Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future by Mike Resnick Read Free Book Online Page B

three stupid fights,”
Cain corrected him. “I’m not especially proud of any of them.”
    “You must have been a very serious
young man.”
    “Actually, I used to laugh a lot
more than I do now.” He shrugged. “That was when I thought one moral man could
make a difference. The only thing I find really funny these days is the fact that so many people still believe it.”
    “I had a feeling the first time I
saw you that you weren’t just your run-of-the-mill headhunter,” said
Terwilliger. “Like I told you, I’ve got this knack for reading faces.”
    “Well, if it comes to that, I had
a feeling the first time I saw you that you were a lousy cardplayer.”
    “I’m the best damned cardplayer you’ll ever meet.”
    “I thought I beat you rather
handily,” remarked Cain.
    “I let you win.”
    “Sure you did.”
    “You don’t believe me?” said the
gambler. “Then watch this .”
    He pulled out the cards, shuffled
them thoroughly, and dealt out two five-card hands on the tiny chrome table.
    “Got anything worth betting?” he
asked.
    Cain picked up his cards, fanned
them out slowly, and found himself holding four kings and a jack.
    “It’s possible,” he answered
cautiously.
    “How about twenty-two hundred credits?”
    “Let’s make it one hundred.”
    “You’re sure?”
    “That’s my limit.”
    Terwilliger laid his hand down on
the table. It contained four aces and a queen.
    “Then why did you let me win any
hands at all the first time we met?” asked Cain.
    “Because professional cardplayers
are very careful about cheating professional killers,” replied Terwilliger.
“Besides, I was lonely. Once word got out that I was broke, none of the
amateurs would play with me—and you can’t use tricks like that on the pros.”
    “And why have you let me win at
gin since we took off from Port étrange?” continued Cain.
    “It was just my way of keeping you
in a good mood, and thanking you for saving my life.” He grinned. “Besides,
it’s not as if I have any money to pay you with.”
    “Well, I’ll be damned!” said Cain
with a laugh. “So that’s why you wouldn’t let the
computer give us random hands! All right, you little bastard. Your debt’s wiped
clean.”
    “I’d rather owe it to you.”
    “Why?”
    “I have my reasons,” said
Terwilliger.
    “Suit yourself,” said Cain. “I’ve
got another question.”
    “Ask away.”
    “How the hell did someone like you
manage to go two hundred thousand credits in the hole to ManMountain Bates?”
    “Do you know what the odds are of
a man drawing a straight flush against you when you’re sitting with four aces?”
asked Terwilliger.
    “Not long enough, I’d guess,” said
Cain.
    “You’re damned right! You know, if
you play cards every day, it might happen five times before you die of old age.
It was just my stupid luck that the first time it happened was against the backbreaker.”
    “How did you get out with your
back unbroken?”
    “I waited until Bates answered a
call of nature, told a couple of the other players that I was going to my room
to get my bankroll so I could redeem my marker, and got the hell off the planet
before anyone knew I was gone.” Terwilliger frowned. “I’d love to see that
guy’s bladder preserved for science. He must have drunk six quarts before he
got up!”
    “Pardon an unethical question, but
now that I’ve seen what you can do with a deck of cards, why didn’t you do it
to him—exercising due caution, of course?”
    “Have you ever seen ManMountain
Bates?” said Terwilliger with a bitter laugh.
    “No.”
    “Well, he’s not the kind of guy
you’d want to chance having mad at you, especially if he was within arm’s
reach.”
    “Not even for two hundred thousand
credits?”
    “It wasn’t worth the risk. It’d be
as dangerous as you poaching on the Angel’s territory.”
    “From what I hear, he’s about to
start poaching on mine,” commented Cain.
    “That’s