From the moment the BOAC Stratocruiser taxied up to the International Air Terminal at Idlewild, James Bond was treated like royalty3.
When he left the aircraft with the other passengers he had resigned himself to the notorious purgatory4 of the US Health, Immigration and Customs machinery5. At least an hour, he thought, of overheated, drab-green rooms smelling of last year's air and stale sweat and guilt6 and the fear that hangs round all frontiers, fear of those closed doors marked PRIVATE that hide the careful men, the files, the teleprinters chattering7 urgently to Washington, to the Bureau of Narcotics8, Counter Espionage9, the Treasury10, the FBI.
As he walked across the tarmac in the bitter January wind he saw his own name going over the network: BOND, JAMES. BRITISH DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT 0094567, the short wait and the replies coming back on the different machines : NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE. And then, from the FBI: POSITIVE AWAIT CHECK. There would be some hasty traffic on the FBI circuit with the Central Intelligence Agency and then: FBI TO IDLEWILD: BOND OKAY OKAY, and the bland11 official out front would hand him back his passport with a 'Hope you enjoy your stay, Mr. Bond.'
Bond shrugged12 his shoulders and followed the other passengers through the wire fence towards the door marked US HEALTH SERVICE.
In his case it was only a boring routine, of course, but he disliked the idea of his dossier being in the possession of any foreign power. Anonymity13 was the chief tool of his trade. Every thread of his real identity that went on record in any file diminished his value and, ultimately, was a threat to his life. Here in America, where they knew all about him, he felt like a negro whose shadow has been stolen by the witchdoctor. A vital part of himself was in pawn14, in the hands of others. Friends, of course, in this instance, but still…
'Mr. Bond?'
A pleasant-looking nondescript man in plain clothes had stepped forward from the shadow of the Health Service building.
'My name's Halloran. Pleased to meet you!'
They shook hands.
'Hope you had a pleasant trip. Would you follow me, please?'
He turned to the officer of the Airport police on guard at the door.
'Okay, Sergeant15.'
'Okay, Mr. Halloran. Be seeing you.'
The other passengers had passed inside. Halloran turned to the left, away from the building. Another policeman held open a small gate in the high boundary fence.
'Bye, Mr. Halloran.'
'Bye, Officer. Thanks.'
Directly outside a black Buick waited, its engine sighing quietly. They climbed in. Bond's two light suitcases were in front next to the driver. Bond couldn't imagine how they had been extracted so quickly from the mound16 of passengers' luggage he had seen only minutes before being trolleyed17 over to Customs.
'Okay, Grady. Let's go.'
Bond sank back luxuriously18 as the big limousine20 surged forward, slipping quickly into top through the Dynaflow gears.
He turned to Halloran.
'Well, that's certainly one of the reddest carpets I've ever seen. I expected to be at least an hour getting through Immigration. Who laid it on? I'm not used to v i p treatment. Anyway, thanks very much for your part in it all.'
'You're very welcome, Mr. Bond.' Halloran smiled and offered him a cigarette from a fresh pack of Luckies. 'We want to make your stay comfortable. Anything you want, just say so and it's yours. You've got some good friends in Washington. I don't myself know why you're here but it seems the authorities are keen that you should be a privileged guest of the Government. It's my job to see you get to your hotel as quickly and as comfortably as possible and then I'll hand over and be on my way. May I have your passport a moment, please.'
Bond gave it to him. Halloran opened a brief-case on the seat beside him and took out a heavy metal stamp. He turned the pages of Bond's passport until he came to the US Visa, stamped it, scribbled21 his signature over the dark blue circle of the Department of Justice cypher and gave it back to him. Then he took out his pocket-book and extracted a thick white envelope which he gave to Bond.
'There's a thousand dollars in there, Mr. Bond.' He held up his hand as Bond started to speak. 'And it's Communist money we took in the Schmidt-Kinaski haul. We're using it back at them and you are asked to co-operate and spend this in any way you like on your present assignment. I am advised that it will be considered a very unfriendly act if you refuse. Let's please say no more about it and,' he added, as Bond continued to hold the envelope dubiously22 in his hand, 'I am also to say that the disposal of this money through your hands has the knowledge and approval of your own Chief.'
Bond eyed him narrowly and then grinned. He put the envelope away in his notecase.
'All right,' he said. 'And thanks. I'll try and spend it where it does most harm. I'm glad to have some working capital. It's certainly good to know it's been provided by the opposition23.'
'Fine,' said Halloran; 'and now, if you'll forgive me, I'll just write up my notes for the report I'll have to put in. Have to remember to get a letter of thanks sent to Immigration and Customs and so forth24 for their co-operation. Routine.'
