The Mummy Case Read Free Page B

you."
    "I'll be cursed if I will apologize to Wilkins," Emerson mumbled. "Whose house is this, anyway? If I can't behave naturally in my own house—"
    "He will recover; he is accustomed to your ways. It is John I am thinking of. He will be so disappointed—"
    "I am surprised at you, Amelia," Emerson interrupted. "Do you suppose I really want John to act as my valet? I have another function in mind."
    "Ramses," I said.
    "Naturally. Devoted as I am to that adorable child, I knowhis ways. I cannot concentrate on my work if I must worry about him."
    "I had, of course, planned to employ a woman to look after the boy when we arrive in Cairo—"
    "A woman!" Emerson dropped the knife and planted both elbows on the table. "No native servant can deal with Ramses; Egyptians spoil their own children badly, and those who work for English people have been taught to indulge all members of the so-called superior race. Superior! It makes my blood boil when I hear such—"
    "You are changing the subject," I warned, knowing his propensity to lecture on this topic. "We will find a man, then. A strong, healthy young man—"
    "Like John. Do use your head, Amelia. Even if we could find a suitable person in Cairo—what about the journey out?"
    "Oh," I said.
    "It turns me cold with terror to think of Ramses running loose aboard ship," Emerson said—and indeed, his bronzed countenance paled visibly as he spoke. "Aside from the possibility that he might tumble overboard, there are the other passengers, the crew, and the ship's engines to be considered. We could go down with all hands, never to be heard of again. Only a life preserver, floating on the surface__"
    With an effort I shook off the dreadful vision. "That seems an exaggeration," I assured him.
    "Perhaps." Emerson gave me a look I knew well. "But there are other difficulties, Amelia. If Ramses has no attendant, he will have to share our cabin. Curse it, my dear, the trip lasts two weeks! If you expect me to forgo—"
    I raised a hand to silence him, for John had returned, carrying a bowl of brussels sprouts and beaming like the sun over the pyramids of Giza. "You have made your point, Emerson. I confess that problem had not occurred to me."
    "Had it not?" The intensity of Emerson's gaze increased. "Perhaps I had better remind you, then."
    And he did, later that evening, in a most effective manner.
    We reached Chalfont on the next afternoon and were greeted by Evelyn herself. One look at her radiant face assured me of the correctness of my surmise, and as I gave her a sisterly embrace I murmured, "I am so happy for you, Evelyn."
    Emerson's acknowledgment of the news was less conventional. "Amelia informs me you are at it again, Evelyn. I had hoped you were finished; you promised to come out with us once you had got this business of children over and done with; we haven't had a satisfactory artist on a dig since you abandoned the profession, and it does seem to me—"
    Laughing, Walter interrupted him. "Now, Radcliffe, you ought to know that in these matters Evelyn is not solely responsible. Leave off abusing my wife, if you please, and come see my latest acquisition."
    "The demotic papyrus?" Emerson can be distracted from almost any subject by an antiquity. He released his affectionate grasp of Evelyn and followed his brother.
    Evelyn gave me an amused smile. The years had dealt kindly with her; her fair beauty was as serene as it had been when I first met her, and motherhood had scarcely enlarged her slim figure. Her blooming looks reassured me, but I could not help but feel a certain anxiety; as soon as the gentlemen were out of earshot, I inquired, "You are certain this time that all is well? Perhaps I ought to stay with you for the remainder of the summer. If I had been here last time—"
    I had believed Emerson could not overhear, but his ears are abnormally keen on occasion. He turned. "Are you at it again, Amelia? The Egyptians may call you Sitt Hakim, but that does not qualify you to