“She had a spare key, of course,” said Emerson, while I was trying to think of a way of evading the question. “You might have known she would. Now then, my boy, lie down and rest.”

He put the tray on a table and David offered Ramses a supporting arm. Ramses waved it away. “I’m all right. David, we’ll get you something to eat after Fatima has gone to bed. Where—”

“Oh, for pity’s sake!” I exclaimed irritably. “At least sit down, if you won’t lie down, and stop trying to distract me. I have a great many questions for all of you.”

“I’m sure you do,” Ramses said. He lowered himself carefully into an armchair. “Where is—ah, there you are.”

This remark was directed at the cat, who entered the room by way of the window. After giving his boots a thorough inspection she jumped onto the arm of the chair and settled down, paws folded under her chest.

“She’s been keeping watch on the balcony,” David said seriously. “But she must have thought I looked hungry, because she brought me a nice fat rat about an hour ago.”

I glanced involuntarily round the room, and David laughed. “Don’t worry, Aunt Amelia, I got rid of it. Tactfully, of course. Where is Nefret?”

“Gone out for the evening. I only wish to goodness I knew where, and with whom.” The boys exchanged glances, and I said, “Do you know?”

“No,” Ramses said.

“Leave that for now,” Emerson ordered. He had poured coffee for us; David brought a cup to me and one to Ramses, and Emerson went on, “David has told me—and you too, I presume, Peabody —about the scheme to supply arms to Wardani’s revolutionaries. There is no need to emphasize the seriousness of the matter. Your plan to prevent it was well worked out. What I want to know is: first, how many more deliveries are planned; second, how much progress have you made in discovering how the weapons are brought into Cairo ; and third, what went wrong last night.”

“Well reasoned, Emerson,” I said approvingly. “I would only add—”

“Excuse me, Mother, but I think that is quite enough to start with,” Ramses said. “To take Father’s questions in order: There are two more deliveries scheduled, but I haven’t yet been informed of the dates. By the end of January we will have stockpiled over a thousand rifles and a hundred Luger pistols, with ample ammunition for both. The Lugers are the 08 model, with an eight-shot magazine.”

“Good Lord,” Emerson muttered. “Yes, but how many of your—er—Wardani’s ragtag army know how to use a firearm?”

“It doesn’t require much practice to throw a grenade into a crowd,” David said soberly. “And some of the rank and file are former army.”

“As for your second question,” Ramses went on, “unfortunately the answer is: not much. Last night’s delivery point was east of the city, in an abandoned village on the outskirts of Kubbeh. The fellow in charge is a Turk who is approximately as trustworthy as a pariah dog, so I made a point of checking the inventory. He didn’t like it, but there wasn’t much he could do about it except call me rude names.”

“Was it he who shot you?” Emerson asked.

“I don’t know. It may have been. Farouk—one of my lieutenants—is another candidate. He’s an ambitious little rascal. It happened just after I left them; they were supposed to take the weapons on to Cairo. …” He picked up his cup. The coffee spilled over, and he quickly replaced it in the saucer. Emerson took his pipe from his mouth.

“Do you want to rest awhile? This can wait.”

“No, it can’t.” Ramses rubbed his eyes. “David needs to know this, and so do you. In case…”

“David, there is a bottle of brandy in that cupboard,” I said. “Go on, Ramses.”

“Yes, all right. Where had I got to?”

He sounded drowsy and bewildered, like a lost child. I couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Never mind,” I said. “Get into bed.”

“But I haven’t told you—”

“It can wait.” I took the glass from David and held it to Ramses’s lips. “Drink a little.”

He revived enough to study me suspiciously from under his lashes. “What did you put in it?”

“Nothing. But if you are not asleep within ten minutes I will take steps. David, can you get his boots off?”

I began unbuttoning his shirt. He shied back and pushed at my hand, to no avail. I have had a good many years practice dealing with stubborn male persons. “All right, Mother, all right! I will do as you ask, providing you stop that at once.”

“I am not leaving this room until you are in bed.”

He scowled at me. I was pleased to see him feeling more alert, so I said graciously, “I will turn my back. How’s that?”

“The best I can get, obviously,” muttered Ramses. “There’s one more thing. The weapons are cached in one of the abandoned tobacco warehouses. At least that’s where they are supposed to be. David knows which one. Someone should go round there to make certain. Someone has to tell Russell about—”

“Certainly, my boy.” Emerson tapped out his pipe and rose. “Here, let me help you.”

“I don’t need—”

“There you are,” said Emerson cheerfully. “Nicely tucked up, eh?”

I turned round. Ramses snatched at the sheet, which Emerson was trying to tuck in. They had got his clothes off, anyhow. I decided not to inquire further.

“You had better get some rest too, David,” I said. “We will carry out the same procedure tomorrow. I will be here at… Oh, dear, I almost forgot. You haven’t had any supper. I will just slip down—”

“I’ll do it,” said Emerson. “Back in a minute, boys. Peabody , off to bed with you.”

“One last question—”

“I thought you wanted him to rest.”

“I do. But—”

“Not another word!” Emerson picked me up and started for the door. Just before it closed behind us I heard a muffled laugh from David, and a comment from Ramses which I could not quite make out.

I waited until we had reached our room before I spoke. “Very well, Emerson, you have had your way.”

“Not yet,” said Emerson. “But I will get David a bite of food first. Don’t stir from this spot, Peabody .”

He put me down on the bed and slipped out before I could object.

He was not gone long, but I had ample time to consider what I meant to say, and I was ready for him when he returned. “Do not suppose, my dear Emerson, that you can distract me in the manner you obviously intend. You have avoided my questions thus far, but—”

“My darling girl, we have not had a moment to—”

“Endearments now!” I cried, pushing his hand away.

“And why the devil not?” Emerson’s blue eyes snapped. “Curse it, Peabody —”

“And leave off interrupting me!”

“Damnation!” Emerson shouted.

“Don’t bellow! Someone will hear you.”

Emerson sat down on the edge of the bed and seized me by the shoulders. A formidable scowl distorted the face that was now only six inches from mine. He was breathing heavily, and I must confess that rising ire had caused my own respiration to quicken.

After a moment his thunderous brows drew apart and his narrowed eyes resumed their usual look of sapphirine affability. “There is nothing unusual in our shouting at one another,” he remarked. “May I assist you with your buttons and bootlaces, my dear?”

“If you continue to converse as you do so.”

“Fair enough. What is your first question?”

“How did you know where to find David?”

He took my foot in his hand. Emerson’s little explosions of temper always relieve him; he was smiling as he unlaced my boots with the delicacy of touch he always demonstrates with antiquities and with me. “Do you remember the house in Maadi?”

“What house? Oh—you mean the one where Ramses took little Sennia and her mother after he got them away from that vile procurer?”

“Until the bastard tracked them down,” Emerson said grimly, starting on the other boot. “I went there one day with Ramses; we hoped Rashida might have returned to the only refuge she knew—a doomed hope, as you know. Ramses admitted that he and David had used the place before, during the years when they were roaming round the suks in various disguises. I thought it likely they would use it again, since it is an excellent hideout; the old woman who owns it is half blind and slightly senile.”