The Quest of Julian Day (36 page)

The previous twenty-four hours had been, to say the least of it, strenuous, so directly after the meal I went to bed. As I tucked the mosquito-curtain in under the edges of the mattress and snuggled down between the cool sheets I wondered if I should ever be able to get O'Kieff and Zakri. I had managed to damage them quite a bit in the past ten days but that had only been retaliation. It was hopeless, I knew, to try to prove that they had attempted to murder me on the previous night; the local Sheik and his people would never dare to give evidence against them and I was a long way yet from being able to carry the war into the enemy's camp. But at least it was pleasant to feel that for the moment I was out of danger again. Within three minutes I had fallen into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

It was pitch dark when I woke and what had roused me I had no idea; but I knew with a horrid, tense certainty that there was someone in my room and that they were moving stealthily towards my bed.

For a moment I lay quite still, staring into the darkness; I could not see a thing but I knew in the very marrow of my bones that someone was standing only a few feet from me. I felt absolutely certain that if I stretched out my hand I would be able actually to touch them through the mosquito-netting. Although I could not see even the faintest outline of a form it seemed to me that I could hear the low breathing of my sinister visitor; yet I could not have sworn to that because my heart was pounding so hard that the blood was drumming in my ears.

I had felt so safe when I had gone to bed that I had not even troubled to lock my door, much less put my automatic under my pillow. In the marquee on the river-bank the night before my enemies could have done away with me almost with impunity; enquiries as to my whereabouts would not have started until three nights later when the Belvilles found that I failed to arrive on the Nile boat at Luxor. After the murder my body would have been carried to some lone spot and thrown down the bottom of a steep ravine; within a day the ghoulish attentions of vultures, kites and pariah dogs would have rendered the manner of my death unrecognisable; the following night the jackals would have completed the business. Oonas would have told some plausible story—perhaps that I had quarrelled with her—in any case, that I wandered off and failed to return, and that all search for me had proved unavailing; upon which she had assumed that for some reason of my own I had abandoned her and gone off upstream in a river boat. Days later, when a proper search was instituted, a police patrol would probably have come upon my remains and reported that I had broken my back through falling down a gully. The village
people might suspect otherwise but they would be much too frightened to air their suspicions.

But here, in Luxor, in the great Winter Palace Hotel where several hundred guests were staying, it was a totally different matter. It would be as great a risk for anyone to attempt a murder as it would be to do so at the Savoy Hotel in London. I had been justfied in assuming myself perfectly safe, yet, as I lay sweating there, I felt that I was in imminent danger and any second I feared that an unseen knife would suddenly descend through the mosquito-curtains, to bury itself in me. I dared not move for fear of precipitating the blow; I could only wait, thanking God that I had awakened in time, which at least gave me the chance of flinging myself sideways as the blow fell.

I fought to control the beating of my heart so that I could hear better and the soft breathing beside me became definitely perceptible. Then I felt a gentle tugging under my left-hand side and I knew that the unseen visitor was very carefully pulling the mosquito-curtain out from where it was tucked in beneath my mattress. The assassin feared, perhaps, that the folds of the netting might entangle his weapon and so was going to lift it before striking.

It took every effort of will I possessed to lie there rigid but I managed it and stealthily drew my right arm free of the bedclothes so that I could lash out when the time came for me to throw myself aside.

Something touched the bedclothes just above my left elbow and ran lightly up my arm; very gently a hand was laid upon my shoulder. Next instant the unseen presence had leaned forward over me and warm breath fanned my cheek. In a flash it came to me that the figure was too near to strike effectively at that moment. With a terrific heave I jerked myself up and, throwing my right arm wide, cast it out to encircle the head bent above me. In one violent movement I had grabbed the person that menaced me and pulled him down with all my force on top of myself.

There was a muffled cry as a head came sharply in contact with my shoulder, then Oonas' voice: ‘Julian! Don't! It's me! you're hurting!'

