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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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Mittleman - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Non-Electronic Bug - -Author: E. Mittleman - -Release Date: December 10, 2019 [EBook #60897] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NON-ELECTRONIC BUG *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="356" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>THE NON-ELECTRONIC BUG</h1> - -<h2>By E. MITTLEMAN</h2> - -<p class="ph1"><i>There couldn't be a better<br /> -tip-off system than mine—it<br /> -wasn't possible—but he had one!</i></p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Worlds of If Science Fiction, July 1960.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>I wouldn't take five cents off a legitimate man, but if they want to -gamble that's another story.</p> - -<p>What I am is a genius, and I give you a piece of advice: Do not ever -play cards with a stranger. The stranger might be me. Where there are -degenerate card players around, I sometimes get a call. Not dice—I -don't have a machine to handle them. But with cards I have a machine to -force the advantage.</p> - -<p>The first thing is a little radio receiver, about the size of a pack -of cigarettes. You don't hear any music. You feel it on your skin. The -next thing is two dimes. You stick them onto you, anywhere you like. -Some like to put them on their legs, some on their belly. Makes no -difference, just so they're out of sight. Each dime has a wire soldered -to it, and the wires are attached to the little receiver that goes in -your pocket.</p> - -<p>The other thing is the transmitter I carry around.</p> - -<p>My partner was a fellow named Henry. He had an electronic surplus -hardware business, but business wasn't good and he was looking for -a little extra cash on the side. It turns out that the other little -wholesalers in the loft building where he has his business are all -card players, and no pikers, either. So Henry spread the word that -he was available for a gin game—any time at all, but he would only -play in his own place—he was expecting an important phone call and he -didn't want to be away and maybe miss it.... It never came; but the -card players did.</p> - -<p>I was supposed to be his stock clerk. While Henry and the other fellow -were working on the cards at one end of the room, I would be moving -around the other—checking the stock, packing the stuff for shipment, -arranging it on the shelves, sweeping the floor. I was a regular model -worker, busy every second. I had to be. In order to see the man's -hand I had to be nearby, but I had to keep moving so he wouldn't pay -attention to me.</p> - -<p>And every time I got a look at his hand, I pushed the little button on -the transmitter in my pocket.</p> - -<p>Every push on the button was a shock on Henry's leg. One for spades, -two for hearts, three for diamonds, four for clubs.</p> - -<p>Then I would tip the card: a short shock for an ace, two for a king, -three for a queen, and so on down to the ten. A long and a short -for nine, a long and two shorts for an eight ... it took a little -memorizing, but it was worth it. Henry knew every card the other man -held every time. And I got fifty per cent.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We didn't annihilate the fish. They hardly felt they were being hurt, -but we got a steady advantage, day after day. We did so well we took on -another man—I can take physical labor or leave it alone, and I leave -it alone every chance I get.</p> - -<p>That was where we first felt the trouble.</p> - -<p>Our new boy was around twenty. He had a swept-wing haircut, complete -with tail fins. Also he had a silly laugh. Now, there are jokes in a -card game—somebody taking a beating will sound off, to take away some -of the sting, but nobody laughs because the cracks are never funny. But -they were to our new boy.</p> - -<p>He laughed.</p> - -<p>He laughed not only when the mark made some crack, but a lot of the -time when he didn't. It got so the customers were looking at him with a -lot of dislike, and that was bad for business.</p> - -<p>So I called him out into the hall. "Skippy," I said—that's what we -called him, "lay off. <i>Never</i> rub it in to a sucker. It's enough to -take his money."</p> - -<p>He ran his fingers back along his hair. "Can't a fellow express -himself?"</p> - -<p>I gave him a long, hard unhealthy look. <i>Express</i> himself? He wouldn't -have to. I'd express him myself—express him right out of our setup.</p> - -<p>But before I got a chance, this fellow from Chicago came in, a big -manufacturer named Chapo; a wheel, and he looked it. He was red-faced, -with hanging jowls and a big dollar cigar; he announced that he only -played for big stakes ... and, nodding toward the kid and me, that he -didn't like an audience.