The Last Camel Died at Noon (47 page)

The men got to their feet and I said, 'Yes, Emerson, I too am delighted, but I hope they don't mean that literally. It would be frightfully inconvenient to have them following us through London and down to Kent, especially dressed like that.'

'Do you really think so? I was rather looking forward to introducing them to Gargery. He enjoys this sort of thing so much. And Peabody - only imagine the look on Lady Carrington's face the next time she calls to complain about Ramses and is greeted by this lot, in full uniform...'

'No, Emerson.'

'No?' Emerson sighed. 'I suppose you are right. Hear then, my brave men, the last command of the Father of Curses. Serve King Tarek faithfully as you would serve me. The eye of the Father of Curses will be upon you and the blessing of the - '

'Emerson, do cut it short!' I begged, for Tarek was fairly dancing with impatience. Emerson gave me a reproachful look but obeyed, giving Harsetef his pipe as a memento. 'I am out of tobacco anyhow,' he explained, as the young soldier regarded the sacred relic with awe.

We followed Tarek along the winding ways. The tunnel was only wide enough for two people to walk abreast; a few men could have defended it against a multitude. Finally we emerged into a courtyard open to the sky and walled with towering cliffs. It must have been a ravine or cleft which had been widened over the centuries until it was now large enough to serve as a corral. Cubicles cut out of the rock wall served as stables and storerooms. In the pale moonlight I saw that a dozen camels were waiting. Several of the men had already mounted; others, clad in the loose robes used for desert travel, gathered around at Tarek's low-pitched call. He uttered a few curt instructions, and they scattered to finish the final loading

Tarek turned to us. 'Now is the moment my heart dreads,' he began.

I poked him, not ungently, with my parasol, for I knew that if he and Emerson got to exchanging compliments, we would be there all night. 'Our hearts are heavy too, my friend, so let us get it over with. You must go back to your duties.'

'True.' Tarek smiled wryly. 'There are pockets of rebellion still to be overcome, and my uncle Pesaker is yet untaken. I will also have to deal with Murtek and the other priests when they discover I have violated the oldest law of the Holy Mountain.

Farewell, my friends, my saviours - '

'Where are the others?' I interrupted.

'They come.' Tarek gestured, and I saw a pair of white-clad forms emerge from the tunnel. 'Again and yet again, farewell.'

He embraced me and Ramses, and would have done the same to Emerson had not the latter avoided it by grasping Tarek's hand and wringing it vigorously. 'Good-bye, Tarek, and good luck. You are a good chap. Come and see us if you are ever in England.'

Tarek nodded and turned away. He was incapable of speaking, I believe, for an even more painful farewell was yet before him. But as he started towards the veiled figures a reverberating boom echoed from beyond the cliffs and a tongue of flame shot skyward. Tarek let out a ripe Meroitic curse. 'It is as I feared. I am needed. Hasten, my friends; one day we may meet again.' He ran for the tunnel entrance even as he spoke, followed by his guards.

The two women glided towards us. Emerson caught me around the waist and attempted to lift me onto one of the kneeling camels. 'Just a moment,' I cried, resisting. 'What about Reggie?'

'Oh, come, Peabody, surely you can't entertain any further doubts about that young villain. He is - '

'Here!' With a diabolical laugh one of the veiled figures flung back its swaddling. Leaping upon Ramses, Reggie seized him and pressed a pistol to his head. 'So, Professor,' he went on, 'you were not as gullible as your trusting little wife. I always was a favourite with the ladies.'

Cut to the quick, I exclaimed indignantly, 'I have known for a long time that you were not what you pretended, and if I had entertained any doubts, they would have been removed by Tarek's story of his brother's murder. You tried to kill them both to prevent them from reaching us. You did not leave our house that night with your grandfather, you had come before him, in your own carriage. Did you know Tarek was there, or were you skulking about in the hope of murdering us?'

'I wouldn't do anything so stupid,' said Reggie contemptuously. 'You underestimate my intelligence, Mrs Amelia - you always have done. Of course I knew Tarek was there. My grandfather had shown me that confounded message from Uncle Willie. I tried to convince him it was a fraud, but he wouldn't listen to me. Then one of the obliging constables in Berkeley Square warned me about the "nigger," as he politely termed him, who persisted in hanging about the house. I spotted Tarek without difficulty; there aren't many men of his height and colour to be found in that neighbourhood, and as soon as I saw him I realised it must have been he who brought the message from Africa. The constable assured me he would be arrested if he tried to speak with Grandfather, so that was all right, but when the old man took it into his head to consult with you, I knew I was in trouble. I could keep Tarek from Grandfather, but I couldn't prevent him from approaching you. The message itself might not convince you of its truth, but the testimony of the messenger certainly would, for you were among the few people in the world capable of weighing that testimony correctly. I had no choice, therefore, but to dispose of the messenger. He had been trailing me all over London and I was careful not to lose him when I drove to your house. I lay in wait for him after I left you; unfortunately you came rushing out before I could finish him off, and I had to make myself scarce.'

The moonlight shivered along the folds of his sleeve as he tightened his grip on the pistol. There was no response from Ramses; indeed, the poor lad could not have moved, for Reggie had him by the throat; but Emerson growled and tensed as if to spring. I caught his arm.

