"Dori," I said, "come here."
Dori came to my side.
"Dori," I said, "I'm going to roll the dice with Mr. Odaan. I'm betting
you against everything he owns, and everything I did own. If I lose,
you belong to him and I'm a penniless outcast. Do you understand that,
Dori?"
"I understand," she answered in a low voice.
"All right," I said. "Let them roll."
We rolled first for possession of the dice. The dice bounced in slow
motion, tantalizingly, in the weak Martian gravity. I rolled an eight,
and Odaan rolled a five. I had the dice.
I rolled them and watched them spin, holding my breath. Dori could
control them. Would it be craps, or a natural? Would I lose, or win?
The first one stopped on three. I let out my breath in a gasp of
relief. Craps was impossible now.
The second die rolled and tumbled, and stopped. It was another three.
My point was six.
Hot anger swept over me. Dori had not touched the dice with her mind.
It was not just that it hadn't been a natural--I could tell. I had
gambled long enough to tell when the dice fell free, and when they were
influenced.
"My point is six," I said. "Excuse me, Odaan, I want to talk with my
bet a minute."