The Mummy Case - Elizabeth Peters [53]
His denials proved to me that he was quite unfit for his responsible position. Kalenischeff was obviously hiding something. I felt I was on the verge of great discoveries, and was about to pursue my inquiries more forcibly when a shout arose. It held such a note of terror and alarm that we all started to our feet and ran in the direction from which it had come.
Selim lay flat on the ground, his arms flailing, his cries for help rising to a frenzied pitch. Such a cloud of sand surrounded him that we were quite close before I realized what the trouble was. The terrain, west of the pyramid base, was very uneven, covered with sunken hollows and raised ridges—certain evidence of ancient structures buried beneath the sand. From one such hollow an arm protruded, stiff as a tree branch. Around it Selim was digging furiously, and it required very little intelligence to deduce that (A), the arm belonged to Ramses, and (B), the rest of Ramses was under the sand.
Bellowing in horror, Emerson flung Selim aside. Instead of wasting time digging, he seized Ramses’ wrist and gave a mighty heave. Ramses rose up out of the souterrain like a trout rising to a fly.
I stood leaning on my parasol while Emerson brushed the sand off his son, assisted halfheartedly by the others. When the worst of it was removed I uncorked my flask of water and offered it to Emerson, together with a clean white handkerchief.
“Pour the water over his face, Emerson. I observe he has had the sense to keep his eyes and mouth tightly shut, so the damage should not be extensive.”
And so it proved. Emerson decided we had better take Ramses home. I agreed to the suggestion; the interruption had shattered the web I had been weaving around the villainous Russian, and there was no point in continuing. De Morgan did not attempt to detain us.
As we bade a reluctant farewell to Dahshoor, Selim tugged at my sleeve. “Sitt, I have failed you. Beat me, curse me!”
“Not at all, my boy,” I replied. “It is quite impossible to prevent Ramses from falling into, or out of, objects. Your task is to rescue him or summon assistance, and you performed quite well. Without you, he might have smothered.”
Selim’s face cleared. Gratefully he kissed my hand.
Emerson, with Ramses, had drawn a short distance ahead. Overhearing what I had said, he stopped and waited for us.
“Quite right, Peabody. You have summed up the situation nicely. I have already cautioned Ramses to be more careful and—er—no more need be said on the subject.”
“Humph,” I said.
“All’s well that ends well,” Emerson insisted. “By the way, Peabody, what was the purpose of your quizzing de Morgan about antiquities thieves? The man is a perfect fool, you know. He is as ineffectual as his predecessor in office.”
“I was about to question Kalenischeff about Abd el Atti’s death when Ramses interrupted, Emerson.”
“Interrupted? Interrupted! I suppose that is one way of putting it.”
“Kalenischeff is a most suspicious character. Did you observe his reaction when I spoke of the Master Criminal?”
“If I had been wearing a monocle—”
“A most unlikely supposition, Emerson. I cannot imagine you wearing such an absurd accoutrement.”
“If,” Emerson repeated doggedly, “I had been wearing a monocle, I would have let it fall on hearing such a preposterous suggestion. I beg you will leave off playing detective, Amelia. That is all behind us now.”
vii
Emerson was, of course, engaging in wishful thinking when he said our criminal investigations were ended. If he had stopped to consider the matter, he would have realized, as I did, that removal from Cairo did not mean we were removed from the case. The thief who had entered our hotel room had been led thither as a result of our involvement in Abd el Atti’s death. I was as certain of that as I was of my own name. The thief had not found the object he was looking for.