"That's all arranged. I've worked with Minton before and he's willing to extend credit. Twenty percent over the normal rates payable before leaving the point of destination. Worth it considering the circumstances. Any other captain would insist on cash in advance or a share of the cargo."

"When do you expect him?"

"Tomorrow. He's due to arrive before noon. We can be cleared, loaded and away before dark." Polletin stared at his rings. Small shimmers of reflected light blazed from the gems set in the heavy metal bands, dying as he moved his hands. "It's just as I told you. A golden opportunity. Do we have a deal?"

His tone hadn't changed but there was an added tension in his stance and the shimmer of his rings had betrayed the nervous quiver of his hands. In the casino they had done the same and now he played with an exposed hand.

Dumarest looked at the stacked cartons, waiting, letting the tension build. "I'm interested, Lozano, but I'm not happy with the cut."

"It's a fair one. I've paid two-thirds of the cost. Give me the other third and you get forty percent of the profit." Impatiently he added, "Damn it, Earl, I've done all the work and made all the arrangements. You'd be a fool to turn me down. Why throw away a fortune?"

"Make it fifty and we have a deal."

For a long moment the entrepreneur made no reply, his eyes as hard and as bright as the stones in his rings as he calculated alternatives. Then, shrugging, he said, "You strike a hard bargain, but I can't blame you for that. I'd do the same.

I've no choice and you know it. Fifty percent it is. The money?"

"After I've checked what I'm buying."

The inspector came forward at Polletin's signal, and waited for Dumarest to make his choice. A crate picked at random from within the pile, handed down by porters, opened by Dumarest as they withdrew. Inside lay a compact mechanism, one which opened like a flower beneath Polletin's hands to stand higher than he was tall, the glistening petals forming a round, concave mirror six feet in diameter.