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"Just the ticket I wouldn't mind the job myself on a day like this" But Sir Jah He persisted mildly "Don't think I wanted to interfere, M, but there are lie I know you have to treat these men as if they were expendable, but presu et plenty more work out of hie in that book of his"
"Don't recall"
"He says that courage is a capital su to say is that this particularpretty hard since before the war I wouldn't say he's overdrawn-not yet, but there are lih of that Nowadays, softness was everywhere "That's why I' him abroad Holiday in Jamaica Don't worry, Sir James I'll take care of him By the way, did you ever discover what the stuff was that Russian woman put into him?"
"Got the answer yesterday" Sir Jaed The old man was as raw as the weather Was there any chance that he had got his e across into what he described to himself as M's thick skull? "Taken us three ht chap at the School of Tropical Medicine who cau poison The Japanese use it for coans of the Japanese globe-fish Trust the Russians to use soht just as well have used curare It has much the sau's scientific name is Tetrodotoxin It's terrible stuff and very quick One shot of it like your ot and in a matter of seconds the motor and respiratory muscles are paralysed At first the chap sees double and then he can't keep his eyes open Next he can't s His head falls and he can't raise it Dies of respiratory paralysis"
"Lucky he got aith it"
"Miracle Thanks entirely to that Frenchave hi So until the doctor canosed curare and treated hily But it was a chance in a million By the same token, what happened to the Russian woman?"
M said shortly, "Oh, she died Well, many thanks, Sir James And don't worry about your patient I'll see he has an easy ti up His face was cold and blank He pulled over the signal file and went quickly through it On sonals he scribbled a comment Occasionally he made a brief telephone call to one of the Sections When he had finished he tossed the pile into his Out basket and reached for his pipe and the tobacco jarremained in front of him except a buff folder marked with the Top Secret red star Across the centre of the folder ritten in block capitals: CARIBBEAN STATION, and underneath, in italics, Strangways and Trueblood
A light winked on the intercom M pressed down the switch "Yes?"
"007's here, sir"
"Send him in And tell the Armourer to come up in five minutes"
M sat back He put his pipe in his h the smoke he watched the door to his secretary's office His eyes were very bright and watchful
Jah the door and shut it behind him
He walked over to the chair across the desk fro, 007"
"Good , sir"
There was silence in the roo a lot of ernails of the sleet slashed against the two broad s
It was all just as Bond had re shunted from hospital to hospital, the weeks of dreary convalescence, the hard work of getting his body back into shape To hi here in this rooed for He looked across through the s hi? A post-morteation to one of the home sections for a spell of desk work? Or so on ice while waiting for Bond to get back to duty?
M threw the box of matches down on the red leather desk He leant back and clasped his hands behind his head
"How do you feel? Glad to be back?"
"Very glad, sir And I feel fine"
"Any final thoughts about your last case? Haven't bothered you with it till you got well You heard I ordered an inquiry I believe the Chief of Staff took so to add?"
M's voice was businesslike, cold Bond didn't like it So He said, "No, sir It was a et me Shouldn't have happened"
M took his hands from behind his neck and slowly leant forward and placed them flat on the desk in front of hierous "Your gun got stuck, if I recall This Beretta of yours with the silencer So there, 007 Can't afford that sort of mistake if you're to carry an oo nuo back to normal duties?"
Bond stiffened His eyes looked resentfully into M's The licence to kill for the Secret Service, the double-o prefix, was a great honour It had been earned hardly It brought Bond the only assignerous ones "No, I wouldn't, sir"