johngardner.rollofhonor-第36节

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　Up　to　Geneva　and　along　the　lake　front。　　After　that　he　would　change　course；　cutting　straight　over　Le　Richemond　Hotel　…　〃Where　the　Summit　Conference　is　in　progress。　　You　will　stay　over　the　hotel　for　approximately　four　minutes。〃　Rahani　spoke　like　an　officer　used　to　being　obeyed。　　〃Four　minutes　at　the　outside。　　No　more。　　Nothing　will　happen。
　Nobody　will　be　hurt　as　long　as　you　do　what　you're　told。　　After　that；　you　will　bring　the　airship　back　here　and　land。　　You　may　then　leave　unharmed。〃
　〃Damned　if　I　will。〃
　〃1　think　you　will；　Nick。　　Someone　else　will　do　it　if　you　don't。　　This　gentleman　here；　for　instance。〃　He　touched　Bond's　shoulder。　　〃He's　a　pilot；　without　airship　experience；　but　he　will　do　it　if　we　give　him　enough　encouragement。　　Our　encouragement　to　you　is　that　we　kill　you　straight　away；　here　and　now；　if　you　don't　agree。〃
　〃He　means　it；　Nick；'　Bond　interrupted。　　In　a　couple　of　minutes　you'll　just　be　a　lump　of　meat。　　Useless　to　anyone。
　Best　do　as　he　says。
　The　pilot　thought　for　a　moment；　recognising　his　inescapable　position。
　〃Okay。　　Okay；　I'll　fly　the　blimp。
　〃Good；　Nick。　　And　thank　you；　mander　Bond。〃　Rahani　went　on　in　a　level　voice；　〃Now　I'll　tell　you　what　we　have　in　store　for　mander　Bond。　　He　is　to　be　your　copilot。　　You　will　tell　him　now　about　the　differences　between　flying　an　aircraft　and　handling　an　airship。　　We　shall　give　him　one　round　of　ammunition　for　his　automatic　pistol。　　One　round　only。　　He　can　wound　or　kill　only　one　person　with　that；　and　there'll　be　five　of　us　on　board；　five；　not　counting　mander　Bond　and　yourself。　　Bond　here　will　do　exactly　as　I　tell　him。　　If　you　try　to　be　clever；　I　shall　tell　him　to　kill　you。　　If　he　does　not　kill　you；　one　of　us　will　do　it　for　him；　and　force　him　to　take　over。　　If　he　still　resists；　then　we'll　kill　him　too；　and　manage　the　best　we　can。　　I　understand　that　this　airship　is　filled　with　helium　and　ballasted　so　that　it　will　stay　up；　unassisted；　for　some　time；　and　is　difficult　to　crash。　　Yes？〃
　〃Guess　you're　right。〃
　〃Well；　mander　Bond　will　look　after　you；　and　we'll　all　have　a　pleasant　trip。　　How　long　will　it　take？
　Half　an　hour？〃
　〃About　that。　　Maybe　three…quarters。
　〃mander　Bond；　talk　to　your　pilot。　　Learn　from　him。　　We　have　things　to　get　on　board　the　gondola。　　He　gave　Bond　a　hard　knock　on　the　shoulder。　〃Learn；　and　do　as　you　are　bidden；　eh？〃　Bond　lowered　his　head　as　he　sat　down；　letting　it　e　near　the　pilot's；　his　lips　hardly　moving。　　〃I'm　working　under　some　duress　as　well。　　Just　help　me。　　We　have　to　stop　them。〃　Then　he　said　aloud；　〃Okay　Nick；　just　tell　me　about　this　ship。〃　The　pilot　looked　up；　puzzled　for　a　moment；　but　Bond　nodded　encouragement；　and　he　began　to　talk。
　Around　them；　Rahani's　men　were　carrying　equipment　out　of　the　office。　Among　the　hardware　was　one　powerful　shortwave　transmitter　and　a　micro。　Bond　listened　attentively　as　Nick　told　him　that　flying　the　airship　was　more　or　less　the　same　as　handling　an　aircraft。
