Bond could imagine that the hulking body with the ogre's teeth had not been very welcome at an English private school. And being a foreign count with a mouthful of names would not have helped much.
"When I was twenty," Drax's eyes glowed reminiscently, "I went to work in the family business. It was a subsidiary of the great steel combine Rheinmetall Borsig. Never heard of it, I suppose. Well, if you'd been hit by an 88 mm. shell during the war it would probably have been one of theirs. Our subsidiary were experts in special steel's and I learned all about them and a lot about the aircraft industry. Our most exacting2 customers. That's when I first heard about Columbite. Worth diamonds in those days. Then I joined the party and almost immediately we were at war. A wonderful time. I was twenty-eight and a lieutenant4 in the 140th Panzer Regiment5. And we ran through the British Army in France like a knife through butter. Intoxicating6."
For a moment Drax puffed7 luxuriously8 at his cigar and Bond guessed that he was seeing the burning villages of Belgium in the smoke.
"Those were great days, my dear Bond." Drax reached out a long arm and tapped the ash of his cigar off on to the floor. "But then I was picked out for the Brandenburg Division and I had to leave the girls and the champagne9 and go back to Germany and start training for the big water-jump to England. My English was needed in the Division, We were all going to be in English uniforms. It would have been fun, but the damned generals said it couldn't be done and I was transferred to the Foreign Intelligence Service of the SS. The RSHA it was called, and SS Obergruppenfьhrer Kaltenbrunner had just taken over the command after Heydrich was assassinated10 in '42. He was a good man and I was under the direct orders of a still better one, Obersturmbannfьhrer," he rolled out the delicious title with relish11, "Otto Skorzeny. His job in the RSHA was terrorism and sabotage12. A pleasant interlude, my dear Bond, during which I was able to bring many an Englishman to book which," Drax beamed coldly at Bond, "gave me much pleasure. But then," Drax's fist crashed down on the desk, "Hitler was betrayed again by those swinish generals and the English and Americans were allowed to land in France."
"Too bad," said Bond drily.
"Yes, my dear Bond, it was indeed too bad." Drax chose to ignore the irony13."But for me it was the high-spot of the whole war. Skorzeny turned all his saboteurs and terrorists into SS Jagdverbдnde for use behind the enemy lines. Each Jagdverband was divided into Streifkorps and then into Kommandos, each carrying the names of its commanding officer. With the rank of Oberleutnant," Drax swelled15 visibly, "at the head of Kommando 'Drache' I went right through the American lines with the famous 150 Panzer Brigade in the Ardennes break-through in December '44. No doubt you will remember the effect of this Brigade in its American uniforms and with its captured American tanks and vehicles. Kolossal! When the Brigade had to withdraw I stayed where I was and went to ground in the Forests of Ardennes, fifty miles behind the Allied16 lines. There were twenty of us, ten good men and ten Hitlerjugend Werewolves. In their teens, but good lads all of them. And, by a coincidence, in charge of them was a young man called Krebs who turned out to have certain gifts which qualified17 him for the post of executioner and 'persuader' to our merry little band." Drax chuckled18 pleasantly.
Bond licked his lips as he remembered the crack Krebs's head had made against the dressing-table. Had he kicked him as hard as he possibly could? Yes, his memory reassured19 him, with every ounce of strength he could put into his shoe.
"We stayed in those woods for six months," continued Drax proudly, "and all the time we reported back to the Fatherland by radio. The location vans never spotted20 us. Then one day disaster came." Drax shook his head at the memory. "There was a big farmhouse21 a mile away from our hideout in the forest. A lot of Nissen huts had been built round it and it was used as a rear headquarters for some sort of liaison22 group. English and Americans. A hopeless place. No discipline, no security, and full of hangers-on and shirkers from all over the place. We had kept an eye on it for some time and one day I decided23 to blow it up. It was a simple plan. In the evening, two of my men, one in American uniform and one in British, were to drive up in a captured scout24 car containing two tons of explosive. There was a car park-no sentries25 of course-near the mess hall and they were to run the car in as close to the mess hall as possible, time the fuse for the seven o'clock dinner hour, and then get away. All quite easy and I went off that morning on my own business and left the job to my second in command I was dressed in the uniform of your Signal Corps26 and I set off on a captured British motor-cycle to shoot a dispatch rider from the same unit who made a daily run along a near-by road. Sure enough he came along dead on time and I went after him out of a side road. I caught up with him," said Drax conversationally27, "and shot him in the back, took his papers and put him on top of his machine in the woods and set fire to him."
Drax saw the fury in Bond's eyes and held up his hand. "Not very sporting? My dear chap, the man was already dead However, to continue. I went on my way and then what should happen? One of our own planes coming back from a reconnaissance came after me down the road with his cannon28. One of our own planes! Blasted me right off the road. God knows how long I lay in the ditch. Some time in the afternoon I came to for a bit and had the sense to hide my cap and jacket and the dispatches. In the hedge. They're probably still there. I must go and collect them one day. Interesting souvenirs. Then I set fire to the remains29 of the motor-cycle and I must have fainted again because the next thing I knew I had been picked up by a British vehicle and we were driving into that damned liaison headquarters! ' Believe it or not! And there was the scout car, right up alongside the mess hall! It was too much for me. I was full of shell splinters and my leg was broken. Well, I fainted and when I came round there was half the hospital on top of me and I only had half a face." He put up his hand and stroked the shiny skin on his left temple and cheek. "After that it was just a question of acting3 a part. They had no idea who I was. The car that had picked me up had gone or been blown to pieces. I was just an Englishman in an English shirt and trousers who was nearly dead."
Drax paused and took out another cigar and lit it. There was silence in the room save for the soft diminished roar of the blowtorch. Its threatening voice was quieter. Pressure running out, reflected Bond.
He turned his head and looked at Gala. For the first time he saw the ugly bruise30 behind her left ear. He gave her a smile of encouragement and she smiled wryly31 back.
Drax spoke32 through the cigar smoke : "There is not much more to tell," he said. "During the year that I was being pushed from one hospital to the next I made my plans down to the smallest detail. They consisted quite simply of revenge on England for what she had done to me and to my country. It gradually became an obsession33, I admit it. Every day during the year of the rape34 and destruction of my country my hatred35 and scorn for the English grew more bitter " The veins36 on Drax's face started to swell14 and suddenly he pounded on the desk and shouted across at them, looking with bulging37 eyes from one to the other. "I loathe38 and despise you all. You swine! Useless, idle, decadent39 fools, hiding behind your bloody40 white cliffs while other people fight your battles. Too weak to defend your colonies, toadying41 to America with your hats in your hands. Stinking42 snobs43 who'll do anything for money. Hah!" he was triumphant44. "I knew that all I needed was money and the faзade of a gentleman. Gentleman! Pfui Teufel! To me a gentleman is just someone I can take advantage of. Those bloody fools in Blades for instance. Moneyed oafs. For months I took thousands of pounds off them, swindled them right under their noses until you came along and upset the apple-cart."
Drax's eyes narrowed. "What put you on to the cigarette case?" he asked sharply.
Bond shrugged45 his shoulders. "My eyes," he said indifferently.
"Ah well," said Drax, "perhaps I was a bit careless that night. But where was I? Ah yes, in hospital. And the good doctors were so anxious to help me find out who I really was " He let out a roar of laughter. "It was easy. So easy His eyes became cunning. "From the identities they offered me so helpfully I came upon the name of Hugo Drax, What a coincidence! From Drache to Drax! Tentatively I though it might be me. They were very proud Yes, they said of course it is you. The doctors triumphantly46 forced me into his shoes. I put them on and walked out of the hospital in them and I walked round London looking for someone to kill and rob. And one day, in a little office high above Piccadilly, a Jewish moneylender." (Now Drax was talking faster. The words poured excitedly from his lips. Bond watched a fleck47 of foam48 gather at one corner of his mouth and grow.) "Ha.
It was easy. Crack on his bald skull49. ?15,000 in the safe. And then away and out of the country, Tangier-where you could do anything, buy anything, fix anything, Columbite.
Rarer than platinum50 and everyone would want it. The Jet Age. I knew about these things. I had not forgotten my own profession. And then by God I worked. For five years I lived for money. And I was brave as a lion. I took terrible risks. And suddenly the first million was there. Then the second. Then the fifth. Then the twentieth. I came back to England. I spent a million of it and London was in my pocket. And then I went back to Germany. I found Krebs. I found fifty of them. Loyal Germans. Brilliant technicians. All living under false names like so many others of my old comrades. I gave them their orders and they waited, peacefully, innocently. And where was I?" Drax stared across at Bond, his eyes wide. "I was in Moscow. Moscow! A man with Columbite to sell can go anywhere. I got to the right people. They listened to my plans. They gave me Walter, the new genius of their guided missile station at Peenemunde, and the good Russians started to build the atomic warhead," he gestured up to the ceiling, "that is now waiting up there. Then I came back to London." A pause. "The Coronation. My letter to the Palace. Triumph. Hooray for Drax," he burst into a roar of laughter. "England at my feet. Every bloody fool in the country! And then my men come over and we start. Under the very skirts of Britannia. On top of her famous cliffs. We work like devils. We built a jetty into your English Channel. For supplies! For supplies from my good friends the Russians that came in dead on time last Monday night. But then Tallon had to hear something. The old fool. He talks to the Ministry51. But Krebs is listening. There were fifty volunteers to kill the man. Lots are drawn52 and Bartsch dies a hero's death." Drax paused. "He will not be forgotten." Then he went on. "The new warhead is hoisted53 into place. It fits. A perfect piece of design. The same weight. Everything perfect, and the old one, the tin can full of the Ministry's cherished instruments, is now in Stettin-behind the Iron Curtain. And the faithful submarine is on her way back here and will soon," he looked at his watch, "be creeping under the waters of the English Channel to take us all off at one minute past midday tomorrow."
Drax wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and lay back in his chair gazing up at the ceiling, his eyes full of visions. Suddenly he chuckled and squinted54 quizzically down his nose at Bond.
"And do you know what we shall do first when we go on board? We shall shave off those famous moustaches you were so interested in. You smelt55 a mouse, my dear Bond, where you ought to have smelt a rat. Those shaven heads and those moustaches we all cultivated so assiduously. Just a precaution, my dear fellow. Try shaving your own head and growing a big black moustache. Even your mother wouldn't recognize you. It's the combination that counts. Just a tiny refinement56. Precision, my dear fellow. Precision in every detail. That has been my watchword." He chuckled fatly and puffed away at his cigar.
Suddenly he looked sharply, suspiciously up at Bond. "Well. Say something. Don't sit there like a dummy57. What do you think of my story? Don't you think it's extraordinary, remarkable58? For one man to have done all that? Come on, come on." A hand came up to his mouth and he started tearing furiously at his nails. Then it was plunged59 back into his pocket and his eyes became cruel and cold. "Or do you want me to have to send for Krebs," he made a gesture towards the house telephone on his desk. "The Persuader. Poor Krebs. He's like a child who's had his toys taken away from him. Or perhaps Walter. He would give you both something to remember. There's no softness in that one. Well?"
"Yes," said Bond. He looked levelly at the great red face across the desk. "It's a remarkable case-history. Galloping60 paranoia61. Delusions62 of jealousy63 and persecution64. Megalomaniac hatred and desire for revenge. Curiously65 enough," he went on conversationally, "it may have something to do with your teeth. Diastema, they call it. Comes from sucking your thumb when you're a child. Yes. I expect that's what the psychologists will say when they get you into the lunatic asylum66. 'Ogre's teeth.' Being bullied67 at school and so on. Extraordinary the effect it has on a child. Then Nazism68 helped to fan the flames and then came the crack on your ugly head. The crack you engineered yourself. I expect that settled it. From then on you were really mad. Same sort of thing as people who think they're God. Extraordinary what tenacity69 they have. Absolute fanatics70. You're almost a genius. Lombroso would have been delighted with you. As it is you're just a mad dog that'll have to be shot. Or else you'll commit suicide. Paranoiacs generally do. Too bad. Sad business."
Bond paused and put all the scorn he could summon into his voice. "And now let's get on with this farce71, you great hairy-faced lunatic."
It worked. With every word Drax's face had become more contorted with rage, his eyes were red with it, the sweat of fury was dripping off his jowls on to his shirt, the lips were drawn back from the gaping72 teeth and a string of saliva73 had crept out of his mouth and was hanging down from his chin. Now, at the last private-school insult that must have awoken God knows what stinging memories, he leapt up from his chair and lunged round the desk at Bond, his hairy fists flailing74.
Bond gritted75 his teeth and took it.
When Drax had twice had to pick the chair up with Bond in it, the tornado76 of rage suddenly passed. He took out his silk handkerchief and wiped his face and hands. Then he walked quietly to the door and spoke across the lolling head of Bond to the girl.
"I don't think you two will give me any more trouble," he said, and his voice was quite calm and certain. "Krebs never makes a mistake with his knots." He gesticulated towards the bloody figure in the other chair. "When he wakes up," he said, "you can tell him that these doors will open once more, just before noon tomorrow. A few minutes later there will be nothing left of either of you. Not even," he added as he wrenched77 open the inner door, "the stoppings in your teeth."
The outer door slammed.
Bond slowly raised his head and grinned painfully at the girl with his bloodstained lips.
"Had to get him mad," he said with difficulty. "Didn't want to give him time to think. Had to work up a brainstorm78." Gala looked at him uncomprehendingly, her eyes wide at the terrible mask of his face.
"'S'all right," said Bond thickly. "Don't worry. London's okay. Got a plan."
Over on the desk the blowtorch gave a quiet 'plop' and went out.
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1
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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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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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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intoxicating
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| a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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assassinated
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| v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏 | |
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11
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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12
sabotage
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| n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏 | |
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13
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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14
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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15
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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allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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20
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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liaison
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| n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通 | |
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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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scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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conversationally
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| adv.会话地 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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bruise
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| n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤 | |
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wryly
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| adv. 挖苦地，嘲弄地 | |
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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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obsession
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| n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感) | |
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rape
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| n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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loathe
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| v.厌恶，嫌恶 | |
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decadent
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| adj.颓废的，衰落的，堕落的 | |
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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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toadying
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| v.拍马，谄媚( toady的现在分词 ) | |
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stinking
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| adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透 | |
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43
snobs
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| （谄上傲下的）势利小人( snob的名词复数 )； 自高自大者，自命不凡者 | |
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44
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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45
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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fleck
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| n.斑点，微粒 vt.使有斑点，使成斑驳 | |
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48
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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49
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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platinum
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| n.白金 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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52
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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53
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
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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55
smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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56
refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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57
dummy
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| n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 | |
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58
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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60
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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61
paranoia
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| n.妄想狂，偏执狂；多疑症 | |
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62
delusions
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| n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想 | |
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63
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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65
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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66
asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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67
bullied
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| adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
Nazism
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| n. 纳粹主义 | |
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69
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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70
fanatics
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| 狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 ) | |
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71
farce
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| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
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72
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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73
saliva
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| n.唾液，口水 | |
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74
flailing
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| v.鞭打( flail的现在分词 )；用连枷脱粒；（臂或腿）无法控制地乱动；扫雷坦克 | |
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75
gritted
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| v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的过去式和过去分词 )；咬紧牙关 | |
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76
tornado
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| n.飓风，龙卷风 | |
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77
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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brainstorm
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| vi.动脑筋，出主意，想办法，献计，献策 | |
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