the great trains are going out all over europe, one by one, but still, three times a week, the orient express thunders superbly over the 1 ,400 miles of glittering steel track between istanbul and paris.
under the arc-lights, the long-chassied german locomotive panted quietly with the laboured breath of a dragon dying of asthma. each heavy breath seemed certain to be the last. then came another. wisps of steam rose from the couplings between the carriages and died quickly in the warm august air. the orient express was the only live train in the ugly, cheaply architectured burrow that is istanbul's main station. the trains on the other lines were engineless and unattended-waiting for tomorrow. only track no. 3, and its platform, throbbed with the tragic poetry of departure.
the heavy bronze cipher on the side of the dark blue coach said,
`compagnie internationale des wagon-lits et des grands express europeens.
above the cipher, fitted into metal slots, was a flat iron sign that announced, in black capitals on white, orient express, and underneath, in three lines:
istanbul - thessaloniki - beograd
venezia - milan
lausanne - paris
james bond gazed vaguely at one of the most romantic signs in the world. for the tenth time he looked at his watch. 8.51. his eyes went back to the sign. all the towns were spelled in the language of the country except milan. why not milano? bond took out his handkerchief and wiped his face. where the hell was the girl? had she been caught? had she had second thoughts?
had he been too rough with her last night, or rather this morning, in the great bed?
8.55. the quiet pant of the engine had stopped. there came an echoing whoosh as the automatic safety-valve let off the excess steam. a hundred yards away, through the milling crowd, bond watched the station-master raise a hand to the engine driver and fireman and start walking slowly back down the train, banging the doors of the third-class carriages up front. passengers, mostly peasants going back into greece after a week-end with their relatives in turkey, hung out of the windows and jabbered at the grinning crowd below.
beyond, where the faded arc-lights stopped and the dark blue night and the stars showed through the crescent mouth of the station, bond saw a red pinpoint turn to green.
the station-master came nearer. the brown uniformed wagon-lit attendant tapped bond on the arm. `en voiture, s'il vous plait.' the two rich-looking turks kissed their mistresses-they were too pretty to be wives-and, with a barrage of laughing injunctions, stepped on to the little iron pedestal and up the two tall steps into the carriage. there were no other wagon-lit travellers on the platform. the conductor, with an impatient glance at the tall englishman, picked up the iron pedestal and climbed with it into the train.
the station-master strode purposefully by. two more compartments, the first- and second-class carriages, and then, when he reached the guard's van, he would lift the dirty green flag.
there was no hurrying figure coming up the platform from the guichet. high up above the guichet, near the ceiling of the station, the minute hand of the big illuminated clock jumped forward an inch and said `nine'.
a window banged down above bond's head. bond looked up. his immediate reaction was that the black veil was too wide-meshed. the intention to disguise the luxurious mouth and the excited blue eyes was amateurish.
`quick.'
the train had begun to move. bond reached for the passing hand-rail and swung up on to the step. the attendant was still holding open the door. bond stepped unhurriedly through.
`madam was late,' said the attendant. `she came along the corridor. she must have entered by the last carriage.'
bond went down the carpeted corridor to the centre coupe. a black 7 stood above a black 8 on the white metal lozenge. the door was ajar. bond walked in and shut it behind him. the girl had taken off her veil and her black straw hat. she was sitting in the corner by the window. a long, sleek sable coat was thrown open to show a natural coloured shantung dress with a pleated skirt, honey-coloured nylons and a black crocodile belt and shoes. she looked composed.
`you have no faith, james.'
bond sat down beside her. `tania,' he said, `if there was a bit more room i'd put you across my knee and spank you. you nearly gave me heart failure. what happened?'
