"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 20 - Web of Sand" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

protect a fool from his own folly?

Dumarest knew better. The drunk was no fool but a man
working with the dealer, acting the drunk to set up the crowd.
There would be others and he spotted them, a plump man who
would later lead the betting and another who stood ready to take
care of any trouble. Dumarest edged toward him as the
mercenary took his chance.

"A hundred!"

"Your money—"

"On the card!" Santis lifted his hand to reveal the coin resting
on the pasteboard. A certain bet which others could have made
but had allowed suspicion and natural reluctance to hold them
back. The only certain bet they could have made. "I win?"
 "You win." The dealer was phlegmatic. Sometimes a smart
bastard moved in but it could help prime the other punters for
the kill. He frowned as Santis repeated the maneuver. "Another
hundred?"

"Five." The mercenary met his eyes. "I win again, yes?"

"He wins!" Kemmer yelled from where he stood in the crowd.
"His money was down. I saw it—we all saw it. Pay him."

"That's right." The plump man made the best of a bad job.
"His cash was down, I saw it." He turned his head and Dumarest
saw the signal he gave with a flick of the eyes. "Good for you,
Pop. You're on a winning streak."

One he was going to make certain would end. Like the actors
they were they swung into a well-rehearsed charade. The dealer,
taken with a sudden attack of coughing, dropped the cards and
turned, doubled, fighting for breath. Quickly the plump man
lifted the jester, displayed it and deliberately creased a corner.
When the dealer recovered, the cards were as he had left them.
Picking them up, he shuffled them, resuming his spiel.

"Find the jester and pick up double what you put down. No
money no winnings. Have your cash ready. Here we go!"

The switch had been neatly done. Knowing what to look for,
Dumarest failed to see it. The cards fell, the one with the creased
corner obviously the jester. Hands heavy with coins thrust
forward to take advantage of the plump man's obvious cheating.
None felt sorry for the dealer—hadn't he robbed the drunk?

Calmly he turned the card, revealed a deuce and swept up the