VII.
MRS. PETERKIN FAINTS ON THE GREAT PYRAMID.
"Meet at the Sphinx!" Yes; these were the words that the lady fromPhiladelphia had sent in answer to the several telegrams that hadreached her from each member of the Peterkin family. She had receivedthese messages while staying in a remote country town, but she couldcommunicate with the cable line by means of the telegraph office at arailway station. The intelligent operator, seeing the same date affixedat the close of each message, "took in," as she afterward expressed it,that it was the date of the day on which the message was sent; and asthis was always prefixed to every despatch, she did not add it to theseveral messages. She afterward expressed herself as sorry for themistake, and declared it should not occur another time.
Elizabeth Eliza was the first at the appointed spot, as her route hadbeen somewhat shorter than the one her mother had taken. A wild joy hadseized her when she landed in Egypt, and saw the frequent and happy useof the donkey as a beast of travel. She had never ventured to ride athome, and had always shuddered at the daring of the women who rode atthe circuses, and closed her eyes at their performances. But as soon asshe saw the little Egyptian donkeys, a mania for riding possessed her.She was so tall that she could scarcely, under any circumstances, fallfrom them, while she could mount them with as much ease as she could thearm of the sofa at home, and most of the animals seemed as harmless. Itis true, the donkey-boys gave her the wrong word to use when she mightwish to check the pace of her donkey, and mischievously taught her toavoid the soothing phrase of _beschwesch_, giving her instead onethat should goad the beast she rode to its highest speed; but ElizabethEliza was so delighted with the quick pace that she was continuallyurging her donkey onward, to the surprise and delight of each freshattendant donkey-boy. He would run at a swift pace after her, stoppingsometimes to pick up a loose slipper, if it were shuffled off from hisfoot in his quick run, but always bringing up even in the end.
Elizabeth Eliza's party had made a quick journey by the route fromBrindisi, and proceeding directly to Cairo, had stopped at a smallFrench hotel not very far from Mrs. Peterkin and her party. Everymorning at an early hour Elizabeth Eliza made her visit to the Sphinx,arriving there always the first one of her own party, and spending therest of the day in explorations about the neighborhood.
Every morning at an early hour Elizabeth Eliza made hervisit to the Sphinx.]
Mrs. Peterkin, meanwhile, set out each day at a later hour, arrivingin time to take her noon lunch in front of the Sphinx, after which sheindulged in a comfortable nap and returned to the hotel before sunset.
A week--indeed, ten days--passed in this way. One morning, Mrs. Peterkinand her party had taken the ferry-boat to cross the Nile. As they wereleaving the boat on the other side, in the usual crowd, Mrs. Peterkin'sattention was arrested by a familiar voice. She turned, to see a tallyoung man who, though he wore a red fez upon his head and a scarlet wraparound his neck, certainly resembled Agamemnon. But this Agamemnon wastalking Greek, with gesticulations. She was so excited that she turnedto follow him through the crowd, thus separating herself from the restof her party. At once she found herself surrounded by a mob of Arabs, inevery kind of costume, all screaming and yelling in the manner to whichshe was becoming accustomed. Poor Mrs. Peterkin plaintively protested inEnglish, exclaiming, "I should prefer a donkey!" but the Arabs could notunderstand her strange words. They had, however, struck the ear of theyoung man in the red fez whom she had been following. He turned, and shegazed at him. It was Agamemnon!
He, meanwhile, was separated from his party, and hardly knew how tograpple with the urgent Arabs. His recently acquired Greek did notassist him, and he was advising his mother to yield and mount one of thesteeds, while he followed on another, when, happily, the dragoman of herparty appeared. He administered a volley of rebukes to the persistentArabs, and bore Mrs. Peterkin to her donkey. She was thus carried awayfrom Agamemnon, who was also mounted upon a donkey by his companions.But their destination was the same; and though they could hold noconversation on the way, Agamemnon could join his mother as theyapproached the Sphinx.
But he and his party were to ascend the pyramid before going on to theSphinx, and he advised his mother to do the same. He explained that itwas a perfectly easy thing to do. You had only to lift one of your feetup quite high, as though you were going to step on the mantelpiece, andan Arab on each side would lift you to the next step. Mrs. Peterkin wassure she could not step up on their mantelpieces at home. She never haddone it,--she never had even tried to. But Agamemnon reminded her thatthose in their own house were very high,--"old colonial;" and meanwhileshe found herself carried along with the rest of the party.
