major smythe, questing for his prey along the reef, wondered what exactly those last words of the bond man had meant. inside the pirelli his lips drew mirthlessly back from the stained teeth. it was obvious, really. it was just a version of the corny old act of leaving the guilty officer alone with his revolver. if the bond man had wanted to, he could have telephoned government house and had an officer of the jamaica regiment sent over to take major smythe into custody. decent of him, in a way. or was it? a suicide would be tidier, save a lot of paperwork and taxpayers' money.
should he oblige the bond man and be tidy? join mary in whatever place suicides go to? or go through with it-the indignity, the dreary formalities, the headlines, the boredom and drabness of a life sentence that would inevitably end with his third coronary? or should he defend himself-plead wartime, a struggle with oberhauser, prisoner trying to escape, oberhauser knowing of the gold cache, the natural temptation of smythe to make away with the bullion, he, a poor officer of the commandos confronted with sudden wealth?
should he dramatically throw himself on the mercy of the court? suddenly major smythe saw himself in the dock-a splendid, upright figure, in the fine bemedaled blue and scarlet of the ceremonial uniform that was the traditional rig for courtmartial. (had the moths got into the japanned box in the spare room at wavelets? had the damp? luna would have to look to it.) a day in the sunshine, if the weather held. a good brushing. with the help of his corset, he could surely still get his forty-inch waist into the thirty-four-inch trousers gieves had made for him twenty, thirty, years ago. and, down on the floor of the court, at chatham probably, the prisoners' friend, some staunch fellow, at least of colonel's rank in deference to his own seniority, would be pleading his cause. and there was always the possibility of appeal to a higher court. why, the whole affair might become a cause cnlnbre... he would sell his story to the papers, write a book....
major smythe felt the excitement mounting in him. careful, old boy! careful! remember what the good old snip-cock had said! he put his feet to the ground and had a rest amidst the dancing waves of the northeast trades that kept the north shore so delightfully cool until the torrid months-august, september, october-of the hurricane season. he would soon be having his two pink gins, skimpy lunch, and happily sodden siesta, after which he would have to give all this more careful thought. and then there were cocktails with the arundels and dinner at the shaw park beach club with the marchesis. then some high bridge and home to his seconal sleep. cheered by the prospect of the familiar routine, the black shadow of bond retreated into the background. now then, scorp, where are you? octopussy's waiting for her lunch! major smythe put his head down, and his mind freshly focused and his eyes questing, continued his leisurely swim along the shallow valley between the coral clumps that led out toward the white-fringed reef. almost at once he saw the two spiny antennae of a lobster, or rather of its cousin, the west indian langouste, weaving inquisitively toward him, toward the turbulence he was creating, from a deep fissure under a coral boulder. from the thickness of the antennae, it would be a big one, three or four pounds! normally, major smythe would have put his feet down and delicately stirred up the sand in front of the lair to bring the lobster farther out, for they are an inquisitive family. then he would have speared it through the head and taken it back for lunch. but today there was only one prey in his mind, one shape to concentrate on--the shaggy, irregular silhouette of a scorpionfish. and, ten minutes later, he saw a clump of seaweedy rock on the white sand that wasn't just a clump of seaweedy rock. he put his feet softly down and watched the poison spines erect themselves along the back of the thing. it was a good-sized one, perhaps three-quarters of a pound. he got his three-pronged spear ready and inched forward. now the red angry eyes of the fish were wide open and watching him. he would have to make a single quick lunge from as nearly the vertical as possible; otherwise, he knew from experience, the barbed prongs, needle-sharp though they were, would almost certainly bounce off the horny head of the beast. he swung his feet up off the ground and paddled forward very slowly, using his free hand as a fin. now! he lunged forward and downward. but the scorpionfish had felt the tiny approaching shockwave of the spear. there was a flurry of sand, and it had shot up in a vertical takeoff and whirred, in almost birdlike flight, under major smythe's belly.
major smythe cursed and twisted around in the water. yes, it had done what the scorpionfish so often does-gone for refuge to the nearest algae-covered rock, and there, confident in its superb camouflage, gone to ground on the seaweed. major smythe had only to swim a few feet, lunge down again, this time more accurately, and he had it, flapping and squirming on the end of his spear.
the excitement and the small exertion had caused major smythe to pant, and he felt the old pain across his chest lurking, ready to come at him. he put his feet down, and after driving his spear all the way through the fish, held it, still flapping desperately, out of the water. then he slowly made his way back across the lagoon on foot and walked up the sand of his beach to the wooden bench under the sea-grape. then he dropped the spear with its jerking quarry on the sand beside him and sat down to rest.
