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Sriberdegibit 103
Sriberdegibit
“May I be eternally cursed!” Gilbert Iles gasped.
The little man with the sketchy fringe of beard made further passes, reached out
into the air again, and plunked a second twenty-dollar gold piece down on the bar
beside the first.
“It’s beautiful,” Iles announced solemnly. Hot buttered rum always made him
solemn. “I’ve never seen such prestidigitation in my life. See: I can say ‘prestidigitation.’
That’s what comes of having trained articulation. That’s beautiful, too.”
The little man smiled. “You’re an actor, colleague?” he asked.
“Not officially. I’m a lawyer. I won the Shalgreen will case today; that’s why I’m
celebrating. Did I tell you about that case?”
“No. Was it interesting?”
“Most interesting. You see, the presumptive heirs— But the hell with that,”
Gilbert Iles decided with solemn capriciousness. “Show me some more prestidigitation.”
The water lapped peacefully at the piles under the bar. The sailor in the corner
switched off the table light and let the clear moonshine bathe the blonde opposite
him. The radio was turned so low that it was only a murmur. The man with the fringe
beard made a peculiarly elaborate pass and ended up with a gold piece balanced on
the tip of each of his five outspread fingers.
“May I be eternally cursed!” Iles repeated. Linda objected to strong language;
for some reason she permitted cursed while damning damned. “But gold,” he added.
“How does that work? Does the government let you keep all that gold because it’s
a professional tool? Or are they phonies?”
“I know,” said the little man sadly. “Laws never make any allowance for magic.
And They never make any allowance for laws. I never can convince Them that Their
gold isn’t any earthly use to me. Oh well—” He made another pass and said a word
that seemed to have no vowels. The seven coins on the bar vanished.
“Beautiful,” said Gilbert Iles. “I’d like to have you around when the prosecution
brings in some unexpected exhibits. How’s about another drink on that?”
“No, thank you.”
“Come on. I’m celebrating, I am. I can still say ‘prestidigitation’ because I’ve
got trained articulation, but I’m soaring up and up and up and I want company.
Just because Linda stayed home with a headache, do I have to drink alone? No!” he
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