At first the ascent was delightful to her. It seemed as if she wereflying. The powerful Nubian guides, one on each side, lifted herjauntily up, without her being conscious of motion. Having seen themdaily for some time past, she was now not much afraid of these handsomeathletes, with their polished black skins, set off by dazzling whitegarments. She called out to Agamemnon, who had preceded her, that it wascharming; she was not at all afraid. Every now and then she stopped torest on the broad cornice made by each retreating step. Suddenly, whenshe was about half-way up, as she leaned back against the step above,she found herself panting and exhausted. A strange faintness came overher. She was looking off over a beautiful scene: through the wide Libyandesert the blue Nile wound between borders of green edging, while thepicturesque minarets of Cairo, on the opposite side of the river, andthe sand in the distance beyond, gleamed with a red and yellow lightbeneath the rays of the noonday sun.
But the picture danced and wavered before her dizzy sight. She satthere alone; for Agamemnon and the rest had passed on, thinking she wasstopping to rest. She seemed deserted, save by the speechless blackstatues, one on either side, who, as she seemed to be fainting beforetheir eyes, were looking at her in some anxiety. She saw dimly thesewild men gazing at her. She thought of Mungo Park, dying with theAfrican women singing about him. How little she had ever dreamed, whenshe read that account in her youth, and gazed at the savage Africanfaces in the picture, that she might be left to die in the same wayalone, in a strange land--and on the side of a pyramid! Her guides werekindly. One of them took her shawl to wrap about her, as she seemed tobe shivering; and as a party coming down from the top had a jar ofwater, one of her Nubians moistened a handkerchief with water and laidit upon her head. Mrs. Peterkin had closed her eyes, but she opened themagain, to see the black figures in their white draperies still standingby her. The travellers coming down paused a few minutes to wonder andgive counsel, then passed on, to make way for another party followingthem. Again Mrs. Peterkin closed her eyes, but once more opened them athearing a well-known shout,--such a shout as only one of the Peterkinfamily could give,--one of the little boys!
Yes, he stood before her, and Agamemnon was behind; they had met on topof the pyramid.
The sight was indeed a welcome one to Mrs. Peterkin, and revived her sothat she even began to ask questions: "Where had he come from? Wherewere the other little boys? Where was Mr. Peterkin?" No one could tellwhere the other little boys were. And the sloping side of the pyramid,with a fresh party waiting to pass up and the guides eager to go down,was not just the place to explain the long, confused story. All thatMrs. Peterkin could understand was that Mr. Peterkin was now, probably,inside the pyramid, beneath her very feet! Agamemnon had found thissolitary "little boy" on top of the pyramid, accompanied by a guide andone of the party that he and his father had joined on leaving Venice. Atthe foot of the pyramid there had been some dispute in the party as towhether they should first go up the pyramid, or down inside, and in thealtercation the party was divided; the little boy had been sure that hisfather meant to go up first, and so he had joined the guide who went up.But where was Mr. Peterkin? Probably in the innermost depths of thepyramid below. As soon as Mrs. Peterkin understood this, she was eagerto go down, in spite of her late faintness; even to tumble down wouldhelp her to meet Mr. Peterkin th
e sooner. She was lifted from stone tostone by the careful Nubians. Agamemnon had already emptied his pocketof coins, in supplying backsheesh to his guide, and all were anxious toreach the foot of the pyramid and find the dragoman, who could answerthe demands of the others.
Breathless as she was, as soon as she had descended, Mrs. Peterkin wasanxious to make for the entrance to the inside. Before, she had declaredthat nothing would induce her to go into the pyramid. She was afraid ofbeing lost in its stairways and shut up forever as a mummy. But now sheforgot all her terrors; she must find Mr. Peterkin at once!
She was the first to plunge down the narrow stairway after the guide,and was grateful to find the steps so easy to descend. But theypresently came out into a large, open room, where no stairway was to beseen. On the contrary, she was invited to mount the shoulders of a burlyNubian, to reach a large hole half-way up the side-wall (higher than anymantelpiece), and to crawl through this hole along the passage till sheshould reach another stairway. Mrs. Peterkin paused. Could she trustthese men? Was not this a snare to entice her into one of these narrowpassages? Agamemnon was far behind. Could Mr. Peterkin have venturedinto this treacherous place?
At this moment a head appeared through the opening above, followed by abody. It was that of one of the native guides. Voices were heard comingthrough the passage: one voice had a twang to it that surely Mrs.Peterkin had heard before. Another head appeared now, bound with a blueveil, while the eyes were hidden by green goggles. Yet Mrs. Peterkincould not be mistaken,--it was--yes, it was the head of Elizabeth Eliza!
