Bond had arrived at the cabin at 10:00 that morning. He had driven his’55 Bentley from London to Lincolnshire, but had hired a cab to take him the rest of the way. He had considered driving himself, but in order to enjoy complete isolation from his everyday life, he had opted to leave his car behind. After all, he certainly wouldn’t be needing it. At the office of the cab company, Bond had called M to arrange for someone to come pick him up in a week’s time. M obliged and reinforced his orders to Bond to enjoy his time off. The cab driver was nearly ecstatic at being asked to take Bond the 30 mile distance. His usual requests came from little old ladies who needed to be taken to their hairdresser which was only one mile away – two miles round trip. For trips such as those, he only charged a few pence. For Bond, however, he had asked for a fee of four shillings which Bond had excepted without hesitation. The cab ride was uneventful even though there was a point where Bond was sure they were being followed. However, his nerves relaxed and his concerns abated when they turned off the highway onto the narrow two-lane road. The gray sedan Bond had seen behind them did not follow them onto the smaller road, but continued on the highway straight ahead to the north. While Bond’s instincts rarely failed him,he attributed this lapse in judgment to his hightened senses which had not yet calmed down from his previous case. He told himself that he simply mustn’t be so paranoid. He wasn’t on a case; he was on vacation for goodness sakes!

At the cabin, James Bond spent the balance of the morning and the early part of the afternoon unpacking his things and becoming familiar with his living arrangements. The cabin’s three rooms were modestly furnished and included a living area, a small kitchen, and a bedroom.This was quite a change from Bond’s usual overnight accommodations where he stayed in fine hotels which always provided exquisite room service and often included a casino on the ground floor. But, then again, something different was exactly what Bond wanted, and he was quite content with his current arrangements.

A day earlier the owner of the cabin had stocked the pantry with all essential staples and the refrigerator with necessities that would last him a week. Upon opening the refrigerator he was pleased to find the makings of his favorite breakfast, eggs and bacon. Bond was convinced that a man could sustain himself on a meal of three scrambled eggs and four generous strips of bacon daily. That, along with two pieces of toast and orange marmalade to drink were how he had begun many days while on the job. That would be breakfast tomorrow morning. For now, he prepared himself a ham sandwich to tide him over until dinner later that evening.

After eating, Bond decided to walk down to the lake, explore the area,and breath in some of this refreshing late summer air. Standing at the edge of the lake, Bond closed his eyes and tilted his head up toward the warm late afternoon sunshine. He reached up to the sky and clasped his fingers together to stretch away all of his concerns. With his back arched, he could feel his various muscles being stressed, then relaxed as he worked to clear his mind of anything and everything. He had been standing in that vulnerable position for several seconds – or perhaps longer than a minute – when he heard twigs snap in the woods off to his right. The sound interrupted Bond’s meditation, and he instantly diverted his eyes in the direction of the sound as he unclasped his fingers and stood in a more defensible position. For a moment he stared into the thick vegetation trying to regain his focus after the prolonged period of keeping his eyes closed. Bond was silent, listening to see if the sound repeated. There was nothing, but Bond waited. Then,suddenly, he heard the sound of breaking twigs and crunching leaves again, this time still to his right, but slightly behind him. Bond laughed at what he saw. A young fawn leaped out from the trees and ran across the clearing between him and the cabin before disappearing again into the woods behind the cabin. “My goodness!” Bond exclaimed aloud in relief. “I do believe I’m more scared of my own shadow than I am of agents in SPECTRE.” He decided that what he needed was a soothing swim in the lake. That would calm his nerves.

As he walked back up the hill to the cabin to change out of his clothes, Bond never saw the pair of eyes that were watching him. They were hidden -- very well in fact -- in the exact spot where Bond had heard the twigs snap. When the fawn had jumped out of the woods, it was merely a coincidence that served to keep the eyes hidden. James Bond was not alone.