Kerim put his hand up to his mouth and whispered behind it. `Vevra is telling them that this is a great tribe of gipsies and they have brought dissension among it. He says there is no room for hatred2 among themselves, only against those outside. The hatred they have created must be purged3 so that the tribe can live peacefully again. They are to fight. If the loser is not killed she will be banished4 for ever. That will be the same as death. These people wither5 and die outside the tribe. They cannot live in our world. It is like wild beasts forced to live in a cage.'
While Kerim spoke6, Bond examined the two beautiful, taut7, sullen8 animals in the centre of the ring.
They were both gipsy-dark, with coarse black hair to their shoulders, and they were both dressed in the collection of rags you associate with shanty-town negroes-tattered brown shifts that were mostly darns and patches. One was bigger-boned than the other, and obviously stronger, but she looked sullen and slow-eyed and might not be quick on her feet. She was handsome in a rather leonine way, and there was a slow red glare in her heavy lidded eyes as she stood and listened impatiently to the head of the tribe. She ought to win, thought Bond. She is half an inch taller, and she is stronger.
Where this girl was a lioness, the other was a panther-lithe and quick and with cunning sharp eyes that were not on the speaker but sliding sideways, measuring inches, and the hands at her sides were curled into claws. The muscles of her fine legs looked hard as a man's. The breasts were small, and, unlike the big breasts of the other girl, hardly swelled9 the rags of her shift. She looks a dangerous little bitch of a girl, thought Bond. She will certainly get in the first blow. She will be too quick for the other.
At once he was proved wrong. As Vavra spoke his last word, the big girl, who, Kerim whispered, was called Zora, kicked hard sideways, without taking aim, and caught the other girl square in the stomach and, as the smaller girl staggered, followed up with a swinging blow of the fist to the side of the head that knocked her sprawling10 on to the stone floor.
`Oi, Vida,' lamented11 a woman in the crowd. She needn't have worried. Even Bond could see that Vida was shamming12 as she lay on the ground, apparently13 winded. He could see her eyes glinting under her bent14 arm as Zora's foot came flashing at her ribs16.
Vida's hands flickered17 out together. They grasped the ankle and her head struck into the instep like a snake's. Zora gave a scream of pain and wrenched18 furiously at her trapped foot. It was too late. The other girl was up on one knee, and then standing19 erect20, the foot still in her hands. She heaved upwards21 and Zora's other foot left the ground and she crashed full length.
The thud of the big girl's fall shook the ground. For a moment she lay still. With an animal snarl22, Vida dived on top of her, clawing and tearing.
My God, what a hell-cat, thought Bond. Beside him, Kerim's breath hissed23 tensely through his teeth.
But the big girl protected herself with her elbows and knees and at last she managed to kick Vida off. She staggered to her feet and backed away, her lips bared from her teeth and the shift hanging in tatters from her splendid body. At once she went in to the attack again, her arms groping forward for a hold and, as the smaller girl leapt aside, Zora's hand caught the neck of her shift and split it down to the hem1. But immediately Vida twisted in close under the reaching arms and her fists and knees thudded into the attacker's body.
This in-fighting was a mistake. The strong arms clamped shut round the smaller girl, trapping Vida's hands low down so that they could not reach up for Zora's eyes. And, slowly, Zora began to squeeze, while Vida's legs and knees thrashed ineffectually below.
Bond thought that now the big girl must win. All Zora had to do was to fall on the other girl. Vida's head would crack down on the stone and then Zora could do as she liked. But all of a sudden it was the big girl who began to scream. Bond saw that Vida's head was buried deep in the other's breasts. Her teeth were at work. Zora's arms let go as she reached for Vida's hair to pull the head back and away from her. But now Vida's hands were free and they were scrabbling at the big girl's body.
The girls tore apart and backed away like cats, their shining bodies glinting through the last rags of their shifts and blood showing on the exposed breasts of the big girl.
They circled warily24, both glad to have escaped, and as they circled they tore oft the last of their rags and threw them into the audience.
