Gideon, on guard, nodded. Lau continued. "That’s pretty technical language, isn’t it? Or don’t tell me you’re an anatomist, too?"

"Yes, I’m an anatomist, too," said Gideon, showing more heat than he intended. "My primary field is physical anthropology-that’s skulls and bones-" he permitted himself a condescending smile at Lau, who returned it with evident good humor-"and you have to know anatomy for that."

Lau nodded. "I see. Well, what I was wondering… that’s a pretty fortunate piece of ‘lucking out’-I mean accidentally connecting with the Adam’s apple-excuse me, the laryngeal prominence-" he consulted his notebook- "of the thyroid cartilage of the larynx. That’s a pretty vulnerable spot. You didn’t happen to know, I suppose, that an elbow smash there is a standard defensive maneuver against someone who’s got you from behind?" Again he had his coffee cup in both hands and was swirling the dregs and carefully examining them.

"No, I damn well didn’t know," Gideon said. "What the hell are you trying to imply? I’m telling you I had a lucky-"

"And the business of scraping down the shin with the heel. Very impressive. About the most painful thing you can do to a man without really injuring him. Always effective." He drained the coffee. "Didn’t know about that either?"

"Well, to tell the truth-" Lau looked sharply up at him from under his eyebrows, and Gideon continued-"to tell the truth, I read about that in a self-defense book when I was a kid, but I never tried it before."

For a second Lau looked angry. Then his eyes crinkled again, and he laughed with a babylike spontaneity that made it impossible for Gideon not to join him.

"It’s the truth, honest," Gideon said through his laughter. Lau kept on laughing. Gideon suddenly remembered something. "Hey, wait a minute. That guy, the one I said was an American…"