[pshrynk]

Vera Wayne put down her hand and looked at the other habitants of the table. Wheezy and Oily both looked startled. Good, they were thinking she'd had a busted straight. Slick was too busy trying to figure out what the cards meant to have any reaction. That probably meant that he had another two pairs and would be asking if it beat a full house. Handsome had folded right away. She was beginning to worry about that one.

She'd been introduced all around when she'd joined the table, but promptly forgot all the names. She supposed that some day she would have to learn how to remember such things. Right now, however, she was more interested in reeling in the suckers.

Slick put down a pair of threes and a pair of kings. "Does that beat yours?" he asked. Vera felt slightly sorry for him, but not enough to give him charity. A girl had to earn enough to live, after all.

"Sorry, kid. No go," she said.

"Now I'm flat broke!" He looked pathetic.

"I'll spot you, kid!" said Handsome. Alarm bells started ringing in Vera's head.

"Oh! Look a the time!" she said, standing up and shoving her earnings into her purse. "I've got to be up early to get off the boat in Cairo tomorrow morning! Good night, gentlemen!"

She stepped slowly away from the table, wary of her surroundings. Handsome gave her a barely perceptible nod and went back to dealing the next round. She'd skinned them for a little pain, but the real plucking was about to begin.

Vera wondered just how good Slick was. Probably really good. Handsome probably was going to let her get away with the small change she'd managed, just to seed the big grab he was about to make. Inwardly, she resolved to give him at least a third if he insisted.

She wandered out to the deck of the boat and looked at the silhoutted shoreline as it slipped by. She considered jumping into the water and swimming for it, but decided she could handle what was on the boat well enough.