"Zach Hughes - Mother Lode" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hughes Zach)

"Okay, but I want half. You've made a million. Three more trips at, say,
a total of four or five million and you won't be hurting."

"A third or nothing."

"Okay." He stood up. Mop made his begging sound, wanting to be
noticed. Denton patted his head. "Too bad, Moppy, I thought maybe we'd
be shipmates."

He was halfway out the open hatch before Erin said, "All right, damn it.
Half."

He turned. "It's not that I'm greedy. It's just that I hate working
twelve-on and twelve-off."

"Sure."

"How soon do you want to leave?"
 "Now."

"A couple of weeks. That's the best I can do."

"Two days, three at the most."

"I'll do my best, but even with the prospect of being quite rich I'm not
going to just close down a business I've busted my—back to build."

"I won't be unreasonable, but I won't wait weeks."

"You were going to tell me why the rush."

"Sit," she said, punching in the holo-tape that showed the first view of
Old Smiley.

The import of what he was seeing hit him with the holos of her cleaning
the skull. He waited until a close-up filled the viewing area. "Old?"

"I'm no expert. A million years, maybe."

"And you haven't reported it."

She shook her head.

"So that's the rush."

"I figured another few months, a year, wouldn't matter. It isn't as if
Smiley is a threat to the security of mankind."

"Ummm."