`nothing,' said tatiana innocently. `what could happen? i said i would be here, and i am here. you have no faith. since i am sure you are more interested in my dowry than in me, it is up there.'
bond looked casually up. two small cases were on the rack beside his suitcase. he took her hand. he said, `thank god you're safe.'
something in his eyes, perhaps the flash of guilt, as he admitted to himself that he had been more interested in the girl than the machine, reassured her. she kept his hand in hers and sank contentedly back in her corner.
the train screeched slowly round seraglio point. the lighthouse lit up the roofs of the dreary shacks along the railway line. with his free hand bond took out a cigarette and lit it. he reflected that they would soon be passing the back of the great billboard where krilencu had lived-until less than twenty-four hours ago. bond saw again the scene in every detail. the white cross roads, the two men in the shadows, the doomed man slipping out through the purple lips.
the girl watched his face with tenderness. what was this man thinking? what was going on behind those cold level grey-blue eyes that sometimes turned soft and sometimes, as they had done last night before his passion had burned out in her arms, blazed like diamonds. now they were veiled in thought. was he worrying about them both? worrying about their safety? if only she could tell him that there was nothing to fear, that he was only her passport to england-him and the heavy case the resident director had given her that evening in the office. the director had said the same thing. `here is your passport to england, corporal,' he had said cheerfully. `look.' he had unzipped the bag: `a brand new spektor. be certain not to open the bag again or let it out of your compartment until you get to the other end. or this englishman will take it away from you and throw you on the dust-heap. it is this machine they want. do not let them take it from you, or you will have failed in your duty. understood?'
a signal box loomed up in the blue dusk outside the window. tatiana watched bond get up and pull down the window and crane out into the darkness. his body was close to her. she moved her knee so that it touched him. how extraordinary, this passionate tenderness that had filled her ever since she had seen him last night standing naked at the window, his arms up to hold the curtains back, his profile, under the tousled black hair, intent and pale in the moonlight. and then the extraordinary fusing of their eyes and their bodies. the flame that had suddenly lit between them-between the two secret agents, thrown together from enemy camps a whole world apart, each involved in his own plot against the country of the other, antagonists by profession, yet turned, and by the orders of their governments, into lovers.
tatiana stretched out a hand and caught hold of the edge of the coat and tugged at it. bond pulled up the window and turned. he smiled down at her. he read her eyes. he bent and put his hands on the fur over her breasts and kissed her hard on the lips. tatiana leant back, dragging him with her.
there came a soft double knock on the door. bond stood up. he pulled out his handkerchief and brusquely scrubbed the rouge off his lips. `that'll be my friend kerim,' he said. `i must talk to him. i will tell the conductor to make up the beds. stay here while he does it. i won't be long. i shall be outside the door.' he leant forward and touched her hand and looked at her wide eyes and at her rueful, half-open lips. `we shall have all the night to ourselves. first i must see that you are safe.' he unlocked the door and slipped out.
darko kerim's huge bulk was blocking the corridor. he was leaning on the brass guard-rail, smoking and gazing moodily out towards the sea of marmara that receded as the long train snaked away from the coast and turned inland and northwards. bond leaned on the rail beside him. kerim looked into the reflection of bond's face in the dark window. he said softly, `the news is not good. there are three of them on the train.'
`ah!' an electric tingle ran up bond's spine.
`it's the three strangers we saw in that room. obviously they're on to you and the girl.' kerim glanced sharply sideways. `that makes her a double. or doesn't it?'
bond's mind was cool. so the girl had been bait. and yet, and yet. no, damn it. she couldn't be acting. it wasn't possible. the cipher machine? perhaps after all it wasn't in that bag. `wait a minute,' he said. he turned and knocked softly on the door. he heard her unlock it and slip the chain. he went in and shut the door. she looked surprised. she had thought it was the conductor come to make up the beds.
she smiled radiantly. `you have finished?'
`sit down, tatiana. i've got to talk to you.'
now she saw the coldness in his face and her smile went out. she sat down obediently with her hands in her lap.
bond stood over her. was there guilt in her face, or fear? no, only surprise and a coolness to match his own expression.
