Part 14 (2/2)
”By Gad,” Emerson exclaimed. ”Out of the mouths of babes and... Hem. Excuse me, Miss Debenham. Precisely the point I would have made had I been permitted to speak without these constant interruptions.”
”Nonsense,” I said. ”My disguise was perfect. Donald here was deceived-”
”I was not,” Ramses said quickly. ”I knew it was you. Mama, there is something I must-”
”There, you see,” Emerson exclaimed triumphantly.
”The eyes of true love cannot be deceived,” Enid said. Donald glanced at her and glanced quickly away.
Emerson's lips tightened. ”That,” he said, ”is what I am afraid of.”
Emerson refused to explain this enigmatic remark; nor, in fact, did any of us ask him to explain, for we had more important matters to resolve. We finally decided to wait upon events for another day or two, in the hope that something would turn up. I should say, ”Emerson decided,” for I was opposed to the idea. He promised me, however, that if nothing happened in the next two days, we would go together to Cairo in an effort to obtain information.
”Let me work for a brief time without distraction,” he groaned piteously. ”The stratification of the structure next to the pyramid is not clear in my mind as yet.”
I knew what Emerson was up to. He had no more intention than I did of sitting with folded hands awaiting Sethos' next move. He was deceiving me, the sly fellow-trying to get the jump on me in another of our amiable compet.i.tions in criminology. Well, I thought, smiling to myself-two can play at that game, Professor Radcliffe Emerson! I had a few cards up my own sleeve.
”Very well,” I said pleasantly. ”That will give me a chance to explore the interior of the subsidiary pyramid.”
”It will prove a wasted effort, Mama,” said Ramses. ”The burial chamber is empty. Indeed, I suspect it was never used for a burial, since its dimensions are only seven feet by-”
”Ramses,” I said.
”Yes, Mama?”
”Did I not, on an earlier occasion, forbid you to go inside a pyramid without permission?”
Ramses pursed his lips thoughtfully. ”Indeed you did, Mama, and I a.s.sure you I have not forgotten. I might claim that since you were present, though at some little distance, I was not violating the literal sense of the command. However, that would be disingenuous. In fact, my position was on the very edge of the entrance opening-technically neither in nor out-and I had every intention of remaining there, and would have done so, but for the fact that a careless move on my part caused me to lose my footing and slide down the pa.s.sage, which, if you recall, had a slope of perhaps forty-five degrees fifteen minutes. It was my body striking the wall that disturbed the delicate equilibrium of the structure, whose stones had already been-”
”Ramses.”
”Yes, Mama. I will endeavor to be brief. Once the pa.s.sage was blocked and I realized that my strength was inadequate for the purpose of freeing myself, I took advantage of my position to explore the rest of the interior, knowing it would be some time before my absence was noted and a rescue party-” knowing it would be some time before my absence was noted and a rescue party-”
”I think, my son,” said Emerson uneasily, ”that your mama will excuse you now. You had better go to bed.”
”Yes, Papa. But first there is a matter I feel obliged to bring to Mama's attention. Gregson is-”
”I will hear no more, wretched boy,” I exclaimed, rising to my feet. ”I am thoroughly out of sorts with you, Ramses. Take yourself off at once.”
”But, Mama-”
I started toward Ramses, my arm upraised-not indeed to strike, for I do not believe in corporal punishment for the young except in cases of extreme provocation-but to grasp him and take him bodily to his room. Misinterpreting my intentions, the cat Bastet rose in fluid haste and wrapped her heavy body around my forearm, sinking her teeth and claws into my sleeve. Emerson persuaded the cat of her error and removed her-claw by claw-but instead of apologizing, she chose to be offended. She and Ramses marched off side by side, both radiating offended hauteur, the cat by means of her stiff stride and switching tail, Ramses by neglecting to offer his usual formula of nightly farewell. I daresay they would have slammed the door if there had been one to slam.
Emerson then suggested we retire. ”After such a day, Peabody, you must be exhausted.”
”Not at all,” I said. ”I am ready to go on talking for hours if you like.”
Emerson declined this offer, however, and after gathering our belongings we started for our tent. I was uneasy about leaving the others, but we had taken all possible precautions, requesting Abdullah to close and bar the gates and to set a guard. I felt sure I could rely on Donald, not only to watch over both his charges, but to maintain a respectful distance from one of them. Poor boy, he was so in awe of the girl, he hardly dared speak to her, much less approach her. to maintain a respectful distance from one of them. Poor boy, he was so in awe of the girl, he hardly dared speak to her, much less approach her.
