EStBURY, ENGLAND, KIRPAL SINGOOD  first ood on to t see but wcch arms up and swaying.

    to t o teness of to the hill.

    No signalled . to t  out in t Sings scuffing te che slope.

    Miss Morden, becopped ten feet above t s sebooks.

    “Can you hear me?” he asked.

    “Yes, it’s fine.” So  and adjusted o tance and, as Singo t see.

    Sing t Englis of ime  in a barracks at oolo a question in teen, but conversations ed only tences.

    son o t brotor, a broter t radition in  all t  ander t monteered o a unit of engineers t  up to deal ion and unex-ploded bombs. ty of t ted by A.R.P. o convenient dumps, e t  until  t took over responsibility for bomb disposal, and turn,  over to ty-five bomb disposal units  up. tec and ools. ts.

    A bomb is a combination of ts:

    A container or bomb case.

    . Afuze.

    . An initiating charge, or gaine.

    . A main charge of high explosive.

    . Superstructionalfittings—fins, lifting lugs, kopfrings, etc.

    Eig of bombs dropped by airplanes over Britain o a tan.”  Singer long days of training, s still in ered til hen he was suddenly awake.

    a target, tance caused a trembler to activate and ignite t in te explosion o te o detonate. t off turn caused tNt, amatol and aluminized poo explode. trembler to explosion lasted a microsecond.

    t dangerous bombs itudes, ivated until ties and fields and remained dormant until trembler contacts urbed—by a farmer’s stick, a car  they would explode.

    Singeers to tment in oole in bomb disposal units ate of siege, it got worse.

    By August tz o be dealt h.

    Roads ories deserted. By September t up, but till no understanding of ancy in ts en weeks.

    “t led to taking of fantastic risks.... It s remained obscure, since tions  from ty. It o publiss t migo estimate ty to deal o estbury, Sing in front s s  niger over t sidelig te t anotoric location— in tomac o the rolling chalk hills in

    Sly after t, all ts pegged do to protect top them being obvious landmarks for bombing raids over England.

    From t Lord Suffolk cted about tion of robins from tory of bomb disposal, Devon cream. roducing toms of England to t ly discovered culture. In spite of being Lord Suffolk il  udy of Lorna Doone and ic torically and geograp ers  puttering around ties t Exmoor ion for bomb-disposal training. ts from various units, sappers and engineers, and Sing of t Riced around t on o Ex-moor, raining during tero t during  back door... s rigo her shoulder.

    Splendid s, actually, to to Sing sounded like a familiar Indian fable.

    Lord Suffolk’s closest friend in tor y but loved Lord Suffolk. t sing togettage in Countisbury on a cliff t overlooked tol Cs exotica described by Lord Suffolk. “t place to buy blackticks.” As if Singepping into tudor corner store in urban to c casually  canes. Lord Suffolk  of ter told isbury and reat, called y years old, married but essentially bacer, o visit or friend. o fix tubs and plumbing generators and cooking spits run by a eror, collect information on ts of badgers.

    to t estbury e and information. Even in ime  place to stop for tea.  into Pamela’s tea Room,  ton, and sary, ctee to allo up al bomb disposal outfit no one  ions ions t. odidact, and ives and spirit beion. ely invented t s, o be stored easily by a working sapper.

    tea and ed for scones, discussing tu defusing of bombs.

    “I trust you, Mr. Sing, don’t you?” “Yes, sir.” Sing real gentleman  in England.

    “You knorust you to do as o take notes. Mr. s  or more strengtle and  advise but ands perfectly. If  do somet means ake  you otal auty on te. ol. ticated no you never kno t ing a delayed-action fuze by pulling out  ting t of troduced a ne.

    Kirpal Sing it. So far, ime during taken place in tream of tepped out of England and planned never to step out of Countisbury once the war ended.

    Singanced from y-one years old.  no one but soldiers. So t eers al bomb squad, even t in a ake control, and ter cy or an individual.

    s, and Lord Suffolk e. Fifteen of to a library and asked by tary to . S t names, ervieest.

    o a ared at a barometer,  to touc but pulled back, just putting o it. Very Dry to Fair to Stormy. tered to ion. “ery dry. Very dry.”  t tary. Scernly. An Indian boy. oouc one point  o a volume called Raymond, or Life and Death by Sir Oliver hodge.

    itle. Pierre, or ties. urned and caug as guilty as if  t. Surban before. t you to fig  talk to you. Singies.

    t a very y Lord Suffolk during lunced it, and laug every attempt at a joke by ts. In ternoon trange exam in  back toget any prior information of   t of time inventing ots t could be made from ts. ted easily if it  for ry raits. Cars royed. Parts of ted into a se of a Ford was reupered and became a sofa.

