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The girl leant sideways and peered at Bond's face She sat up straight again and stared obstinately out to sea "I can see you don't believe me," she said in a furious, tense voice "You're one of these city people You don't believe anything Ugh," she shuddered with dislike of him

Bond said reasonably, "Honey, there just aren't such things as dragons in the world You saw so what it was"

"How do you know there aren't such things as dragons?" Now he had ry "Nobody lives on this end of the island One could easily have survived here Anyhat do you think you know about anis since I was a child Alone Have you ever seen a praying mantis eat her husband after they've oose dance? Or an octopus dance? How long is a huue? Have you ever had a pet snake that wore a bell round its neck and rang it to wake you? Have you seen a scorpion get sunstroke and kill itself with its own sting? Have you seen the carpet of flowers under the sea at night? Do you know that a John Crow can sirl had fired these questions like scornful jabs with a rapier Now she stopped, out of breath She said hopelessly, "Oh, you're just city folk like all the rest" Bond said, "Honey, now look here You know these things I can't help it that I live in towns I'd like to know about your things too I just haven't had that sort of life I know other things instead Like" Bond searched hisas hers He finished la to beto try and stop you getting away" He paused and added "And me for the matter of that"'

She turned and looked at him with interest "Oh Why? But then it doesn't really ht He's sent dogs after ot me yet" She examined Bond with a new interest "Is it you he's after?"

"Well, yes," admitted Bond "I'm afraid it is You see we dropped the sail about two miles out so that their radar wouldn't pick us up I think the China a visit fro he'll think your canoe was o and wake my friend up and we'll talk it over You'll like hiirl said, "Well, I'ies wouldn't come easy to someone so much on the defensive "But after all I couldn't know, could I?" She searched his face

Bond sly, "Of course you couldn't It's just bad luck-bad luck for you too I don't suppose he irl who collects shells You can be sure they've had a good look at your footprints and found clues like that"-he waved at the scattered shells on the beach "But I'm afraid he'd take a different view of ot I'et you into the net in the process Anyway," Bond grinned reassuringly, "we'll see what Quarrel has to sayYou stay here"

Bond got to his feet He walked along the promontory and cast about him Quarrel had hidden himself well It took Bond five rassy depression between two big rocks, half covered by a board of grey driftwood He was still fast asleep, the brown head, stern in sleep, cradled on his forear wide open like an aniuiltily He rubbed his big hands over his face as if he ashing it

"Mornin", cap'n," he said "Guess Ah been down deep Dat China girl co different," he said They sat down and Bond told him about Honeychile Rider and her shells and the fix they were in "And now it's eleven o'clock," Bond added "And we've got to make a new plan"

Quarrel scratched his head He looked sideways at Bond "Yo don' plan we jess ditch dis girl?" he asked hopefully "Ain'tnuttin to do e" Suddenly he stopped His head swivelled round and pointed like a dog's He held up a hand for silence, listening intently

Bond held his breath In the distance, to the eastwards, •'there was a faint droning

Quarrel juently "Bey's a comin'"

IX

CLOSE SHAVES

Ten minutes later the bay was empty and immaculate Small waves curled lazily in across the mirrored water inside the reef and flopped exhausted on the dark sand where th'e littered like shed toenails The heap of discarded shells had gone and there was no longer any trace of footprints Quarrel -had cut branches ofcarefully as he went Where he had swept, the sand was of a different texture from the rest of the beach, but not too different as to be noticed froirl's canoe had been pulled deeper a the rocks and covered with seaweed and driftwood

Quarrel had gone back to the headland Bond and the girl lay a few feet apart under the bush of sea-grape where Bond had slept; and gazed silently out across the water to the corner of the headland round which the boat would come

The boat was perhaps a quarter of a uessed that every cranny of the coastline was being searched for signs of the cabin cruiser, perhaps What creould it have? Who would be in command of the search? Doctor No? Unlikely He would not trouble himself with this kind of police work

Fro low over the sea beyond the reef Bond watched theuanay colony at the other end of the island These, according to Pleydell-Smith's description, would be scouts for the silver flash of the anchovy near the surface Sure enough, as he watched, they began to back-pedal in the air and then go into shallow dives, hitting the water like shrapnel Almost at once a fresh file appeared fro stream and then into a solid black river of birds For minutes they darkened the skyline and then they were down on the water, covering several acres of it, screeching and fighting and plunging their heads below the surface, cropping at the solid field of anchovy like piranha fish feasting on a drowned horse