" He stopped,
and his small gray eyes twinkled. "_Unless_," he added, "you've got
quite a strike lined up!"
"Hey, Loring!" yelled Mason, entering the cafe. He carried two
spaceman's traveling bags, small black plastic containers with glass
zippers.
"So you've got Al Mason in with you," mused Shinny. "Pretty good man,
Al. Let's see now, I saw you two just before you blasted off for Tara!"
He paused. "Couldn't be that you've got anything lined up in deep space,
now could it?"
"You're an old fool!" snarled Loring.
"Heh--heh--heh," chuckled Shinny. A toothless smile spread across his
wrinkled face. "Coming close, am I?"
Al Mason looked at Shinny and back at Loring. "Say! What is this?" he
demanded.
"O.K., O.K.," said Loring between clenched teeth. "So we've got a strike
out in the deep, but one word outta line from you and I'll blast you
with my heater!"
"Not a word," said Shinny, "not a word. I'll only charge you a little to
keep your secret."
Mason looked at Loring. "How much?" he demanded.
"A twentieth of the take," said Shinny. "And that's dirt cheap."
"It's robbery," said Loring, "but O.
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