</p> - -<p>Henry looked at us miserably. But what was he going to do? If he didn't -go along, the word could spread that maybe there was something wrong -going on. He had to play. "Take the day off, you two," he said, but he -wasn't happy.</p> - -<p>I thought fast.</p> - -<p>There was still one chance. I got behind Chapo long enough to give -Henry a wink and a nod toward the window. Then I took Skippy by the -elbow and steered him out of there.</p> - -<p>Down in the street I said, fast: "You want to earn your pay? You have -to give me a hand—an eye is really what I mean. Don't argue—just say -yes or no."</p> - -<p>He didn't stop to think. "Sure," he said. "Why not?"</p> - -<p>"All right." I took him down the street to where they had genuine -imported Japanese field glasses and laid out twenty bucks for a pair. -The man was a thief, but I didn't have time to argue. Right across the -street from Henry's place was a rundown hotel. That was our next stop.</p> - -<p>The desk man in the scratch house looked up from his comic book. "A -room," I said. "Me and my nephew want a room facing the street." And I -pointed to the window of Henry's place, where I wanted it to face.</p> - -<p>Because we still had a chance. With the field glasses and Skippy's -young, good eyes to look through them, with the transmitter that would -carry an extra hundred yards easy enough—with everything going for us, -we had a chance. Provided Henry had been able to maneuver Chapo so his -back was to the window.</p> - -<p>The bed merchant gave us a long stall about how the only room we wanted -belonged to a sweet old lady that was sick and couldn't be moved. But -for ten bucks she could be.</p> - -<p>All the time I was wondering how many hands were being played, if we -were stuck money and how much—all kinds of things. But finally we -got into the room and I laid it out for Skippy. "You aim those field -glasses out the window," I told him. "Read Chapo's cards and let me -know; that's all. I'll take care of the rest."</p> - -<p>I'll say this for him, duck-tail haircut and all, he settled right -down to business. I made myself comfortable on the bed and rattled them -off on the transmitter as he read the cards to me. I couldn't see the -players, didn't know the score; but if he was giving the cards to me -right, I was getting them out to Henry.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="650" height="402" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>I felt pretty good. I even began to feel kindly toward the kid. At my -age, bifocals are standard equipment, but to judge from Skippy's fast, -sure call of the cards, his eyesight was twenty-twenty or better.</p> - -<p>After about an hour, Skippy put down the glasses and broke the news: -the game was over.</p> - -<p>We took our time getting back to Henry's place, so Chapo would have -time to clear out. Henry greeted us with eight fingers in the air.</p> - -<p>Eight hundred? But before I could ask him, he was already talking: -"Eight big ones! Eight thousand bucks! And how you did it, I'll never -know!"</p> - -<p>Well, eight thousand was good news, no doubt of that. I said, "That's -the old system, Henry. But we couldn't have done it if you hadn't -steered the fish up to the window." And I showed him the Japanese field -glasses, grinning.</p> - -<p>But he didn't grin back. He looked puzzled. He glanced toward the -window.</p> - -<p>I looked too, and then I saw what he was puzzled about. It was pretty -obvious that Henry had missed my signal. He and the fish had played by -the window, all right.</p> - -<p>But the shade was down.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When I turned around to look for Skippy, to ask him some questions, he -was gone. Evidently he didn't want to answer.</p> - -<p>I beat up and down every block in the neighborhood until I spotted him -in a beanery, drinking a cup of coffee and looking worried.</p> - -<p>I sat down beside him, quiet. He didn't look around. The counterman -opened his mouth to say hello. I shook my head, but Skippy said, -"That's all right. I know you're there."</p> - -<p>I blinked. This was a creep! But I had to find out what was going on. I -said, "You made a mistake, kid."</p> - -<p>"Running out?" He shrugged. "It's not the first mistake I made," he -said bitterly. "Getting into your little setup with the bugged game -came before that."</p> - -<p>I said, "You can always quit," but then stopped. Because it was a lie. -He couldn't quit—not until I found out how he read Chapo's cards -through a drawn shade.</p> - -<p>He said drearily, "You've all got me marked lousy, haven't you? Don't -kid me about Henry—I know. I'm not so sure about you, but it wouldn't -surprise me."</p> - -<p>"What are you talking about?"