    Most people in o carry a spanner or scre parts tered a grandfation pulley or tidotes to mecer   by scooping up coting it around t  of parts t inent of India going for two hundred years.

    s selected by Lord Suffolk. t even spoken to  laug joked)  ary turned out to be Miss Morden, and sled in ray t  drink,” took to ulations, your exam ook it.” “Miss Morden is a splendid judge of cer. Ser.” “Cer, sir?” “Yes. It is not really necessary, of course, but o be ogeted you.” “I found it quite a strain being unable to  you, Mr. Singo the window.

    “I t, as  o begin till t o  to knoo a family, after a year abroad, as if urned, offered a c table, embraced ions.

    It  dark o Devon on tal road overlooking tol Cs turned do lighree miles long.

    Apart from trinity of Suffolk, Morden and s, t. tone cottage over trix for turday-nig told Singo fly overland to India. Removed from ion. til it toucisbury and Area. Mapped by R. Fones. Drawn by desire of Mr. James halliday.

    “Drawn by desire

    ..” o love the English.

    tent ing as Lord Suffolk attempted to dismantle it. It also killed Mr. Fred s and Miss Morden and four sappers Lord Suffolk raining.

    May

    Sing for a year.  day enant Blackler, clearing t and Castle area of a Satan bomb. toget defusing ted. ing in ion and  . It probably meant t er ten at nigired. ting for urned back to work.

    an o save time and o one of t first urned aing to leave.

    “Yes. ?” took  enant Blackler  enant Blackler put his hands on Singh’s shoulders and gripped him.

    o Erit tating about asking   to tell er all. It meant ty, probably to find out w had gone wrong.

    ed to do tenant Blackler ay in London. t t of t, and it  meant ted to do togeto be a base of logic. You o share and compromise decisions.

    everytions during t drive. to keep ill o be alive. Miss Morden drinking one large and stiff o to drink more slo of t drink, Mr. Sing if you did, you’d do w I do.

    One full o meet in ill drinking, and Lord Suffolk ill nibbling at his Kipling cakes.

    t looked like t by rote. tered sometrick, ttle descant, and taug to t of ts. t a neage now.

    ook no one  o remember eacep. t  ed  till t morning, but o do it nooo common. If teration to knoired, but ed proper lig just two jeeps.

    . In daylig day, it  it on top of s ill alive in his mind. Exam.

    it ligal jumped into precise focus. No distrust. Lord Suffolk  c seventeen, even teen,  a grand master. But you can never  bridge player at t age. Bridge depends on cer. Your cer and ter of your opponents. You must consider ter of your enemy. true of bomb disposal. It is times for my exam I make t, a mec you o consider t somebody made it.

    torn open in its fall to earterial inside.  co decide or of traption. tificial lig it from every angle. to remove to open t past ttoned ced off te at t t  tell yet. t  kno  riggered. , glad raigurn left or turn rig t t. But ired, and till anger in him.

    knooo long. s,  t, and lifted it ao shake.

    it out. tially  ts tangled fringe of  in t.

    arted to drag toruck, fifty yards a of t along, a ter of a mile a up, making even ts seem subtle and human.

    An officer gave , and urned alone to t. he drink.

    take off  unless it co  at t of impact  die. the bomb.

    o reestabliso its original pattern. o t of t drink. turned and sat do  one-ty in the morning.

    c looked at it  of monocle t ton over and peered at t of otc a clamp might have made.

    Nothing.

    Later ractions. Later, s and moments in  to o burn or bury everyt of t of him.

    tal set and its loud band music er, a tarpaulin to he rain of real life away from him.

    But noion of ligs and Morden and Suffolk  names. o the fuze box.

    o turn ties. turned it al again.  to it so t tle clicks. It came apart in silence. tenderly ed tions from t t tube and peered doo it again.  to lay it on tated and broug back up to t.  iced anyt for t. And  about t if  looking for ten or look. ilted tube carefully, and t slipped doo o foil any attempt at defusing.

    toor  out and set it beside ts on t back to the jeep.

    “ttered. “I o pull out t a call in to ers and find out if t up a loose bencs to be trained on it.  dos and placed t apart along t benc a featance some soldiers ill emptying out te does and ion for to an officer.  fully understand it, of course, but tion.

    enters a room s of information. But  everyt Singo all bombs of ty across ty of London. y, somet Lord Suffolk carried er at all times. It  later created to block so muc ed in t uncomfortable in tions.  capable only of reconnaissance, of locating a solution. y of to o and reenlisted into troopsoalian campaign.  just for bombs but for building bridges, clearing debris, setting up tracks for armoured rail ve of t. In a year t ten, Lieutenant Blackler being to rise in talent.

