Bond’s thoughts were interrupted by rougher going under the wheels. They had crossed the lake and were on the track that led up the mountain to the huts. The cabin tilted and the machine began to climb. In five minutes they would be there.
The co-driver glanced over his shoulder at Bond and the girl. Bond smiled cheerfully up at him. He said, “You’ll get a medal for this.”
The brown and yellow eyes looked impassively into his. The purple, blubbery lips parted in a sneer in which there was slow hate: “Shut your-ing mouth.” The man turned back.
The girl nudged him and whispered, “Why are they so rude? Why do they hate us so much?”
Bond grinned down at her, “I expect it’s because we made them afraid. Perhaps they’re still afraid. That’s because we don’t seem to be frightened of them. We must keep them that way.”
The girl pressed against him. “I’ll try.”
Now the climb was getting steeper. Grey light showed through the slots in the armour. Dawn was coming up. Outside, another day of brazen heat and ugly wind and the smell of marsh gas would be beginning. Bond thought of Quarrel, the brave giant who would not be seeing it, with whom they should now be setting off for the long trek through the mangrove swamps. He remembered the life insurance. Quarrel had smelled his death. Yet he had followed Bond unquestioningly. His faith in Bond had been stronger than his fear. And Bond had let him down. Would Bond also be the death of the girl?
The driver reached forward to the dashboard. From the front of the machine there sounded the brief howl of a police siren. It meandered into a dying moan. After a minute the machine stopped, idling in neutral. The man pressed a switca and took a microphone off a hook beside him. He spoke into it and Bond could hear the echoing voice of the loud-hailer outside. “Okay. Got the Limey and the girl. Other man’s dead. That’s the lot. Open up.”
Bond heard a door being pulled sideways on iron rollers. The driver put in the clutch and they rolled slowly forward a few yards and stopped. The man switched off the engine. There was a clang as the iron hatch was opened from the outside. A gush of fresh air and a flood of brighter light came into the cabin. Hands took hold of Bond and dragged him roughly out backwards on to a cement floor. Bond stood up. He felt the prod of a gun in his side. A voice said, “Stay where you are. No tricks.” Bond looked at the man. He was another Chinese Negro, from the same stable as the others. The yellow eyes examined him curiously.’ Bond turned away indifferently. Another man was prodding the girl with his gun. Bond said sharply, “Leave the girl alone.” He walked over and stood beside her. The two men seemed surprised. They stood, pointing their guns indecisively.
Bond looked around him. They were in one of the Quonset huts he had seen from the river. It was a garage and workshop. The ‘dragon’ had been halted over an examination pit in the concrete. A dismantled outboard motor lay on one of the benches. Strips of white sodium lighting ran along the ceiling. There was a smell of oil and exhaust smoke. The driver and his mate were examining the machine. Now they sauntered up.
One of the guards said, “Passed the message along. The word is to send them through. Everything go okay?”
The co-driver, who seemed to be the senior man present, said, “Sure. Bit of gunfire. Lights gone. May be some holes in the tyres. Get the boys crackin’-full overhaul. I’ll put these two through and go get myself some shuteye.” He turned to Bond. “Okay, git moving,” he gestured down the long hut.
Bond said, “Get moving yourself. Mind your manners. And tell those apes to take their guns off us. They might let one off by mistake. They look dumb enough.”
The man came closer. The other three closed up behind him. Hate shone redly in their eyes. The leading man lifted a clenched fist as big as a small ham and held it under Bond’s nose. He was controlling himself with an effort. He said tensely, “Listen, mister. Sometimes us boys is allowed to join in the fun at the end. I’m just praying this’ll be one of those times. Once we made it last a whole week. An, Jees, if I get you…” He broke off. His eyes were alight with cruelty. He looked past Bond at the girl. The eyes became mouths that licked their lips. He wiped his hands down the sides of his trousers. The tip of his tongue showed pinkly between the purple lips. He turned to the other three. “What say, fellers?”