The Project Gutenberg EBook of Card Trick, by Walter Bupp AKA Randall Garrett

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Title: Card Trick

Author: Walter Bupp AKA Randall Garrett

Illustrator: Douglas

Release Date: January 14, 2008 [EBook #24277]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CARD TRICK ***

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Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from Analog, January 1961.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.

_The Psi Lodge had their ways and means of applying
pressure, when pressure was needed. But the peculiar talent
this fellow showed was one that even they'd never heard of...!_

[Illustration]

CARD ... TRICK

By

WALTER

BUPP

Illustrated by Douglas

* * * * *

The game was stud. There were seven at the table, which makes for
good poker. Outside of Nick, who banked the game, nobody looked
familiar. They all had the beat look of compulsive gamblers,
fogged over by their individual attempts at a poker face. They
were a cagey-looking lot. Only one of them was within ten years
of my age.

"Just in case, gamblers," the young one said. I looked up from
stacking the chips I had just bought from Nick. The speaker was a
skinny little guy with a sharp chin and more freckles than I'd
like to have.

"If any one of you guys has any psi powers," the sharp-chinned
gambler said sourly, "you better beat it. All gamblers here will
recoup double their losses from any snake we catch using psi
powers to beat the odds."

He shot a hard eyed look around a room not yet dimmed by cigar
smoke. I got the most baleful glare, I thought. He didn't need to
worry. I'd been certified Normal by an expert that very evening.

The expert was Dr. Shari King, whom