I was on his back, my hands reaching for his throat, before he heard me, even. As he swung and grappled, dropping the screwdriver, I knew I had been a fool. This man was skilled at in-fighting. There was no blind panic in his actions, simply a swift muscular reflex to offset the ground he knew he had lost in that split-second of my surprise attack. I dodged the s w i f t k i c k t o t h e g r o i n a n d h u n g o n t o h i s t h r o a t. T h e r e w a s n o f e a r, o n l y a h i n t o f a c k n o w l e d g m e n t o f a w o r t h y enemy in his grey-green eyes. He feinted with a knee to try and prise loose my grip on his throat, and then, with a spasm of strength, jerked me over his head. My spine crashed sick14 eningly against the top of the coffin. My grip eased and he struck me savagely across the heart with a flat blow from his forearm. My scream of pain died from lack of air in my lungs. He eased back, drew in a deep controlled breath like a swimmer, and his hand went to the Colt. I lay spreadeagled across the coffin, my face to the. ceiling. The swift, cool actions of my unknown enemy were those of a professional. I lurched forward as his hand clutched the butt and struck a karate blow to the carotid artery with my left hand. It wasn't a heavy blow, for I was completely off balance and it was my left hand-a blow like that can kill when administered with the right. I saw the face go blank with pain and semi-consciousness. The Colt came up, though. He was a foot from me. Then, as if from nowhere, a bottle smashed down on his head and he fell half across me, showering me with whisky and glass splinters. His face hit the steel side of the coffin and he slid slowly to the floor.

Mac stood looking at the label of the broken bottle in his hand. Glenflddichl' was all he said. ' Waste of t' best whusky in t' world.'

The unconscious man lay grotesquely on the thick carpet, blood and whisky about his head. Mac walked over and looked through the glass trap. He drew back a little and the dry sob which shook him was the most terrible thing I have ever heard.