It seemed as though that were all, it was so difficult to bring forwardany more of her. Mrs. Peterkin was screaming from below, asking if itwere indeed Elizabeth Eliza, while excitement at recognizing her mothermade it more difficult for Elizabeth Eliza to extricate herself. Buttravellers below and behind urged her on, and with the assistance of theguides, she pushed forward and almost fell into the arms of her mother.Mrs. Peterkin was wild with joy as Agamemnon and his brother joinedthem.
"But Mr. Peterkin!" at last exclaimed their mother. "Did you seeanything of your father?"
"He is behind," said Elizabeth Eliza. "I was looking for the body ofChufu, the founder of the pyramid,--for I have longed to be thediscoverer of his mummy,--and I found instead--my father!"
Mrs. Peterkin looked up, and at that moment saw Mr. Peterkin emergingfrom the passage above. He was carefully planting one foot on theshoulder of a stalwart Nubian guide. He was very red in the face, fromrecent exertion, but he was indeed Mr. Peterkin. On hearing the cry ofMrs. Peterkin, he tottered, and would have fallen but for the support ofthe faithful guide.
The narrow place was scarcely large enough to hold their joy. Mrs.Peterkin was ready to faint again with her great excitement. She wantedto know what had become of the other little boys, and if Mr. Peterkinhad heard from Solomon John. But the small space was becoming more andmore crowded. The dragomans from the different parties with which thePeterkins were connected came to announce their several luncheons, andinsisted upon their leaving the pyramid.
Mrs. Peterkin's dragoman wanted her to go on directly to the Sphinx, andshe still clung to the belief that only then would there be a completereunion of the family. Yet she could not separate herself from the rest.They could not let her go, and they were all hungry, and she herselffelt the need of food.
But with the confusion of so many luncheons, and so much explanation tobe gone through with, it was difficult to get an answer to herquestions.
Elizabeth and her father were involved in a discussion as to whetherthey should have met if he had not gone into the queen's chamber in thepyramid. For if he had not gone to the queen's chamber he would haveleft the inside of the pyramid before Mrs. Peterkin reached it, andwould have missed her, as he was too fatigued to make the ascent. AndElizabeth Eliza, if she had not met her father, had planned going backto the king's chamber in another search for the body of Chufu, in whichcase she would have been too late to meet her mother. Mrs. Peterkin wasnot much interested in this discussion; it was enough that they had met.But she could not get answers to what she considered more importantquestions; while Elizabeth Eliza, though delighted to meet again herfather and mother and brothers, and though interested in the fate of themissing ones, was absorbed in the Egyptian question; and the mingling ofall their interests made satisfactory intercourse impracticable.
Where was Solomon John? What had become of the body of Chufu? HadSolomon John been telegraphed to? When had Elizabeth Eliza seen himlast? Was he Chufu or Shufu, and why Cheops? and where were the otherlittle boys?
Mr. Peterkin attempted to explain that he had taken a steamer fromMessina to the south of Italy, and a southern route to Brindisi. Bymistake he had taken the steamer from Alexandria, on its way to Venice,instead of the one that was leaving Brindisi for Alexandria at the samehour. Indeed, just as he had discovered his mistake, and had seen theother boat steaming off by his side in the other direction, too late hefancied he saw the form of Elizabeth Eliza on deck, leaning over thetaffrail (if it was a taffrail). It was a tall lady, with a blue veilwound around her hat. Was it possible? Could he have been in time toreach Elizabeth Eliza? His explanation only served to increase thenumber of questions.
Mrs. Peterkin had many more. How had Agamemnon reached them? Had hecome to Bordeaux with them? But Agamemnon and Elizabeth Eliza werenow discussing with others the number of feet that the Great Pyramidmeasured. The remaining members of all the parties, too, whose hungerand thirst were now fully satisfied, were ready to proceed to theSphinx, which only Mrs. Peterkin and Elizabeth Eliza had visited.
Side by side on their donkeys, Mrs. Peterkin attempted to learnsomething from Mr. Peterkin about the other little boys. But his donkeyproved restive: now it bore him on in swift flight from Mrs. Peterkin;now it would linger behind. His words were jerked out only at intervals.All that could be said was that they were separated; the little boyswanted to go to Vesuvius, but Mr. Peterkin felt they must hurry toBrindisi. At a station where the two trains parted--one for Naples, theother for Brindisi--he found suddenly, too late, that they were not withhim; they must have gone on to Naples. But where were they now?
The Last of the Peterkins Page 7