The Grave Robbers of Genghis Khan by P. B. Kerr

Author:P. B. Kerr [Kerr, P. B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-545-38801-6
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2011-05-24T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

THE SCREAM

Mr. Bilharzia moved the big leather ledger toward Nimrod, John, and Axel.

“All of these books are bound with the finest camel skin.” He smoothed the cover of the ledger with his hand and nodded at John. “Feel.”

John rubbed his hand along the smooth surface and nodded his appreciation back as Mr. Bilharzia opened the ledger.

“So, here we are.” He pointed to an entry on the old vellum page. “You see? Dated winter 1859. We have the last of the direct descendants of Dunbelchin: Morebelchin, Sourbelchin, Rudebelchin, and Vilebelchin, owned by the Bilharzia family. After that, the line, if you can call it that, disappears from our family’s breeding records. Which means these camels must have been sold.”

“And would you have kept a record of the purchaser?” asked Nimrod.

Mr. Bilharzia looked surprised even to have been asked such a question. “Of course. This is a respectable business. With everything aboveboard. But we shall have to look in the purchase ledger for the winter of 1859 to find the buyer’s name.”

They waited while Mr. Bilharzia fetched another ledger from the shelves and when he had blown the dust from the cover, he opened it and started to turn the pages.

“Yes. Here we are. Winter 1859. Morebelchin, Sourbelchin, Rudebelchin, and Vilebelchin were sold to … well now, this is most unusual.”

“What is?” asked Nimrod.

“These four camels were sold not to an Afghan, or an Indian, or even the British Army.” Mr. Bilharzia pulled a face. “These were four of two dozen camels sold to an Australian gentleman. A Mr. George Landells of the Victorian Exploration Expedition, Melbourne, Australia. The camels were delivered by my ancestor to Karachi, in what was then India, for loading onto the cargo ship, SS Chinsurah.”

“What would an Australian want with two dozen camels?” said Axel.

“You’d think they had enough weird animals of their own,” said John. “What with kangaroos and the duck-billed platypus.”

“What do you mean, weird?” Mr. Bilharzia looked and sounded as if he had been insulted. “There is nothing weird about camels. Nothing at all.”

He closed the ledger, with a loud bang that made John jump.

“The camel is the most beautiful animal ever made,” insisted Mr. Bilharzia. “Not just beautiful but remarkable, do you hear? Tell me, American. Can you drink forty gallons of water at once? Does your skin reflect sunlight and insulate you from heat? Can your nostrils trap and recycle the water in your body when you breathe out? Can you carry a rider for one hundred and twenty miles in a single day? Can you see where you are going in a sandstorm? Don’t talk to me about weird, sonny. There are one hundred and sixty different words for camel in the Arabic language. But only one word for a fool of an American who thinks that camels are weird and that word is —”

“Mr. Bilharzia, my nephew meant no offense,” Nimrod said smoothly. “And in truth he has more acquaintance with camels than ever you might suppose. The boy has ridden camels.

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