The Snake, The Crocodile, And The Dog Part 23

After I had recovered from the effect of this startling statement, I read on.

< style="font-style: italic;">Your telegram was of great a.s.sistance in preventing a more serious event than actually occurred, but I already had reasons for suspecting that a game of some sort was afoot. While making my usual rounds of the estate in order to run off poachers and look for traps, I came upon a roughly dressed individual who, instead of running away when I challenged him, ran at me with the evident intention of taking hold of me. Retreating, as discretion seemed to indicate (for he was approximately twice my bulk), I led him through a thorn thicket and left him hopelessly entangled in the branches my lesser height and greater knowledge of the terrain enabled me to avoid. He was shouting loudly and profanely as I departed the scene, but when Uncle Walter and I and two of the footmen returned, he had fled.

< style="font-style: italic;"> < style="font-style: italic;">Uncle Walter, I regret to report, scoffed at my claim that the fellow's behavior roused the direst suspicions as to his motives for being there. After Papa's telegram arrived, however, Uncle Walter was gentlemanly enough to apologize and intelligent enough to reconsider the case. After a council of war we determined to take defensive measures. As I pointed out, it was safer to err on the side of excess than to fail from lack of caution.

< style="font-style: italic;"> < style="font-style: italic;">Aunt Evelyn wanted to call the constable. She is a very kind person, but not practical. Uncle Walter and I persuaded her that we had no grounds for requesting official a.s.sistance, and that in order to convince officialdom of the validity of our reasons for concern we would have to disclose matters we had sworn to keep secret. Our defensive force, therefore, consists of the following: < style="font-style: italic;"> < style="font-style: italic;">I. Gargery. He was very pleased to be asked.

< style="font-style: italic;"> < style="font-style: italic;">2. Bob and Jerry. As you know, they are the strongest of the footmen, and familiar with our habits. You will recall that Bob was of great a.s.sistance in our attack on Mauldy Manor, when I was fortunate enough to effect your escape from the dungeon.

< style="font-style: italic;"> < style="font-style: italic;">3. Inspector Cuff. I should say, "former Inspector Cuff," since he has retired from the force and is growing roses in Dorking. I spoke to him personally on the telephone (a most useful device, we must install one at Amarna House], and after he stopped sputtering and listened to what I had to say he was persuaded to join us. I believe he is bored with roses. Do not fear, Mama and Papa, we did not disclose the SECRET. I flatter myself that the Inspector has enough confidence in my humble self to believe my a.s.surance that the matter is serious. Uncle Walter's confirmation was of some small a.s.sistance in this regard.

< style="font-style: italic;"> It was fortunate (or, if you will permit me to say so, farsighted) that these measures were inst.i.tuted/ for Inspector Cuff, the last to arrive, had not been in the house twenty-four hours before the antic.i.p.ated attack occurred.

It came about in this wise.

Finally! I thought, turning the page-and ground my teeth when instead of telling me what I ached to know, Ramses went off on another tangent.

If I have not mentioned Nefret you may be certain it is not because she was inactive or deficient in courage and intelligence. She is ... [Here several words had been scratched out. Either Ramses's vocabulary had been inadequate to express his feelings, or he had repented of having expressed those feelings so openly.] She is a remarkable person. She. . . But perhaps an account of what occurred will demonstrate her Dualities more effectively than mere words of mine could do.

I had antic.i.p.ated-erroneously, as it turned out, but not without reason-that Nefret would be the person most in need of protection. For, if Papa's hints in his telegram and my own deductions based on those hints were correct, she was the one most directly connected with the aforesaid SECRET. It is true that my theory ignored the fact that the disheveled gentleman had apparently been intent on seizing ME, so perhaps chivalry had clouded my ordinarily acute reasoning powers. I once remember thinking that being a little gentleman seemed more trouble than it was worth. The incident I am about to relate confirmed that opinion, as you will see.

"I certainly hope so," I muttered, wishing I had the little "gentleman" with me so I could shake him and force him to get to the point.

Nefret had set out in the carriage that day as usual, to go to the vicarage for a Latin lesson and religious instruction. She was attended not only by Gargery, who insisted on driving, but by Bob and Jerry as well. Uncle Walter felt this would be protection enough, but I had a certain foreboding (such as Mama often has) about the expedition, and so I took one of the horses and went after them, remaining at a discreet distance, for I had reason to suppose that Gargery, Bob, Jerry, and perhaps Ne/ret herself, would object to this procedure.

