Nyther said, "I'll fix it for noon. I'll send word to your foreman to release you. By dusk you'll be ready for full-time duty. Health, Earl!"
Dumarest responded to the toast. Without knowing it, the guard chief had forced his decision. By noon he would have to be on his way.
Casually he said, "I'm grateful, Chief. Maybe I could do something for you. Are you willing to gamble an extra bonus?"
"A deal? Hell, Earl, once you start working for me-"
"I'm not working for you, Chief. Not yet, and a man has to get what he can, right?" Dumarest didn't wait for an answer. "For an extra bonus I'll tell you how to seal this place so no scavenger will have a chance. And all it will cost you is a few boxes of candy a day."
Nyther was shrewd. "The Hyead?"
"The bonus?"
"Yours, damn it. Take me for an idiot and you'll return it double." Nyther frowned as Dumarest explained. "Have they the brains for the job? Are they reliable?"
"They don't need brains just to watch and listen and the candy will keep them on the job. Arrange a meeting with one called Abanact-better still I'll do it for you. Put off the doc until tomorrow."
A day gained if the other agreed. As Nyther nodded Dumarest continued, "I'll need some candy, you can give me a chit for that, and some supersonic whistles. We can work out a simple code so they can give you the warning without alarming the thieves. Once arranged, you can cut down on the extra guards and use regular mobile patrols."
"And if it doesn't work?"
"You get the bonus back-double."
Nyther reached for the bottle. "Now why the hell couldn't I have thought of that? The Hyead-cheap and the damned things go everywhere. You've got a point, Earl."
One he had overlooked, familiarity breeding contempt.
"The bonus," reminded Dumarest. "I'll take it now."
He collected it all in cash, thick coins which weighted down his pocket, his eyes thoughtful as he walked from the cashier's office. It was time to disappear, to vanish like a stone thrown into water, to move on before it was too late.
He could catch a lift into the city, hope for a quick passage, hide if he had to wait. For a lone man it would be simple. Nyther would be annoyed, but he had received value for his money and would quickly forget. A casual worker who had turned down the offer of a good job-why be concerned when there were so many others to take his place? And, if he had the sense to contact the Hyead, his worries would be over.
The problem was the boy. Dumarest thought about him as he moved towards his hut. Caution dictated that he keep going, head for the road and flag a truck, bribe the driver if he had to, but in any case to keep moving. No one would bother him and no one would argue. Leon, Nyther, the whole mess and approaching danger of the works could be forgotten.
But the boy had not lied? Nerth-the name was a bait. A chance he could not afford to miss. Even if the planet offered but a single clue he had to find it. Find the location of the planet of his birth. His home world. Earth!
And, to find Nerth, he needed the boy. The name was too similar. Someone, somewhere would have heard of it, and yet it appeared in none of the almanacs he had studied. A mystery which had to be resolved.
He sensed the tension as soon as he entered the hut. A crowd was clustered around the table, men who should have been sleeping remaining awake, responding to the excitement, the mounting desperation. A sure sign that big stakes were being wagered, that someone had lost all restraint.
A man turned as Dumarest touched his shoulder. His face was flushed, annoyed.
"Earl, thank God you're here. The kid's in trouble."
"Leon? What happened? Why did he play?"
"Nygas caught him dozing on duty. He broke a couple of ribs, I think. Anyway, he kicked him off the job. We strapped him up but he's unfit to work. I guess he hoped to make a stake." The man scowled. "Against Elg Sonef that's asking for a miracle. The kid doesn't stand a chance."
Leon sat at the board, sweating, his face strained, his eyes distraught as he stared at the small heap of coins remaining in his pile. Sonef's voice was a rasping purr.
"You lose again, son. Too bad. Better luck the next time. What'll you take, high, low or man-in-between?"
"I-" Leon broke off as Dumarest reached down and covered his few coins. "Earl!"
"You want in?" The gambler was unruffled. Big, unrestrained in his violence, he was fearless. "You!" He pointed at one of the players. "Move over. Make room for a real man. Cash down, Earl. Let's go!" He poised the cards.
"No."
"You don't want to play?"
"Not this game. It's for kids. Let's try something else. Poker."
"House dealing?"
"Do I look stupid?" Dumarest met the other's eyes. "We deal in turn, no limit, five card draw."
Sonef said, dangerously, "Are you saying there's something wrong with the deal?"
"Did I say that?" Dumarest shrugged. "Of course, if you're scared-"
"Like hell I'm scared!" The big man bristled. "You name it and I'll play it."
He'd been pressured and must have known it, but was unable to refuse the challenge. Big and tough though he was, previous losers could bear grudges and it took little strength to slip a blade into a sleeping man. He grunted as Dumarest sat, heaping coins before him, the glitter of his accumulated bonuses.
"Anyone else want to sit in?"
Two men accepted the invitation followed by a third, a pale man with slender hands who rarely played. Dumarest gave him one glance, recognized him for what he was and made his own, mental reservations. The two would play in partnership, operating a squeeze and manipulating the deal. Against them a normal player would have no chance.
Dumarest was not a normal player. Too often during the tedious journeys between the stars he had run the tables in the salons, providing a means to beguile the passengers traveling on High passage. These were the men and women drugged with quicktime, the magic compound which slowed their metabolisms so that, to them, hours passed as quickly as minutes. And there had been others, gamblers who had become friends and who had taught him the tricks of their trade.
Even so, it took time. The cards had to be stacked, the backs marked with slight indentations of a nail, a trick which if noticed by the others would be put down to each other. And the system of play had to be recognized and used against those who employed it.
Sonef was the lesser of the two, Lekard dangerously skillful. The other men were padding, caught up by the excitement, limited as to resources and quickly disposed of. Dumarest used them, adding to his pile, throwing in good hands when he knew that Sonef or Lekard would have given themselves better. Cautious play, as he waited for the moment he knew was sure to come.
Sonef grunted as the three were left in sole possession of the table. "Now we can really get down to it Your deal, Lekard."
The moment, Dumarest was certain of it. He watched as the cards fell, picked up his hand and looked at it. Three aces, a nine, and a deuce.
"I'll open."
Sonef was to his left. "I'll just double that, Earl. Lekard?"
"I'll stay."
Not an obvious squeeze play, then, but that would come later. Dumarest met the raise and raised in turn. Sonef doubled, Lekard stayed, Dumarest raised again and was raised by Sonef. Lekard dropped out.