</p> - -<p>"I can hear every word that's on Henry's mind," he said somberly. -"You, no. Some people I can hear, some I can't; you're one I can't."</p> - -<p>"What kind of goofy talk is that?" I demanded. But, to tell you the -truth, I didn't think it was so goofy. The window shade was a lot -goofier.</p> - -<p>"All my life," said Skippy, "I've been hearing the voices. It doesn't -matter if they talk out loud or not. Most people I can hear, even when -they don't want me to. Field glasses? I didn't need field glasses. I -could hear every thought that went through Chapo's mind, clear across -the street. Henry too. That's how I know." He hesitated, looking at me. -"You think Henry took eight thousand off Chapo, don't you? It was ten."</p> - -<p>I said, "Prove it."</p> - -<p>The kid finished his coffee. "Well," he said, "you want to know what -the counterman's got on his mind?" He leaned over and whispered to me.</p> - -<p>I yelled, "That's a lousy thing to say!"</p> - -<p>Everybody was looking at us. He said softly, "You see what it's like? I -don't want to hear all this stuff! You think the counterman's got a bad -mind, you ought to listen in on Henry's." He looked along the stools. -"See that fat little woman down at the end? She's going to order -another cheese Danish."</p> - -<p>He hadn't even finished talking when the woman was calling the -counterman, and she got another cheese Danish. I thought it over. What -he said about Henry holding out on me made it real serious. I had to -have more proof.</p> - -<p>But I didn't like Skippy's idea of proof. He offered to call off what -everybody in the beanery was going to do next, barring three or four he -said were silent, like me. That wasn't good enough. "Come along with -me," I told him, and we took off for Jake's spot.</p> - -<p>That's a twenty-four-hour place and the doorman knows me. I knew Jake -and I knew his roulette wheel was gaffed. I walked right up to the -wheel, and whispered to the kid, "Can you read the dealer?" He smiled -and nodded. "All right. Call black or red."</p> - -<p>The wheel spun, but that didn't stop the betting. Jake's hungry. In -his place you can still bet for a few seconds after the wheel starts -turning.</p> - -<p>"Black," Skippy said.</p> - -<p>I threw down fifty bucks. Black it was.</p> - -<p>That rattled me.</p> - -<p>"Call again," I said.</p> - -<p>When Skippy said black, I put the fifty on red. Black won it.</p> - -<p>"Let's go," I said, and led the kid out of there.</p> - -<p>He was looking puzzled. "How come—"</p> - -<p>"How come I played to lose?" I patted his shoulder. "Sonny, you got a -lot to learn. Jake's is no fair game. This was only a dry run."</p> - -<p>Then I got rid of him, because I had something to do.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Henry came across. He even looked embarrassed. "I figured," he said, -"uh, I figured that the expenses—"</p> - -<p>"Save it," I told him. "All I want is my split."</p> - -<p>He handed it over, but I kept my hand out, waiting. After a minute he -got the idea. He reached down inside the waistband of his pants, pulled -loose the tape that held the dimes to his skin and handed over the -radio receiver. "That's it, huh?" he said.</p> - -<p>"That's it."</p> - -<p>"Take your best shot," he said glumly. "But mark my words. You're not -going to make out on your own."</p> - -<p>"I won't be on my own," I told him, and left him then. By myself? Not -a chance! It was going to be Skippy and me, all the way. Not only -could he read minds, but the capper was that he couldn't read mine! -Otherwise, you can understand, I might not want him around all the time.</p> - -<p>But this way I had my own personal bug in every game in town, and I -didn't even have to spend for batteries. Card games, gaffed wheels, -everything. Down at the track he could follow the smart-money guys -around and let me know what they knew, which was plenty. We could even -go up against the legit games in Nevada, with no worry about bluffs.</p> - -<p>And think of the fringe benefits! With Skippy giving the women a -preliminary screening, I could save a lot of wasted time. At my age, -time is nothing to be wasted.</p> - -<p>I could understand a lot about Skippy now—why he didn't like most -people, why he laughed at jokes nobody else thought were funny, or even -could hear. But everybody has got to like somebody, and I had the edge -over most of the human race. He didn't know what I was thinking.</p> - -<p>And then, take away the voices in his head, and Skippy didn't have much -left. He wasn't very smart. If he had half as much in the way of brains -as he did in the way of private radar, he would have figured all these -angles out for himself long ago. No, he needed me. And I needed him. -We were all set to make a big score together, so I went back to his -rooming house where I'd told him to wait, to get going on the big time.