"The Drunkard's Stairs are plainly marked," Magnan sniffed.
"I hear sounds up there," Retief said. "Sounds of merrymaking."
"Maybe we'd better go back."
"Merrymaking doesn't scare me," Retief said. "Come to think of it, I don't know what the word means." He started up, Magnan behind him.
At the top of the long stair a dense throng milled in the alley-like street.
A giant illuminated roulette wheel revolved slowly above them. A loudspeaker blared the chant of the croupiers from the tables inside. Magnan and Retief moved through the crowd toward the wide-open doors.
Magnan plucked at Retief's sleeve. "Are you sure we ought to push right in like this? Maybe we ought to wait a bit, look around...."
"When you're where you have no business being," Retief said, "always stride along purposefully. If you loiter, people begin to get curious."
Inside, a mob packed the wide, low-ceilinged room, clustered around gambling devices in the form of towers, tables and basins.
"What do we do now?" Magnan asked.