With a sigh of overwhelming relief I eased my grip and
struggled up into a sitting position. For all I knew she might have been on the point of attempting to murder me when I seized her but she wasn't carrying any weapon or I should have felt it, and I was certain now that if she tried any tricks I should be quite equal to dealing with them. I stretched out my hand to switch on the bedside light but she was in the way and she pushed my hand quickly back again.

‘I'm sorry I gave you a fright,' she said softly. ‘It's awfully cold out here. Move over, darling, so that I can get into bed with you.'

I hardly knew if I could believe my ears in view of the manner in which we had parted early that morning; but without waiting for me to reply she pulled the bedclothes aside and, putting one arm round my neck, wriggled down beside me.

‘How the devil did you get here?' was all I could think of to ask just then.

‘The same way as you did, my sweet; by the train that came in from Cairo this evening. But you were in such a hurry at the station you didn't see me, and directly I got here I went straight to my room. As a matter of fact, I didn't want to see you again until we could talk things over in comfort without being disturbed.'

‘But you weren't on the local train from Deir Mowas,' I objected, ‘and I sank Zakri's motor-launch, so how on earth did you get to Assiut in time to catch the express?'

I felt her shrug her shoulders. ‘I telegraphed up the line from Deir Mowas and made them stop the express for me. It picked me up there about half-past one.'

‘By Jove, you've got a nerve!' I murmured.

‘It needed none. Only a little influence. After all, this is my country and I am a princess in it, you know. But you don't seem very pleased to see me, Julian.'

‘If I'd known I might expect you I would have had the champagne on the ice all ready for Your Highness,' I said sarcastically; but she did not seem to get that so I added, ‘And a nice bowstring ready to strangle you with in the morning.'

‘That would have been very unkind and also very stupid.'

‘Unkind!' I echoed. ‘And what right would you have to complain if I did decide to wring your neck? You know perfectly well that's the fate you intended for me. You got in touch with
Zakri Bey after our first night on the ship and had him rail those tents and the bubbly wine down to Tell-el-Amarna. You told the Purser that we were to be the guests of the Sheik there for the night and then deliberately led me off to Akhen-aton's tomb so that the ship should sail without us. The whole affair was a skilfully-laid plot to ensure my murder. Do you deny it?'

‘No darling, no. But I arranged it all before I really got to know you.'

‘What difference does that make?' I asked angrily. ‘The fact remains that you hatched a scheme to bring about a man's death and let him make love to you knowing quite well that your friends were going to kill him.'

Oonas sighed, and, pulling off her dressing-gown, snuggled herself down even more closely beside me.

‘I'm a bad woman, darling,' she said in the voice of a penitent child. ‘I am a very bad woman. There is no doubt about it. But I cannot help being a bad woman, can I?'

There did not seem to be much reply to that line of attack and rubbing her cheek against mine she went on softly:

‘It is all true—every bit of it. I quite meant to have you murdered. You see, you have been causing a great deal of trouble to many friends of mine and so we all thought it would be much the best thing for everybody if you were put out of the way. But then, you see, I fell in love with you and I couldn't help that either, could I?'

I was at a loss for any appropriate answer to that one also. Of course it might have been quite untrue, but few men are so armour-plated as to be entirely unwilling to believe such a statement when it is made by an exceedingly beautiful young woman; and as I was pondering the matter, she went on again.

‘I know it was very wicked to think of having you killed but life is very much cheaper here than it is in England. Where I was wrong was in not realising sooner how much I loved you; but it wasn't until last night that I suddenly knew how you had stolen my whole heart cut of my body, and then it was too late to alter the arrangements. When I left you to speak to my maid it was to cancel the orders and I had no idea then that Zakri would come himself to see the business settled, when he turned up I was terrified for you, my darling; but it was I who saved you. I shouted at the top of my voice. “Julian, Julian!
Save yourself! They are going to kill you!” and I shot three of Zakri's men to give you time to get away.'

