"H. L. Gold - Trouble With Water" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gold H. L)

without benefit of either, he spread the cream on, patted it, and waited for his beard to soften.
did not, as he discovered while shaving. He wiped his face dry. The towel was sticky and blac
with whiskers suspended in paste, and, for that; he knew, there would be more hell to pay. H
shrugged resignedly. He would have to spend fifteen dollars for an electric razor after all; th
foolishness was costing him a fortune!
That they were waiting for him before beginning supper, was, he knew, only a gesture for t
sake of company. Without changing her hard, brilliant smile, Esther whispered: "Wait! I'll get yo
later—"
He smiled back, his tortured, slashed face creasing painfully. All that could be changed by h
being enormously pleasant to Rosie's young man. If he could slip Sammie a few dollars—mo
expense, he groaned—to take Rosie out, Es-ther would forgive everything.
He was too engaged in beaming and putting Sammie at ease to think of what would happ
after he ate caviar canapes. Under other circumstances Greenberg would have been repulsed b
Sammie's ultra-professional waxed mustache—an offensively small, pointed thing—and h
com-mercial attitude toward poor Rosie; but Greenberg regarded him as a potential savior.
"You open an office yet, Doctor Katz?"
"Not yet. You know how things are. Anyhow, call me Sammie."
Greenberg recognized the gambit with satisfaction, since it seemed to please Esther so muc
At one stroke Sammie had ingratiated himself and begun bargaining negotiations.
Without another word, Greenberg lifted his spoon to attack the soup. It would be easy to sna
this eager doctor. A doc-tor! No wonder Esther and Rosie were so puffed with joy.
In the proper company way, he pushed his spoon away from him. The soup spilled onto t
tablecloth.
"Not so hard, you dope," Esther hissed.
He drew the spoon toward him. The soup leaped off it like a live thing and splashed ov
him—turning, just before contact, to fall on the floor. He gulped and pushed the bowl away. Th
time the soup poured over the side of the plate and lay in a huge puddle on the table.
"I didn't want any soup anyhow," he said in a horrible attempt at levity. Lucky for him,
thought wildly, that Sam-mie was there to pacify Esther with his smooth college talk—not a ba
fellow, Sammie, in spite of his mustache; he'd come in handy at times.
Greenberg lapsed into a paralysis of fear. He was thirsty after having eaten the caviar, whi
beats herring any time as a thirst raiser. But the knowledge that he could not touch water witho
having it recoil and perhaps spill, made his thirst a monumental craving. He attacked the proble
cunningly.
The others were talking rapidly and rather hysterically. He waited until his courage was equal
his thirst; then he leaned over the table with a glass in his hand. "Sammie, do you mind—a lit
water, huh?"
Sammie poured from a pitcher while Esther watched for more of his tricks. It was to
expected, but still he was shocked when the water exploded out of the glass directly at Sammie
only suit.
"If you'll excuse me," Sammie said angrily, "I don't like to eat with lunatics."
And he left, though Esther cried and begged him to stay. Rosie was too stunned to move. B
when the door closed, Greenberg raised his agonized eyes to watch his wife stalk murderous
toward him.

Greenberg stood on the boardwalk outside his concession and glared blearily at the peacefu
blue, highly unpleasant ocean. He wondered what would happen if he started at the edge of t
water and strode out. He could probably walk right to Europe on dry land.
It was early—much too early for business—and he was tired. Neither he nor Esther had slep
and it was practically certain that the neighbors hadn't either. But above all he was incredib