Bond held his breath at the sight of the two glistening25, naked bodies, and he could feel Kerim's body tense beside him. The ring of gipsies seemed to have come closer to the two fighters. The moon shone on glittering eyes and there was the whisper of hot, panting breath.
Still the two girls circled slowly, their teeth bared and their breath coming harshly. The light glinted off their heaving breasts and stomachs and off their hard, boyish flanks. Their feet left dark sweat marks on the white stones.
Again it was the big girl, Zora, who made the first move with a sudden forward leap and arms held out like a wrestler's. But Vida stood her ground. Her right foot lashed26 out in a furious coup27 de savate that made a slap like a pistol shot. The big girl gave a wounded cry and clutched at herself. At once Vida's other foot kicked up to the stomach and she threw herself in after it.
There was a low growl28 from the crowd as Zora went down on her knees. Her hands went up to protect her face, but it was too late. The smaller girl was astride her, and her hands grasped Zora's wrists as she bore down on her with all her weight and bent her to the ground, her bared white teeth reaching towards the offered neck.
`BOOM!'
The explosion cracked the tension like a nut. A flash of flame lit the darkness behind the dance floor and a chunk29 of masonry30 sang past Bond's ear. Suddenly the orchard31 was full of running men and the head gipsy was slinking forward across the stone with his curved dagger32 held out in front of him. Kerim was going after him, a gun in his hand. As the gipsy passed the two girls, now standing wild-eyed and trembling, he shouted a word at them and they took to their heels and disappeared among the trees where the last of the women and children were already vanishing among the shadows.
Bond, the Beretta held uncertainly in his hand, followed slowly in the wake of Kerim towards the wide breach33 that had been blown out of the garden wall, and wondered what the hell was going on.
The stretch of grass between the hole in the .wall and the dance floor was a turmoil34 of fighting, running figures. It was only as Bond came up with the fight that he distinguished35 the squat36, conventionally dressed Bulgars from the swirling37 finery of the gipsies. There seemed to be more of the Faceless Ones than of the gipsies, almost two to one. As Bond peered into the struggling mass, a gipsy youth was ejected from it, clutching his stomach. He groped towards Bond, coughing terribly. Two small dark men came after him, their knives held low.
Instinctively38 Bond stepped to one side so that the crowd was not behind the two men. He aimed at their legs above the knees and the gun in his hand cracked twice. The two men fell, soundlessly, face downwards39 in the grass.
Two bullets gone. Only six left. Bond edged closer to the fight.
A knife hissed past his head and clanged on to the dance floor.
It had been aimed at Kerim, who came running out of the shadows with two men on his heels. The second man stopped and raised his knife to throw and Bond shot from the hip40, blindly, and saw him fall. The other man turned and fled among the trees and Kerim dropped to one knee beside Bond, wrestling with his gun.
`Cover me,' he shouted. `Jammed on the first shot. It's those bloody41 Bulgars. God knows what they think they're doing.'
A hand caught Bond round the mouth and yanked him backwards42. On his way to the ground he smelled carbolic soap and nicotine43. He felt a boot thud into the back of his neck. As he whirled over sideways in the grass he expected to feel the searing flame of a knife. But the men, and there were three of them, were after Kerim, and as Bond scrambled44 to one knee he saw the squat black figures pile down on the crouching45 man, who gave one lash15 upwards with his useless gun and then went down under them.
At the same moment as Bond leapt forward and brought his gun butt46 down on a round shaven head, something flashed past his eyes and the curved dagger of the head gipsy was growing out of a heaving back. Then Kerim was on his feet and the third man was running arid47 a man was standing in the breach in the wall shouting one word, again and again, and one by one the attackers broke off their fights and doubled over to the man and past him and out on to the road.
`Shoot, James, shoot!' roared Kerim. `That's Krilencu.' He started to run forward. Bond's gun spat48 once. But the man had dodged49 round the wall, and thirty yards is too far for night shooting with an automatic. As Bond lowered his hot gun, there came the staccato firing of a squadron of Lambrettas, and Bond stood and listened to the swarm50 of wasps51 flying down the hill.