`now listen, tatiana,' bond's voice was deadly. `something's come up. i must look into that bag and see if the machine is there.'
she said indifferently. `take it down and look.' she examined the hands in her lap. so now it was going to come. what the director had said. they were going to take the machine and throw her aside, perhaps have her put off the train. oh god! this man was going to do that to her.
bond reached up and hauled down the heavy case and put it on the seat. he tore the zip sideways and looked in. yes, a grey japanned metal case with three rows of squat keys, rather like a typewriter. he held the bag open towards her. `is that a spektor?'
she glanced casually into the gaping bag. `yes.'
bond zipped the bag shut and put it back on the rack. he sat down beside the girl. `there are three m.g.b. men on the train. we know they are the ones who arrived at your centre on monday. what are they doing here, tatiana?' bond's voice was soft. he watched her, searched her with all his senses.
she looked up. there were tears in her eyes. were they the tears of a child found out? but there was no trace of guilt in her face. she only looked terrified of something.
she reached out a hand and then drew it back. `you aren't going to throw me off the train now you've got the machine?'
`of course not,' bond said impatiently. `don't be idiotic. but we must know what these men are doing. what's it all about? did you know they were going to be on the train?' he tried to read some clue in her expression. he could only see a great relief. and what else? a look of calculation? or reserve? yes, she was hiding something. but what?
tatiana seemed to make up her mind. brusquely she wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. she reached forward and put the hand on his knee. the streak of tears showed on the back of the hand. she looked into bond's eyes, forcing him to believe her.
`james,' she said. `i did not know these men were on the train. i was told they were leaving today. for germany. i assumed they would fly. that is all i can tell you. until we arrive in england, out of reach of my people, you must not ask me more. i have done what i said i would. i am here with the machine. have faith in me. do not be afraid for us. i am certain these men do not mean us harm. absolutely certain. have faith.' (was she so certain, wondered tatiana? had the klebb woman told her all the truth? but she also must have faith-faith in the orders she had been given. these men must be the guards to see that she didn't get off the train. they could mean no harm. later, when they got to london, this man would hide her away out of reach of smersh and she would tell him everything he wanted to know. she had already decided this in the back of her mind. but god knew what would happen if she betrayed them now. they would somehow get her, and him. she knew it. there were no secrets from these people. and they would have no mercy. so long as she played out her role, all would be well.) tatiana watched bond's face for a sign that he believed her.
bond shrugged his shoulders. he stood up. `i don't know what to think, tatiana,' he said. `you are keeping something from me, but i think it's something you don't know is important. and i believe you think we are safe. we may be. it may be a coincidence that these men are on the train. i must talk to kerim and decide what to do. don't worry. we will look after you. but now we must be very careful.'
bond looked round the compartment. he tried the communicating door with the next coupe. it was locked. he decided to wedge it when the conductor had gone. he would do the same for the door into the passage. and he would have to stay awake. so much for the honeymoon on wheels! bond smiled grimly to himself and rang for the conductor. tatiana was looking anxiously up at him. `don't worry, tania,' he said again. `don't worry about anything. go to bed when the man has gone. don't open the door unless you know it's me. i will sit up tonight and watch. perhaps tomorrow it will be easier. i will make a plan with kerim. he is a good man.'
the conductor knocked. bond let him in and went out into the corridor. kerim was still there gazing out. the train had picked up speed and was hurtling through the night, its harsh melancholy whistle echoing back at them from the walls of a deep cutting against the sides of which the lighted carriage windows flickered and danced. kerim didn't move, but his eyes in the mirror of the window were watchful.
bond told him of the conversation. it was not easy to explain to kerim why he trusted the girl as he did. he watched the mouth in the window curl ironically as he tried to describe what he had read in her eyes and what his intuition told him.
kerim sighed resignedly. `james,' he said, `you are now in charge. this is your part of the operation. we have already argued most of this out today-the danger of the train, the possibility of getting the machine home in the diplomatic bag, the integrity, or otherwise, of this girl. it certainly appears that she has surrendered unconditionally to you. at the same time you admit that you have surrendered to her. perhaps only partially. but you have decided to trust her. in this morning's telephone talk with m he said that he would back your decision. he left it to you. so be it. but he didn't know we were to have an escort of three m.g.b. men. nor did we. and i think that would have changed all our views. yes?'