it was perhaps five minutes later that major smythe felt a curious numbness more or less in the region of his solar plexus. he looked casually down, and his whole body stiffened with horror and disbelief. a patch of his skin, about the size of a cricket ball, had turned white under his tan, and, in the center of the patch, there were three punctures, one below the other, topped by little beads of blood. automatically, major smythe wiped away the blood. the holes were only the size of pinpricks. major smythe remembered the rising flight of the scorpionfish, and he said aloud, with awe in his voice, but without animosity, "you got me, you bastard! by god, you got me!"
he sat very still, looking down at his body and remembering what it said about scorpionfish stings in the book he had borrowed from the institute and had never returned-dangerous marine animals, an american publication. he delicately touched and then prodded the white area around the punctures. yes, the skin had gone totally numb, and now a pulse of pain began to throb beneath it. very soon this would become a shooting pain. then the pain would begin to lance all over his body and become so intense that he would throw himself on the sand, screaming and thrashing about, to rid himself of it. he would vomit and foam at the mouth, and then delirium and convulsions would take over until he lost consciousness. then, inevitably in his case, there would ensue cardiac failure and death. according to the book the whole cycle would be complete in about a quarter of an hour-that was all he had left-fifteen minutes of hideous agony! there were cures, of course-procaine, antibiotics and antihistamines-if his weak heart would stand them. but they had to be near at hand. even if he could climb the steps up to the house, and supposing dr. cahusac had these modern drugs, the doctor couldn't possibly get to wavelets in under an hour.
the first jet of pain seared into major smythe's body and bent him over double. then came another and another, radiating through his stomach and limbs. now there was a dry, metallic taste in his mouth, and his lips were prickling. he gave a groan and toppled off the seat onto the beach. a flapping on the sand beside his head reminded him of the scorpionfish. there came a lull in the spasms of pain. instead, his whole body felt as though it was on fire, but, beneath the agony, his brain cleared. but of course! the experiment! somehow, somehow he must get out to octopussy and give her her lunch!
"oh pussy, my pussy, this is the last meal you'll get."
major smythe mouthed the refrain to himself as he crouched on all fours, found his mask, and struggled to force it over his face. then he got hold of his spear, tipped with the still flapping fish, and clutching his stomach with his free hand, crawled and slithered down the sand and into the water.
it was fifty yards of shallow water to the lair of the octopus in the coral cranny, and major smythe, screaming all the while into his mask, crawling mostly on his knees, somehow made it. as he came to the last approach and the water became deeper, he had to get to his feet, and the pain made him jiggle to and fro, as if he were a puppet manipulated by strings. then he was there, and with a supreme effort of will, he held himself steady as he dipped his head down to let some water into his mask and clear the mist of his screams from the glass. then, blood pouring from his bitten lower lip, he bent carefully down to look into octopussy's house. yes! the brown mass was still there. it was stirring excitedly. why? major smythe saw the dark strings of his blood curling lazily down through the water. of course! the darling was tasting his blood. a shaft of pain hit major smythe and sent him reeling. he heard himself babbling deliriously into his mask. pull yourself together, dexter, old boy! you've got to give pussy her lunch! he steadied himself, and holding the spear well down the shaft, lowered the fish down toward the writhing hole.
would pussy take the bait? the poisonous bait that was killing major smythe but to which an octopus might be immune? if only bengry could be here to watch! three tentacles, weaving excitedly, came out of the hole and wavered around the scorpionfish. now there was a gray mist in front of major smythe's eyes. he recognized it as the edge of unconsciousness and feebly shook his head to clear it. and then the tentacles leaped! but not at the fish! at major smythe's hand and arm. major smythe's torn mouth stretched in a grimace of pleasure. now he and pussy had shaken hands! how exciting! how truly wonderful!
but then the octopus, quietly, relentlessly pulled downward, and terrible realization came to major smythe. he summoned his dregs of strength and plunged his spear down. the only effect was to push the scorpionfish into the mass of the octopus and offer more arm to the octopus. the tentacles snaked upward and pulled more relentlessly. too late, major smythe scrabbled away his mask. one bottled scream burst out across the empty bay, then his head went under and down, and there was an explosion of bubbles to the surface. then major smythe's legs came up and the small waves washed his body to and fro while the octopus explored his right hand with its buccal orifice and took a first tentative bite at a finger with its beaklike jaws.
* * *
the body was found by two young jamaicans spinning for needlefish from a canoe. they speared the octopus with major smythe's spear, killed it in the traditional fashion by turning it inside out and biting its head off, and brought the three corpses home. they turned major smythe's body over to the police, and had the scorpionfish and the seacat for supper.
the local correspondent of the daily gleaner reported that major smythe had been killed by an octopus, but the paper translated this into "found drowned" so as not to frighten away the tourists.
later, in london, james bond, privately assuming "suicide," wrote the same verdict of "found drowned," together with the date, on the last page and closed the bulky file.
it is only from the notes of dr. cahusac, who performed the autopsy, that it has been possible to construct some kind of a postscript to the bizarre and pathetic end of a once valuable officer of the secret service.