　〃Yoke；　rudder　pedals；　same　flight　instruments；　throttles　for　the　two　little　engines。　　The　only　difference　is　in　trimming。〃　He　explained　how　the　two　small　balloons；　fore　and　aft　in　the　helium…filled　envelope；　could　be　inflated　with　air；　or　have　the　air　valved　off。　　〃It's　more　or　less　the　same　principle　as　a　balloon；　except；　with　the　air…filled　ballonets；　you　don't　have　to　bleed　off　expensive　gas。　　You　just　take　on　or　dump　air。　　The　ballonets　take　care　of　the　gas　pressure；　give　you　extra　lift；　or　allow　you　to　trim　up　or　down。　　The　only　tricky　bit　is　knowing　when　to　dump　the　pressure　as　you　e　in　to　land；　positioning　the　blimp；　so　that　the　ground　crew　can　grab　at　the　guy　ropes。　　You　need　to　bleed　it　all　off　at　that　point；　like　dumping　ballast；　so　nobody　gets　lifted　off　the　ground。〃　It　was　all　technically　straightforward；　and　Nick　even　made　a　little　drawing　to　show　Bond　where　the　valves　lay；　above　the　forward　windshield；　and　how　the　ballonets　were　filled　with　air　from　scoops　below　the　small　engines。
　He　had　hardly　finished　when　Simon　came　over；　glancing　at　his　watch。　They　looked　up；　to　find　the　office　almost　deserted。
　〃You're　both　needed　at　the　ship。〃　He　held　up　one　round　of　9mm　ammunition；　and　Bond　saw　that　it　was　one　of　his　original　Glaser　slugs。
　〃You　get　this　when　we're　aboard。〃　His　eyes　showed　no　sympathy。　〃e　along；　then。　　We've　got　to　show　the　flag。　　One　joy　ride　around　the　lake。〃　Over　at　the　airship；　Rahani's　men　had　prepared　themselves　to　take　up　the　strain　on　the　forward　guy　ropes　hanging　from　the　great　pointed　sausage　of　the　airship；　which　at　the　moment　remained　tethered　to　its　mooring　mast。
　As　they　reached　the　ship；　they　could　see　the　others　were　already　on　board　the　curved　gondola；　which　seemed　to　hang　under　the　great　gleaming　envelope。
　Nick　climbed　up　first　through　the　large　door　which　took　up　a　third　of　the　gondola's　right…hand　side。　　Bond　followed；　with　Simon　taking　up　the　rear　and　pulling　the　door　closed　behind　him。
　Tamil　Rahani　sat　next　to　Holy　at　the　back　of　the　gondola。　　In　front　of　them　they　had　arranged　the　transmitters　linked　to　the　puter。　　The　Arab　boy　sat　directly　in　front　of　Holy；　with　General　Zwingli　across　the　narrow　aisle　from　him。　　Bond　went　forward；　taking　his　place　on　Nick's　right。　　Simon　now　hovered　between　them。
　As　soon　as　he　was　in　his　seat；　Nick　became　the　plete　professional；　showing　Bond　the　instrumentation；　and　pointing　out　the　all…important　valves　for　the　ballonets。
　〃Whenever　you're　ready；'　Rahani　called　out；　but　Nick　did　not　answer。　　He　was　busy　with　the　preflight　checks；　sliding　his　window　open　to　shout　down　to　the　man　in　mand　of　the　ground　crew。　　〃Okay；'　he　called。　　〃Tell　your　boys　to　stand　by。　　I'm　starting　up；　and　I'll　give　you　a　thumbs…up　when　they　have　to　take　strain。〃　To　Bond；　he　said　he　would　be　starting　the　port　engine　first；　and　immediately　afterwards　the　starboard　would　fire。　　〃We　fill　the　ballonets　straight　away；　and　as　they're　filling　I　shall　release　us　from　the　mooring　mast。
　The　chaps　outside；　if　they've　been　trained　correctly；　will　take　the　strain　and　dump　the　ballast　hanging　from　the　gondola。　　After　that；　I　trim　the　ship；　lift　the　nose　and；'　he　turned；　grinning；　〃we'll　see　if　they　have　the　sense　to　let　go　of　the　guy　ropes。