'You counted on inheriting your grandfather's fortune,' I said. 'You could not endure the idea that there was another heir living. When you failed to silence Tarek, you must have feared he would find us in Egypt or in Nubia and persuade us to change our minds - which of course we would have done had we known the truth. You couldn't take that chance, for you were well aware that when the Emersons set out to do something, they do it. So you followed us to Nubia. Your transparent attempts to turn us against Tarek failed, so you and your Egyptian servant tried again to kill him when you found him with Ramses that night. To your dismay - and, I expect, to Tarek's surprise - the broken arrow convinced us of the truth of Mr Forth's story. Realising that we were now determined to pursue the quest, you announced your intention of doing the same - but your real motive was to lure us into the desert where, following the false map you had left with me in lieu of the accurate copy you stole from Emerson, we would perish miserably of thirst. The messenger you sent back - '

'Was well-coached in his role,' said Reggie. 'Unfortunately shortly after he left us, we were captured by one of Tarek's patrols. They had been warned to watch out for me.'

'How did you fall into Nastasen's hands?' I asked.

'Good Gad, Peabody, this is no time for long-winded explanations,' Emerson burst out.

'Oh, I am in no hurry,' Reggie replied. 'I must wait until my dear little cousin joins us so that I can make a clean sweep.'

Another explosion echoed from beyond the cliffs, and Reggie's teeth gleamed in a smile of evil satisfaction. 'A few sticks of dynamite provide a useful distraction, don't they? Tarek was the only one who might have recognised them for what they were and luckily I and my luggage were safely in his brother's custody by the time he returned. I hope one of the charges blows him to Kingdom Come! I can't count on that, however, so I must make sure of Nefret before I leave. Even with you out of the way, Tarek might find a means of getting her back to England, and I can't risk that, not after all the trouble I've been to.'

'So you did know about Nefret,' I said.

'From the first. Amenit told me.' The second woman lifted her veil and I saw the dark, handsome face of the First Hand-maiden. The rash had faded, but the expression with which she regarded me showed it had not faded from her memory.

'Nastasen simply kidnapped me from his brother's men while Tarek was gadding about with you,' Reggie went on. 'He thought I could be of use to him - and I knew he could be of use to me, once I understood the situation. Our goals were the same. He wanted Tarek dead and little coz in his harem; that suited me very well, for without Tarek she didn't stand a chance of getting away. I assumed you had gone astray in the desert. Confound it, I had taken every means possible to ensure you would - the false map, poison in the camel's medicine, and my trusty (and well-paid) servant Daoud to persuade your men to desert you. Imagine my chagrin when you turned up after all. Then, of course, I had to think of another plan. Damn it, where is that stupid girl?'

He turned his head to glare at the tunnel entrance.

I could hear Emerson growling like the beast of prey he would become if anyone harmed his son. His body quivered like a taut bowstring, but he dared not attack while the pistol pressed against Ramses's head. The camel drivers stood staring in bewilderment; they had not understood a word, and even if they had, they would have been as helpless to act as we.

As Reggie turned, there was a sudden movement from the rider of the camel nearest him. Some object I could not clearly discern hooked around the arm that held the pistol and jerked it sharply up and away. The sound of the shot reverberated from wall to rocky wall like a Catling gun; before the echoes died, Emerson had borne Reggie to the ground. Amenit drew a dagger from her swathings. As she struck at Emerson's back I brought my parasol down on her head. She dropped the dagger, and I caught her in a wrestling hold and held her until the drivers, now belatedly aware of the danger, could come to my assistance. I then managed to pry Emerson's fingers from Reggie's throat. The young villain was unconscious and his tongue was protruding.

'What shall we do with them?' I asked breathlessly.

'Tie them up with their own swaddling and leave them for Tarek,' Emerson replied. 'He'll think of something ingenious, I expect.'

'Better he than you, my dear,' I said.

'Yes; thank you for stopping me, Peabody. At least I think I thank you... Now where the devil is that girl? We'll have to go looking for her if she doesn't turn up soon.'

'I am here,' said a sweet, familiar voice. The rider whose quick gesture had saved the day threw back the hood of her robe and the starlight glimmered in the twisted braids of her hair. 'It was Ramses's idea that I disguise myself thus, and steal away unobserved,' Nefret went on, glancing down at Ramses, who had attached himself to the front leg of her camel and was staring at her with a particularly sickening expression. 'Had it not been for his wise advice, I might never have got away. But hurry! We dare not linger, dawn will come sooner than we like.'

'Quite right, my dear,' said Emerson, prying Ramses off her camel's leg and tossing him into a saddle. He was as limp as a stuffed doll. 'Ready, Peabody? Good. It is a pleasure to have you with us, young lady. What did you use to hook that bas -er - that rascal's arm so neatly?'

From the folds of her robe Nefret took a strange object. I had to look twice to recognise it - the crooked sceptre of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, and of the god Osiris in his capacity of king of the dead. 'I brought all the artifacts I could gather up,' she said coolly. 'I thought you might be interested in studying them.'

Bereft of speech, Emerson beamed at her in silent admiration. That made two of them. I gave my camel a sharp blow. With a grumble and a lurch it moved forwards. The others fell in behind me. The great rocks that hid the entrance rolled aside, and the caravan turned into the winding path that traversed the outer ring of the cliffs. Fantastic rock formations lined the way, but overhead the stars shone bright, and a keen night breeze caressed my cheeks. Free! We were free! Ahead lay the desert with all its perils, and civilization - with even greater perils. The strange foreboding that had seized me had nothing to do with perils of either kind. There was one consolation, though. Nefret was the only individual I had ever met who could strike Ramses dumb. One could only hope that state of things would endure.

The End

Table of Contents

BOOK ONE

BOOK TWO