"Mack Reynolds - Ability Quotient" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reynolds Mack)

He stumbled to the kitchen and, lacking imagination, ordered the same
dishes he had eaten at lunch. He managed to get down three steaks this
time. The nausea had largely disappeared after the first few bites of hot
food.

He went back into the study, irritation growing in him by the minute,
and sat down at the desk phone screen. He activated it and said,
"Professor Ralph Marsh."

"The number is restricted. Who is calling, please?"

He grunted sarcastically. These people were really exclusive. "Albert
Alshuler."

"You name is listed. Thank you."

"It had better be," he growled.
 Marsh's face faded in. By the grain, he was evidently on his pocket
phone and from the appearance of his image, evidently in a moving
vehicle.

"Yes, Alshuler?"

Bert said, "Look. The booze in this apartment. Somebody's put a
mickey in it."

"Mickey?"

"Somebody's poisoned it. I took a slug a few hours ago and bang,
passed out. I still feel a little sick."

The other was staring at him. "But that's impossible!"

"Great. And here I stand, wasting my time telling you fairy stories, eh?"

"How do you feel now?"

"Better. I got some food into my stomach."

Marsh thought about it, his plump face pouting. "Well, I'll go over it
with you in the morning. I'd suggest you don't drink anything more before
then."

Bert looked at him in disgust and switched the phone off.

He awoke at first dawn, opened one eye to take a look at the light,
growled and turned over again.

But there was no sleep in him. Too much was pounding away in his