'Go ahead,' said Bond. He was glad to keep silent and gaze out at his first sight of America since the war. It was no waste of time to start picking up the American idiom again: the advertisements, the new car models and the prices of second-hand25 ones in the used-car lots; the exotic pungency26 of the road signs: SOFT SHOULDERS - SHARP CURVES - SQUEEZE AHEAD - SLIPPERY WHEN WET; the standard of driving; the number of women at the wheel, their menfolk docilely27 beside them; the men's clothes; the way the women were doing their hair; the Civil Defence warnings: IN CASE OF ENEMY ATTACK - KEEP MOVING - GET OFF BRIDGE; the thick rash of television aerials and the impact of TV on hoardings and shop windows; the occasional helicopter; the public appeals for cancer and polio funds: THE MARCH OF DIMES28 - all the small, fleeting29 impressions that were as important to his trade as are broken bark and bent30 twigs31 to the trapper in the jungle.
The driver chose the Triborough Bridge and they soared across the breath-taking span into the heart of up-town Manhattan, the beautiful prospect32 of New York hastening towards them until they were down amongst the hooting33, teeming34, petrol-smelling roots of the stressed-concrete jungle.
Bond turned to his companion.
'I hate to say it,' he said, 'but this must be the fattest atomic-bomb target on the whole face of the globe.'
'Nothing to touch it,' agreed Halloran. 'Keeps me awake nights thinking what would happen.'
They drew up at the best hotel in New York, the St. Regis, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street. A saturnine35 middle-aged36 man in a dark blue overcoat and black homburg came forward behind the commissionaire. On the sidewalk, Halloran introduced him.
'Mr. Bond, meet Captain Dexter.' He was deferential37. 'Can I pass him along to you now, Captain?'
'Sure, sure. Just have his bags sent up. Room 2100. Top floor. I'll go ahead with Mr. Bond and see he has everything he wants.'
Bond turned to say good-bye to Halloran and thank him. For a moment Halloran had his back to him as he said something about Bond's luggage to the commissionaire.
Bond looked past him across 55th Street. His eyes narrowed. A black sedan, a Chevrolet, was pulling sharply out into the thick traffic, right in front of a Checker cab that braked hard, its driver banging his fist down on the horn and holding it there. The sedan kept going, just caught the tail of the green light, and disappeared north up Fifth Avenue.
It was a smart, decisive bit of driving, but what startled Bond was that it had been a negress at the wheel, a fine-looking negress in a black chauffeur38's uniform, and through the rear window he had caught a glimpse of the single passenger - a huge grey-black face which had turned slowly towards him and looked directly back at him, Bond was sure of it, as the car accelerated towards the Avenue.
Bond shook Halloran by the hand. Dexter touched his elbow impatiently.
'We'll go straight in and through the lobby to the elevators. Half-right across the lobby. And would you please keep your hat on, Mr. Bond.'
As Bond followed Dexter up the steps into the hotel he reflected that it was almost certainly too late for these precautions. Hardly anywhere in the world will you find a negress driving a car. A negress acting39 as a chauffeur is still more extraordinary. Barely conceivable even in Harlem, but that was certainly where the car was from.
And the giant shape in the back seat? That grey-black face? Mister Big?
'Hm,' said Bond to himself as he followed the slim back of Captain Dexter into the elevator.
The elevator slowed up for the twenty-first floor.
'We've got a little surprise ready for you, Mr. Bond,' said Captain Dexter, without, Bond thought, much enthusiasm.
They walked down the corridor to the corner room.
The wind sighed outside the passage windows and Bond had a fleeting view of the tops of other skyscrapers40 and, beyond, the stark41 fingers of the trees in Central Park. He felt far out of touch with the ground and for a moment a strange feeling of loneliness and empty space gripped his heart.
Dexter unlocked the door of No. 2100 and shut it behind them. They were in a small lighted lobby. They left their hats and coats on a chair and Dexter opened the door in front of them and held it for Bond to go through.
He walked into an attractive sitting-room42 decorated in Third Avenue 'Empire' - comfortable chairs and a broad sofa in pale yellow silk, a fair copy of an Aubusson on the floor, pale grey walls and ceiling, a bow-fronted French sideboard with bottles and glasses and a plated ice-bucket, a wide window through which the winter sun poured out of a Swiss-clear sky. The central heating was just bearable.
The communicating door with the bedroom opened.
'Arranging the flowers by your bed. Part of the famous CIA "Service With a Smile".' The tall thin young man came forward with a wide grin, his hand outstretched, to where Bond stood rooted with astonishment43.
'Felix Leiter! What the hell are you doing here?' Bond grasped the hard hand and shook it warmly. 'And what the hell are you doing in my bedroom, anyway? God! it's good to see you. Why aren't you in Paris? Don't tell me they've put you on this job?'
Leiter examined the Englishman affectionately.
'You've said it. That's just exactly what they have done. What a break! At least, it is for me. CIA thought we did all right together on the Casino job so they hauled me away from the Joint44 Intelligence chaps in Paris, put me through the works in Washington and here I am. I'm sort of liaison45 between the Central Intelligence Agency and our friends of the FBI.' He waved towards Captain Dexter, who was watching this unprofessional ebullience46 without enthusiasm. 'It's their case, of course, at least the American end of it is, but as you know there are some big overseas angles which are CIA's territory, so we're running it joint. Now you're here to handle the Jamaican end for the British and the team's complete. How does it look to you? Sit down and let's have a drink. I ordered lunch directly I got the word you were downstairs and it'll be on its way.' He went over to the sideboard and started mixing a Martini.
