The Ape Who Guards the Balance - Elizabeth Peters [96]
Absolute nonsense, of course. I am quite accustomed to deadly weapons of all varieties. I carry several myself: pistol and knife, and of course my parasol. Nor had my conscious mind been misled by the mock combat between the two boys; I had seen them practice before, with bare hands and with knives, and I knew either of them would have rather died than harm the other. Why then had I felt a sensation as of icy hands closing over my heart? Could it be that I had beheld not the harmless present but the deadly future—the portent of an encounter yet to come?
At dinner that evening David again raised the question of what we were to do about those dear ones who were even then on their way to us. I assured him I had not forgot the matter, but had only postponed it since we had had more pressing problems to deal with.
“They sailed from Marseilles yesterday morning and will not arrive in Alexandria until Monday next,” I explained. “That gives us two more days.”
“One,” said Ramses. “The steamer arrives early in the morning, so if we want to head them off one of us should take the train to Cairo on Sunday.”
“I believe we became a bit overexcited the other evening,” I said. “The danger to them is surely minimal, and they will be disappointed not to come on.”
“Especially Lia,” Nefret said. “She has looked forward to this so much. She has been studying Arabic all this past winter.”
“They must be warned, at least,” I said. “I will take the train—”
“Not on any account, Peabody,” said Emerson, glowering at me. “Do you suppose I don’t know what you intend? Your mind is an open book to me. I will not have you perambulating around Cairo interrogating antiquities dealers and harassing the police and—”
“One of the boys could come with me.”
“No,” said Nefret, as emphatically as Emerson. “Never mind Cairo, the journey itself is too risky. Fourteen hours on the train, with several stops—good Gad, all it would take is a gun in your ribs or a knife at your back.”
“Then what do you propose?” David asked with unusual heat. “One of us must go, there is no question of that, and surely I am the most logical person. They won’t bother with me.”
I believe the others were as taken aback as I. For a moment the only sound that broke the silence was the fluttering of insects round the lamp. A moth, drawn by the fatal lure of the flame, dropped down the glass chimney and expired in a brief burst of glory.
“Don’t talk like a damned fool,” Ramses said brusquely.
“I would not have put it that way, but I endorse the sentiment most emphatically,” I said. “David, how can you suppose we would be indifferent to a threat directed at you? You are one of us.”
“Quite,” said Emerson. “None of us is going. I would take on the job myself, but I cannot trust the rest of you to behave yourselves. I am sending Selim and Daoud.”
“Brains and muscle,” I said, smiling. “That is the ideal solution, Emerson. They can carry a letter from me, explaining the situation and urging Walter to take the next boat back to England. Unless, of course, we can solve the case before then.”
“Before Sunday morning?” Ramses inquired, raising his eyebrows.
“Don’t be absurd, Peabody,” Emerson grunted.
“Hmmmm,” said Nefret.
“We can at least make a start,” David said. “Tomorrow in Luxor—”
“What are you talking about?” Emerson stared at him. “Tomorrow is a workday.”
“Oh, come, Emerson, you surely don’t intend to resume work as if nothing had happened,” I exclaimed.
“I do not intend,” said Emerson, “to allow anyone, male, female, or fiend in human form, to stop my excavations. What the devil is wrong with you, Peabody? What the devil is wrong with all of you?” He raked our faces with his glittering blue gaze. “We’ve been in situations as difficult as this before, and faced enemies as unscrupulous. Riccetti and Vincey and—”
“Never mind the rest,” I said. “It is a long list, Emerson, I admit. Perhaps you are right. We will not huddle in the house starting at shadows.