The Quest of Julian Day (10 page)

‘You've got a perfectly logical explanation for all you've done.'

‘Yes, Harry. But not an atom of proof with which to back up my story. The police would never believe me. It's utterly sickening to think how I've played into O'Kieff's hands, but there it is. They'll use me as a red herring, have me detained for weeks until the police have to chuck the case through lack of further evidence, and then deported.'

‘The devil they will!' Harry exclaimed unhappily. ‘How damnable. This business hits us pretty hard, too, because the loss of the tablet puts our expedition right out of the question.'

‘I'm afraid it does, and you were frightfully keen about it, weren't you?'

‘Yes. You see, it wasn't only that we were looking forward to the fun of the thing. Like most of these scientific johnnies who're always change to: thinking in Sanskrit, old Sir Walter hadn't a bob to bless himself with. Even if we didn't find any jewels he was hoping to pick up enough ancient armour and other junk to provide for his old age and Sylvia. Now the expedition's off the poor girl's left high and dry without a cent—besides which, Clarissa will be set back the best part of six thousand quid.'

‘Six thousand!' I echoed. ‘That seems an awful lot.'

‘It wasn't all needed for the actual expedition. A couple of thousand ought to cover that after we've resold the cars and lorries we're taking; but Sir Walter had to pay up three thousand to square young Lemming, who was with him when he found the tablet.'

‘But I thought Lemming met with an accident a few days before the “Hampshire” sailed?'

Harry shook his head. ‘I'm afraid we rather led you up the garden there. The fact is, that though he wasn't putting up a bean, directly he heard we were going to finance the expedition the greedy devil proceeded to blackmail Sir Walter with the threat that if he wasn't given a full half-share of the profits, he would form his own expedition and go out to get the whole lot for himself. We didn't want a rival show and Sir Walter was so confident we'd get our money back out of the Persian pots and pans that we agreed to buy Lemming off for three thousand down.'

‘Did he know the translation of the tablet,' I asked.

‘No, but it would have been easy for him to come to Egypt and sit on our tail until we reached the place where Cambyses' army foundered. As he pointed out, there would be no witnesses to tell what happened in the middle of the desert.'

‘Good God! D'you mean …'

‘I mean that he as good as threatened to collect a gang of toughs, track us to the treasure and then hold us up.'

‘That explains a lot of things,' I said quickly. ‘Evidently Mr. Lemming is a first-class rogue; and birds of a feather flock together. I'd bet a hundred pounds to an old top-hat that having taken your cash to keep out of the game, he double-crossed you afterwards by telling the whole story to one of O'Kieff's bunch.'

‘D'you really think so?'

‘I do. O'Kieff then thought out a better plan than Lemming's. He decided to travel to Egypt in the same ship as your party, murder Sir Walter and steal the tablet; which he reckoned would put paid to your expedition and enable him to go after the treasure himself without any fear of molestation.'

‘By Jove, I believe you're right! And it makes me absolutely livid to think he's going to get away with it.'

‘But surely you don't mean to let him, do you?'

Harry looked at me dubiously. ‘I don't see that Clarissa and I can do much to stop him on our own. If we had your help that'd be different because you know these thugs, and the country and the language; but the devil of it is you're as good as ruled out of the game already!'

‘Oh no, I'm not.' I said. ‘I'd give my right hand to get even
with O'Kieff, so if you've a mind to go after him you can count me in with you to the limit.'

‘Nothing would suit my book better than a chance to get after the skunk and wring his blasted neck,' Harry asserted with a vehemence which was surprising in one normally so placid and good-natured, ‘but it seems such a hopeless proposition, Julian, if you're going to be deported.'

‘I don't mean to be if I can damn' well help it. That's why I've decided, now, that warrant or no warrant, I won't give myself up to the police. Once they get me I'll be slung out of Egypt, but every hour I can retain my freedom here there's still a hope of my being able to get my claws into O'Kieff.'

‘D'you really think you'll be able to keep clear of the police for any length of time?'

