It was 7.45 and his second Vodka dry Martini with a large slice of lemon peel had just been brought to him by Baker1, the head waiter. He sipped2 it, wondering idly why Gala was late. It was not like her. She was the sort of girl who would telephone if she had been kept at the Yard. Vallance, whom he had visited at five, had said that Gala was due with him at six.
Vallance had been very anxious to see her. He was a worried man and when Bond reported briefly3 on the security of the Moonraker, Vallance seemed to be listening with only half his mind.
It appeared that all that day there had been heavy selling of sterling4. It had started in Tangier and quickly spread to Zurich and New York. The pound had been fluctuating wildly in the money markets of the world and the arbitrage5 dealers6 had made a killing7. The net result was that the pound was a whole three cents down on the day and the forward rates were still weaker. It was front-page news in the evening papers and at the close of business the Treasury8 had got on to Vallance and told him the extraordinary news that the selling wave had been started by Drax Metals Ltd. in Tangier. The operation had begun that morning and by close of business the firm had managed to sell British currency short to the tune9 of twenty million pounds. This had been too much for the markets, and the Bank of England had had to step in and buy in order to stop a still sharper run. It was then that Drax Metals had come to light as the seller.
Now the Treasury wanted to know what it was all about-whether it was Drax himself selling or one of the big commodity interests who were clients of his firm. The first thing they did was to tackle Vallance. Vallance could only think that in some way the Moonraker was to be a failure and that Drax knew it and wanted to profit by his knowledge. He at once spoke10 to the Ministry11 of Supply, but they pooh-poohed the idea. Tiere was no reason to think the Moonraker would be a failure and even if its practice flight was not successful the fact would be covered up with talk of technical hitches12 and so forth13. In any case, whether the rocket was a success or not, there could be no possible reaction on British financial credit. No, they certainly wouldn't think of mentioning the matter to the Prime Minister. Drax Metals was a big trading organization. They were probably acting14 for some foreign govern ment. The Argentine. Perhaps even Russia. Someone with big sterling balances. Anyway it was nothing to do with the Ministry, or with the Moonraker, which would be launched punctually at noon the next day.
This had made sense to Vallance, but he was still worried. He didn't like mysteries and he was glad to share his concern with Bond. Above all he wanted to ask Gala if she had seen any Tangier cables and if so whether Drax had made any comment on them.
Bond was sure Gala would have mentioned anything of the sort to him, and he said so to Vallance. They had talked some more and then Bond had left for his headquarters where M. was expecting him.
M. had been interested in everything, even the shaven heads and moustaches of the men. He questioned Bond minutely and when Bond finished his story with the gist15 of his last conversation with Vallance M. sat for a long time lost in thought.
"007," he said at last, "I don't like any part of this. There's something going on down there but I can't for the life of me make any sense out of it. And I don't see where I can possibly interfere16. All the facts are known to the Special Branch and to the Ministry and, God knows, I've got nothing to add to them. Even if I had a word with the PM, which would be damned unfair on Vallance, what am I to tell him? What facts? What's it all about? There's nothing but the smell of it all. And it's a bad smell. And," he added, "a very big one, if I'm not mistaken.
"No," he looked across at Bond and his eyes held an unusual note of urgency. "It looks as if it's all up to you. And that girl. You're lucky she's a good one. Anything you want? Anything I can do to help?"
"No, thank you, sir," Bond had said and he had walked out through the familiar corridors and down in the lift to his own office where he had terrified Loelia Ponsonby by giving her a kiss as he said good-night. The only times he ever did that were at Christmas, on her birthday, and just before there was something dangerous to be done.
Bond drank down the rest of his Martini and looked at his watch. Now it was eight o'clock and suddenly he shivered.
He got straight up from his table and walked out to the telephone.
The switchboard at the Yard said that the Assistant Commissioner17 had been trying to reach him. He had had to go to a dinner at the Mansion18 House. Could Commander Bond please stay by the telephone? Bond waited impatiently. All his fears surged up at him from the chunk19 of black bakelite. He could, see the rows of polite faces. The uniformed waiter slowly edging his way round to Vallance. The quickly pulled-back chair. The unobtrusive exit. Those echoing stone lobbies. The discreet20 booth.
The telephone screamed at him. "That you, Bond? Vallance here. Seen anything of Miss Brand?"
Bond's heart went cold. "No," he said sharply. "She's half an hour late for dinner. Didn't she turn up at six?"
