On the small tables beside them there was coffee and large balloons of brandy. As M. and Bond came up, Drax was tearing the paper cover off a new pack of cards. The other pack was fanned out across the green baize in front of him.
"Ah, there you are," said Drax. He leant forward and cut a card. They all followed suit. Drax won the cut and elected to stay where he was and take the red cards.
Bond sat down on Drax's left.
M. beckoned1 to a passing waiter. "Coffee and the club brandy," he said. He took out a thin black cheroot and offered one to Bond who accepted it. Then he picked up the red cards and started to shuffle2 them.
"Stakes?" asked Drax, looking at M. "One and One? Or more? I'll be glad to accommodate you up to Five and Five."
"One and One'll be enough for me," said M. "James?"
Drax cut in, "I suppose your guest knows what he's in for?" he asked sharply.
Bond answered for M. "Yes," he said briefly3. He smiled at Drax. "And I feel rather generous tonight What would you like to take off me?"
"Every penny you've got," said Drax cheerfully. "How much can you afford?"
"I'll tell you when there's none left," said Bond. He suddenly decided4 to be ruthless. "I'm told that Five and Five is your limit. Let's play for that."
Almost before the words were out of his mouth he regretted them. ?50 a hundred! ?500 side-bets! Four bad rubbers would be double his income for a year. If something went wrong he'd look pretty stupid. Have to borrow from M. And M. wasn't a particularly rich man. Suddenly he saw that this ridiculous game might end in a very nasty mess. He felt the prickle of sweat on his forehead. That damned benzedrine. And, for him of all people to allow himself to be needled by a blustering5 loud-mouthed bastard6 like Drax. And' he wasn't even on a job. The whole evening was a bit of a social pantomime that meant less than nothing to him. Even M. had only been dragged into it by chance. And all of a sudden he'd let himself be swept up into a duel7 with this multi-millionaire, into a gamble for literally8 all Bond possessed9, for the simple reason that the man had got filthy10 manners and he'd wanted to teach him a lesson. And supposing the lesson didn't come off? Bond cursed himself for an impulse that earlier in the day would have seemed unthinkable. Champagne11 and benzedrine! Never again.
Drax was looking at him in sarcastic12 disbelief. He turned to M. who was still unconcernedly shuffling13 the cards. "I suppose your guest is good for his commitments," he said. Unforgivably.
Bond saw the bloods rush up M.'s neck and into his face. M. paused for an instant in his shuffling. When he continued Bond noticed that his hands were quite calm. M. looked up and took the cheroot very deliberately14 out from between his teeth. His voice was perfectly15 controlled. "If you mean 'Am I good for my guest's commitments'," he said coldly, "the answer is yes."
He cut the cards to Drax with his left hand and with his right knocked the ash off his cheroot into the copper16 ashtray17 in the corner of the table. Bond heard the faint hiss18 as the burning ash hit the water.
Drax squinted19 sideways at M. He picked up the cards. "Of course, of course," he said hastily. "I didn't mean…" He left the sentence unfinished and turned to Bond. "Right, then," he said, looking rather curiously20 at Bond. "Five and Five it is. Meyer," he turned to his partner, "how much would you like to take? There's Six and Six to cut up."
"One and One's enough for me, Hugger," said Meyer apologetically. "Unless you'd like me to take some more." He looked anxiously at his partner.
"Of course not," said Drax. "I like a high game. Never get enough on, generally. Now then," he started to deal. "Off we go."
And suddenly Bond didn't care about the high stakes. Suddenly all he wanted to do was to give this hairy ape the lesson of his life, give him a shock which would make him remember this evening for ever, remember Bond, remember M., remember the last time he would cheat at Blades, remember the time of day, the weather outside, what he had had for dinner.
For all its importance, Bond had forgotten the Moonraker. This was a private affair between two men.
As he watched the casual downward glance at the cigarette-case between the two hands and felt the cool memory ticking up the card values as they passed over its surface, Bond cleared his mind of all regrets, absolved21 himself of all blame for what was about to happen, and focused his attention on the game. He settled himself more comfortably into his chair and rested his hands on the padded leather arms. Then he took the thin cheroot from between his teeth, laid it on the burnished22 copper surround of the ashtray beside him and reached for his coffee. It was very black and strong. He emptied the cup and picked up the balloon glass with its fat measure of pale brandy. As he sipped23 it and then drank " again, more deeply, he looked over the rim24 at M. M. met his eye and smiled briefly.