　Reaching　forward；　Nick　started　both　engines；　one　after　the　other；　very　fast；　and　set　the　air　valves　to　fill。　　As　Bond　watched；　Simon　leaned　forward；　felt　inside　his　jacket　and　removed　the　ASP。　　There　was　a　double　click　as　one　round　went　into　the　breech；　then　the　weapon　was　handed　back。　　〃You　kill　him；　if　the　Colonel　gives　the　order。　　If　you　try　anything　clever；　I'll　shoot　you。〃　Bond　did　not　even　acknowledge　him。　　By　now　he　was　following　everything　that　Nick　was　doing；　opening　the　throttles；　pulling　the　lever　that　moored　them　to　the　mast；　monitoring　the　pressure。
　The　airship's　nose　tilted　upwards；　and　Nick　waved　to　the　ground　crew　as　he　gave　the　engines　full　throttle。　　The　nose　slid　higher　and　there　was　a　tiny　sensation　of　buoyancy；　then；　very　slowly　they　moved　forwards　and　upwards　…　rock…steady；　no　tremor　or　vibration　as　they　climbed　away　from　the　field。　　It　was　like　riding　on　a　magic　carpet。
　
　PLOUGHSHARE　IN　HIS　TIME
　
　James　Bond　had　either　flown；　or　flown　in；　most　types　of　aircraft；　from　the　old　Tiger　Moth　biplane　to　Phantom　jets。　　Yet　never　had　he　experienced　anything　like　the　Europa。
　The　morning　was　clear　and　sunny。　　With　its　two　little　engines　humming　like　a　swarm　of　hornets；　its　single　blade　wooden　airscrews　blurring　into　twin　discs；　the　fat　silver　ship　glided　out　from　the　wide　cleft　in　the　mountains；　over　the　road　and　railway　lines；　and　climbed　above　the　lake。　It　would　have　been　an　enchanted　moment　for　anyone；　like　Bond；　who　loved　machines。　　At　a　thousand　feet；　gazing　out　at　the　spectacular　view　of　lake　and　mountains　he　even　forgot　for　a　few　seconds　the　horrifying　and　dangerous　mission　they　were　embarked　upon。
　It　was　the　stability　of　the　ship　that　amazed　him　most。
　There　was　a　plete　lack　of　any　buffeting　experienced　at　that　height　and　over　that　type　of　terrain　in　a　conventional　aircraft。　　No　wonder　those　who　travelled　on　the　great　airships　of　the　1920s　and　1930s　fell　in　love　with　them。
　The　Europa　dipped　its　nose；　almost　stood　on　it；　turning　a　full　circle。　At　fifteen　hundred　feet　they　had　a　panoramic　view　of　the　lake：　the　mountain　peaks　touched　with　snow　against　the　light　blue　sky；　Montreux　in　the　distance；　the　French　side　of　the　lake　with　the　town　of　Thonon　looking　peaceful　and　inviting。
　Then　Nick　eased　the　ship　around　so　that　they　could　see　Geneva　as　they　approached　at　a　stately　fifty　miles　per　hour。
　Bond　turned　his　head　to　look　at　the　rear　of　the　gondola。　　Rahani　and　Jay　Autem　Holy　ignored　the　view；　hunched　over　the　transmitter。
　They　had　folded　down　some　of　the　seat　backs；　so　that　Bond　had　a　good　view　of　the　radio；　seeing　that　it　was　linked　to　the　micro。
　Holy　appeared　to　be　muttering　to　himself　as　he　tuned　to　the　frequency。　Rahani　watched　him　closely；　like　a　warder；　Bond　thought。
　General　Zwingli　was　half…turned　in　his　seat；　giving　advice。　　Both　Simon　and　the　Arab　boy　stood　guard；　the　boy　never　taking　his　eyes　off　the　pilot　and　Bond。　　Simon　was　leaning　against　the　door；　almost　as　though　he　were　covering　his　masters。
　Below　them；　the　lakeside　of　Geneva　slid　into　view。　　The　airship　slowed；　tilted　forward　and　tu