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viding line between the well…to…do streets and the lower…middle。 Never touched stolen goods and got a good name everywhere with the police。 He lived in London and toured his ？shops once a month and collected all the old gold。 He wasn't interested in the jewellery side。 He let his managers run that as they liked。' Colonel Smithers looked quizzically at Bond。 'You may think these lockets and gold crosses and things are pretty small beer。 So they are； but they mount up if you've got twenty little shops； each one buying perhaps half a dozen bits and pieces every week。 Well； the war came and Gold…finger； like all other jewellers； had to declare his stock of gold。 I looked up his figure in our old records。 It was fifty ounces for the whole chain！ … just enough of a working stock to keep his shops supplied with ring setting and so forth； what they call jewellers' findings in the trade。 Of course； he was allowed to keep it。 He tucked himself away in a machine…tool firm in Wales during the war … well out of the firing line … but kept as many of his shops operating as he could。 Must have done well out of the GIs who generally travel with a Gold Eagle or a Mexican fifty…dollar piece as a last reserve。 Then； when peace broke out； Goldfinger got moving。 He bought himself a house； pretentious sort of place； at Reculver； at the mouth of the Thames。 He also invested in a wellfound Brixham trawler and an old Silver Ghost Rolls Royce … armoured car； built for some South American president who was killed before he could take delivery。 He set up a little factory called 〃Thanet Alloy Research〃 in the grounds of his house and staffed it with a German metallurgist； a prisoner of war who didn't want to go back to Germany； and half a dozen Korean stevedores he picked up in Liverpool。 They didn't know a word of any civilized language so they weren't any security risk。 Then； for ten years； all we know is that he made one trip a year to India in his trawler and a few trips in his car every year to Switzerland。 Set up a subsidiary of his alloy pany near Geneva。 He kept his shops going。 Gave up collecting the old gold himself … used one of his Koreans whom he had taught to drive a car。 All right； perhaps Mr Goldfinger is not a very honest man； but he behaves himself and keeps in well with the police； and with much more blatant fiddling going on all over the country nobody paid him any attention。'
Colonel Smithers broke off。 He looked apologetically at Bond。 'I'm not boring you？ I do want you to get the picture of the sort of man this is … quiet； careful； law…abiding and with the sort of drive and single…mindedness we all admire。 We didn't even hear of him until he suffered a slight misfortune。 In the summer of 1954； his trawler； homeward bound from India； went ashore on the Goodwins and he sold the wreck for a song to the Dover Salvage pany。 When this pany started breaking the ship up and got as far as the hold they found the timbers ingregnated with a sort of brown powder which they couldn't put a name to。 They sent a specimen to a local chemist。 They were surprised when he said the stuff was gold。 I won't bother you with the formula； but you see gold can be made to dissolve in a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids； and reducing agents … sulphur dioxide or oxalic acid … precipitate the metal as a brown powder。 This powder can be reconstituted into gold ingots by melting at around a thousand degrees Centigrade。 Have to watch the chlorine gas； but otherwise it's a simple process。
'The usual nosey parker in the salvage firm gossiped to one of the Dover Customs men and in due course a report filtered up through the police and the CID to me； together with a copy of the cargo clearance papers for each of Goldfinger's trips to India。 These gave all the cargoes as mineral dust base for crop fertilizers … all perfectly credible because these modern fertilizers do use traces of various minerals in their make…up。 The whole picture was clear as crystal。 Goldfinger had been refining down his old gold； precipitating it into this brown powder and shipping it to India as fertilizer。 But could we pin it on him？ We could not。 Had a quiet look at his bank balance and tax returns。 Twenty thousand pounds at Barclays in Ramsgate。 Ine tax and super tax paid promptly each year。 Figures showed the natural progress of a well…run jewellery business。 We dressed a couple of the Gold Squad up and sent them down to knock on the door of Mr Goldfinger's factory at Reculver。 〃Sorry； sir； routine inspection for the Small Engineering Section of the Ministry of Labour。 We have to make sure the Factory Acts are being observed for safety and health。〃
〃e in。 e in。〃 Mr Goldfinger positively weled them。 Mark you； he may have been tipped off by his bank manager or someone； but that factory was entirely devoted to designing a cheap alloy for jewellers' findings … trying out unusual metals like aluminium and tin instead of the usual copper and nickel and palladium that are used in gold alloys。 There were traces of gold about； of course； and furnaces to heat up to two thousand degrees and so forth； but after all Goldfinger was a jeweller and a smelter in a small way； and all this was perfectly above…board。 The Gold Squad retired disfited； our legal department decided the brown dust in the trawler's timbers was not enough to prosecute on without supporting evidence； and that was more or less that； except' … Colonel Smithers slowly wagged the stem of his pipe …'that I kept the file open and started sniffing around the banks of the world。'
Colonel Smithers paused。 The rumble of the City came through the half…open window high up in the wall behind his chair。 Bond glanced surreptitiously at his watch。 Five o'clock。 Colonel Smithers got up from his chair。 He placed both hands palm downwards on the desk and leant forward。 'It took me five years； Mr Bond； to find out that Mr Goldfinger； in ready money； is the richest man in England。 In Zurich； in Nassau； in Panama； in New York； he has twenty million pounds' worth of gold bars on safe deposit。 And those bars； Mr Bond； are not Mint bars。 They don't carry any official marks of origin whatsoever。 They're bars that Mr Goldfinger has melted himself。 I flew to Nassau and had a look at the five million pounds' worth or so he holds there in the vaults of the Royal Bank of Canada。 Oddly enough； like all artists； he couldn't refrain from signing his handiwork。 It needs a microscope to see it； but somewhere； on each Goldfinger bar； a minute letter Z has been scratched in the metal。 And that gold； or most of it； belongs to England。 The Bank can do nothing about it； so we are asking you to bring Mr Gold…finger to book； Mr Bond； and get that gold back。 You know about the currency crisis and the high bank rate？ Of course。 Well； England needs that gold； badly … and the quicker the better。'
CHAPTER SEVEN
THOUGHTS IN A DB III
BOND FOLLOWED Colonel Smithers to the lift。 While they waited for it； Bond glanced out of the tall window at the end of the passage。 He was looking down into the deep well of the back courtyard of the Bank。 A trim chocolate…brown lorry with no owner's name had e into the courtyard through the triple steel gates。 Square ca