I promised myself I would have a little talk with him on that subject. For in my opinion (which is based on considerable experience), there is nothing that annoys a woman so much as fawning, servile devotion. It brings out the worst in women-and in men, let me add, for a tendency to bully the meek is not restricted to my s.e.x, despite the claims of misogynists. If someone lies down and invites you to trample him, you are a remarkable person if you decline the invitation.
I told Emerson this as we strolled side by side through the starlit night. I half-expected him to sneer, for he takes a poor view of my interest in the romantic affairs of young people; instead he said thoughtfully, ”So you recommend the Neanderthal approach, do you?”
”Hardly. What I recommend is that all couples follow our example of marital equality.”
I reached for his hand. It lay lax in my grasp for a moment; then his strong fingers twined around mine and he said, ”Yet you seem to be saying that a certain degree of physical and moral force-”
”Do you remember remarking on one occasion that you had been tempted to s.n.a.t.c.h me up onto a horse and ride with me into the desert?” I laughed. Emerson did not; in fact, his look was strangely wistful as he replied, ”I do remember saying it. Are you suggesting I ought to have done so?”
”No, for I would have resisted the attempt with all the strength at my disposal,” I replied cheerfully. ”No woman wants to be carried off against her will; she only wants a man to want to do it! Of course, for old married folk like us, such extravagance would be out of place.”
”No doubt,” Emerson said morosely.
”I admit that a proper compromise between tender devotion and manly strength is difficult to achieve. But Donald has gone too far in one direction, and I intend to tell him so at the earliest possible opportunity. He adores her; and I rather think she reciprocates, or would, if he went about wooing her in the proper manner. She would not say such cruel cutting things to him if she did not-”
We had reached the tent. Emerson swept me up into his arms and carried me inside.
Nine.
Neither of us slept well that night. My lecture had obviously made a deep impression on Emerson, in a sense I had not at all antic.i.p.ated but to which I had no objection.
Even after the time for slumber had arrived, Emerson was unusually restless. He kept starting up at the slightest sound; several times his abrupt departure from the nuptial couch woke me, and I would see him crouched at the entrance to the tent with a heavy stick in his hands.
All the sounds were false alarms-the far-off cries of jackals prowling the desert waste, or the surrept.i.tious movements of small nocturnal animals emerging from their lairs in the relative safety of darkness to seek refreshment and exercise. I myself was not troubled by such noises, which I had long since learned to know and recognize. But I dreamed a great deal, which is not usual with me. The details of the dreams fled as soon as I woke, leaving only a vague sense of something troubling my mind. usual with me. The details of the dreams fled as soon as I woke, leaving only a vague sense of something troubling my mind.
Despite his disturbed night Emerson was in an excellent mood the following morning. As he stretched and yawned outside the tent, his stalwart frame stood out in magnificent outline against the first rays of dawn. We had brought a spiritlamp and supplies of food and water, so we were able to make a scanty morning meal. As we waited for the workmen to arrive, Emerson said, ”You were restless last night, Peabody.”
”So would you have been had you been wakened hourly, as I was, by someone prowling round the tent.”
”You talked in your sleep.”
”Nonsense, Emerson. I never talk in my sleep. It is a sign of mental instability. What did I say?”
”I could not quite make out the words, Peabody.”
The arrival of the crew put an end to the discussion and I thought no more about it. Ramses was in the van, of course, with Donald close beside him. The young man a.s.sured me there had been no trouble during the night. ”Except,” he added, scowling at Ramses-who returned the scowl, with interest-”I caught this young man halfway up the stairs to the roof shortly after midnight. He refused to tell me where he was going.”
”I could not go out the door because Ha.s.san was on guard there,” Ramses said-as if this were an acceptable excuse for his attempt to creep out of the house.
”Never mind,” I said, sighing. ”Ramses, in case I neglected to mention it, I forbid you to leave the house at night.”
”Is that a wholesale prohibition, Mama? For instance, should the house catch fire, or be invaded by burglars, or should the roof of my room appear in imminent danger of falling-”
”Obviously you must use your own discretion in such cases,” said Emerson.
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