The great temple which rises in its centre is that of Amen-Ra; one-hundred-and-fifty-six huge columns tower above one in its main hall like a forest of stone and on the ground occupied by the base of each twelve men could form a group without being unduly overcrowded. In the old days every inch of surface was brightly painted so that the whole place was a blaze of colour; great flags fluttered a hundred feet high above its pylons; its mighty gateways were of bronze and copper, the sacred images of solid gold encrusted with precious gems. Now all that splendour has departed but the temple still remains immensely impressive and awe-inspiring.
It takes several days to view Karnak thoroughly but both of us had been there before so after spending an hour in revisiting a few of our favourite spots we sat down to talk on a great stone scarab beside the sacred lake.
Oonas proved much more forthcoming than I had anticipated. She knew little about O’Kieff and nothing at all of his six great confederates, with the exception of Zakri. But of him she was able to tell me a great deal. She gave me chapter and verse about his dope-trafficking activities, the addresses of various depots where the stuff was stored, and the channels by which it was smuggled into Egypt from Japan, which is now the centre of its manufacture; more than enough, in fact, for me to realise with a glow of satisfaction that I as good as had him in the bag. But my self-congratulation was a little premature, as she suddenly said:
‘What hard luck it is for you, darling, that you’re no longer in a position to make use of all this.’
‘What!’ I exclaimed. ‘Why on earth not?’
She stared at me in surprise. ‘But, Julian, they know by now that I have thrown them over and become your mistress. If you were to pass anything that I’ve told you on to the police and they acted on it Zakri would guess at once that it was I who had betrayed him and they would kill me.’
This was a snag that I had not foreseen and her reasoning was certainly plausible enough.
‘We could get you police protection,’ I murmured after a moment.
She shrugged contemptuously. ‘The only protection I should get from the police would be about ten years in jail. Surely you see that I am so deeply involved in all this that if you went to the police the first thing they would do would be to arrest me. No, Julian. You can do nothing on what I’ve told you unless you want to see me dead or imprisoned.’
With bitter disappointment I admitted to myself that she was right. Even by turning King’s Evidence she could only hope for a mitigation of her sentence and anxious as I was to prevent her continuing her career of crime, it was unthinkable that any act of mine should place her life or freedom in jeopardy. Yet I had a worrying idea at the back of my mind that she had deliberately tricked me and would never have told me a single thing if she had not realised from the beginning that she could afterwards head me off from using any information she gave me. I may have been doing her an injustice but I had a shrewd suspicion that while she had developed a genuine passion for me she still wanted to remain in with her unscrupulous friends, so she had thought up this clever little plot by which she could eat her cake and keep it too.
‘What d’you suggest I should do, then?’ I asked rather gloomily.
‘Why, it is simple, isn’t it?’ she smiled. ‘Since Zakri is your enemy, we must arrange to have him murdered.’
I swallowed hard and looked down at the ground. There was something really terrifying in the way in which this beautiful little creature with the smiling face under the big, floppy hat spoke so calmly of having people done to death. I knew it was illogical to jib at the proposal as I had made up my mind long ago that if any one of the Big Seven gave me an opportunity to kill him and get away with it, I would shoot him out of hand; yet that was somehow different from plotting the assassination of one of them with the assistance of a young woman barely out of her teens while we sat there smoking in the sunshine.
‘I’ll have to think about it,’ I said, standing up rather hurriedly. ‘Let’s go and have a look at that little temple on the other side of the main building; the one where there’s that marvellous statue of the Cat-Goddess Sekhmet.’
I thought there was just a touch of cynicism in Oonas’ smile as she agreed and she made no further reference to her proposal for Zakri’s murder either then or that evening when we were back at the hotel.
That night at dinner she positively surpassed herself as a delightful and entertaining companion. The fascination she exerted had certainly got me again and my worries of the afternoon receded right into the background. I do not seek to excuse my weakness where she was concerned but in some justification of my curious mental state it can at least be urged that those blue eyes of hers certainly possessed a hypnotic quality. I drank in her beauty like a drug and I simply could not keep my own eyes from her face even when she was not looking at me because, even in profile, her features and the very set of her head were utterly ravishing. Perhaps, too, a great part of her power lay in the extraordinary rare combination of qualities which she possesses; she had the subtlety, the humour and the knowledge of a woman of the world clothed in a physical body which, having only just reached maturity, had all the freshness, the satin skin and the very essence of glorious youth.
I knew Harry, Clarissa and Sylvia would be leaving Cairo that night and their arrival in Luxor would mean endless complications but I refused to think of that for the time being. I was in such a state that I hardly cared what they thought or said, and I abandoned myself without reservation to another night with Oonas which was even more hectic than the last.
It was that temporary, mad absorption in her to the exclusion of all else which made me forget that the Cairo express got into Luxor at 7 o’clock in the morning. Fond as I was of Harry and Clarissa I would not have got up to meet them at such an early hour in any case, but a little forethought might have told me that as we had all booked our rooms together the hall porter was almost certain to inform them that I had already arrived.
