Part 13 (1/2)
Nemo rose to his feet. ”I can answer those questions and others. If I can spare Enid-Miss Debenham-that shame, in recounting a history replete with-”
”Never mind the rhetoric,” Emerson snapped. ”I am a patient man, but there are limits to my patience. What the devil is your name?”
”My name is Donald Fraser.”
I started up. ”Ronald Fraser?”
”No, Donald Fraser.”
”But Ronald Fraser-”
The vibration of the dimple in Emerson's chin warned me that he was about to roar. I stopped, therefore, and Emerson said, with the most exquisite courtesy, ”I would be grateful, Mrs. Emerson, if you would refrain from any comment whatever-refrain, if possible, even from breathing loudly-until this gentleman has finished. Begin at the beginning, Mr. Fraser- for of your surname at least I feel fairly confident-and do not stop until you have reached the end.”
Thus directed, the young man began the following narrative.
”My name is Donald Fraser. Ronald is my younger brother. Our family is old and honorable; never, until recently, did a blot of shame darken the name of Fraser-”
”Humph,” said Emerson skeptically. ”I take leave to doubt that. The ancient Scot was a bloodthirsty fellow; wasn't there some tale about an ancestor of yours serving up the severed head of an enemy to the widow of the deceased at a dinner party?''
I coughed gently. Emerson glanced at me. ”Quite right, Amelia. I did not mean to interrupt. Continue, Mr. Donald Fraser.”
”It will not take much time, Professor. The story is only too familiar, I fear.” With an attempt at insouciance, the young man started to cross his arms, but winced and let the injured member fall back. For an instant the girl's face mirrored the pain on his and she made as if to rise. Almost immediately she sank back onto the stool. Ha, I thought, but did not speak aloud.
Donald-as I shall call him, in order to prevent confusion with his brother-proceeded. ”Being the elder, I was the heir to the estate upon the death of our parents a few years ago. Our family was not rich, but thanks to my father's prudent management, we were left with enough to maintain us in modest comfort. I say we, because morally, if not legally, half of what I had inherited was Ronald's. a few years ago. Our family was not rich, but thanks to my father's prudent management, we were left with enough to maintain us in modest comfort. I say we, because morally, if not legally, half of what I had inherited was Ronald's.
”My father had purchased a commission for me in- in a regiment of the line. ... There is no need, I believe, to mention which one. After his death my brother n.o.bly offered to take over the management of the estate so that I might pursue my military career. I had... I incurred debts. Allow me the favor of refusing to be specific about their nature; they were . .. They were not the sort one likes to mention, especially before ...”
He gazed at Enid. I was as intrigued by the silent interchange between them as by his halting speech. She never looked at him, he never took his eyes off her; and the air between them fairly crackled with emotion. When his voice faltered, she started to her feet. Her cheeks were flaming.
”You lie!” she cried. ”Despicably, stupidly-”
Emerson put one big brown hand on her shoulder and gently but inexorably returned her to her seat. ”Be silent, Miss Debenham. You will have your chance at reb.u.t.tal. Sir-finish your story.”
”It is quickly told,” Donald muttered. ”The regiment was gazetted to Egypt. Being in need of funds, I had forged a signature on a bill. My crime was discovered. The person I had attempted to defraud, a fellow officer, was generous. I was given the choice of resigning my commission and-and disappearing. I did so. That is all.”
He had come to the end, but so abruptly, that Emerson and I were both left staring. a.s.suming my husband's prohibition ceased to have effect at that time, I exclaimed, ”Upon my word, Mr. Fraser, that is a rather curt narrative. I think, though, that I can fill in some of the details you have omitted. Your brother is in Egypt-” ”Upon my word, Mr. Fraser, that is a rather curt narrative. I think, though, that I can fill in some of the details you have omitted. Your brother is in Egypt-”
”I know. I saw him yesterday.”
”I presume he came to find you and extend a brother's hand in forgiveness and affection.”
Nemo's drooping head sank lower. From Enid, squirming under Emerson's hand, came a scornful laugh. I turned to her. ”And you, Miss Debenham, also came here on an errand of mercy and redemption, to save your old playfellow?”
”I came to tell him what I thought of him,” the girl cried. She twisted away from Emerson's grasp and jumped to her feet. ”He is a stupid fool who deserves everything that has happened to him!”
”No doubt,” said Emerson, studying her with interest. ”But if you will forgive me, Miss Debenham, I am determined to push doggedly onward-against the opposition of everyone present-to some understanding of the facts themselves. Is that how you became involved with Kalenischeff? For I do you the credit to a.s.sume you would have better taste than to take up with such a villain for his own sake.”