"No, and I've had a 'trace' sent out and there's no sign of her at the usual address she stays at when she come to London. None of her friends have seen her. If she left in Drax's car at two-thirty she should have been in London by half-past four. There's been no crash on the Dover road during the afternoon and the AA and the RAC are negative." There was a pause. "Now listen." There was urgent appeal in Vallance's voice. "She's a good girl that, and I don't want anything to happen to her. Can you handle it for me? I can't put out a general call for her. The killing down there has made her news and we'd have the whole Press round our ears. It will be even worse after ten tonight. Downing Street are issuing a communique about the practice shoot and tomorrow's papers are going to be nothing but Moonraker. The PM's going to broadcast. Her disappearance21 would turn the whole thing into a crime story. Tomorrow's too important for that and anyway the girl may have had a fainting fit or something. But I want her found. Well? What do you say? Can you handle it? You can have all the help you want. I'll tell the Duty Officer that he's to accept your orders."
"Don't worry," said Bond. "Of course I'll look after it." He paused, his mind racing22. "Just tell me something. What do you know about Drax's movements?"
"He wasn't expected at the Ministry until seven," said Vallance. "I left word…" There was a confused noise on the line and Bond heard Vallance say "Thanks." He came back on the line. "Just got a report passed on by the City police," he said. "The Yard couldn't get me on the 'phone.
Talking to you. Let's see," he read, " 'Sir Hugo Drax arrived Ministry 1900 left at 2000. Left message dining at Blades if wanted. Back at site 2300.'" Vallance commented: "That means he'll be leaving London about nine. Just a moment." He read on : " 'Sir Hugo stated Miss Brand felt unwell on arrival in London but at her request he left her at Victoria Station bus terminal at 16.45. Miss Brand stated she would rest with some friends, address unknown, and contact Sir Hugo at Ministry at 1900. She had not done so.' And that's all," said Vallance. "Oh, by the way, we made the inquiry23 about Miss Brand on your behalf. Said you had arranged to meet her at six and she hadn't turned up."
"Yes," said Bond, his thoughts elsewhere. "That doesn't seem to get us anywhere. I'll have to get busy. Just one more thing. Has Drax got a place in London, flat or anything like that?"
"He always stays at the Ritz nowadays," said Vallance. "Sold his house in Grosvenor Square when he moved down to Dover. But we happen to know he's got some sort of an establishment in Ebury Street. We checked there. But there was no answer to the bell and my man said the house looked unoccupied. Just behind Buckingham Palace. Some sort of hideout of his. Keeps it very quiet. Probably takes his women there. Anything else? I ought to be getting back or all this big brass24 will think the Crown Jewels have been stolen."
"You go ahead," said Bond. "I'll do my best and if I get stuck I'll call on your men to help. Don't worry if you don't hear from me. So long."
"So long," said Vallance with a note of relief in his voice. "And thanks. Best of luck."
Bond rang off.
He picked up the receiver again and called Blades.
"This is the Ministry of Supply," he said. "Is Sir Hugo Drax in the club?"
"Yes, sir," it was the friendly voice of Brevett. "He's in the dining-room. Do you wish to speak to him?"
"No, it's all right," said Bond. "I just wanted to make certain he hadn't left yet."
Without noticing what he was eating Bond wolfed down some food and left the restaurant at 8.45. His car was outside waiting for him and he said good-night to the driver from Headquarters and drove to St James's Street. He parked under cover of the central row of taxis outside Boodle's and settled himself behind an evening paper over which he could keep his eyes on a section of Drax's Mercedes which he was relieved to see standing25 in Park Street, unattended.
He had not long to wait. Suddenly a broad shaft26 of yellow light shone out from the doorway27 of Blades and the big figure of Drax appeared. He wore a heavy ulster up round his ears and a cap pulled down over his eyes. He walked quickly to the white Mercedes, slammed the door, and was away across to the left-hand side of St James's Street and braking to turn opposite St James's Palace while Bond was still in third.
God, the man moves quickly, thought Bond, doing a racing change round the island in the Mall with Drax already passing the statue in front of the Palace. He kept the Bentley in third and thundered in pursuit. Buckingham Palace Gate. So it looked like Ebury Street. Keeping the white car just in view, Bond made hurried plans. The lights at the corner of Lower Grosvenor Place were green for Drax and red for Bond. Bond jumped them and was just in time to see Drax swing left into the beginning of Ebury Street. Gambling28 on Drax making a stop at his house, Bond accelerated to the corner and pulled up just short of it. As he jumped out of the Bentley, leaving the engine ticking over, and took the few steps towards Ebury Street, he heard two short blasts on the Mercedes' horn and as he carefully edged round the corner he was in time to see Krebs helping29 the muffled30 figure of a girl across the pavement. Then the door of the Mercedes slammed and Drax was off again.