They had let their guard down, as they later admitted, when they were almost at their destination. After pa.s.sing along that deserted stretch of road (you remember it) where ambush might be expected and where nothing of the sort ensued, they were within a hundred yards of the first house of the village when another carriage appeared around the curve in the road, coming toward them at a considerable speed. Gargery drew to one side to let them by. Instead of doing so the driver pulled up and even before the wheels had stopped rolling, men burst out of the carriage.

I saw everything that transpired, for the road runs straight at that point and nothing impeded my vision. I am sure I need not tell you I reacted promptly and swiftly, urging my steed to a gallop. Before I was able to reach the scene of action, Gargery had taken a cudgel (his favorite weapon) from under his coat and smashed it down on the head of the individual who was attempting to pull him from the seat. Bob and Jerry were grappling with three other miscreants.

A fifth man tugged at the door of the carriage.

A cry burst from me at this terrible sight and I fear I so forgot myself as to kick poor Mazeppa in an attempt to induce greater speed. This turned out to be unwise as well as unkind. Unaccustomed to such treatment, Mazeppa came to a sudden halt, and I fell off. I landed on my head. Undaunted, despite the blood that flowed freely from the wound, I was crawling toward the scene of battle when rough hands seized me and a voice shouted, "I've got him! Come on, lads, hold 'em off!"

Or words to that effect. The lads held them off with such success that my captor reached the criminous carriage and transferred his grip to the back of my neck and the seat of my trousers, preparatory, one must suppose, to pitching me inside.

At that moment, when all seemed lost, I heard an odd whistling sound, followed by a soft thud.

The man in whose grip I hung helpless and dizzy (for a blow on the head, as you know, has the effect of disorienting the recipient to a considerable degree) shrieked aloud and dropped me.

I am happy to report that discretion prevailed over the l.u.s.t for battle that had brought me to my predicament. I rolled under the carriage, out the opposite side, and into a convenient ditch. had brought me to my predicament. I rolled under the carriage, out the opposite side, and into a convenient ditch.

I was plucked from this refuge a few moments later by Gargery, in time to see the miscreants' vehicle retreating in a cloud of dust. My knees were a trifle unsteady, so Gargery very kindly held me up by my collar, while my eyes sought the object of my chief concern. "Nefret?"

I gurgled. (I had swallowed a quant.i.ty of rather muddy water.)

She was there, leaning over me, an angelic vision . . . [Ramses had crossed this out, but the words were legible.] . . . her face pale with concern . . . for ME.

"Dear brother," she cried in poignant accents. "You are wounded: You are bleeding!" And with her own hand, careless of the mud and gore that stained her spotless white gloves, she parted the hair on my brow.

It was not my injury but the sight of what she held in her other hand that struck me dumb (a state, Mama might claim, that is uncommon with me). The object was a bow.

Swooning, I was carried away by Gargery and we soon found ourselves safe at home. Unfortunately I came back to my senses before the doctor st.i.tched up my head. It was cursed painful. That was when some of my hair was cut off, but Aunt Evelyn says it will soon grow back. Everyone else was unhurt except for b.u.mps and bruises.

It was Nefret herself, as you may have deduced, who saved the day. The villain who was attempting to open the carriage door went sprawling, his nose bloodied, when she slammed it into his face, and the villain who carried me off was deterred by an arrow directed with a skill worthy of Robin Hood himself (if legend is to be trusted, which I doubt it is).

The bow she had concealed under her heavy cloak (the weather being quite chilly) was the one she had brought with her from Nubia. Unlike the composite bows carried by the military, hers is a single-staff weapon only twenty-nine inches long, employed ordinarily for hunting. But why, one might ask, had she deemed it expedient to carry such a weapon? I did in fact ask, and she answered the question after my affectionate friends had gathered around my bedside for a council of war.

"I have kept a weapon close at hand ever since the Professor's telegram arrived," she explained coolly. "He is not a man to start at shadows, and although I am deeply grateful for the loyal protection of our friends, it is not in my nature to cower in a comer while others risk their lives in my defense. The Professor made it clear that Ramses and I were the ones in danger, not of a.s.sa.s.sination but of abduction. We know what the abductors want. Who could give them that information? Only yourmother and father, Ramses, they alone know the way to the place the villains seek."

"I could retrace my steps- " I began with some indignation. She raised a finger to her lips.

"I know that, dear brother. But in this world children are treated like pet animals, without sense or memory, and you are one of the few who could do what you claim. I could not. If they want you, it can only be as a hostage, to wring information from those who love you."

"And you," I hastened to a.s.sure her.