`yes.'
`then the only thing to do is eliminate these three men. get them off the train. god knows what they're here for. i don't believe in coincidences any more than you. but one thing is certain. we are not going to share the train with these men. right?'
`of course.'
`then leave it to me. at least for tonight. this is still my country and i have certain powers in it. and plenty of money. i cannot afford to kill them. the train would be delayed. you and the girl might get involved. but i shall arrange something. two of them have sleeping berths. the senior man with the moustache and the little pipe is next door to you-here, in no. 6.' he gestured backwards with his head. `he is travelling on a german passport under the name of ``melchior benz, salesman''. the dark one, the armenian, is in no. 12. he, too, has a german passport-``kurt goldfarb, construction engineer''. they have through tickets to paris. i have seen their documents. i have a police card. the conductor made no trouble. he has all the tickets and passports in his cabin. the third man, the man with a boil on the back of his neck, turns out also to have boils on his face. a stupid, ugly looking brute. i have not seen his passport. he is travelling sitting up in the first-class, in the next compartment to me. he does not have to surrender his passport until the frontier. but he has surrendered his ticket.' like a conjuror, kerim flicked a yellow first-class ticket out of his coat pocket. he slipped it back. he grinned proudly at bond.
`how the hell?'
kerim chuckled. `before he settled down for the night, this dumb ox went to the lavatory. i was standing in the corridor and i suddenly remembered how we used to steal rides on the train when i was a boy. i gave him a minute. then i walked up and rattled the lavatory door. i hung on to the handle very tight. ``ticket collector,'' i said in a loud voice. ``tickets please.'' i said it in french and again in german. there was a mumble from inside. i felt him try to open the door. i hung on tight so that he would think the door had stuck. ``do not derange yourself, monsieur'' i said politely. ``push the ticket under the door.'' there was more fiddling with the door handle and i could hear heavy breathing. then there was a pause and a rustle under the door. there was the ticket. i said, ``merci, monsieur'' very politely. i picked up the ticket and stepped across the coupling into the next carriage.' kerim airily waved a hand. `the stupid oaf will be sleeping peacefully by now. he will think that his ticket will be given back to him at the frontier. he is mistaken. the ticket will be in ashes and the ashes will be on the four winds,' kerim gestured towards the darkness outside. `i will see that the man is put off the train, however much money he has got. he will be told that the circumstances must be investigated, his statements corroborated with the ticket agency. he will be allowed to proceed on a later train.'
bond smiled at the picture of kerim playing his private school trick. `you're a card, darko. what about the other two?'
darko kerim shrugged his massive shoulders. `something will occur to me,' he said confidently. `the way to catch russians is to make them look foolish. embarrass them. laugh at them. they can't stand it. we will somehow make these men sweat. then we will leave it to the m.g.b. to punish them for failing in their duty. doubtless they will be shot by their own people.'
while they were talking, the conductor had come out of no. 7. kerim turned to bond and put a hand on his shoulder. `have no fear, james,' he said cheerfully. `we will defeat these people. go to your girl. we will meet again in the morning. we shall not sleep much tonight, but that cannot be helped. every day is different. perhaps we shall sleep tomorrow.'
bond watched the big man move off easily down the swaying corridor. he noticed that, despite the movement of the train, kerim's shoulders never touched the walls of the corridor. bond felt a wave of affection for the tough, cheerful professional spy.
kerim disappeared into the conductor's cabin. bond turned and knocked softly on the door of no. 7.
