“A ruby?”
“A fabulous gem, worth a fortune. The crime was so audacious that the city fathers of Canopus have put a bounty on this killer and promised a reward for the return of the ruby.”
“‘This killer,’ you say-was it only one man? How did one man overcome four victims?”
“He isn’t just any man. He’s a Roman! Truly, they must be the most bloodthirsty people on earth. I shall never stay under the same roof with a Roman again.”
“A Roman, you say?” Teti’s tone was suddenly flat.
“Yes, a young Roman who’d come from Alexandria, traveling with a boy.”
“With … a boy, you say? The two of them, traveling on a camel?”
“Yes. No one is sure which way they went, but there’s a chance they were headed here to Sais. I’m warning everyone in town, especially the innkeepers, to be on the lookout for this monster.”
“And if he should appear?”
“My advice would be to kill him on the spot, as you would a dangerous snake! Then send his head to Canopus and claim the bounty. There’s a very generous reward for the recovery of the ruby, as well.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Of course, he may never come to Sais; I don’t want to alarm you unduly, Teti. Even if he does come here, what are the chances he would stay at your inn?”
There was a long silence, during which I held my breath.
At last I heard Teti sigh. “Well, there’s been no such person here at my inn.”
“For your sake, I’m glad to hear it. But be on the lookout, Teti. This Roman has killed once and may kill again.”
“He sounds like quite a man.”
“A dangerous man, Teti!”
“Yes, indeed.”
“Well, I must be off, to warn everyone else in town. Farewell, Teti.”
“Farewell, Harkhebi.”
I quickly crept to the back of the building. I pulled the treasure sack from the camel’s trappings, reached inside, then put it back.
“What’s going on?” said Djet.
“I’ll tell you later. Now keep your mouth shut!”
Teti appeared at the back door.
“Marcus Pecunius…,” she began, a stricken look on her face.
“Say nothing, Teti!” I raced to her and pressed a finger to her lips. “There are no words for such a parting. Alas, what might have occurred last night did not occur-the gods looked down and were jealous of us, Teti! But I promise I shall not forget you. And so that you don’t forget me, I want to give you something.”
“A gift … for me?”
“Yes, Teti. Do you like it?” I produced the ring I had pulled from the sack. The band was of silver and the setting of lapis lazuli.
“Oh, Marcus, it’s beautiful!”
“Think of me when you wear it, Teti.”
“Oh, Marcus, I shall.” Her face glowed, and tears came to her eyes. She hid her face and turned back toward the door. “You mustn’t see me cry, Marcus. And you must be off-at once! Soon everyone in Sais will be looking for you. Go, Marcus!” She ran inside.
Djet gave me a look as if to say: what in Hades was that about?
I induced the camel to kneel, mounted the beast, and helped Djet climb behind me. “Hut! Hut!” I cried.
Djet, who could keep his mouth shut no longer, squealed with laughter as the camel rose up. “Fortuna shows how she loves you again!” he cried.
“What are you talking about?”
“Last night, I thought: how terrible, that the Roman should be so sick. What a disgusting sight you were! But that was Fortuna’s way of saving you.”
“From what?”
“From that hippopotamus! Isn’t that what you called her yesterday? A friendly hippopotamus? How terrible, if Teti the hippopotamus had had her way with you. But Fortuna struck you ill, and so you escaped such an awful fate. Still, I don’t see why you spoke all that gibberish to her and gave her that ring-”
“By Hercules, Djet, keep your voice down! What if she were to hear you?”
As we rode away from the inn, I glanced back to see Teti standing on the front doorstep. Her arms were tightly crossed and there was a scowl on her tear-stained face. Had she overheard the insult? Perhaps not, I told myself. Perhaps she was simply upset to see me go.
But as we rounded a corner and rode out of sight, I saw her pull the lapis lazuli ring from her finger and throw it onto the ground.
“Harkhebi!” she shouted. “Harkhebi, come back!”
“Hut! Hut!” I cried, and snapped the reins, urging the camel to go faster.
XV
Thus did I become a wanted man and an outlaw, racing across the Delta with a bounty on my head.
Harkhebi must have been slow to mount a pursuit, or perhaps he sent the men of Sais in the wrong direction, thinking I was heading upriver, as I had told Teti. In any event, driving the camel at a swift pace, we made our escape from Sais without incident.
As soon as I could, I left the main road, and from that point onward I kept as much as possible to side roads. I skirted the towns, thinking it safer to ask for directions and buy provisions at isolated trading posts. I feared to seek shelter at any inn, so we slept in whatever secluded spot I could find. Fortunately, the nights were dry and mild, but each morning I woke in despair. Necessity had driven me to stray from the directions I had been given by Tafhapy, and as a result I was often lost and unsure which way to go next. Finding the Cuckoo’s Nest had always been a tricky proposition; now I feared I might never do so.
What a mess I had made of everything!
And yet, day by day, we made steady progress, penetrating farther and farther into the heart of the Delta. The languid mood of the place began to calm me. Low, desolate hills alternated with marshes and mudflats. Sluggish streams and stagnant pools teemed with insects. Hippopotami became a regular sight, as did crocodiles. Because the Nile was near its low point, crossings that at other times of year would have required a ferry ride were easily crossed on camelback, as long as one avoided becoming mired in mud.
The drabness of the Delta alternated with unexpected splendor. One morning, in the middle of nowhere, we came upon a vast, shallow lake inhabited by thousands of long-legged birds with magnificent beaks and wings of a delicate pink color, like the inner surface of a seashell. As we watched, a large group of them took to the air, wheeled above our heads, and then returned to the water, whereupon another group took off. The lake became an arena of constant motion, with some of the birds performing their aerial dance while others flocked together on the water.
“Flamingos!” cried Djet.
“You’ve seen these creatures before?”
“Only in pictures in the temples of Ra. I never thought to see a real one. I wonder if we shall see a phoenix, as well?”
“But surely the phoenix exists only in legends.”
“Not so! They live in the Delta. Everyone says so.”
Who was I to contradict him? Until that morning I had not known that such a bird as the flamingo existed. “Beautiful!” I whispered, and for as long as I watched the pink birds I felt at peace in that strange, secluded place.
As our progress continued, and no one we met seemed to be unduly alarmed by a young Roman and a boy traveling on camelback, I began to let down my guard. It seemed that I had outrun the warnings about me. Perhaps, if my pursuers thought I had traveled south, news of the murders in Canopus would never reach the inner Delta.
My despair also began to recede, for I began to think that we might indeed be drawing nearer to the Cuckoo’s Nest. Whenever I spoke to the locals, I tried to bring up the subject of bandits in a casual way, expressing the natural curiosity of a stranger passing through. Many of the people I met refused to talk about bandits, as if they feared reprisals for doing so, but others conversed freely about the raiders, pirates, thieves, and kidnappers who inhabited the Delta. Many spoke of these villains in tones of admiration or even awe, as if they were some sort of heroes.