"George O. Smith - The Fourth 'R'" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith George O)

—4—
CHAPTER ONE

James Quincy Holden was five years old.
His fifth birthday was not celebrated by the usual horde
of noisy, hungry kids running wild in the afternoon. It
started at seven, with cocktails. They were served by his
host, Paul Brennan, to the celebrants, the boy's father and
mother. The guest of honor sipped ginger ale and nibbled at
canapés while he was presented with his gifts: A volume of
Kipling's Jungle Tales, a Spitz Junior Planetarium, and a
build-it-yourself kit containing parts for a geiger counter
and an assortment of radioactive minerals to identify.
Dinner was served at eight, the menu selected by Jimmy
Holden—with the exception of the birthday cake and its five
proud little candles which came as an anticipated surprise
from his “Uncle” Paul Brennan.
After dinner, they listened to some music chosen by the
boy, and the evening wound up with three rubbers of
—5—
bridge. The boy won.
They left Paul Brennan's apartment just after eleven
o'clock. Jimmy Holden was tired and pleasantly stuffed with
good food. But he was stimulated by the party. So, instead
of dropping off to sleep, he sat comfortably wedged
between his father and mother, quietly lost in his own
thoughts until the car was well out of town.
Then he said, “Dad, why did you make that sacrifice bid
on the last hand?” Father and son had been partners.
“You're not concerned about losing the rubber, are
you?” It had been the only rubber Jimmy lost.
“No. It's only a game,” said Jimmy. “I'm just trying to
understand.”
His father gave an amused groan. “It has to do with the
laws of probability and the theory of games,” he said.
The boy shook his head. “Bridge,” he said thoughtfully,
“consists of creating a logical process of play out of a
random distribution of values, doesn't it?”
—6—
 “Yes, if you admit that your definition is a gross
oversimplification. It would hardly be a game if everything
could be calculated beforehand.”
“But what's missing?”
“In any game there is the element of a calculated risk.”
Jimmy Holden was silent for a half-mile thinking that
one over. “How,” he asked slowly, “can a risk be