"Hope you like it," he said. "Comes from one of the Rothschild estates at Cognac. About a hundred years ago one of the family bequeathed us a barrel of it every year in perpetuity. During the war they hid a barrel for us every year and then sent us over the whole lot in 1945. Ever since then we've been drinking doubles. And," he gathered up his cards, "now we shall have to concentrate."
Bond picked up his hand. It was average. A bare two-and-a-half quick tricks, the suits evenly distributed. He reached for his cheroot and gave it a final draw, then killed it in the ashtray.
"Three clubs," said Drax. No bid from Bond. Four clubs from Meyer. No bid from M.
Hm, thought Bond. He's not quite got the cards for a game call this tune25. Shut-out call-knows that his partner has got a bare raise. M. may have got a perfectly good bid. We may have all the hearts between us, for instance. But M. never gets a bid. Presumably they'll make four clubs.
They did, with the help of one finesse26 through Bond. M. turned out not to have had hearts, but a long string of diamonds, missing only the king, which was in Meyer's hand and would have been caught. Drax didn't have nearly enough length for a three call. Meyer had the rest of the clubs.
Anyway, thought Bond as he dealt the next hand, we were lucky to escape without a game call.
Their good luck continued. Bond opened a No Trump27, was put up to three by M., and they made it with an over-trick. On Meyer's deal they went one down in five diamonds, but on the next hand M. opened four spades and Bond's three small trumps28 and an outside king, queen were all M. needed for the contract.
First rubber to M. and Bond. Drax looked annoyed. He had lost ?900 on the rubber and the cards seemed to be running against them.
"Shall we go straight on?" he asked. "No point in cutting." M. smiled across at Bond. The same thought was in both their minds. So Drax wanted to keep the deal. Bond shrugged29 his shoulders.
"No objection," said M. "These seats seem to be doing their best for us."
"Up to now," said Drax, looking more cheerful. And with reason. On the next hand he and Meyer bid and made a small slam in spades that required two hair-raising finesses30, both of which Drax, after a good deal of pantomime and hemming31 and hawing, negotiated smoothly32, each time commenting loudly on his good fortune.
"Hugger, you're wonderful," said Meyer fulsomely33. "How the devil do you do it?"
Bond thought it time to sow a tiny seed. "Memory," he said.
Drax looked at him, sharply. "What do you mean, memory?" he said. "What's that got to do with taking a finesse?"
"I was going to add 'and card sense'," said Bond smoothly. "They're the two qualities that make great card-players."
"Oh," said Drax slowly. "Yes, I see." He cut the cards to Bond and as Bond dealt he felt the other man's eyes examining him carefully.
The game proceeded at an even pace. The cards refused to get hot and no one seemed inclined to take chances. M. doubled Meyer in an incautious four-spade bid and got him two down vulnerable, but on the next hand Drax went out with a lay down three No Trumps. Bond's win on the first rubber was wiped out and a bit more besides.
"Anyone care for a drink?" asked M. as he cut the cards to Drax for the third rubber. "James. A little more champagne. The second bottle always tastes better."
"I'd like that very much," said Bond.
The waiter came. The others ordered whiskies and sodas35.
Drax turned to Bond. "This game needs livening up," he said. "A hundred we win this hand." He had completed the deal and the cards lay in neat piles in the centre of the table.
Bond looked at him. The damaged eye glared at him redly. The other was cold and hard and scornful. There were beads36 of sweat on either side of the large, beaky nose.
Bond wondered if he was having a fly thrown over him to see if he was suspicious of the deal. He decided to leave the man in doubt. It was a hundred down the drain, but it would give him an excuse for increasing the stakes later.
"On your deal?" he said with a smile. "Well," he weighed imaginary chances. "Yes. All right." An idea seemed to come to him. "And the same on the next hand. If you like," he added.
"All right, all right," said Drax impatiently. "If you want to throw good money after bad."
"You seem very certain about this hand," said Bond indifferently, picking up his cards. They were a poor lot and he had no answer to Drax's opening No Trump except to double it. The bluff37 had no effect on Drax's partner. Meyer said
"Two No Trumps" and Bond was relieved when M., with no long suit, said "No bid". Drax left it in two No Trumps and made the contract.
"Thanks," he said with relish38, and wrote carefully on his score. "Now let's see if you can get it back."
Much to his annoyance39, Bond couldn't. The cards still ran for Meyer and Drax and they made three hearts and the game.
Drax was pleased with himself. He took a long swallow at his whisky and soda34 and wiped down his face with his bandana handkerchief.