</p> - -<p>However, Henry had more brains than Skippy.</p> - -<p>I hadn't told Henry who tipped me off, but it didn't take him long to -work out. After all, I had told him I was going out to look for Skippy, -and I came right back and called him for holding out. No, it didn't -take much brains. All he had to do was come around to Skippy's place -and give him a little lesson about talking.</p> - -<p>So when I walked in the door, Skippy was there, but he was out cold, -with lumps on his forehead and a stupid grin on his face. I woke him up -and he recognized me.</p> - -<p>But you don't make your TV set play better by kicking it. You don't -help a fine Swiss watch by pounding it on an anvil. Skippy could walk -and talk all right, but something was missing. "The voices!" he yelled, -sitting up on the edge of the bed.</p> - -<p>I got a quick attack of cold fear. "Skippy! What's the matter? Don't -you hear them any more?"</p> - -<p>He looked at me in a panic. "Oh, I hear them all right. But they're all -different now. I mean—it isn't English any more. In fact, it isn't any -language at all!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Like I say, I'm a genius. Skippy wouldn't lie to me; he's not smart -enough. If he says he hears voices, he hears voices.</p> - -<p>Being a genius, my theory is that when Henry worked Skippy over, he -jarred his tuning strips, or whatever it is, so now Skippy's receiving -on another frequency. Make sense? I'm positive about it. He sticks to -the same story, telling me about what he's hearing inside his head, and -he's too stupid to make it all up.</p> - -<p>There are some parts of it I don't have all figured out yet, but I'll -get them. Like what he tells me about the people—I <i>guess</i> they're -people—whose voices he hears. They're skinny and furry and very -religious. He can't understand their language, but he gets pictures -from them, and he told me what he saw. They worship the Moon, he says. -Only that's wrong too, because he says they worship two moons, and -everybody knows there's only one. But I'll figure it out; I have to, -because I have to get Skippy back in business.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile it's pretty lonesome. I spend a lot of time down around the -old neighborhood, but I haven't set up another partner for taking the -card players. That seems like pretty small stuff now. And I don't talk -to Henry when I see him. And I <i>never</i> go in the beanery when that -counterman is on duty. I've got enough troubles in the world; I don't -have to add to them by associating with <i>his</i> kind.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Non-Electronic Bug, by E. Mittleman - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NON-ELECTRONIC BUG *** - -***** This file should be named 60897-h.htm or 60897-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/8/9/60897/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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Mittleman - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Non-Electronic Bug - -Author: E. Mittleman - -Release Date: December 10, 2019 [EBook #60897] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NON-ELECTRONIC BUG *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - THE NON-ELECTRONIC BUG - - By E. MITTLEMAN - - _There couldn't be a better - tip-off system than mine--it - wasn't possible--but he had one!_ - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Worlds of If Science Fiction, July 1960. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -I wouldn't take five cents off a legitimate man, but if they want to -gamble that's another story. - -What I am is a genius, and I give you a piece of advice: Do not ever -play cards with a stranger. The stranger might be me. Where there are -degenerate card players around, I sometimes get a call. Not dice--I -don't have a machine to handle them. But with cards I have a machine to -force the advantage. - -The first thing is a little radio receiver, about the size of a pack -of cigarettes. You don't hear any music. You feel it on your skin. The -next thing is two dimes. You stick them onto you, anywhere you like. -Some like to put them on their legs, some on their belly. Makes no -difference, just so they're out of sight. Each dime has a wire soldered -to it, and the wires are attached to the little receiver that goes in -your pocket. - -The other thing is the transmitter I carry around. - -My partner was a fellow named Henry. He had an electronic surplus -hardware business, but business wasn't good and he was looking for -a little extra cash on the side. It turns out that the other little -wholesalers in the loft building where he has his business are all -card players, and no pikers, either. So Henry spread the word that -he was available for a gin game--any time at all, but he would only -play in his own place--he was expecting an important phone call and he -didn't want to be away and maybe miss it.... It never came; but the -card players did. - -I was supposed to be his stock clerk. While Henry and the other fellow -were working on the cards at one end of the room, I would be moving -around the other--checking the stock, packing the stuff for shipment, -arranging it on the shelves, sweeping the floor. I was a regular model -worker, busy every second. I had to be. In order to see the man's -hand I had to be nearby, but I had to keep moving so he wouldn't pay -attention to me. - -And every time I got a look at his hand, I pushed the little button on -the transmitter in my pocket. - -Every push on the button was a shock on Henry's leg. One for spades, -two for hearts, three for diamonds, four for clubs. - -Then I would tip the card: a short shock for an ace, two for a king, -three for a queen, and so on down to the ten. A long and a short -for nine, a long and two shorts for an eight ... it took a little -memorizing, but it was worth it. Henry knew every card the other man -held every time. And I got fifty per cent. - - * * * * * - -We didn't annihilate the fish. They hardly felt they were being hurt, -but we got a steady advantage, day after day. We did so well we took on -another man--I can take physical labor or leave it alone, and I leave -it alone every chance I get. - -That was where we first felt the trouble. - -Our new boy was around twenty. He had a swept-wing haircut, complete -with tail fins. Also he had a silly laugh. Now, there are jokes in a -card game--somebody taking a beating will sound off, to take away some -of the sting, but nobody laughs because the cracks are never funny. But -they were to our new boy. - -He laughed. - -He laughed not only when the mark made some crack, but a lot of the -time when he didn't. It got so the customers were looking at him with a -lot of dislike, and that was bad for business. - -So I called him out into the hall. "Skippy," I said--that's what we -called him, "lay off. _Never_ rub it in to a sucker. It's enough to -take his money." - -He ran his fingers back along his hair. "Can't a fellow express -himself?" - -I gave him a long, hard unhealthy look. _Express_ himself? He wouldn't -have to. I'd express him myself--express him right out of our setup. - -But before I got a chance, this fellow from Chicago came in, a big -manufacturer named Chapo; a wheel, and he looked it. He was red-faced, -with hanging jowls and a big dollar cigar; he announced that he only -played for big stakes ... and, nodding toward the kid and me, that he -didn't like an audience. - -Henry looked at us miserably. But what was he going to do? If he didn't -go along, the word could spread that maybe there was something wrong -going on. He had to play. "Take the day off, you two," he said, but he -wasn't happy. - -I thought fast. - -There was still one chance. I got behind Chapo long enough to give -Henry a wink and a nod toward the window. Then I took Skippy by the -elbow and steered him out of there. - -Down in the street I said, fast: "You want to earn your pay? You have -to give me a hand--an eye is really what I mean. Don't argue--just say -yes or no." - -He didn't stop to think. "Sure," he said. "Why not?" - -"All right." I took him down the street to where they had genuine -imported Japanese field glasses and laid out twenty bucks for a pair. -The man was a thief, but I didn't have time to argue. Right across the -street from Henry's place was a rundown hotel. That was our next stop. - -The desk man in the scratch house looked up from his comic book. "A -room," I said. "Me and my nephew want a room facing the street." And I -pointed to the window of Henry's place, where I wanted it to face. - -Because we still had a chance. With the field glasses and Skippy's -young, good eyes to look through them, with the transmitter that would -carry an extra hundred yards easy enough--with everything going for us, -we had a chance. Provided Henry had been able to maneuver Chapo so his -back was to the window. - -The bed merchant gave us a long stall about how the only room we wanted -belonged to a sweet old lady that was sick and couldn't be moved. But -for ten bucks she could be. - -All the time I was wondering how many hands were being played, if we -were stuck money and how much--all kinds of things. But finally we -got into the room and I laid it out for Skippy. "You aim those field -glasses out the window," I told him. "Read Chapo's cards and let me -know; that's all. I'll take care of the rest." - -I'll say this for him, duck-tail haircut and all, he settled right -down to business. I made myself comfortable on the bed and rattled them -off on the transmitter as he read the cards to me. I couldn't see the -players, didn't know the score; but if he was giving