"Old Nute looked at me with his little hard eyes slipping about.
"'And he didn't find it?' he said.
"I didn't answer that. I went ahead and told him how I found
Tavor and the shape he was in, and then I added, `I'm not an
explorer, and Charlie can't go back.'
"Old Nute's thick neck shot out at that.
"'Then he did find it?' he said.
"'Now look here, Nute,' I said, `you're not trading with Tavor on
this deal. You're trading with me and I'm just as slick as you
are. You'll get no chance to slip under on this. You forget all
I've told you just as though it had nothing to do with what I'm
going to tell you, and I'll come to the point.'
"`Forget it?' he said.
"'Yes,' I said, `forget it. I'm not going to put you on to what
Charlie knows, with any strings to it, or with any pointers that
you can run down without us. I've told you all about Tavor's big
hunt through the Shamo and the El-Khali for a purpose of my own
and not for the purpose of enabling you to locate the thing that
Charlie Tavor knows about.'
"Hardman's voice went down into a low note. `What does he know?'
he said.
"I looked him squarely in the little reptilian eyes.
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