The Actual Most Dangerous Game

Rainsford regarded the general warily. He quelled his impulse to press his attack; a beast was at its most dangerous when cornered, and Zaroff, for all his civilized affectations, was perhaps the most dangerous beast he'd ever encountered. Even now, with his clear advantage, he knew he would have to remain sharp if he were to best the general. Ivan said nothing, but left the table. The house shuddered slightly as the normally taciturn manservant betrayed himself with a too-forcefully closed door. There would be no resolution between the two ancient friends come morning, if ever. One down, Rainsford thought.

In the Cossack's cold eyes, he saw murder.

"I think I should very much like to stay here," Rainsford mused as if to himself.

The general softened slightly. "Here? On my island?"

"It's an ideal location for a hotel, wouldn't you agree?"

Rage flashed briefly across Zaroff's visage and then was gone, like the passing of a summer squall, but the whitecaps of his anger remained visible on the swells of his cheeks to those practiced at reading the sea and the faces of men. "Then I shall build one."

"Perhaps you will." Rainsford smiled. "It remains to be seen, however, if you'll be taking up residence in one of its suites, or in a cell."

General Zaroff laughed heartily, startling Rainsford. "The nearest authority is miles away. Here, I am Czar."

"You may not be tried for your crimes, but even a czar may find his home in prison if he does not repay his debts."

Rainsford's taunt was a success. The general snatched up the dice and threw them against the board. One rebounded against his snifter with a dull clink. "Then I shall buy a railroad. My railway empire will rival the Trans-Siberian in its majesty!" he boasted.

"I anticipate riding it, should I get the chance." Rainsford's next move took little thought. His eyes were on Zaroff. He could see the slender man's lip tense under his black moustache.

The general again took up the dice and threw them. When they settled, four pips stared up at the cigar smoke swirling around the ceiling fan. A low moan escaped the man's lips, like the sighing of a carcass as the hunter's knife relieves the bloat. "This is not a test of skill, but of chance! It is a gamble, not a game!"

"That may be. Still, you owe me two thousand dollars. That is, if you wish to stay at my hotel. If not, you forfeit."

"I cannot pay! I will not!" The general's voice thundered in the still evening air.

"I will accept any rolling stock you may have recently acquired."

General Zaroff's eyes narrowed. "I cannot pay. Even if I mortgage every property I own, I cannot pay."

"There is one more property. One that is not on the board."

"But you cannot be serious. This is just a game! I have already lost my manservant! You would take my home, too?"

"Why shouldn't I be serious?" Rainsford asked, as he inspected a tiny thimble against the wan lamplight. "This is, after all, the Most Dangerous Game."

He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided.

—With profuse apologies to Richard Connell