"Huh?"
Alger Wilde bit out, "Why'd you think everybody was clapping? You're the hero of the System." He added, barely audibly, "They know not what they do."
It was beginning to dawn on me. My mind had been so full of Suzi that I'd almost forgotten about the Centaurian fight.
Suzi cast her eyes down to the table and said softly, "I'm sorry about yesterday, Jak. When I heard about your heroic challenge I realized how wrong I was."
I scowled and said, "I didn't exactly challenge them, just suggested that the whole thing ought to be settled in the arena. Maybe a Slaber or a Saturnian gladiator, or—"
Alger said, satisfaction oozing, "But you're the Champ, Jak."
And Suzi gushed, "So you'll certainly have the honor. Oh, Jak, our engagement will have to be postponed until after the fight."
There was a gleam in Wilde's eye. He said, "And after the fight the marriage can take place. Only the brave deserve the fair, and; to the victor belongs the spoils, as the ancients used to say."
I knew what he was thinking. If I was killed in the arena, he'd be back in the running for Suzi. I growled, "What the kert do you mean by that, Wilde?"