"God is with the big battalions," he said jovially40. "Got to have the cards as well as play them. Coming back for more or had enough?"
Bond's champagne had come and was standing41 beside him in its silver bucket. There was a glass goblet42 three-quarters full beside it on the side table. Bond picked it up and drained it, as if to give himself Dutch courage. Then he filled it again.
"All right," he said thickly, "a hundred on the next two hands."
And promptly43 lost them both, and the rubber.
Bond suddenly realized that he was nearly ?1,500 down. He drank another glass of champagne. "Save trouble if we just double the stakes on this rubber," he said rather wildly. "All right with you?"
Drax had dealt and was looking at his cards. His lips were wet with anticipation44. He looked at Bond who seemed to be having difficulty lighting45 his cigarette. "Taken," he said quickly. "A hundred pounds a hundred and a thousand on the rubber." Then he felt he could risk a touch of sportsmanship. Bond could hardly cancel the bet now. "But I seem to have got some good tickets here," he added. "Are you still on?"
"Of course, of course," said Bond, clumsily picking up his hand. "I made the bet, didn't I?"
"All right, then," said Drax with satisfaction. "Three No Trumps here."
He made four.
Then, to Bond's relief, the cards turned. Bond bid and made a small slam in hearts and on the next hand M. ran out in three No Trumps.
Bond grinned cheerfully into the sweating face. Drax was picking angrily at his nails. "Big battalions," said Bond, rubbing it in.
Dax growled46 something and busied himself with the score.
Bond looked across at M., who was putting a match, with evident satisfaction at the way the game had gone, to his second cheroot of the evening, an almost unheard of indulgence.
"Traid this'll have to be my last rubber," said Bond. "Got to get up early. Hope you'll forgive me."
M. looked at his watch. "It's past midnight," he said. "What about you, Meyer?"
Meyer, who had been a silent passenger for most of the evening and who had the look of a man caught in a cage with a couple of tigers, seemed relieved at being offered a chance of making his escape. He leapt at the idea of getting back to his quiet flat in Albany and the soothing47 companionship of his collection of Battersea snuff-boxes.
"Quite all right with me,"Admiral," he said quickly. "What about you, Hugger? Nearly ready for bed?"
Drax ignored him. He looked up from his score-sheet at Bond. He noticed the signs of intoxication48. The moist forehead, the black comma of hair that hung untidily over the right eyebrow49, the sheen of alcohol in the grey-blue eyes.
"Pretty miserable50 balance so far," he said. "I make it you win a couple of hundred or so. Of course if you want to run out of the game you can. But how about some fireworks to finish up with? Treble the stakes on the last rubber? Fifteen and fifteen? Historic match. Am I on?"
Bond looked up at him. He paused before answering. He wanted Drax to remember every detail of this last rubber, every word that had been spoken, every gesture.
"Well," said Drax impatiently. "What about it?"
Bond looked into the cold left eye in the flushed face. He spoke51 to it alone.
"One hundred and fifty pounds a hundred, and ?1,500 on the rubber," he said distinctly. "You're on."
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收听单词发音
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1
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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shuffle
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| n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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5
blustering
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| adj.狂风大作的，狂暴的v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的现在分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹 | |
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6
bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
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7
duel
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| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
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8
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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11
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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12
sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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13
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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14
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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16
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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17
ashtray
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| n.烟灰缸 | |
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18
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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19
squinted
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| 斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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20
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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21
absolved
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| 宣告…无罪，赦免…的罪行，宽恕…的罪行( absolve的过去式和过去分词 )； 不受责难，免除责任 [义务] ,开脱（罪责） | |
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22
burnished
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| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
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23
sipped
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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26
finesse
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| n.精密技巧，灵巧，手腕 | |
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27
trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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28
trumps
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| abbr.trumpets 喇叭；小号；喇叭形状的东西；喇叭筒v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去式 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造 | |
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29
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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30
finesses
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| v.手腕，手段，技巧( finesse的第三人称单数 ) | |
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31
hemming
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| 卷边 | |
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32
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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33
fulsomely
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34
soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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35
sodas
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| n.苏打( soda的名词复数 )；碱；苏打水；汽水 | |
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36
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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37
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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38
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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39
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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40
jovially
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| adv.愉快地，高兴地 | |
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41
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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42
goblet
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| n.高脚酒杯 | |
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43
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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44
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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45
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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46
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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47
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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48
intoxication
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| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
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49
eyebrow
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| n.眉毛，眉 | |
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50
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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51
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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