There was silence except for the groans52 of the wounded. Bond listlessly watched Kerim and Vavra come back through the breach in the wall and walk among the bodies, occasionally turning one over with a foot. The other gipsies seeped53 back from the road and the older women came hurrying out of the shadows to tend their men.
Bond shook himself. What the hell had it all been about? Ten or a dozen men had been killed. What for? Whom had they been trying to get? Not him, Bond. When he was down and ready for the killing54 they had passed him by and made for Kerim. This was the second attempt on Kerim's life. Was it anything to do with the Romanova business? How could it possibly tie in?
Bond tensed. His gun spoke twice from the hip. The knife clattered55 harmlessly off Kerim's back. The figure that had risen from the dead twirled slowly round like a ballet dancer and toppled forward on his face. Bond ran forward. He had been just in time. The moon had caught the blade and he had had a clear field of fire. Kerim looked down at the twitching56 body. He turned to meet Bond.
Bond stopped in his tracks. `You bloody fool,' he said angrily. `Why the hell can't you take more care! You ought to have a nurse.' Most of Bond's anger came from knowing that it was he who had brought a cloud of death around Kerim.
Darko Kerim grinned shamefacedly. `Now it is not good, James. You have saved my life too often. We might have been friends. Now the distance between us is too great. Forgive me, for I can never pay you back.' He held out his hand.
Bond brushed it aside. `Don't be a damn fool, Darko,' he said roughly. `My gun worked, that's all. Yours didn't. You'd better get one that does. For Christ's sake tell me what the hell this is all about. There's been too much blood splashing about tonight. I'm sick of it. I want a drink. Come and finish that raki.' He took the big man's arm.
As they reached the table, littered with the remains57 of the supper, a niercing, terrible scream came out of the depths of the orchard. Bond put his hand on his gun. Kerim shook his head. `We shall soon know what the Faceless Ones were after,' he said gloomily. `My friends are finding out. I can guess what they will discover. I think they will never forgive me for having been here tonight. Five of their men are dead.'
`There might have been a dead woman too,' said Bond unsympathetically. `At least you've saved her life. Don't be stupid, Darko. These gipsies knew the risks when they started spying for you against the Bulgars. It was gang warfare58.' He added a dash of water to two tumblers of raki.
They both emptied the glasses at one swallow. The head gipsy came up, wiping the tip of his curved dagger on a handful of grass. He sat down and Accepted a glass of raki from Bond. He seemed quite cheerful. Bond had the impression that the fight had been too short for him. The gipsy said something, slyly.
Kerim chuckled59. `He said that his judgment60 was right. You killed well. Now he wants you to take on those two women.'
`Tell him even one of them would be too much for me. But tell him I think they are fine women. I would be glad if he would do me a favour and call the fight a draw. Enough of his people have been killed tonight. He will need these two girls to bear children for the tribe.'
Kerim translated. The gipsy looked sourly at Bond and said a few bitter words.
`He says that you should not have asked him such a difficult favour. He says that your heart is too soft for a good fighter. But he says he will do what you ask.'
The gipsy ignored Bond's smile of thanks. He started talking fast to Kerim, who listened attentively61, occasionally interrupting the flow with a question. Krilencu's name was often mentioned. Kerim talked back. There was deep contrition62 in his voice and he refused to allow himself to be stopped by protests from the other. There came a last reference to Krilencu. Kerim turned to Bond.
