to Underseas formed one of the smaller suites and were well removed from even
the larger committee rooms. This, combined with the fact that business was still theoretically in process in
the main council room, led to their being deserted at this particular hour, with the single exception of a
secretary at work in the outer office.

"See that we aren't disturbed, Kara," Eli told her, as he and Kurt entered the outer office and he led the
way, with his swift limp across to the half-open door that led to his inner office that was his own.

"Yes, Eli." She looked up, her dark, somewhat angular features important with a message. "Poby
Richards—"

"That's all right," said Eli. "I've spoken to him, Kara."

He led the way on into the private office and shut the door. Leading the way past the half-open aperture
of a sliding panel that opened on a little adjoining room fitted with couch and lavatory, he came to the
large, impressively paneled desk that was standard spokesman furniture. The desk was equipped to do
everything but measure him for a new suit of clothes; and during all the seven years of his residence in this
office, he had scarcely used a tenth of the gadgets installed in it. Now, as he came up to it, he punched
buttons with recklessness.

A piny scent swept through the office, a murmur of woodland music crept out on the air and the desk,
like a dutiful patient sticking out his tongue for a physician, thoughtfully protruded a small but complete
bar from one end of itself.

"How about a drink, Kurt?" asked Eli.

"Why I suppose so," said Kurt, a little surprised. It was the first time such an invitation had ever been
extended to him by Eli. "I almost never…"

Eli sighed a little.

"Neither doI any more," he said. "There was a time when I never expected to run out of thirst. But it's
odd, somewhere along the way I seem to have lost it. Well"—he turned brisk—"we'll have one anyway.
The occasion calls for it."

And he proceeded to make himself busy with the materials in the bar.

Kurt chuckled.
"You did a nice job."