olid. _I_ get the big peroxide blonde."

"You can have her. Too big. I like the little yellowhead a lot better."

Newman sneered into the hard-held face so close to his and said: "And
don't think for a second _you_ can make me crawl, you small-time,
chiseling punk. Rub _me_ out after we kill them off and you get nowhere.
You're dead. Chew on that a while, and you'll know who's boss."

After just the right amount of holding back and objecting, Lopresto
agreed. "You win, Newman, the way the cards lay. Have you ever planned
this kind of an operation or do you want me to?"

"You do it, Vince," Newman said, grandly. He had at least one of the
qualities of a leader. "Besides, you already have, ain't you?"

"Of course. Ferdy will take Deston----"

"No he won't! He's _mine_, the louse!"

"If you're _that_ dumb, all bets are off. What are you using for a
brain? Can't you see the guy's chain lightning on ball bearings?"

"But we're going to surprise 'em, ain't we?"

"Sure, but even Ferdy would just as soon not give _him_ an even break.
_You_ wouldn't stand the chance of a snowflake in hell, and if you've
got the brains of a louse you know it."

"O. K., we'll let Ferdy have him. Me and you will match draws to see
who----"

"I can draw twice to your once, but I suppose I'll have to prove it to
you. I'll take Jones; you will gun the professor; Moose will grab the
dames, one under each arm, and keep 'em out of the way until the
shooting's over. The only thing is, when? The sooner the better.
Tomorrow?"

"Not quite, Vince. Let 'em finish figuring course, time, distance, all
that stuff. They can do it a lot faster and some better than I can. I'll
tell you when."

"O. K., and I'll give the signal. When I yell 'NOW' we give 'em the
business."

Newman went to his cabin and the muscle called Moose spoke thoughtfully.
That is, as nearly thoughtfully as his mental equipment would allow.

"I don't like that ape, boss. Before you gun him, let me work him over
just a little bit, huh?"

"It'll be quite a while yet, but that's a promise, Moose. As soon as his
job's done he'll wish he'd never been born. Until then, we'll let him
think he's Top Dog. Let him rave. But Ferdy, any time he's behind me or
out of sight, watch him like a hawk. Shoot him through the right elbow
if he makes one sour move."

"I get you, boss."

* * * * *

A couple of evenings later, in Lifecraft Two, Barbara said: "You'r