    But t nig Leained, more ted to be the replacing vision.

    ill standing at truck  meant turning off ts. ity seconds metallic ligruck. Anots could be doused y petrol can facing ts er ts.

    cening, ing for to click. t, fifty yards aer, could order anyt of sand, a fruit pie for  cross an uncroo speak y range to  of clot   like it. omed to y. In England o prefer t.

    ter  just by alian campaign. It  of t up defences of cer against all t, trusting only t t nigtaco  influenced all around  alent.

    A feer o Italy, eaco a knapsack, t t on  leave during Cmas. Lord Suffolk and Miss Morden o take o an Englised Peter Pan, and t o a screaming cent oaly.

    Revealing  or qualities of er ure. Just as urn and inquire of  deepest motive caused tionsrengt for trange Englising at table c and laugo tage, returning to teacoo.

    In t darkness of Eritop s of sand.  in t so o ticking mecill timing trying to he German bombers above him.

    t ing for er exactly one imer tripped and the percussion cap exploded.

    Removing triker t activated t  to explode sixty minutes later—long after a sapper would normally he bomb was safely defused.

    tion of Allied bomb disposal. From noion bomb  of a second gaine. It o deactivate a bomb by simply removing to be neutralized act. Somes, and in  of trap. In tnessed te-green flase. o to make sure.” t t poured into  testing te delay proved to be consistent.

    of t nigo find  remember being driven back.  to a table and began to sketconators, to ttack to defuse it. Every arroly, text ten out clear taught.

    before rue. o defuse sucu  just blo up. e out everyt s. At ttom e: Dra Lieutenant Kirpal Singh,  May

    -out, crazily, after Suffolk’s deatering fast, ec’s Park enant Blackler and ts, ions, blueprinting eac came in.

    In t torate of Scientific Researcirely.

    Ignore t principle,  . t  ternative  tract t. t be solved by embracing it. t enant Blackler’s line. “If you are in a room  talk to it.” An offoement from anot touc all.” Once t, someone  tion in a eam sterilizer. One could cut a o tion of steam and drained a solved t for time being. But by to Italy.

    “ticed t? Just as to our bodies wyard.

    “treet into t into tyard as ed. e or cleared or rejected our bodies ruments, explored our necks h his hands.

    tongs slid out of Dettol and picked up parts of our skin.

    “ted filled up tyard. ts ten onto our skin er, in ter a brief interviees tied around our necks. Our , standard of education, dental condition and   suited for.

    “I did not feel insulted by to t, and ure  scate and mock. You understand, of course, I   t I ed confrontation. It didn’t stop me doing o. Quite early on I o t life. I didn’t argue  cycle over a certain bridge or te in t—I just stood till, until I  t. Like a er. You understand? t is tles taught me.

    “But to me my brotream of atus as firebrand. I nessed ion t came after eacest, o respond to t or t laion of our family and refused, in spite of being t broto join to agree to any situation heir jails.

    In tral Prison. Later tnagar jail. Lying back on  at niger, broken by o protect o stop rying to escape. In jail  insulted , no longer to be a doctor,  laug a message to be careful. o  me or  I rick of survival, of being able to  places.” ting on ter in tcalking  on ,  tient s to see you, boyo.” “Okay, boyo.” ter,  slipping over into the false elsh of Caravaggio.

    “My fat I t  beside ial to  as a pair of spectacles or a glass of er during a meal. In t ering   to ill alive?” “O ters for some time. And it is likely t my brotill in jail.”  e  on te dust of it sion, raig for t time s ty yards above aking notes on che glasses.

    lifts, ttles on everytraption, so o blo off tinually to see tails. It is  in tunic. ting ing s beo . All ts fill ts across . ired, citively. op er not, Miss Morden.” “Of course I can.” tons on  pockets and lays a cloto te s next to cents of a small bottle of eau de cologne and passes it to  to refresakes it tentatively and at ion dabs s. Sea. S strips of Kipling cake.

    So be in no o go back up to safety. And it o remind  surn. Salks about tc and t t at least totaco. Sory about  Lord Suffolk. Not a  tinually rereads trying to find a connection betences. S of tex of tc surns to ion on t above tbury   see clearly enougo  of eau de cologne.  once as a c onto his body.