'Doubtful. In what we stood up in and just carrying a shopping-bag we stood a fair chance of not being assumed to be leaving. Our most vulnerable moment was when we stopped for me to wire London and Ariadne to warn her people. But we had to take that risk.'
'You must take the next risk too. It's not far and nobody's on board. You have just one gun, James? Yes. Leave everything to me. Be off with you.'
Within ten minutes Bond and Ariadne crossed the afterdeck of the _Altair__ and made their way into the tiny saloon. Here everything was squared away, the floor scrubbed, the windows polished, the miniature royal-blue curtains freshly laundered. Bond guessed that the boat had been about to go out on charter, and grinned to himself as he visualized Litsas airily riding over the protests of the party who had rented her. They explored briefly. The narrow companion-way led below to a cupboard-sized galley on the starboard side, a head and shower to port. Bond lowered himself from the galley into the engine-room, gasping at the heat and the reek of oil, and looked over the single-drive 165 hp Mercedes engine. New condition; clever use of available space; maintenance up to Royal Navy standard. Bond's respect for Litsas rose a further notch.
For'ard of galley and head were a pair of cabins with double bunks and, for'ard again, another pair with tiered single bunks. They took the port midships cabin. Ariadne unpacked and stowed away their minimal luggage: changes of underclothing, handkerchiefs, a couple of shirts, toilet gear and, incongruous among these humdrum necessities, eighty rounds of ammunition for the Walther. She smoothed back a tendril of brown-blonde hair and turned straight into his arms.
With her face against his neck, she murmured, 'So I have you for a little longer. It seems like it was days and days before I thought I'd have you at all. I don't care what happens tomorrow. Now. I know I'll care if you're taken away from me. So let's use every moment we have.'
She drew her head back and desire made her eyes look unfocused, opaque. 'Don't shut the door. We're alone here.' Her breasts seemed to swell against his chest.
There on the hard unluxurious bunk Bond made long love to her, both of them taking their pleasure easily, slowly, searchingly, with none of the near-hysterical frenzy of the early hours of that day. The buzz of activity all around them, the shouted orders, the rattle of anchor-chains, the fluctuating hum and roar of engines, lost all meaning and vanished. At last, exhausted, they drew apart and slept.
Bond was woken by voices and footfalls overhead. He dressed swiftly, his eyes on the uncovered form of Ariadne, fast asleep on her back, one knee raised in an attitude of total abandonment. He stooped and kissed her warm cheek.
By the time he had moved the few yards back to the saloon Litsas was standing alone, hands on hips, among heaps of various stores, and the voices were retreating in the direction of the dockside.
'Ariadne is asleep?'
'Yes.'
The big man looked directly at Bond with eyes that were sad and pleading now, not watchful. 'You'll be good to her, won't you, James? The way you think, it isn't my business, but her father's my best friend and that means very much in Greece. If you treat her bad, drop her suddenly, make untrue promises to her and so on, then I shall come for you and neither of us would like that. Especially you. You understand me?'
'Yes. You won't need to come for me.'
'Then we shall all be happy.' Litsas slapped himself on the chest a couple of times and his manner lightened. 'I envy you, taking a girl on this trip. I couldn't have found one in the time. Five years ago things were very different. Litsas is not like he was. Anyway, if I bring one, that's not serious enough. I don't know any female spies. Honestly, James' - he shook his head defeatedly - 'to think little Ariadne is working for the Russian bloody Secret Service is fantastic. I thought she's just making cups of coffee for the workers and reading Karl Marx in the evening. Instead of this.... Oh well, it's good that the world can still surprise us.
'Now. Fuel and water. Full up. Food. That can wait. Drink. That can wait too, but not so long. Weapons. You'd better look at them now. Here.'
Bond moved to the table. On it were neat oilskin bundles which Litsas untied to reveal one of the excellent Beretta M.34 9-mm automatics and a couple of boxes of ammunition, four Mills HE grenades, and - almost unbelievably - an example of that greatest rifle in the history of warfare, the British short magazine Lee Enfield, with perhaps sixty rounds in clips of five. All the items were in beautiful condition, the metal surfaces of the guns shining dully with a thin film of oil. Bond picked up the rifle and squinted along the V-andblade sight. 'You got this little lot together in pretty good time.'
'Oh, it was easy. This is my private store. I've had all this stuff for over twenty years. The British gave me the Lee Enfield in 1944. It seemed perhaps not such an expensive gift, since it was made in 1916. Anyway, I made very good results with it, and kept it when they made me an officer. I picked up the other stuff in the same sort of way.'
Bond nodded. 'What made you keep it all?'
'Yes, it must seem rather silly. It isn't really. Not in Greece. You see, here you can't be sure. Oh yes, the Communists were completely beaten in 1949 but you'll agree that Communists don't give up easily. I must admit that they're not being violent now. But recently they've begun to be active again. Anyway, if they do try again, they won't get rid of me without some trouble. And it isn't only the Communists by a long chalk. Only last year I had some trouble down in Crete. Some of them are a bit primitive there, poor chaps. I'll tell you the story some time. Anyway, I was facing a bunch I had to pacify with this. Just waving it at them was enough, thank God.'
While he talked Litsas had taken the wooden lid off the starboard-side bench and brought out another oilskin package. This one proved to contain a Thompson MI sub-machine gun of World War II vintage. It had been as lovingly cared for as the other pieces.
'A present from the USA. It lives on board. Stacks of ammunition. I hope you think now our fire-power is enough?'
Bond grinned delightedly and slapped Litsas on the shoulder. 'With what we've got here we can take on anything short of a tank.'
'A cruiser tank at least. We shan't be shooting until the morning, I suppose, so let's stow the stuff, eh?'
They had about done so when a light step sounded on the deck outside and a youth of about sixteen, not tall but powerfully built for his age, stepped over the coaming into the saloon. He nodded gravely to Bond.
