Книга только для ознакомления
." "Interesting. Did you send him to ask me who was offering a
reward for you and the amount of the reward?" "I certainly did not! Did you tell
him anything?" "My dear sir! You asked for the traditional Three Days."
"Thank you, sir."
"Not at all. Since he took the trouble to seek me out here instead of
waiting for my business hours, I assumed some urgency. Since you did not mention
him, I concluded that the urgency was his, not yours. Now I assume, unless you
tell me otherwise, that he intends you no good."
I gave the Rabbi a condensed version of our relations with Bill. He nodded.
"You know Mark Twain's remarks on such matters?"
"I think not."
"He said that, if you pick up a stray dog, feed it and take care of it, it
will not bite you. This, in his opinion, is the principal difference between a
man and a dog. I don't agree fully with Twain. But he had a point."
I asked him to name a retainer, paid it without dickering, plus something
for luck.
The Authority Complex (officially the "Administration Center," a name found
only in print) is west of Luna City, halfway across Mare Crisium. We were there
by noon-that tubeway is not ballistic but is nevertheless fast. Once aboard, we
were there in twenty minutes.
Noon was the wrong time to arrive. The Complex is made up of government
offices; everything shuts down for a leisurely lunch hour
|