the cards to me -right, I was getting them out to Henry. - -I felt pretty good. I even began to feel kindly toward the kid. At my -age, bifocals are standard equipment, but to judge from Skippy's fast, -sure call of the cards, his eyesight was twenty-twenty or better. - -After about an hour, Skippy put down the glasses and broke the news: -the game was over. - -We took our time getting back to Henry's place, so Chapo would have -time to clear out. Henry greeted us with eight fingers in the air. - -Eight hundred? But before I could ask him, he was already talking: -"Eight big ones! Eight thousand bucks! And how you did it, I'll never -know!" - -Well, eight thousand was good news, no doubt of that. I said, "That's -the old system, Henry. But we couldn't have done it if you hadn't -steered the fish up to the window." And I showed him the Japanese field -glasses, grinning. - -But he didn't grin back. He looked puzzled. He glanced toward the -window. - -I looked too, and then I saw what he was puzzled about. It was pretty -obvious that Henry had missed my signal. He and the fish had played by -the window, all right. - -But the shade was down. - - * * * * * - -When I turned around to look for Skippy, to ask him some questions, he -was gone. Evidently he didn't want to answer. - -I beat up and down every block in the neighborhood until I spotted him -in a beanery, drinking a cup of coffee and looking worried. - -I sat down beside him, quiet. He didn't look around. The counterman -opened his mouth to say hello. I shook my head, but Skippy said, -"That's all right. I know you're there." - -I blinked. This was a creep! But I had to find out what was going on. I -said, "You made a mistake, kid." - -"Running out?" He shrugged. "It's not the first mistake I made," he -said bitterly. "Getting into your little setup with the bugged game -came before that." - -I said, "You can always quit," but then stopped. Because it was a lie. -He couldn't quit--not until I found out how he read Chapo's cards -through a drawn shade. - -He said drearily, "You've all got me marked lousy, haven't you? Don't -kid me about Henry--I know. I'm not so sure about you, but it wouldn't -surprise me." - -"What are you talking about?" - -"I can hear every word that's on Henry's mind," he said somberly. -"You, no. Some people I can hear, some I can't; you're one I can't." - -"What kind of goofy talk is that?" I demanded. But, to tell you the -truth, I didn't think it was so goofy. The window shade was a lot -goofier. - -"All my life," said Skippy, "I've been hearing the voices. It doesn't -matter if they talk out loud or not. Most people I can hear, even when -they don't want me to. Field glasses? I didn't need field glasses. I -could hear every thought that went through Chapo's mind, clear across -the street. Henry too. That's how I know." He hesitated, looking at me. -"You think Henry took eight thousand off Chapo, don't you? It was ten." - -I said, "Prove it." - -The kid finished his coffee. "Well," he said, "you want to know what -the counterman's got on his mind?" He leaned over and whispered to me. - -I yelled, "That's a lousy thing to say!" - -Everybody was looking at us. He said softly, "You see what it's like? I -don't want to hear all this stuff! You think the counterman's got a bad -mind, you ought to listen in on Henry's." He looked along the stools. -"See that fat little woman down at the end? She's going to order -another cheese Danish." - -He hadn't even finished talking when the woman was calling the -counterman, and she got another cheese Danish. I thought it over. What -he said about Henry holding out on me made it real serious. I had to -have more proof. - -But I didn't like Skippy's idea of proof. He offered to call off what -everybody in the beanery was going to do next, barring three or four he -said were silent, like me. That wasn't good enough. "Come along with -me," I told him, and we took off for Jake's spot. - -That's a twenty-four-hour place and the doorman knows me. I knew Jake -and I knew his roulette wheel was gaffed. I walked right up to the -wheel, and whispered to the kid, "Can you read the dealer?" He smiled -and nodded. "All right. Call black or red." - -The wheel spun, but that didn't stop the betting. Jake's hungry. In -his place you can still bet for a few seconds after the wheel starts -turning. - -"Black," Skippy said. - -I threw down fifty bucks. Black it was. - -That rattled me. - -"Call again," I said. - -When Skippy said black, I put the fifty on red. Black won it. - -"Let's go," I said, and led the kid out of there. - -He was looking puzzled. "How come--" - -"How come I played to lose?" I patted his shoulder. "Sonny, you got a -lot to learn. Jake's is no fair game. This was only a dry run." - -Then I got rid of him, because I had something to do. - - * * * * * - -Henry came across. He even