'Well, I'm damned,' said Bond. 'Of course that old devil M never told me. He just gives one the facts. Never tells one any good news. I suppose he thinks it might influence one's decision to take a case or not. Anyway, it's grand.'
Bond suddenly felt the silence of Captain Dexter. He turned to him.
'I shall be very glad to be under your orders here, Captain,' he said tactfully. 'As I understand it, the case breaks pretty neatly47 into two halves. The first half lies wholly on American territory. Your jurisdiction48, of course. Then it looks as if we shall have to follow it into the Caribbean. Jamaica. And I understand I am to take over outside United States territorial49 waters. Felix here will marry up the two halves so far as your government is concerned. I shall report to London through CIA while I'm here, and direct to London, keeping CIA informed, when I move to the Caribbean. Is that how you see it?'
Dexter smiled thinly. 'That's just about it, Mr. Bond. Mr. Hoover instructs me to say that he's very pleased to have you along. As our guest,' he added. 'Naturally we are not in any way concerned with the British end of the case and we're very happy that CIA will be handling that with you and your people in London. Guess everything should go fine. Here's luck,' and he lifted the cocktail50 Leiter had put into his hand.
They drank the cold hard drink appreciatively, Leiter with a faintly quizzical expression on his hawk-like face.
There was a knock on the door. Leiter opened it to let in the bellboy with Bond's suitcases. He was followed by two waiters pushing trolleys51 loaded with covered dishes, cutlery and snow-white linen52, which they proceeded to lay out on a folding table.
'Soft-shell crabs53 with tartare sauce, flat beef Hamburgers, medium-rare, from the charcoal54 grill55, french-fried potatoes, broccoli56, mixed salad with thousand-island dressing57, icecream with melted butterscotch and as good a Liebfraumilch as you can get in America. Okay?'
"It sounds fine,' said Bond with a mental reservation about the melted butterscotch.
They sat down and ate steadily58 through each delicious course of American cooking at its rare best.
They said little, and it was only when the coffee had been brought and the table cleared away that Captain Dexter took the fifty-cent cigar from his mouth and cleared his throat decisively.
'Mr. Bond,' he said, 'now perhaps you would tell us what you know about this case.'
Bond slit59 open a fresh pack of King Size Chesterfields with his thumb-nail and, as he settled back in his comfortable chair in the warm luxurious19 room, his mind went back two weeks to the bitter raw day in early January when he had walked out of his Chelsea flat into the dreary60 half-light of a London fog.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
efface
|
|
| v.擦掉，抹去 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
allied
|
|
| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
royalty
|
|
| n.皇家，皇族 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
purgatory
|
|
| n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
machinery
|
|
| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
guilt
|
|
| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
chattering
|
|
| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
narcotics
|
|
| n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
espionage
|
|
| n.间谍行为，谍报活动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
treasury
|
|
| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
bland
|
|
| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
shrugged
|
|
| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
anonymity
|
|
| n.the condition of being anonymous | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
pawn
|
|
| n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
sergeant
|
|
| n.警官，中士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
mound
|
|
| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
trolleyed
|
|
| vt.&vi.载运用有轨电车运送（trolley的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
18
luxuriously
|
|
| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
luxurious
|
|
| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
limousine
|
|
| n.豪华轿车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
scribbled
|
|
| v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
dubiously
|
|
| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
opposition
|
|
| n.反对，敌对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
second-hand
|
|
| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
pungency
|
|
| n.（气味等的）刺激性；辣；（言语等的）辛辣；尖刻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
docilely
|
|
| adv.容易教地，易驾驶地，驯服地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
dimes
|
|
| n.（美国、加拿大的）10分铸币( dime的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
fleeting
|
|
| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
twigs
|
|
| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
prospect
|
|
| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
hooting
|
|
| （使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
teeming
|
|
| adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
saturnine
|
|
| adj.忧郁的，沉默寡言的，阴沉的，感染铅毒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
middle-aged
|
|
| adj.中年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
deferential
|
|
| adj. 敬意的，恭敬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
chauffeur
|
|
| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
skyscrapers
|
|
| n.摩天大楼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
stark
|
|
| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
sitting-room
|
|
| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
joint
|
|
| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
liaison
|
|
| n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
ebullience
|
|
| n.沸腾，热情，热情洋溢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
neatly
|
|
| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
jurisdiction
|
|
| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
territorial
|
|
| adj.领土的，领地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
cocktail
|
|
| n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
trolleys
|
|
| n.（两轮或四轮的）手推车( trolley的名词复数 )；装有脚轮的小台车；电车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
linen
|
|
| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
crabs
|
|
| n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
charcoal
|
|
| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
grill
|
|
| n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
broccoli
|
|
| n.绿菜花，花椰菜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
dressing
|
|
| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
slit
|
|
| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
dreary
|
|
| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |