'That's a cheat,' said Bond severely2. 'You agreed that if I won it would be a real kiss on the mouth. At the very least,' he added.
'Grey Pearl', the Madame, who had black lacquered teeth, a bizarre affectation, and was so thickly made up that she looked like a character out of a No play, translated. There was much giggling3 and cries of encouragement. Trembling Leaf covered her face with her pretty hands as if she were being required to perform some ultimate obscenity. But then the fingers divided and the pert brown eyes examined Bond's mouth, as if taking aim, and her body lanced forward. This time the kiss was full on the lips and it lingered fractionally. In invitation? In promise? Bond remembered that he had been promised a 'pillow geisha'. Technically4, this would be a geisha of low caste. She would not be proficient5 in the traditional arts of her calling - she would not be able to tell humorous stories, sing, paint or compose verses about her patron. But, unlike her cultured sisters, she might agree to perform more robust7 services - discreetly8, of course, in conditions of the utmost privacy and at a high price. But, to the boorish9, brutalized tastes of a gaijin, a foreigner, this made more sense than having a tanka of thirty-one syllables10, which in any case he couldn't understand, equate11, in exquisite12 ideograms, his charms with budding chrysanthemums13 on the slopes of Mount Fuji.
The applause which greeted this unbridled exhibition of lasciviousness15 died quickly and respectfully. The powerful, chunky man in the black yukata, sitting directly across the low red lacquer table from Bond, had taken the Dunhill filter holder17 from between his golden teeth and had laid it beside his ashtray18. 'Bondo-san,' said Tiger Tanaka, Head of the Japanese Secret Service, 'I will now challenge you to this ridiculous game, and I promise you in advance that you will not win.' The big, creased19 brown face that Bond had come to know so well in the past month split expansively. The wide smile closed the almond eyes to slits20 - slits that glittered. Bond knew that smile. It wasn't a smile. It was a mask with a golden hole in it.
Bond laughed. 'All right, Tiger. But first, more sake! And not in these ridiculous thimbles. I've drunk five flasks21 of the stuff and its effect is about the same as one double Martini. I shall need another double Martini if I am to go on demonstrating the superiority of Western instinct over the wiles23 of the Orient. Is there such a thing as a lowly glass tumbler discarded in some corner behind the cabinets of Ming?'
'Bondo-san. Ming is Chinese. Your knowledge of porcelain25 is as meagre as your drinking habits are gross. Moreover, it is unwise to underestimate sake. We have a saying, "It is the man who drinks the first flask22 of sake; then the second flask drinks the first; then it is the sake that drinks the man." ' Tiger Tanaka turned to Grey Pearl and there followed a laughing conversation which Bond interpreted as jokes at the expense of this uncouth26 Westerner and his monstrous27 appetites. At a word from the Madame, Trembling Leaf bowed low and scurried28 out of the room. Tiger turned to Bond. 'You have gained much face, Bondo-san. It is only the sumo wrestlers who drink sake in these quantities without showing it. She says you are undoubtedly29 an eight-flask man.' Tiger's face became sly. 'But she also suggests that you will not make much of a companion for Trembling Leaf at the end of the evening.'
'Tell her that I am more interested in her own more mature charms. She will certainly possess talents in the art of love making which will overcome any temporary lassitude on my part.'
This leaden gallantry got what it deserved. There came a spirited crackle of Japanese from Grey Pearl. Tiger translated.
Bondo-san, this is a woman of some wit. She has made a joke. She says she is already respectably married to one bonsan and there is no room on her futon for another. Bonsan means a priest, a greybeard. Futon, as you know, is a bed. She has made a joke on your name.'
The geisha party had been going on for two hours, and Bond's jaws30 were aching with the unending smiles and polite repartee31. Far from being entertained by the geisha, or bewitched by the inscrutable discords32 issuing from the catskin-covered box of the three-stringed samisen, Bond had found himself having to try desperately33 to make the party go. He also knew that Tiger Tanaka had been observing his effort with a sadistic34 pleasure. Dikko Henderson had warned him that geisha parties were more or less the equivalent, for a foreigner, of trying to entertain a lot of unknown children in a nursery with a strict governess, the Madame, looking on. But Dikko had also warned him that he was being done a great honour by Tiger Tanaka, that the party would cost Tiger a small fortune, whether from secret funds or from his own pocket, and that Bond had better put a good face on the whole thing since this looked like being a breakthrough in Bond's mission. But it could equally well be disaster.
So now Bond smiled and clapped his hands in admiration35. He said to Tiger, 'Tell the old bitch she's a clever old bitch,' accepted the brimming tumbler of hot sake from the apparently36 adoring hands of Trembling Leaf, and downed it in two tremendous gulps37. He repeated the performance so that more sake had to be fetched from the kitchen, then he placed his fist decisively on the red lacquer table and said with mock belligerence38, 'All right, Tiger! Go to it!'
It was the old game of Scissors cut Paper, Paper wraps Stone, Stone blunts Scissors, that is played by children all over the world. The fist is the Stone, two outstretched fingers are the Scissors, and a flat hand is the Paper. The closed fist is hammered twice in the air simultaneously39 by the two opponents and, at the third downward stroke, the chosen emblem40 is revealed, The game consists of guessing which emblem the opponent will choose, and of you yourself choosing one that, will defeat him. Best of three goes or more. It is a game of bluff41.
Tiger Tanaka rested his fist on the table opposite Bond. The two men looked carefully into each other's eyes. There was dead silence in the box-like little lath-and-paper room, and the soft gurgling of the tiny brook42 in the ornamental43 square of garden outside the opened partition could be heard clearly for the first time that evening. Perhaps it was this silence, after all the talk and giggling, or perhaps it was the deep seriousness and purpose that was suddenly evident in Tiger Tanaka's formidable, cruel, samurai face, but Bond's skin momentarily crawled. For some reason this had become more than a children's game. Tiger had promised he would beat Bond. To fail would be to lose much face. How much? Enough to breach44 a friendship that had become oddly real between the two of them over the past weeks? This was one of the most powerful men in Japan. To be defeated by a miserable45 gaijin in front of the two women might be a matter of great moment to this man. The defeat might leak out through the women. In the West, such a trifle would be farcically insignificant46, like a cabinet minister losing a game of backgammon at Blades. But in the East? In a very short while, Dikko Henderson had taught Bond total respect for Oriental conventions, however old-fashioned or seemingly trivial, but Bond was still at sea in their gradations. This was a case in point. Should Bond try and win at this baby game of bluff and double-bluff, or should he try to lose? But to try and lose involved the same cleverness at correctly guessing the other man's symbols in advance. It was just as difficult to lose on purpose as to win. And anyway did it really matter? Unfortunately, on the curious assignment in which James Bond was involved, he had a nasty feeling that even this idiotic47 little gambit had significance towards success or failure.
As if with second sight, Tiger Tanaka spelled the problem out. He gave a harsh, taut48 laugh that was more of a shout than an expression of humour or pleasure. 'Bondo-san, with us, and certainly at a party at which I am the host and you are the honoured guest, it would be good manners for me to let you win this game that we are to play together. It would be more. It would be required behaviour. So I must ask your forgiveness in advance for defeating you.'
Bond smiled cheerfully. 'My dear Tiger, there is no point in playing a game unless you-try to win. It would be a very great insult to me if you endeavoured to play to lose. But if I may say so, your remarks are highly provocative49. They are like the taunts50 of the sumo wrestlers before the bout6. If I was not myself so certain of winning, I would point out that you spoke51 in English. Please tell our dainty and distinguished52 audience that I propose to rub your honourable53 nose in the dirt at this despicable game and thus display not only the superiority of Great Britain, and particularly Scotland, over Japan, but also the superiority of our Queen over your Emperor.' Bond, encouraged perhaps by the crafty54 ambush55 of the sake, had committed himself. This kind of joking about their different cultures had become a habit between himself and Tiger, who, with a first in PPE at Trinity before the war, prided himself in the demokorasu of his outlook and the liberality and breadth of his understanding of the West. But Bond, having spoken, caught the sudden glitter in the dark eyes, and he thought of Dikko Henderson's cautionary, 'Now .listen, you stupid limey bastard56. You're doing all right. But don't press your luck. T.T.'s a civilized57 kind of a chap - as Japs go, that is. But don't overdo58 it. Take a look at that mug. There's Manchu there, and Tartar. And don't forget the soanso was a Black Belt at judo59 before he ever went up to your bloody60 Oxford61. And don't forget he was spying for Japan when he called himself assistant naval62 attache in their London Embassy before the war and you stupid bastards63 thought he was okay because he'd got a degree at Oxford. And don't forget his war record. Don't forget he ended up as personal aide to Admiral Ohnishi and was training as a kami-kaze when the Americans made loud noises over Nagasaki and Hiroshima and the Rising Sun suddenly took a backward somersault in to the sea. And, if you forget all that, just ask yourself why it's T.T. rather than any other of the ninety million Japanese who happens to hold down the job as head of the Koan-Chosa-Kyoku. Okay, James? Got the photo?'
Since Bond had arrived in Japan he had assiduously practised sitting in the lotus position. Dikko Henderson had advised it. 'If you make the grade with these people,' he had said, 'or even if you don't, you'll be spending a lot of time sitting on your ass24 on the ground. There's only one way to do it without cracking your joints64; that's in the Indian position, squatting65 with your legs crossed and the sides of your feet hurting like hell on the floor. It takes a bit of practice, but it won't kill you and you'll end up gaining plenty of face.' Bond had more or less mastered the art, but now, after two hours, his knee-joints were on fire and he felt that if he didn't alter his posture66 he would end up bandy-legged for life. He said to Tiger, 'Playing against a master such as yourself, I must first adopt a relaxed position so that my brain may be totally concentrated.' He got painfully to his feet, stretched and sat down again - this time with one leg extended under the low table and his left elbow resting on the bent67 knee of the other. It was a blessed relief. He lifted his tumbler and, obediently, Trembling Leaf filled it from a fresh flagon. Bond downed the sake, handed the tumbler to the girl and suddenly crashed his right fist down on the lacquer table so that the little boxes of sweetmeats rattled68 and the porcelain tinkled69. He looked belligerently70 across .at Tiger Tanaka. 'Right!'
Tiger bowed. Bond bowed back. The girl leant forward expectantly.
Tiger's eyes bored into Bond's, trying to read his plan. Bondhad decided71 to have no plan, display no pattern. He would play completely at random72, showing the symbol that his fist decided to make at the psychological moment after the two hammer blows.
Tiger said, 'Three games of three?'
'Right.'
The two fists rose slowly from the table top, quickly hammered twice in unison73 and shot forward. Tiger had kept his fist balled in the Stone. Bond's palm was open in the Paper that wrapped the Stone. One up to Bond. Again the ritual and the moment of truth. Tiger had kept to the Stone. Bond's first and second fingers were open in the Scissors, blunted by Tiger's Stone. One all.
Tiger paused and placed his fist against his forehead. He closed his eyes in thought. He said, 'Yes. I've got you, Bondo-san. You can't escape.'
'Good show,' said Bond, trying to clear his mind of the suspicion that Tiger would keep to the Stone, or alternatively, that Tiger would expect him to play it that way, expect Bond to play the Paper and himself riposte with the Scissors to cut the paper. And so on and so forth74. The three emblems75 whirled round in Bond's mind like the symbols on a fruit machine.
The two fists were raised - one, two, forward!
Tiger had kept to his Stone. Bond had wrapped it up with the Paper. First game to Bond.
The second game lasted longer. They both kept on showing the same symbol, which meant a replay. It was as if the two players were getting the measure of each other's psychology76. But that could not be so, since Bond had no psychological intent. He continued to play at random. It was just luck. Tiger won the game. One all.
Last game! The two contestants77 looked at each other. Bond's smile was bland78, rather mocking. A glint of red shone in the depths of Tiger's dark eyes. Bond saw it and said to himself, 'I would be wise to lose. Or would I?' He won the game in two straight goes, blunting Tiger's Scissors with his Stone, wrapping Tiger's Stone with his Paper.
Tiger bowed low. Bond bowed even lower. He sought for a throwaway remark. He said, 'I must get this game adopted in time for your Olympics. I would certainly be chosen to play for my country.'
Tiger Tanaka laughed with controlled politeness. 'You play with much insight. What was the secret of your method?'
Bond had had no method. He quickly invented the one that would be most polite to Tiger. 'You are a man of rock and steel, Tiger. I guessed that the paper symbol would be the one you would use the least. I played accordingly.'
This bit of mumbo-jumbo got by. Tiger bowed. Bond bowed and drank more sake, toasting Tiger. Released from the tension, the geisha applauded and the Madame instructed Trembling Leaf to give Bond another kiss. She did so. How soft the skins of Japanese women were! And their touch was almost weightless! James Bond was plotting the rest of his night when Tiger said, 'Bondo-san, I have matters to discuss with you. Will you do me the honour of coming to my house for a nightcap?'
Bond immediately put away his lascivious14 thoughts.According to Dikko, to be invited to a Japanese private house was a most unusual sign of favour. So, for some reason, he had done right to win this childish game. This might mean great things. Bond bowed. 'Nothing would give me more pleasure, Tiger.'
An hour later they were sitting in blessed chairs with a drink-tray between them. The lights of Yokohama glowed a deep orange along the horizon, and a slight smell of the harbour and the sea came in through the wide-open partition leading on to the garden. Tiger's house was designed, enchantingly, as is even the meanest Japanese salary-man's house, to establish the thinnest possible dividing line between the inhabitant and nature. The three other partitions in the square room were also fully16 slid back, revealing a bedroom, a small study and a passage.
Tiger had opened the partitions when they entered the room. He had commented, 'In the West, when you have secrets to discuss, you shut all the doors and windows. In Japan, we throw everything open to make sure that no one can listen at the thin walls. And what I have now to discuss with you is a matter of the very highest secrecy79. The sake is warm enough? You have the cigarettes you prefer? Then listen to what I have to say to you and swear on your honour to divulge80 it to no one.' Tiger Tanaka gave his great golden shout of mirthless laughter. 'If you were to break your promise, I would have no alternative but to remove you from the earth.'
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1
chastely
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| adv.贞洁地，清高地，纯正地 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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3
giggling
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
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4
technically
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| adv.专门地，技术上地 | |
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5
proficient
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| adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家 | |
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6
bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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8
discreetly
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| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
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boorish
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| adj.粗野的，乡巴佬的 | |
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10
syllables
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| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
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11
equate
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| v.同等看待，使相等 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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13
chrysanthemums
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| n.菊花( chrysanthemum的名词复数 ) | |
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14
lascivious
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| adj.淫荡的，好色的 | |
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15
lasciviousness
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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holder
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| n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物 | |
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18
ashtray
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| n.烟灰缸 | |
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19
creased
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹； 皱皱巴巴 | |
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slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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21
flasks
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| n.瓶，长颈瓶， 烧瓶( flask的名词复数 ) | |
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flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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23
wiles
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| n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 ) | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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25
porcelain
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| n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的 | |
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uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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scurried
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| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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repartee
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| n.机敏的应答 | |
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discords
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| 不和（discord的复数形式） | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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sadistic
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| adj.虐待狂的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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gulps
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| n.一大口（尤指液体）( gulp的名词复数 )v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的第三人称单数 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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belligerence
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| n.交战，好战性，斗争性 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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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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42
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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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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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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provocative
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| adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的 | |
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50
taunts
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| 嘲弄的言语，嘲笑，奚落( taunt的名词复数 ) | |
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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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52
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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53
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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54
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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55
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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56
bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
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57
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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58
overdo
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| vt.把...做得过头，演得过火 | |
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59
judo
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| n.柔道 | |
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60
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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61
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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62
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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63
bastards
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| 私生子( bastard的名词复数 )； 坏蛋； 讨厌的事物； 麻烦事 （认为别人走运或不幸时说）家伙 | |
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64
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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65
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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66
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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67
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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68
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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69
tinkled
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| （使）发出丁当声，（使）发铃铃声( tinkle的过去式和过去分词 )； 叮当响着发出，铃铃响着报出 | |
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70
belligerently
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71
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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72
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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73
unison
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| n.步调一致，行动一致 | |
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74
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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75
emblems
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| n.象征，标记( emblem的名词复数 ) | |
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76
psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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77
contestants
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| n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 ) | |
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78
bland
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| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
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79
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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80
divulge
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| v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布 | |
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