Read Online Bond 07 - Goldfinger by Ian Fleming - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ian Fleming
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have to say will be confidential.’ The eyes swept quickly across Bond’s face.
Bond’s face was stony.
Colonel Smithers felt the silence that Bond had intended he should feel. He looked up, saw that he had put his foot in it, and tried to make amends. ‘Obviously I needn’t have mentioned the point. A man with your training … ’
Bond said, ‘We all think our own secrets are the only ones that matter. You’re probably right to remind me. Other people’s secrets are never quite as important as one’s own. But you needn’t worry. I shall discuss things with my chief but with no one else.’
‘Quite, quite. Nice of you to take it that way. In the Bank one gets into the habit of being over-discreet. Now then,’ Colonel Smithers scurried for cover into his subject. ‘This business of gold. I take it it’s not a matter you’ve thought about a great deal?’
‘I know it when I see it.’
‘Aha, yes – well now, the great thing to remember about gold is that it’s the most valuable and most easily marketable commodity in the world. You can go to any town in the world, almost to any village, and hand over a piece of gold and get goods or services in exchange. Right?’ Colonel Smithers’s voice had taken on a new briskness. His eyes were alight. He had his lecture pat. Bond sat back. He was prepared to listen to anyone who was master of his subject, any subject. ‘And the next thing to remember,’ Colonel Smithers held up his pipe in warning, ‘is that gold is virtually untraceable. Sovereigns have no serial numbers. If gold bars have Mint marks stamped on them the marks can be shaved off or the bar can be melted down and made into a new bar. That makes it almost impossible to check on the whereabouts of gold, or its origins, or its movements round the world. In England, for instance, we at the Bank can only count the gold in our own vaults, in the vaults of other banks and at the Mint, and make a rough guess at the amounts held by the jewellery trade and the pawnbroking fraternity.’
‘Why are you so anxious to know how much gold there is in England?’
‘Because gold and currencies backed by gold are the foundation of our international credit. We can only tell what the true strength of the pound is, and other countries can only tell it, by knowing the amount of valuta we have behind our currency. And my main job, Mr Bond’ – Colonel Smithers’s bland eyes had become unexpectedly sharp – ‘is to watch for any leakage of gold out of England – out of anywhere in the sterling area. And when I spot a leakage, an escape of gold towards some country where it can be exchanged more profitably than at our official buying price, it is my job to put the C.I.D. Gold Squad on to the fugitive gold and try to get it back into our vaults, plug the leak and arrest the people responsible. And the trouble is, Mr Bond’ – Colonel Smithers gave a forlorn shrug of the shoulders – ‘that gold attracts the biggest, the most ingenious criminals. They are very hard, very hard indeed, to catch.’
‘Isn’t all this only a temporary phase? Why should this shortage of gold go on? They seem to be digging it out of Africa fast enough. Isn’t there enough to go round? Isn’t it just like any other black market that disappears when the supplies are stepped up, like the penicillin traffic after the war?’
‘I’m afraid not, Mr Bond. It isn’t quite as easy as that. The population of the world is increasing at the rate of five thousand four hundred every hour of the day. A small percentage of those people become gold hoarders, people who are frightened of currencies, who like to bury some sovereigns in the garden or under the bed. Another percentage needs gold fillings for their teeth. Others need gold-rimmed spectacles, jewellery, engagement rings. All these new people will be taking tons of gold off the market every year. New industries need gold wire, gold plating, amalgams of gold. Gold has
Bond’s face was stony.
Colonel Smithers felt the silence that Bond had intended he should feel. He looked up, saw that he had put his foot in it, and tried to make amends. ‘Obviously I needn’t have mentioned the point. A man with your training … ’
Bond said, ‘We all think our own secrets are the only ones that matter. You’re probably right to remind me. Other people’s secrets are never quite as important as one’s own. But you needn’t worry. I shall discuss things with my chief but with no one else.’
‘Quite, quite. Nice of you to take it that way. In the Bank one gets into the habit of being over-discreet. Now then,’ Colonel Smithers scurried for cover into his subject. ‘This business of gold. I take it it’s not a matter you’ve thought about a great deal?’
‘I know it when I see it.’
‘Aha, yes – well now, the great thing to remember about gold is that it’s the most valuable and most easily marketable commodity in the world. You can go to any town in the world, almost to any village, and hand over a piece of gold and get goods or services in exchange. Right?’ Colonel Smithers’s voice had taken on a new briskness. His eyes were alight. He had his lecture pat. Bond sat back. He was prepared to listen to anyone who was master of his subject, any subject. ‘And the next thing to remember,’ Colonel Smithers held up his pipe in warning, ‘is that gold is virtually untraceable. Sovereigns have no serial numbers. If gold bars have Mint marks stamped on them the marks can be shaved off or the bar can be melted down and made into a new bar. That makes it almost impossible to check on the whereabouts of gold, or its origins, or its movements round the world. In England, for instance, we at the Bank can only count the gold in our own vaults, in the vaults of other banks and at the Mint, and make a rough guess at the amounts held by the jewellery trade and the pawnbroking fraternity.’
‘Why are you so anxious to know how much gold there is in England?’
‘Because gold and currencies backed by gold are the foundation of our international credit. We can only tell what the true strength of the pound is, and other countries can only tell it, by knowing the amount of valuta we have behind our currency. And my main job, Mr Bond’ – Colonel Smithers’s bland eyes had become unexpectedly sharp – ‘is to watch for any leakage of gold out of England – out of anywhere in the sterling area. And when I spot a leakage, an escape of gold towards some country where it can be exchanged more profitably than at our official buying price, it is my job to put the C.I.D. Gold Squad on to the fugitive gold and try to get it back into our vaults, plug the leak and arrest the people responsible. And the trouble is, Mr Bond’ – Colonel Smithers gave a forlorn shrug of the shoulders – ‘that gold attracts the biggest, the most ingenious criminals. They are very hard, very hard indeed, to catch.’
‘Isn’t all this only a temporary phase? Why should this shortage of gold go on? They seem to be digging it out of Africa fast enough. Isn’t there enough to go round? Isn’t it just like any other black market that disappears when the supplies are stepped up, like the penicillin traffic after the war?’
‘I’m afraid not, Mr Bond. It isn’t quite as easy as that. The population of the world is increasing at the rate of five thousand four hundred every hour of the day. A small percentage of those people become gold hoarders, people who are frightened of currencies, who like to bury some sovereigns in the garden or under the bed. Another percentage needs gold fillings for their teeth. Others need gold-rimmed spectacles, jewellery, engagement rings. All these new people will be taking tons of gold off the market every year. New industries need gold wire, gold plating, amalgams of gold. Gold has
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