That part of her story, at least, was true enough as I well knew; although it was overhearing her remark to her maid which had warned me in the first place and enabled me to get my clothes on directly Zakri arrived with his bravoes, which was a good five minutes before she called out to me and the shooting started.

‘That's all very well,' I said. ‘But your having changed your mind at the last minute does not alter the fact that you originally intended to have me murdered.'

‘But, Julian, that is unfair!' she protested. ‘You are being most unreasonable. In Alexandria you pass yourself off as one of our people and steal that tablet from me, which it had taken us so much trouble to get. You come to Cairo where you steal our dope and cause poor Gamal to be arrested so that his place is closed up and a lot of our men will be given long terms of imprisonment. You go to Ismailia where you break into the House of the Angels, wrecking the whole of our business there. Through you it is burnt down and eight young women, who cost us quite a lot of money, are taken out of our hands, and lots more of our people are imprisoned by the police. If you go about making such a nuisance of yourself—what can you expect but that people will want to murder you?'

Her attitude was a little staggering but, looking at things for a moment from her angle I quite saw her point. If I hadn't interfered with them in the first place they would not have interfered with me but, as it was, they clearly had considerable reason for wishing me out of the way.

I stretched out my arm behind Oonas' head, switched on the light and picked up a violet cream fondant. She blinked a little and turned to look at me, those heavily lidded, widely-spaced blue eyes of hers only six inches from my own.

‘You aren't angry with me any more, are you?' she pleaded, and leaning forward suddenly she kissed me on the mouth.

‘I don't quite know,' I confessed, drawing back my head. ‘I've had no previous experience of young women who make up their minds to have me killed in cold blood one day and tell me that they're in love with me the next.'

She laughed. ‘Then, my sweet, you don't know what real love
is like. All your experience must have been with those sticks of Englishwomen. I am quite different and when I feel a thing I feel it with all my being. When I counted you an enemy I would have gone to any lengths to bring about your death. But now that I love you I am yours body and soul.'

‘How did you manage to find out who I was?' I asked, ‘Did you recognise me right away as the man who visited you dressed up as a Red Indian in Alexandria?'

She shook her head and her dark curls danced with the movement. ‘No, I didn't know you. But you are not very clever, my darling. You didn't introduce yourself to me that afternoon at Sakkara, but having met such an attractive young man I naturally enquired who he was directly I got back to the ship. They told me his name was Julian Day and as you've been the principal topic of conversation among my friends ever since you landed in Alexandria, that was quite enough. One look at your eyes afterwards, of course, and I knew you again for the man who had posed as Lemming.'

It was my turn to laugh. How I could ever have committed such a crass stupidity as to give my own name to the Purser on the boat, I cannot think. The whole time we had been on board I flattered myself that I had taken her in completely while actually I had as good as pinned a label to my chest which shouted to the housetops who I was.

‘Well,' I said. ‘What are we going to do now?'

‘Unfortunately there is no champagne,' she murmured. ‘But at least we could put out the light.'

‘Wait a minute,' I said quickly. ‘I'd like to know a little better where we stand. The fact that you're in love with me is very flattering, but how long is it going to last? From the way you talk of them it seems you still approve of all the activities of your friends, whereas, quite obviously, I don't. What guarantee have I that during the next clash you won't change sides again and administer poison to me in my morning coffee?'

She really looked genuinely shocked at the suggestion and protested hotly: ‘But, Julian, how could I do such a thing now that I love you? Before it was quite different. As for the things that my friends do, what difference does that make to us? They must make their living somehow but, for myself, I am rich enough not to have to worry. I have found it amusing to be
mixed up in their clever plots. But now I am on your side and I will plot for you. I think I could even arrange to have Zakri murdered, if you like.'

I passed a hand over my eyes as I tried to take it in. Here was this young woman, who had been plotting my death only a few hours ago, now anxious to murder somebody else on my behalf. Could such a violent change of heart possibly be genuine? It may have been partly the extraordinary fascination which her enchanting person had over me whenever I was in her presence; but I honestly believed she meant it.