looked embarrassed. "I figured," he said, -"uh, I figured that the expenses--" - -"Save it," I told him. "All I want is my split." - -He handed it over, but I kept my hand out, waiting. After a minute he -got the idea. He reached down inside the waistband of his pants, pulled -loose the tape that held the dimes to his skin and handed over the -radio receiver. "That's it, huh?" he said. - -"That's it." - -"Take your best shot," he said glumly. "But mark my words. You're not -going to make out on your own." - -"I won't be on my own," I told him, and left him then. By myself? Not -a chance! It was going to be Skippy and me, all the way. Not only -could he read minds, but the capper was that he couldn't read mine! -Otherwise, you can understand, I might not want him around all the time. - -But this way I had my own personal bug in every game in town, and I -didn't even have to spend for batteries. Card games, gaffed wheels, -everything. Down at the track he could follow the smart-money guys -around and let me know what they knew, which was plenty. We could even -go up against the legit games in Nevada, with no worry about bluffs. - -And think of the fringe benefits! With Skippy giving the women a -preliminary screening, I could save a lot of wasted time. At my age, -time is nothing to be wasted. - -I could understand a lot about Skippy now--why he didn't like most -people, why he laughed at jokes nobody else thought were funny, or even -could hear. But everybody has got to like somebody, and I had the edge -over most of the human race. He didn't know what I was thinking. - -And then, take away the voices in his head, and Skippy didn't have much -left. He wasn't very smart. If he had half as much in the way of brains -as he did in the way of private radar, he would have figured all these -angles out for himself long ago. No, he needed me. And I needed him. -We were all set to make a big score together, so I went back to his -rooming house where I'd told him to wait, to get going on the big time. - -However, Henry had more brains than Skippy. - -I hadn't told Henry who tipped me off, but it didn't take him long to -work out. After all, I had told him I was going out to look for Skippy, -and I came right back and called him for holding out. No, it didn't -take much brains. All he had to do was come around to Skippy's place -and give him a little lesson about talking. - -So when I walked in the door, Skippy was there, but he was out cold, -with lumps on his forehead and a stupid grin on his face. I woke him up -and he recognized me. - -But you don't make your TV set play better by kicking it. You don't -help a fine Swiss watch by pounding it on an anvil. Skippy could walk -and talk all right, but something was missing. "The voices!" he yelled, -sitting up on the edge of the bed. - -I got a quick attack of cold fear. "Skippy! What's the matter? Don't -you hear them any more?" - -He looked at me in a panic. "Oh, I hear them all right. But they're all -different now. I mean--it isn't English any more. In fact, it isn't any -language at all!" - - * * * * * - -Like I say, I'm a genius. Skippy wouldn't lie to me; he's not smart -enough. If he says he hears voices, he hears voices. - -Being a genius, my theory is that when Henry worked Skippy over, he -jarred his tuning strips, or whatever it is, so now Skippy's receiving -on another frequency. Make sense? I'm positive about it. He sticks to -the same story, telling me about what he's hearing inside his head, and -he's too stupid to make it all up. - -There are some parts of it I don't have all figured out yet, but I'll -get them. Like what he tells me about the people--I _guess_ they're -people--whose voices he hears. They're skinny and furry and very -religious. He can't understand their language, but he gets pictures -from them, and he told me what he saw. They worship the Moon, he says. -Only that's wrong too, because he says they worship two moons, and -everybody knows there's only one. But I'll figure it out; I have to, -because I have to get Skippy back in business. - -Meanwhile it's pretty lonesome. I spend a lot of time down around the -old neighborhood, but I haven't set up another partner for taking the -card players. That seems like pretty small stuff now. And I don't talk -to Henry when I see him. And I _never_ go in the beanery when that -counterman is on duty. I've got enough troubles in the world; I don't -have to add to them by associating with _his_ kind. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Non-Electronic Bug, by E. Mittleman - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NON-ELECTRONIC BUG *** - -***** This file should be named 60897.txt or 60897.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/8/9/60897/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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