‘No, I'm afraid not. But with you and Clarissa and Amin to help me I may be able to elude them for a day or two. Fortunately none of them knows me by sight and they'll be looking for a European, anyhow, to start with. They're bound to catch me in the long run but this get-up gives me the initial advantage.'

‘Well, what's the first move?'

‘To find O'Kieff. As I didn't know what the regulations were in Egypt and wanted to avoid any fuss about bringing a gun through the Customs in my luggage I had mine on me when I left the ship; so I'm quite prepared to try a hold-up or any sort of burglary if we can discover where they've gone to earth.'

‘You think there's still a chance of getting the tablet back, then?'

‘I don't know. He's probably unloaded it temporarily just in case I tell my story to the police and they think there is enough in it to pay him an unexpected visit. But one thing's certain; he'll be in touch with whoever's got the tablet because he can't have had time to decipher the hieroglyphics on it yet. If we could trace it through him and get it back before he's able to do that it would leave him in the air. We'd get a translation done in Cairo and you could slip off into the desert without his having any idea where you're heading for.'

‘Yes,' Harry agreed. ‘Sylvia could translate it for us. But the trouble is I don't see how we're going to set about tracing O'Kieff. Alexandria's a large city and we've only got to-night
to work in. By this time to-morrow he'll be in Cairo.'

‘That's just the snag,' I admitted. ‘He's almost certain to be staying with Zakri Bey, and I was counting on Zakri's having a house here, but according to Amin he hasn't.'

Harry considered for a moment, then he stubbed out his cigar. ‘I gather that this chap Zakri Bey is a real big noise in these parts?'

‘You've said it,' I nodded. ‘Like all the Big Seven he's immensely rich and right up in the stratosphere of crime where the police don't ordinarily go looking for criminals at all.'

‘Is he the sort of bloke who would be accepted in the European society here?'

‘Certainly. He's an Egyptian aristocrat. As a member of one of their oldest families he is
persona grata
with most of the members of the Government and many European officials.'

‘In that case I think I know one line we might try. Did you ever hear of a chap named McPherson when you were here before?'

‘D'you mean the cotton magnate who's said to be the richest man in Alexandria?'

‘That's right. Extraordinary career he's had. When luck first came his way he was living in a flat in one of the big blocks here. He wanted more spacious accommodation and the story goes that he believed his luck was tied up in some way with his old flat, so he wouldn't leave it, but took the flat next door and knocked the wall through. After that he took the flat opposite, and another, and another, until he had the whole floor. Then he took the floor above and the floor below, and so on, until he eventually owned the whole six-storey block. Later he went to Venice, bought an old
palaccio
that was being pulled down and shipped its huge, square, marble staircase here, gutted his block of flats and re-erected the staircase in its centre; so that to-day the place is a veritable palace; huge ballroom, library, roof-gardens and all complete. They say there's not a single room remaining as it was originally except his simple bedroom on the third floor.'

‘What an amazing story!'

‘It is, isn't it? Anyhow, McPherson and his wife are one of the most generous couples in the world and they entertain with absolutely regal lavishness. He's an old friend of mine, and it
happens that he came down to meet some people on the “Hampshire” this evening, so we ran into each other on the dock. Apparently he's got a big party on to-night—fancy dress show—and he pressed Clarissa and me to come along. Ordinarily it's the sort of invitation we would have jumped at, but in view of poor old Sir Walter's death last night it hardly seemed decent to go, so we refused. Still, I've only to ring him up and say we've changed our minds and I'm sure he would be delighted for us to bring you too.'

‘It sounds grand,' I murmured, ‘but I don't quite see how going to a party will get us anywhere.'

‘Don't you?' he smiled. ‘That's because you don't know McPherson's parties. He does things on the grand scale and every soul who matters in Alexandria will be there. If we keep our eyes and ears open we ought to be able to find out where Zakri Bey is staying. In fact, if he's such a big bug as you say, I should think he's almost certain to be there himself.'

‘It's too risky. If I ran into one of those other friends of McPerson's from the “Hampshire” they'd know me again, even without my beard. Still, there's no reason why you and Clarissa shouldn't go.'