Bond raced back to his car, whipped into third, and went after him.
Thank God the Mercedes was white. There it went, its stop-lights blazing briefly at the intersections31, the headlamps full on and the horn blaring at any hint of a check in the sparse32 traffic.
Bond set his teeth and rode his car as if she was a Lipizaner at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. He could not use headlights or horn for fear of betraying his presence to the car in front. He just had to play on his brakes and gears and hope for the best.
The deep note of his two-inch exhaust thundered back at him from the houses on either side and his tyres screamed on the tarmac. He thanked heavens for the new set of racing
Michelins that were only a week old. If only the lights would be kind. He seemed to be getting nothing but amber33 and red while Drax was always being swept on by the green. Chelsea Bridge. So it did look like the Dover road by the South Circular! Could he hope to keep up with the Mercedes on A20? Drax had two passengers. His car might not be tuned34. But with that independent springing he could corner better than Bond, The old Bentley was a bit high off the ground for this sort of work. Bond stamped on his brakes and risked a howl on his triple klaxons as a homeward-bound taxi started to weave over to the right. It jerked back to the left and Bond heard a four-letter yell as he shot past.
Clapham Common and the flicker35 of the white car through the trees. Bond ran the Bentley up to eighty along the safe bit of road and saw the lights go red just in time to stop Drax at the end of it. He put the Bentley into neutral and coasted up silently. Fifty yards away. Forty, thirty, twenty. The lights changed and Drax was over the crossing and away again, but not before Bond had seen that Krebs was beside the driver and there was no sign of Gala except the hump of a rug over the narrow back seat.
So there was no question. You don't take a sick girl for a drive like a sack of potatoes. Not at that speed for the matter of that. So she was a prisoner. Why? What had she done? What had she discovered? What the hell, in fact, was all this about?
Each dark conjecture36 came and for a moment settled like a vulture on Bond's shoulder and croaked37 into his ear that he had been a blind fool. Blind, blind, blind. From the moment he had sat in his office after the night at Blades and made his mind up about Drax being a dangerous man he should have been on his toes. At the first smell of trouble, the marks on the chart for instance, he should have taken action. But what action? He had passed on each clue, each fear. What could he have done except kill Drax? And get hanged for his pains? Well, then. What about the present? Should he stop and telephone the Yard? And let the car get away? For all he knew Gala was being taken for a ride and Drax planned to get rid of her on the way to Dover. And that Bond might conceivably prevent if only his car could take it.
As if to echo his thoughts the tortured rubber screamed as he left the South Circular road into A20 and took the round about at forty. No. He had told M. that he would stay with it. He had told Vallance the same. The case had been dumped firmly into his lap and he must do what he could. At least if he kept up with the Mercedes he might shoot up its tyres and apologize afterwards. To let it get away would be criminal.
So be it, said Bond to himself.
He had to slow for some lights and he used the pause to pull a pair of goggles38 out of the dashboard compartment39 and cover his eyes with them. Then he leant over to the left and twisted the big screw on the windscreen and then eased the one beside his right hand. He pressed the narrow screen flat down on the bonnet40 and tightened41 the screws again.
Then he accelerated away from Swanley Junction42 and was soon doing ninety astride the cat's eyes down the Farningham by-pass, the wind howling past his ears and the shrill43 scream of his supercharger riding with him for company.
A mile ahead the great eyes of the Mercedes hooded44 themselves as they went over the crest45 of Wrotham Hill and disappeared down into the moonlit panorama46 of the Weald of Kent.
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1
baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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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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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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arbitrage
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| n.套利，套汇 | |
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dealers
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| n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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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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10
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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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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hitches
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| 暂时的困难或问题( hitch的名词复数 )； 意外障碍； 急拉； 绳套 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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gist
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| n.要旨；梗概 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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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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discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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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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shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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intersections
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| n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集 | |
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sparse
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| adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的 | |
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amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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tuned
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| adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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goggles
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| n.护目镜 | |
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compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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41
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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44
hooded
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| adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的 | |
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45
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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46
panorama
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| n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置] | |
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