I broke the seal.

"Dori," I said, "come here."

Dori came to my side.

"Dori," I said, "I'm going to roll the dice with Mr. Odaan. I'm betting you against everything he owns, and everything I did own. If I lose, you belong to him and I'm a penniless outcast. Do you understand that, Dori?"

"I understand," she answered in a low voice.

"All right," I said. "Let them roll."

We rolled first for possession of the dice. The dice bounced in slow motion, tantalizingly, in the weak Martian gravity. I rolled an eight, and Odaan rolled a five. I had the dice.

I rolled them and watched them spin, holding my breath. Dori could control them. Would it be craps, or a natural? Would I lose, or win?

The first one stopped on three. I let out my breath in a gasp of relief. Craps was impossible now.

The second die rolled and tumbled, and stopped. It was another three.