The Hippopotamus Pool - Elizabeth Peters [160]
Walter had gone to tell Daoud we were crossing to Luxor. When he joined us to announce that all was ready, his resolute countenance assured me I could count on him not to fail me; but oh, how I wished it were Emerson at my side!
To conceal our departure would have been impossible. Speed was our best hope now. I could have wished for a few more weapons; I had my pistol and my knife, but owing to Emerson’s prejudice against firearms, that was the extent of our arsenal. A paltry armament with which to face a man like Riccetti and his hired thugs! I reminded myself that fortune favours the brave, not the party with the most rifles. The adage would have cheered me more if I had not been able to think of so many examples that contradicted it.
It was not until Daoud ran to meet us and took his cousin in a warm embrace that I realized I should have sent word to Abdullah. His anxiety must of necessity be prolonged, however; there was not time to summon him and our men, nor even a messenger to send. We needed Daoud.
Once we had taken our places in the boat, I asked David to explain some of the details urgency had forced him to omit. My first question concerned the location of the place where he had been imprisoned. He informed me that it had not been in Gurneh, but farther south, near the small hamlet of Medinet Habu.
‘Close enough,’ I muttered. ‘Evelyn, could we have been wrong about Abd el Hamed? His hatred of the man who maimed him might have been overcome by fear, or the desire for profit. It must have been one of Riccetti’s people who caught David – but then who freed him?’
David was unable to satisfy my curiosity on that point. He had not lingered to examine the outside of the door; as soon as he made certain no one was lying in wait for him, he had run, straight to the dahabeeyah. However, he had no doubt as to the identity of his rescuer.
‘She,’ he said, nodding at Bastet, lying along the bench beside him.
‘Come now,’ Walter exclaimed. ‘The door must have been bolted or barred. Even granting the creature sufficient intelligence to comprehend the mechanism, it would not have had the strength.’
‘It would have been more sensible of her to come to us and guide us to your prison,’ I said, giving the cat a critical look. She yawned.
‘He tells her to stay with me,’ David explained.
Walter shook his head so emphatically that his eyeglasses slipped down. He pushed them back into place. ‘David’s pounding on the door must have loosened the bar; that is the only possible explanation. You are as superstitious as the boy, Amelia. It is only a cat, you know, not a supernatural being.’
‘She,’ I said, unconsciously emphasizing the pronoun as David had done, ‘has some qualities more like those of a dog than a cat. I am hoping she can pick up Ramses’ trail.’
‘Ridiculous,’ Walter muttered.
I would not have had to convince Emerson, who knew, as I did, that Bastet could also be useful in a scrap. She had left poor Mahmud’s back badly scratched – and she had only been mildly annoyed with him. I bit my lip to hold back an irritable response. Walter was doing his best; he could not help being what he had become, but I would have given a great deal to have him be the man he once was – the gallant youth who had risked his life for loyalty and love.
Evelyn was the first to break the ensuing silence. ‘We are halfway across. Shall we not assume our disguises now, and make our final plans?’
The disguises had been her idea. I doubted they would help us much, but she had been so keen on the plan I did not argue, nor did I ask where she had procured the black robe and face veil. I had my own, of course. I always have such an ensemble in my wardrobe. One never knows when an emergency may arise.
We put them on and Walter slipped a galabeeyah over his head. There was not much more we could do. Our plans, such as they were, had already been formulated. When we landed I gave Daoud his final instructions.
‘Stay at a distance, Daoud, and in the shadows. Watch where we go. If we enter a house, wait for ten . . .