Page 197 - Brokenclaw - John Gardner

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you went out for the wine.’

‘The wine’ll keep. It’s a good year.’
‘Yes, but . . .’
‘I’m negotiating.’ He was not going to tell her how or make her even more
frightened. As he left the women’s te
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James Bond OO7 - printing disabled James Bond OO7 - printing disabledepee, where she was being held, his one James Bond OO7 - printing disabled
thought was that he had to survive; he had to win. Chi-Chi had become too
precious for him even to think of losing.
With Brokenclaw, he met Bear’s Head, the village Medicine Man and some
of the senior braves. Using sign language, and watching his adversary closely,

he felt confident that Brokenclaw was sticking to his side of the bargain. But
there was still the nagging thought in the back of his mind that should he be
close to losing the contest, Brokenclaw might have arranged some kind of
backup. The one person Bond did not trust among the other senior braves was
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a short whippet of an Indian called Even Both Ways. To Bond, he looked to be
the kind of Indian who had seen a lot of the world outside the reservations and
this particular village. He also appeared particularly attached to Brokenclaw.
They were led around the running course. From the Sacred Lodge,

Brokenclaw had to run to the left and Bond to the right. They would cover the
entire length of the village, running behind the teepees until they were on the
far side of Brokenclaw’s own tent where their final goals were marked by
white stones set roughly fifty yards apart. Here, one of the Medicine Man’s

assistants set down the two bows and their accompanying arrows.
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Both bows were strong and almost identical, fashioned from good ash
backed by animal sinew. The taut strings were also, in Bond’s judgment, made
from the sinew of animals, and the arrows were firm, straight and iron-tipped,

their flights made from large bird feathers.
As much as he would have liked to try his own bowmanship, Bond knew
that this would only be taken as a sign of weakness and uncertainty. Half the
battle, he had decided, was to show no fear and display only great confidence

in the outcome. To this end he now asked if he might be left alone for half-an-
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hour. He consented to sit in full sight of everyone, but, he indicated to the
Medicine Man, he wished to talk to his gods.
By this time he had taken to passing messages to Brokenclaw through the

dignified, sinister man clad in garish skins and hung about with charms, face
covered in a white mixture and his hair plastered to his scalp with some sticky
red-coloured daub. Once he had accepted the challenge, Bond felt it was more

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