As the Nile boat was not due in until that evening they would naturally be most anxious to hear what fresh turn in the situation had caused me to change my plans and come hurrying on to Luxor before them.
With a casualness that was typical of her, Oonas had neglected to lock the bedroom door when she had joined me shortly after I had turned in, and we were lying side by side in blissful early-morning drowsiness when there was a sudden, sharp knock on the door, a rattle of the handle, and it flew open. Harry stood there framed in it, his good-natured, fishlike face wreathed in smiles, as he exclaimed:
‘Hullo, Julian, old boy! Fancy you getting here before us!’
Next moment he caught sight of Oonas through the mosquito-curtain and with a single ejaculation of ‘Good God!’ he pulled the door shut again.
‘Who on earth was that?’ asked Oonas quickly, sitting up.
‘Harry Belville,’ I said. ‘I told you last night, if you remember, that my friends would be arriving in Luxor this morning.’
‘Yes, of course,’ she agreed. ‘Do you think they’ll like me?’
‘I am sure they will,’ I replied with a conviction I was far from feeling and I wondered miserably what wretched complications the day would bring.
18
The Green-eyed Monster
A line of Kipling’s flashed into my mind: ‘I’ve taken my fun where I found it and now I must pay for my fun.’ That about summed up my own situation but before I could attempt to deal with anything else I had to cope with Oonas, so I said:
‘I’m awfully sorry he barged in here like that. But it must be ever so much later than I thought. I ought to have seen to it that you got back to your room a couple of hours ago.’
She shrugged. ‘It doesn’t matter, darling, but it’s lucky I managed to get a room in the same corridor. If you keep a look-out till the coast’s clear I can easily slip along there now without any of the servants seeing me.’
As soon as she had gone I bathed and dressed, thinking matters over while I did so. On second thoug
hts I decided it was rather a good thing Harry had found Oonas and myself tucked up together. He was not the sort of chap to conceal anything from his wife so it was a pretty safe bet he would tell Clarissa and that would save me quite a lot of troublesome explanations. By being presented at once with the fait accompli they would know exactly where I stood and Clarissa was such a good sport I felt confident I could rely upon her treating the situation tactfully. I wondered if she would pass the glad tidings on to Sylvia and I rather hoped she wouldn’t.
As there was nothing whatever between Sylvia and myself it was nothing to do with her whom I chose to sleep with; yet I liked her a lot so I naturally wanted her to think well of me, and I could not get away from the feeling that she would disapprove intensely. However, that just had to be faced, and having finished dressing I went downstairs to find them.
They had only had coffee and rolls on the train so they were just finishing a second breakfast in the restaurant. The greetings of them all were very friendly so I sat down to tell them of the way I had struck up an acquaintance with Oonas on the Nile boat and my subsequent adventures at Tel-el-Amarna; only suppressing the fact that I was actually in bed with her when Zakri and his bravoes arrived at the marquee to murder me. I then went on to explain that Oonas had experienced a change of heart, done her best to save me by a last-minute warning, and that I was now playing her for all I was worth to get such information as I could about the enemy.
As I told the story it sounded credible enough but I knew quite well that I was painting the picture with roseate hues and I felt distinctly guilty about it. They all listened in intent silence while I recounted the particulars of my escape and confided themselves to a few polite, non-committal remarks when I went on to speak of Oonas.
When I had finished there was a rather awkward silence until Harry said: ‘Amin came to meet us on the train and he tells me the six cars we’re taking on the expedition and most of our supplies have arrived from Cairo. They’re in the station yard and we thought of going along to check them over. Would you care to come?’
‘There’s no need for us all to go,’ Clarissa cut in. ‘You and Sylvia can manage quite well between you. Julian can stay here and show me the famous garden we’ve all heard so much about.’
The front of the Winter Palace Hotel looks out over the Nile and has a magnificent view of the Libyan Hills in the distance but behind it there is one of the loveliest gardens in Egypt. It is a much-advertised feature of the place and covers many acres. The part immediately overlooked by the hotel windows consists of numerous varieties of palm and other tropical trees, grass lawns, gay flower borders and groups of flowering shrubs; while the further portion of the demesne is given over to avenues of fruit trees, mainly bearing grapefruit, oranges and tangerines which are picked as required, fresh from the trees, for the hotel dining-room. Half-a-score of native boys are employed to water it morning and evening, so it presents an ever-green and colourful oasis in the middle of the dusty little town.
As soon as the others had gone I led Clarissa out into it; upon which she took my arm and said:
‘Now, Julian, what you’ve been telling us will do very nicely for Sylvia but I want to hear the real story.’
‘There isn’t very much else to tell, except what you can guess for yourself,’ I parried.
‘You’ve fallen for the beautiful Oonas, haven’t you?’
‘Well …’ I hesitated. ‘I suppose I have. It’s rather difficult to explain. There’s no question of my marrying her. If there were, I’d set out on an expedition to the North Pole rather than go through with it, because, as sure as God made little apples, our attraction for each other can’t possibly last; but at times I find her absolutely irresistible.’
