The Ape Who Guards the Balance - Elizabeth Peters [76]
There is a saying: “Take care what you wish, for it may be given unto you.” Emerson got his wish, and he did not like it at all. In later years he was to refer to the business as “one of the greatest disasters in Egyptological history.”
It began that same afternoon, when Ned’s perspiring workers came upon a niche containing several large storage jars. The discovery was not in itself exciting enough to warrant a shout of triumph from the men who found it; we did not learn of it until Ned came by with his crew on their way home.
“Stopping already?” asked Emerson, advancing to meet them.
“Yes, sir.” Ned removed his hat and pushed the damp hair back from his brow. “It is very warm, and I have—”
“Any luck?”
So the news was told. “They are nothing to be excited about,” Ned added. “Plain storage jars—Twentieth Dynasty, I believe. Well, then, I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow.”
Emerson did not even have the decency to wait until he was out of sight. I followed my irritating husband around the rock spur and found him climbing up the rubble. The opening was a good thirty feet above bedrock and when I would have followed he waved me back.
Upon returning he remarked, “Eighteenth Dynasty.”
“Why are you making such a fuss about it?” I demanded. “One is always coming across isolated finds of that sort. Rough storage jars cannot contain anything of interest.”
“Hmph,” said Emerson. He turned and looked up the slope.
“Now, Emerson, leave them alone! They are not your jars. I suggest we follow Ned’s example and stop work. It is very warm, and I don’t want Abdullah having another attack.”
Emerson swore a great deal, but he has the kindest heart in the world and I knew the appeal would have its effect. It was late in the afternoon before we reached the house. The vine-shaded verandah looked very pleasant after our long hot ride. Horus, stretched out on the settee, examined us with a critical eye and began washing himself.
It seemed an excellent idea. I had a luxurious soak in my nice tin bath and changed into comfortable garments. When I returned to the verandah Fatima had brought tea. Nefret was pacing up and down, looking out.
“They are late,” she said.
“Who? Oh, Ramses and David. Not really. Ramses has no notion of time, he will go on working until it gets too dark for him to see anything. Come and have your tea.”
She obeyed, but even the bulk of Horus, who promptly spread himself across her lap, did not prevent her from fidgeting. I remembered the exchanges I had heard between the three that morning, and an unpleasant suspicion began to form in my mind. Since I do not allow such things to fester, I brought it out into the open.
“Nefret, are you concealing something from me? You are uncommonly edgy this evening; were the boys planning some expedition that is likely to lead them into danger?”
Emerson banged his cup into the saucer. “Curse it!” he exclaimed, but did not elaborate since Nefret spoke first.
“So far as I know, they are working at the Seti temple just as they said they would.”
“Oh.” Emerson’s rigid form relaxed. “I do wish, Peabody, you would stop looking for trouble. No one has bothered us since that wretched man’s body was found. He was the instigator of the other attacks; now that he has been—er—removed, we have nothing to fear.”
I settled back to enjoy myself, for our little detectival discussions are always stimulating. “You are of the opinion that there is no connection between those attacks and the one against me in London?”
“That was Sethos,” Emerson said. “He is still in England. I made the rounds of the cafés and coffee shops, as did Ramses. We found no indication that he has returned to his old haunts.”
“Sethos may not have been responsible for the original encounter, Emerson. I have other enemies.”
“You needn’t brag about it, Peabody.” Emerson reached for his broken cup, cut his finger, swore, and went to the table. Splashing soda into a glass, he said over his shoulder, “And don’t try to exonerate that bas——that man. We know it was he. The typewriter, Peabody. Remember the