”You are quite right,” Enid said. ”I had not been in Cairo two days before Kalenischeff approached me. He offered his a.s.sistance-for a price, of course-in finding Donald, who, Kalenischeff a.s.sured me, had slunk off like a whipped cur and hidden himself in Cairo's foul underworld.”
Donald winced and covered his face with his hand. Enid went on remorselessly, ”Alone I had no hope of entering that disgusting ambiance or approaching its denizens. Kalenischeff persuaded me that we should pretend to be-to be interested in one another in order to conceal my true purpose and lull Donald and his criminal a.s.sociates-” to conceal my true purpose and lull Donald and his criminal a.s.sociates-”
”That was rather credulous of you,” Emerson said critically. ”But never mind. I take it you did not, in fact, murder the rascal in a fit of pique or in defense of your virtue? No, no, don't lose your temper; a simple shake of the head will suffice. I never believed a woman could strike such a blow, penetrating the muscles of the chest and entering the heart-”
”Emerson, how can you!” I cried indignantly. ”You told me-”
”You misunderstood,” said Emerson, with such sublime indifference to truth that I was struck dumb with indignation. He compounded the insult by continuing, ”Well, well, we are in a confused situation here, but that is nothing new; and at least the story these two young idiots-excuse me, young people-have produced puts an end to your theory that Sethos was responsible for Kalenischeff's death. There is no evidence-”
”But there soon will be,” I a.s.sured him. ”Abdullah and Ha.s.san are bringing it-the body of one of the Master Criminal's henchmen, dead by his own hand after he had failed his dread master in the a.s.signment of abducting me. That is to say, he did not know it was me; I was disguised as Enid, and he-”
”You were disguised,” Emerson repeated slowly, ”as Miss Debenham?”
I explained. Emerson listened without interrupting once. Then he turned to Nemo-or Donald, as I must call him.
”You, sir, were present, when these remarkable events occurred?”
”Emerson, do you doubt my word?” I demanded.
”Not at all, Amelia. The only thing I doubt is that anyone could mistake you for Miss Debenham.” anyone could mistake you for Miss Debenham.”
”Donald did,” I declared triumphantly. ”Is that not true, Donald? You followed me, believing I was Enid. No doubt you were trying to work up courage enough to reveal yourself.”
But the untenability of this a.s.sumption was apparent as soon as I voiced it, for Nemo had remained in concealment for an hour and a half without making his presence known. The deep flush of shame that dyed his manly cheeks betrayed his true motive. He loved her- deeply, hopelessly, desperately-and his only joy was to wors.h.i.+p her dainty form (or what he believed to be hers) from afar.
Tactfully I turned the subject. ”The evidence will soon be forthcoming, Emerson. I believe I hear Abdullah coming now.”
It was indeed Abdullah, with Ha.s.san close on his heels.
”Where have you put the body?” I asked.
Abdullah shook his head. ”There was no body, sitt. We found the spot you described; there were signs of a struggle, and bloodstains upon the ground. We searched far and wide, thinking the man might have recovered and crawled away-”
”Recovered from being dead?” I exclaimed. ”Abdullah, do you think I don't know a corpse when I see one?”
”No, sitt. But dead or alive, he was gone. No doubt he was dead, as you say, for we heard his ghost calling in a high, thin voice, as spirits do.”
Ha.s.san nodded in emphatic confirmation. ”We ran away then, sitt, for we did not want the dead man to mistake us for his murderers.”
”Oh, good Gad,” I said disgustedly. ”That was not a ghost you heard, you foolish men. There are no such things. It must have been a bird, or a-or a-” things. It must have been a bird, or a-or a-”
”Never mind, Peabody, I will conduct my usual exorcism,” said Emerson. The use of that name instead of ”Amelia” indicated that he had forgot his annoyance with me in the pleasurable antic.i.p.ation of the theatrical performance to which he had referred. Emerson had often been called upon to perform exorcisms, Egypt being, in the opinion of its citizens, a particularly demon-ridden country.) He has quite a reputation as a magician and is deservedly proud of it.
”Emerson,” I said, interrupting his description of how he meant to go about the ritual. ”Emerson-where is Ramses?”
We looked in Ramses' room, purely as a matter of form; I knew, as did Emerson, that if he had been anywhere about, he would have come to see what the commotion was, talking and interrupting and asking questions and making comments... .
We set out en ma.s.se for the Bent Pyramid. Emerson soon outstripped the rest of us, but Donald was not far behind him. The young man's look of haggard reproach was so poignant I had not the heart to reproach him for neglecting his duty. Love, as I reflected philosophically, has a corrosive effect on the brain and the organs of moral responsibility.
Since I had not mentioned to Emerson the collapse of the subsidiary pyramid, he had no idea where to start looking; when I arrived on the scene he was rus.h.i.+ng around like a dog on a scent and making the evening hideous with his stentorian repet.i.tions of Ramses' name.