‘I can quite understand that,’ Clarissa conceded handsomely. ‘I thought her one of the loveliest little things I’ve ever set eyes on when I saw her at that fancy-dress dance in Alexandria. But do you really believe in this “change of heart” business? It doesn’t sound quite in keeping with her character.’
‘I honestly don’t know,’ I confessed. ‘At times I believe she loves me so much she’d let me jump on her with hob-nailed boots if I wanted to; and at other times I’m quite convinced she means to double-cross me at the first opportunity.’
‘I should think you’re probably right about both things, Clarissa said wisely. ‘Any woman can see with half an eye that your little friend is sex incarnate. When she’s all het up about a man she would probably risk prison or stick a knife into anyone for him; but once she’s cooled off, her brain gets control again and we’ve pretty good reason to know that all her real interests lie in the enemy’s camp.’
‘You’ve hit it. “The leopard cannot change his spots” or Oonas her criminal mentality. As a matter of fact, owing to her temporary aberration about me, she actually offered to get Zakri murdered for us yesterday.’
‘Did you accept?’
‘No. I’d have liked to, but I hadn’t got the guts. I’m afraid the truth is that I am an awful weakling in lots of ways when it comes down to brass tacks.’
‘Not weak, Julian dear, just very human,’ Clarissa murmured kindly, giving my arm a friendly squeeze. ‘Have you succeeded in getting anything out of her yet?’
‘Nothing I can use without bringing her into danger.’
‘I thought as much. She’s clever, Julian, so watch your step. You’ve caught a bad go of the old measles and you won’t be better till you get it out of your system. Have as much fun with her as you like but for God’s sake don’t trust her.’
‘What a grand person you are, Clarissa,’ I smiled. ‘You’ve clarified all my vague ideas and put the whole issue in a nutshell. You couldn’t have been sweeter about it, either. But tell me, now, what’s the most tactful line to take? In the ordinary course of events I should join up with you now that you’ve arrived, but at the moment I’m sharing a table with Oonas. Are you game to meet her or would it be best if we kept the two parties entirely separate?’
‘Of course I’ll meet her and I shall be charming to her; but I think it would be best if you kept to your own table and don’t bother about us too much for the next few days. She’s certain to be jealous and possessive so that’ll leave you quite free to amuse her and, at the same time, the less the two of you are with us the less chance there is of anything slipping out about our plans while she’s present.’
Clarissa’s suggestion seemed extremely sound as the less Oonas knew about our intentions the less opportunity she would have of proving dangerous to us if she did rat on me later. By the warmth of my thanks I tried to show Clarissa how very grateful I was to her and we strolled back to the hotel so that she could get on with her unpacking.
Oonas was in grand form over lunch. The Nile boat, on which we should have arrived, was due in that evening and she had arranged for her own car to be driven down from Cairo to meet her in Luxor. Her chauffeur had just reported to her and she said that now the car was here we could go on lots of expeditions in it.
After lunch I took the opportunity of introducing Oonas to the others and we all had coffee and liqueurs together in the lounge. The business went off better than I had expected.
Harry had no great brain but he was one of the most friendly people I have ever met and such a happy soul that it was second nature to him to be nice to everybody; without any deliberate effort he soon had Oonas talking and laughing. Clarissa backed him up with conscious skill and only Sylvia remained at first a little aloof; but directly she found that Oonas was interested in Egyptology she came out of her shell, and the five of us spent a very pleasant half-hour together.
Everything would have gone off quite splendidly if, just as we were breaking up, Sylvia had not said to me:
‘If you’re not doing anything this afternoon, Julian, I would very much like you to come for a walk round the town with me, because I want your advice on some things I have to see to.’
I guessed at once that she referred to the men Amin had
got together for our expedition and she wanted me to vet them before they were definitely engaged but, on the face of it, her invitation sounded as though she was just trying to carry me off for a quiet stroll.
As Oonas and I had not arranged to do anything and I knew that the sooner the job was done the better, I agreed at once; next moment I caught sight of Oonas’ face and it was a positive revelation. She was staring at Sylvia as though she could cheerfully have killed her and, without another word, she picked up her bag and left us.
A rather awkward silence followed until Clarissa remarked that, having had to get up so early on the train, she was going to lie down; upon which Sylvia and I went off together.
To avoid any possibility of Oonas seeing what we were up to Sylvia had arranged that instead of the men parading on the steps of the hotel they should meet us down by the Nile boat landing-stage which was some little distance along the water-front. Amin was outside waiting for us and as we strolled along the Nile bank the two of them told me of the arrangements they had made.
The leading car was to take our guides and servants and the second, which would be driven in turns by Harry and myself, would also carry Sylvia, Clarissa and Amin. The other four vehicles were lorries containing our stores and water, each of which would need a driver and have a man on the box beside him to help with the general labour of digging the vehicles out of the sand when they got stuck, erecting tents, porterage and so on.
Amin produced a cook named Abdulla and two servants, Omar and Mussa; the last of whom could also act as chauffeur to the first car. We were to pick up our guides at the oasis of Kharga but Amin had secured four reliable drivers for the lorries and four hefty-looking fellows to do the odd jobs.
The Quest of Julian Day Page 29