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The Big Man came on His shoulders were naked, his clothes stripped off him by the explosion, Bond supposed, but the black silk tie had remained and it showed round the thick neck and streatail

A splash of water cleared so madly towards Bond They held no appeal for help, only a fixed glare of physical exertion

Even as Bond looked into thereat face contorted in a grimace of pain

'Aarrh,' said the distortedthe water and the head went under and caain A cloud of blood welled up and darkened the sea Two six-foot thin brown shadows backed out of the cloud and then dashed back into it The body in the water jerked sideways Half of The Big Man's left arm came out of the water It had no hand, no wrist, no wrist watch

But the great turnip head, the drawn-backit in half, was still alive And noas screa screa body

There was a distant shout from the bay behind Bond He paid no attention All his senses were focused on the horror in the water in front of him

A fin split the surface a few yards away and stopped

Bond could feel the shark pointing like a dog, the shortsighted pink button eyes trying lo pierce the cloud of blood and weigh up the prey Then it shot in towards the chest and the screa head went under as sharply as a fisherman's float

Some bubbles burst on the surface

There was the swirl of a sharp brown-spotted tail as the huge Leopard shark backed out to s and attack again

The head floated back to the surface The mouth was closed The yellow eyes seemed still to look at Bond

Then the shark's snout caht out of the water and it drove in towards the head, the lower curved jaw open so that light glinted on the teeth There was a horrible grunting scrunch and a great swirl of water Then silence

Bond's dilated eyes went on staring at the brown stain that spread wider and wider across the sea

Then the girl moaned and Bond came to his senses

There was another shout from behind him and he turned his head towards the bay

It was Quarrel, his brown glea above the sli way behind hi like water-boatmen across the small waves that had started to ripple the surface

The fresh north-east trade winds had started to blow and the sun was shining down on the blue water and on the soft green flanks of Jamaica

The first tears since his childhood carey eyes and ran down his drawn cheeks into the bloodstained sea

CHAPTER XXIII

PASSIONATE LEAVE

LIKE dangling e their last rounds of the hibiscus and a , sweeter than a nightingale's, froht-scented jased shadow of a rass of the lawn as it sailed on the air currents up the coast to sorily as it saw the ht and swerved off across the sea to the island A bri the purple shadows under the palraded blue waters of the bay were quite still The cliffs of the island were a deep rose in the light of the setting sun behind the house

There was a sht scent of peat-s roasted in one of the fisherht

Solitaire came out of the house and walked on naked feet across the lawn She was carrying a tray with a cocktail shaker and two glasses She put it down on a bamboo table beside Bond's chair

'I hope I'veI've never had Vodka Martinis before'

Bond looked up at her She earing a pair of his white silk pyjae for her She looked absurdly childish

She laughed 'How do you like my Port Maria lipstick?' she asked, 'and the eyebrowswith the rest of me except wash it'

'You look wonderful,' said Bond 'You're far the prettiest girl in the whole of Shark Bay If I had soet up and kiss you'

Solitaire bent down and kissed hihtly round his neck She stood up and smoothed back the comma of black hair that had fallen down over his forehead