"Those who threaten us may reason so. Fear not, I will defend myself/ I carry a knife as well as a bow and will use either if I must." Her face grew grave. "It is not for us I fear, but for the Professor and Aunt Amelia. They have not our strong protectors. They are in the greatest danger." Her wise words made me realize, dear Mama and Papa, that in my concern for her I had not given enough attention to your predicament. I should be at your side. I proposed this to Uncle Walter, but he absolutely refused to buy a steamship ticket for me, and since I only possess one pound eleven shillings sixpence I cannot carry out the transaction without his financial a.s.sistance. Please telegraph at once and tell him to let me come. I am reluctant to leave Nefret, but the duty (and of course affection of a son supersedes all other responsibilities. Besides, she has Gargery and the others. Besides, she does very well without me. Please telegraph immediately. Please be careful.

Your loving (and at this point in time extremely anxious) son,

Ramses.

P.S. Gargery was very disappointed that he could not rescue Nefret like Sir Galahad.

P.P.S. If you telegraph immediately I can be with you in ten days' time.

P.P.P.S. Or thirteen at the most.

P.P.P.P.S. Please be careful.

It would have required a great deal to turn my attention from Emerson at that moment, but this astonishing epistle almost succeeded. I recalled having mentioned to Ramses, on one occasion, that literary flourishes were best restricted to the written form. Obviously he had taken the suggestion to heart, but his questionable literary devices (swooning, indeed! What had the child been reading?) did not conceal his genuine emotion. Poor Ramses! To be rescued instead of rescuer- to fall off a horse, to be dragged out of a ditch and held up like a sack of dirty laundry, dripping with muddy water, before the eyes of the girl he yearned to impress . . . His humiliation had been complete.

And he had taken it like a man and an Emerson! He had only praise for her whose achievements had cast his into the shade. And how touching to a maternal heart was that piteous admission: "She does very well without me." Poor Ramses indeed.

As for Nefret, her behavior confirmed my initial impression of her character and convinced me that she would be a worthy addition to our little family. She had acted with the same vigor and independence I would have displayed, and as effectively. I am not accustomed to cower in corners either.

The very idea of Ramses at my side trying to protect me chilled the blood in my veins, and I only hoped Walter could prevent him from robbing a bank or playing highwayman in order to get the money. Not that I doubted the sincerity of his protestations. I must remember to telegraph next day, though how precisely to couch the message presented some difficulty. To inform without alarming them . . .

At that moment the rustle of linen brought me flying to Emerson's side. He had turned his head! It was only a slight movement and he did not stir again, but I hovered over him the rest of the night counting every breath and tracing every line of that beloved face with gentle fingers.

The beard would have to go, of course. Unlike his hair, Emerson's beard is very stiff and p.r.i.c.kly. I objected to it as well on aesthetic grounds, for it hid the admirable contours of his jaw and chin, as well as the cleft in the latter organ.

In time of emotional distress the mind tends to focus on petty details. That is a well-known fact and accounts, I believe, for my failure to consider several problems rather more important than Emerson's beard. They were brought to my attention the following morning, when Cyrus entered to fetch me a breakfast tray and inquire how we had pa.s.sed the night. I persuaded him- without difficulty- to join me in a cup of coffee, and entertained him by reading excerpts from Ramses's letter.

"I must telegraph at once, to rea.s.sure them," I said. "The question is, how much shall I tell them?

They know nothing of what has transpired- "

"My dear Amelia!" Cyrus, who had been chuckling and shaking his head over the letter, immediately sobered. "If they don't know already, they soon will. We made no secret of his disappearance- heck, we plastered the whole town with notices. Unless I miss my guess, the English newspapers will get wind of the story from their Cairo correspondents and then we'll be in the headlines. You and your husband are news, you know."

The seriousness of the matter was immediately apparent to me. With Cyrus's help I determined on a course of action. We must telegraph at once, a.s.suring our loved ones that Emerson had been found and that we were both safe and well, and warning them not to believe anything they read in the newspapers. "For I shudder to think what garbled versions of the facts those confounded journalists will report," I said bitterly. "Curse it, Cyrus, I ought to have antic.i.p.ated this I have had enough unpleasant encounters with the 'gentlemen' of the press."

"You had other things on your mind, my dear. The most important thing is to get poor old Emerson back on his feet and in possession of his senses He'll take care of the reporters."

"No one does it better," I replied, with a lingering glance at the still face of my spouse. "But the danger is not over. The man responsible for this dastardly act got clean away. We dare not a.s.sume he will abandon the scheme. We cannot relax our vigilance for an instant, especially while Emerson lies helpless."