little delicaciesnot available to everyone, I should be glad to speak to the chef."
Jasperson pushed his plate away. "I'll remember, Davis." Throwing downhis napkin he stood up. His waiter came running.
"Dessert, sir?"
* * * * *
Without answering, he strode across the room, trying to compose hismouth into a smile as he reached his goal.
"Miss Taganova, would you care to join me in the bar for a drink?"
They all looked up at him in astonishment.
"But I've just finished dinner," she said.
He waited, uncertainly. At last Professor Larrabee pointed to theunoccupied chair.
"Perhaps you'd care to join us, instead?"
No one else spoke, and he sat down nervously. Conversation had stopped,and at last he broke out with explosive force.
"I wish Captain Evans would speed up this ship. It feels as if we'd beenon the way forever. And still three weeks to go!"
"Do you find three weeks so long a time?" asked the professor.
"It seems like eternity. I wish something would happen. Why can't wehave a little excitement?"
"Couldn't you find any more banks to break today?" Alan drawled. "Nogambles on the stock exchange?"
The professor broke in soothingly. "Now, there's an idea! You'reobviously a gambling man, a man of action. Do you play poker? Why don'tyou get up a little game among your friends? That ought to provide youwith excitement for one evening at least."
"Would you join the game?"
"No, no, my dear Mr. Jasperson! You and I do not move in the samecircles. I confess, I enjoy the delightful uncertainties of poker, but Icould never afford to play for your stakes."
"Then we'll make the stakes what you can afford. Each raise limited tofive credits?"
"In that case, I might consider it."
"You, Dr. Chase?"
"Too exciting for an invalid, I'm afraid."
"You, Mr. Hall?"
Tom squeezed Dorothy's hand under the table. "No, thank you, Mr.Jasperson. My wife and I, we have other plans."
"If it's money, young fellow, I'll stake you, and you can have a year topay me back."
Tom grinned. "You're very generous. But what makes you so sure you'd bethe winner?"
"I always win. Will you join the game, Miss Taganova?"
He accepted her silent head-shake without protest.
"Then I'll try to round up two or three others. We don't want a bigcrowd--too many people make me nervous. Perhaps Willoughby will play,and I'll get Captain Evans. He doesn't like the game, but he'll sit inif I insist. See you in my suite in half an hour."
* * * * *
The poker game had been in progress for more than an hour when CaptainEvans entered the parlor. Frowning, Jasperson looked up.
"You're late, Josiah. I told you we'd begin at nine."
"Sorry, Burl. I was delayed."
Jasperson paused in the act of raking in the pot, and looked up sharply.
"Anything wrong?"
"No, all serene."
"Anything you need my advice on?"
"No, just a routine conference with the navigator."
"Then pull up a chair and get in the game."
Nearly half the chips were piled in front of Jasperson, and across fromhim a modest heap sat before the professor. At his right the baggy-eyedonly son of a deutonium millionaire fingered his dwindling pileindifferently, and on his left Dr. Willoughby stared unbelievingly athis few remaining chips, three blues and a couple of whites.
"I'll just watch," said the Captain. "You know I'm not much of agambler. Chess is my game."
"Oh, come on, Josiah. I insist that you play. Prove that you've got redblood in your veins."
Evans hesitated, but remained standing. "I'd rather just look on."
"Now look here, Captain. Doesn't the Star Line always try to please itspassengers? Well, I'm a passenger. Or is it just your native cautionthat makes you afraid of losing?" His laugh did not entirely disguisethe irritation in his voice.
"All right, anything to oblige," said Evans wearily, pulling up a chair."What stakes are you playing for?"
The Captain lost, slowly and steadily. Mechanically he went through themotions of dealing, discarding, drawing, and betting, but it was obviousthat his mind was not on the game. Jasperson rarely lost a hand, if hehad stayed at all, while Professor Larrabee's luck was unpredictable,the pile of chips before him fluctuating, growing or diminishing withstartling swiftness.
They were interrupted once when a waiter came in with a tray of bottlesand glasses. The Captain refused.
"But one drink won't do you any harm," said Jasperson.
"I never drink in space. For one thing, the rules of the Star Lineexplicitly forbid it, as you should know."
"Yes, I helped make that rule. That means I can release you from it."
But Evans was firm. "I never drink in space," he repeated. "I'll taketwo cards--no, make it three."
The professor surveyed his hand with his customary sprightly air.
"I'll play these," he said.
Jasperson discarded. "I'll take one."
Captain Evans languidly opened the betting, but after the first round hedropped out, and only Jasperson and the professor remained. Each raisedthe other persistently, and while Jasperson grew more and more excited,the professor smiled as usual, his eyes glinting with amusement.
"And another five," said Larrabee.
For the first time, Jasperson hesitated. "You sure you mean it,professor? I kind of hate to clean you out, especially because I doubtif you can afford it."
"Suppose you let me be the judge of what is, after all, a privatematter?"
"All right, it's you that will go bankrupt, not me. And another five."
"See you, and raise you five!"
* * * * *
Jasperson sat back and pondered, his cold eyes calculating. "Now let'sreview the situation, just among friends. The professor's a smart man,and he isn't rich. He saw me draw one card, so he can make a pretty goodguess what I probably hold, if I drew the right card, but he's playing apat hand, and playing as if he meant it. Well, I've put a lot of creditsin that pot, but I never did believe in throwing good money after bad,even in a friendly game. I quit."
"What? You mean you're going to drop out without even seeing me?"
"I know when I'm licked. Five credits is five credits, even to me." Hethrew down his cards and reached to gather in the deck.
Slowly Professor Larrabee raked in the chips, as Jasperson went oncomplacently.
"That's the only principle a practical man can work on. Know when you'relicked. Get all the facts, analyze all the data, and then act on thelogical conclusion, no matter how much you may hate to. It was clear tome that you must have drawn a pat flush that would top my straight, so Isimply decided not to waste any more money."
"Thank you, Mr. Jasperson. I appreciate the gift."
"It was no gift. You had me beat."
"Did I? Only if you had all the facts, only if you analyzed all thedata, and only if you reached the correct conclusion. Perhaps you oughtto see what I held."
Deliberately he turned over his hand and spread the cards.
Jasperson jumped to his feet in a rage. "But that's a handful of junk!Not even a pair! You held a bust, and I had you beat!"
"Certainly. But you didn't know it. Without all the facts, you acted ona faulty conclusion."
Breathing noisily, his plump face flushed, Jasperson smashed his fistinto his pile of chips and scattered them to the floor.
"A pure bluff! I hate bluffing!"
"Then you miss a great deal of fun in life," said Larrabee calmly. "Ifind it dull just to analyze data and then bet on a sure thing. I like alittle excitement."
Slowly the financier sank back into his chair. He gulped in a largebreath of air and tried to steady himself, a sickly smile around hismouth.
"Excuse me, P
rofessor. But you took me by surprise." Hands trembling, hebegan to shuffle the deck.
There was a knock at the door, and a crewman entered.
"What is it, Stacey?" said Captain Evans.
"Chief Wyman is waiting to see you in your quarters, sir."
With a sigh of relief, the Captain turned in his few chips. "Time forme to quit, anyway."
His face still red, Jasperson looked up hopefully. "Shall I come withyou? Any way I can be of use?"
"No thank you, Burl. I'll leave you to