The Hippopotamus Pool - Elizabeth Peters [159]
‘Then what?’ Walter demanded.
Then Ramses had called on the antika dealers.
‘Oh, good Gad,’ I exclaimed. ‘That is how Riccetti found out! Half of them are in his pay and the other half are terrified of him.’
‘Hush,’ Evelyn said. ‘Let him go on.’
The rest of the tale was soon told. Ramses had emerged from one of the shops with a particularly smug smile (David did not use that expression, but I knew Ramses well enough to picture it) and, after signalling David, had plunged straight into the back alleys. He had been given an address, or rather, since street names and numbers are unknown in Luxor, directions. Hanging back as he had been instructed, David was ten feet away when a man stepped out of a dark doorway and caught hold of Ramses, clapping a hand over his mouth.
He got a bit more than he had bargained for. Ramses was as slippery as an eel and unrestrained by gentlemanly scruples. He had managed to free his mouth long enough to call out.
‘He said “Run,”’ David said. ‘I ran.’
‘And the cat?’
‘He said to her, “Stay with David.” I ran and she ran with me, to find you, to bring help. That is what he said to do.’ The boy was trembling again. ‘Another man ran after me. At the riverbank I looked for the boat. It was not there. Then a man said, “Do you want to go across the river? Get into my boat, you and the cat; I am going to my house.” The man who followed was close behind. I was afraid. So I got into the boat and called the cat Bastet to come. But when we reached the other side . . .’
He had woken up in a windowless, dirt-floored room, with no memory of how he had got there. His head hurt and his mouth was dry. Fumbling around in the dark, he had found a water bottle, and after assuaging his thirst he had explored the room by touch. The single door was of heavy wood; it must have been bolted on the outside, for there was no keyhole and it did not yield when he threw himself against it. There was no furniture in the room, not even a pile of rags on which to lie; but they had left him his knife. And so, after pounding on the door and shouting till he was hoarse, he began to dig at the mud-brick of one of the walls. He had not got far before dizziness overcame him and he fell asleep.
‘There must have been some drug in the water,’ I said. ‘But then how did you get out?’
‘When I woke up the door was open,’ David said. ‘And the cat Bastet was there, licking my face. So I came here. Now, please, will we go to find Ramses?’
XIV
Most People Obey the Orders of an Individual Who Is Pointing a Gun at Them
WE could not have held him back, even if we had not been burning to pursue the same end. Every square inch of the boy’s meagre frame was quivering with frustration. I could only imagine how much it had cost him to run away instead of rushing to Ramses’ aid. A rescue attempt would have been worse than futile, but most lads would not have exhibited that degree of self-discipline and common sense.
Our decision was unanimous and virtually instantaneous. Walter did not even protest when Evelyn declared she meant to go with us. Our forces were already dangerously divided; we must stay together from now on.
I persuaded David to take food and water while we made the necessary preparations. He had not eaten since the night before and had been afraid to risk another drink from the tainted bottle, but he was on his feet, ready and waiting, when I returned to the saloon and sat down to pen a brief note to Emerson, and another to Cyrus Vandergelt.
There were a number of questions I wanted to ask the boy, but they could wait. They would have to wait. It was obvious to all of us that we dared not delay. Once Riccetti learned of David’s escape he might view it as a violation of his orders and if, as the boy claimed, he could lead us to the precise spot where Ramses had last been seen, the villain might decide to move his captive to a more secure location – before or after detaching