‘That wouldn't be much good because neither of us knows even what Zakri Bey looks like; and nobody would ever recognise you if you came rigged out just as you are now.'

‘What, like this?' I expostulated. ‘But you couldn't possibly take an Arab dragoman to that sort of show.'

‘Nonsense,' Harry laughed. ‘Alexandria's one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. There'll be Greeks and Italians and French and Egyptians there—every colour of the rainbow; as it's a fancy-dress dance there'll probably be at least a score of other chaps dressed as Arabs.'

‘In that case. I'm all for it. What time does the party start?'

‘Half-past ten; and if I know the McPhersons they'll keep it up till dawn. It's past nine now, so I'll get back to the hotel, see if they can fix up Clarissa and me with some sort of costume, ‘phone the McPhersons and have a spot of food. Say we pick you up here in a car at eleven?'

‘That'll do splendidly,' I agreed. ‘But don't get out of the car. Stop it about fifty yards down the road, by that lamp-post there, and I'll be on the look-out for you. Now I'm on the run
we must avoid being seen about together in the streets as much as possible; the police may start having you shadowed in the hope that I'll try to contact you and they'll be able to pick me up that way.'

When Harry had gone I sat on at the café until Amin reappeared. He had had no luck with his enquiries. Zakri Bey was not staying at the Royal Palace, and by personal visits Amin had confirmed the fact that he had not taken rooms at any of the big hotels. It seemed as though he and O'Kieff had disappeared into the blue and I began to fear that they had decided on a night run through to Cairo by car. It is only 13 miles and by taking the new by-pass road which runs through the desert, avoiding all the villages of the Delta, they could reach Cairo by eleven o'clock if they had left Alexandria immediately after their fracas with me.

Amin took me to a small restaurant where I insisted on his sitting down to feed with me; it would never have done for him to have left me in solitary state and to have had his own food outside, as is the usual custom of guides when they are with Europeans.

He was a little bashful about it but superlatively well-mannered and I took the opportunity to watch his idiosyncrasies as he fed, and copy them, in order to fill the rôle that I was playing as fittingly as possible. I cautioned him, too, that he must not say a single word to me in English and I got in some useful practice of my Arabic during the meal.

After we had fed I thanked him again for all his help and said that if he wished to assist me further he was to report without my risking being seen in their company. He would then be able to carry messages between the Belvilles and myself without my risking being seen in their company. He agreed at once and, having parted from him outside the restaurant, I returned to the café on the waterfront.

Fortunately I had not long to wait and with commendable punctuality Harry and Clarissa pulled up in a car near the lamp-post down the street. The driver gave me a queer look as I climbed in; but immediately I started to talk in English he realised that I was just another lunatic tricked out for the fancy-dress dance to which the Belvilles were going. Harry had managed to secure the costumes of a clown and with his round face smothered in white and red paint was quite unrecognisable. Clarissa looked charming in the short skirts and décolleté of Columbine. She was wearing a mask but her red curls would have given her away instantly to anyone who knew her. However, it was hardly likely that O'Kieff would be present at the party and as Zakri Bey had never seen her there was no chance of his associating her with me if he happened to be there.

Ten minutes in the car brought us to the McPherson palace; and palace is the only word which adequately describes that great block of flats which had undergone such a strange metamorphosis. The central staircase of shining marble soared in stage after stage right to the top storey a hundred feet above the wide hall, and as we pushed our way through the swarm of gaily-costumed guests I saw that the splendid suite of reception-rooms on the upper floors held many fine pictures and a magnificent collection of art treasures.

It was, I think, one of the most colourful gatherings I have ever seen because, in addition to the fancy-dresses, the mixed nationalities of the Alexandrians added immensely to the fascination of the scene and Alexandria too, owing once again to the mixed blood of its people, is famous for its beautiful women. None of
them wore veils and I noticed that nearly all of them danced appallingly badly; but the languorous way in which they smoked their cigarettes and their whole poise, when they were standing talking to their partners after a dance, made one think of scented divans and walled gardens in the soft Egyptian night.