`My friend,' he said drily. `It is a curious affair. It seems the Bulgars were ordered to kill Vavra and as many of his men as possible. That is a simple matter. They knew the gipsy had been working for me. Rather drastic, perhaps. But in killing, the Russians have not much finesse63. They like mass death. Vavra was a main target. I was another. The declaration of war against me personally I can also understand. But it seems that you were not to be harmed. You were exactly described so that there should be no mistake. That is odd. Perhaps it was desired that there should be no diplomatic repercussions64. Who can tell? The attack was well planned. They came to the top of the hill by a roundabout route and free-wheeled down so that we should hear nothing. This is a lonely place and there is not a policeman for miles. I blame myself for having treated these people too lightly.' Kerim looked puzzled and unhappy. He seemed to make up his mind. He said, `But now it is midnight. The Rolls will be here. There remains a small piece of work to be done before we go home to bed. And it is time we left these people. They have much to do before it is light. There are many bodies to go into the Bosphorus and there is the wall to be repaired. By daylight there must be no trace of these troubles. Our friend wishes you very well. He says you must return, and that Zora and Vida are yours until their breasts fall. He refuses to blame me for what has happened. He says that I am to continue sending him Bulgars. Ten were killed tonight. He would like some more. And now we will shake him by the hand and go. That is all he asks of us. We are good friends, but we are also gajos. And I expect he does not want us to see his women weeping over their dead.'
Kerim stretched out his huge hand. Vavra took it and held it and looked into Kerim's eyes. For a moment his own fierce eyes seemed to go opaque65. Then the gipsy let the hand drop and turned to Bond. The hand was dry and rough and padded like the paw of a big animal. Again the eyes went opaque. He let go of Bond's hand. He spoke rapidly and urgently to Kerim and turned his back on them and walked away towards the trees.
Nobody looked up from his work as Kerim and Bond climbed through the breach in the wall. The Rolls stood, glittering in the moonlight, a few yards down the road opposite the cafe entrance. A young man was sitting beside the chauffeur66. Kerim gestured with his hand. `That is my tenth son. He is called Boris. I thought I might need him. I shall.'
The youth turned and said, `Good evening, sir.' Bond recognized him as one of the clerks in the warehouse67. He was as dark and lean as the head clerk, and his eyes also were blue.
The car moved down the hill. Kerim spoke to the chauffeur in English. `It is a small street off the Hippodrome Square. When we get there we will proceed softly. I will tell you when to stop. Have you got the uniforms and the equipment?'
`Yes, Kerim Bey.'
`All right. Make good speed. It is time we were all in bed.'
Kerim sank back in his seat. He took out a cigarette. They sat and smoked. Bond gazed out at the drab streets and reflected that sparse68 street-lighting is the sure sign of a poor town.
It was some time before Kerim spoke. Then he said, `The gipsy said we both have the wings of death over us. He said that I am to beware of a son of the snows and you must beware of a man who is owned by the moon.' He laughed harshly. `That is the sort of rigmarole they talk. But he says that Krilencu isn't either of these men. That is good.'
`Why?'
`Because I cannot sleep until I have killed that man. I do not know if what happened tonight has any connection with you and your assignment. I do not care. For some reason, war has been declared on me. If I do not kill Krilencu, at the third attempt he will certainly kill me. So we are now on our way to keep an appointment with him in Samarra.'
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1
hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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2
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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purged
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| 清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响 | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wither
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| vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡 | |
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6
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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11
lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
shamming
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| 假装，冒充( sham的现在分词 ) | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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23
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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warily
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| adv.留心地 | |
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glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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coup
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| n.政变；突然而成功的行动 | |
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growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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chunk
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| n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量） | |
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masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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39
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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40
hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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41
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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42
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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43
nicotine
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| n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱 | |
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44
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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45
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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46
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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arid
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| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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48
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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49
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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50
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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51
wasps
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| 黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 )； 胡蜂； 易动怒的人； 刻毒的人 | |
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52
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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53
seeped
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| v.（液体）渗( seep的过去式和过去分词 )；渗透；渗出；漏出 | |
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54
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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55
clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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56
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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57
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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58
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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59
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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contrition
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| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
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finesse
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| n.精密技巧，灵巧，手腕 | |
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repercussions
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| n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波 | |
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opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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66
chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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67
warehouse
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| n.仓库；vt.存入仓库 | |
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sparse
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| adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的 | |
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