Hippopotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters

Author:Elizabeth Peters [Peters, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781780334509
Publisher: Constable & Robinson

‘At the far end of this room is a doorway’ – he sketched it in – ‘blocked with slabs of stone. Our friends managed to remove one of the stones and began a tunnel through the filling of the passage beyond – for it too was closed by rocks and chips. I don’t know what lies beyond that opening.’

The abrupt conclusion left Walter gaping. ‘But my dear fellow, what inhuman lack of curiosity! Why haven’t you investigated?’

‘Because the tunnel is so narrow only a child could pass through, and of unknown length. Even if I were willing to allow Ramses to attempt something so perilous, he has not been in fit shape for such an exercise these past days.’

‘And you wouldn’t trust one of the local lads to explore the place,’ Walter said thoughtfully.

‘Not unless I searched him to the skin after he had come out,’ Emerson replied with a snap of his teeth. ‘And there are other hiding places . . . No, I won’t chance it, or take the risk of an untrained boy destroying a fragile object.’

He avoided Ramses’ accusing eyes as he spoke. He had refused to allow David to enter the second tunnel, claiming he was, first, untrained, and, second, not yet fully recovered from his injuries. But I knew, as did Ramses, that Emerson was still suspicious of the boy. He appeared to accept Ramses’ insistence that David could not have been the one who attacked Nefret, but the question of why someone should go to such lengths to incriminate the boy still remained unanswered. It was possible that the incident had been arranged for that purpose, and some people would have been too blinded by prejudice against a stranger and a native to weigh the evidence properly.

‘Well, my curiosity is at fever pitch,’ Walter said. ‘I am ready to proceed whenever you are.’

He had risen to his feet. Emerson studied him with affectionate amusement. ‘Dressed like that?’

Younger and more slightly built than his brother, Walter had led a much more sedentary life since he settled down to raise a family and concentrate on the study of the Egyptian language. The stoop of his shoulders and the relative pallor of his complexion made him appear older than his real age, and his Norfolk jacket, wrinkled though it was by days of travel, would have been more appropriate for a stroll through English meadows than an archaeological dig.

‘Yes, you must certainly change,’ Evelyn said. ‘I instructed George to pack your riding boots, but I am afraid there was nothing in your wardrobe suitable for strenuous activity.’

She did not mean to sound critical, I believe, but her cool voice and the fading of Walter’s smile assured me that relations between them had not measurably improved. I would have to attend to that matter, and I felt sure the arrangements I had made would facilitate the rapprochement I hoped for.

Evelyn was determined to accompany us and declared she would not delay us by changing; her travelling costume was a modish but practical tweed suit with ankle-length skirts, and stout walking shoes.

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