Bit of a shock for him to have a ward like me.
I think its frightfully stupid of you to be forced into a profession you dont care for, said the girl sharply.
Not forced, Sheila, old girl, not forced.
The old man asked if I had any special profession in mind, and I said I hadnt, and so he wangled a season out here for me.
But havent you any idea really what youd like to do?
You must have!
Of course I have.
My idea would be to give work a miss altogether. What Id like to do is to have plenty of money and go in for motor-racing.
Youre absurd! said Miss Reilly. She sounded quite angry.
Oh, I realize that its quite out of the question, said Mr Coleman cheerfully.
So, if Ive got to do something, I dont much care what it is so long as it isnt mugging in an office all day long.
I was quite agreeable to seeing a bit of the world.
Here goes, I said, and along I came.
And a fat lot of use you must be, I expect!
There youre wrong.
I can stand up on the dig and shout YAllah with anybody!
And as a matter of fact Im not so dusty at drawing.
Imitating handwriting used to be my speciality at school.
Id have made a first-class forger.
Oh, well, I may come to that yet.
If my Rolls-Royce splashes you with mud as youre waiting for a bus, youll know that Ive taken to crime.
Miss Reilly said coldly: Dont you think its about time you started instead of talking so much?
Hospitable, arent we, nurse?
Im sure Nurse Leatheran is anxious to get settled in.
Youre always sure of everything, retorted Mr Coleman with a grin.
That was true enough, I thought.
Cocksure little minx.
I said dryly: Perhaps wed better start, Mr Coleman.
Right you are, nurse.
I shook hands with Miss Reilly and thanked her, and we set off.
Damned attractive girl, Sheila, said Mr Coleman.
But always ticking a fellow off.
We drove out of the town and presently took a kind of track between green crops.
It was very bumpy and full of ruts.
After about half an hour Mr Coleman pointed to a big mound by the river bank ahead of us and said: Tell Yarimjah.
I could see little black figures moving about it like ants.
As I was looking they suddenly began to run all together down the side of the mound.
Fidos, said Mr Coleman. Knocking-off time. We knock off an hour before sunset.
The expedition house lay a little way back from the river.
The driver rounded a corner, bumped through an extremely narrow arch and there we were.
The house was built round a courtyard.
Originally it had occupied only the south side of the courtyard with a few unimportant out-buildings on the east.
The expedition had continued the building on the other two sides.
As the plan of the house was to prove of special interest later, I append a rough sketch of it here.
All the rooms opened on to the courtyard, and most of the windows the exception being in the original south building where there were windows giving on the outside country as well.
These windows, however, were barred on the outside.
In the south-west corner a staircase ran up to a long flat roof with a parapet running the length of the south side of the building which was higher than the other three sides.
Mr Coleman led me along the east side of the courtyard and round to where a big open verandah occupied the centre of the south side. He pushed open a door at one side of it and we entered a room where several people were sitting round a tea-table.
Toodle-oodle-oo! said Mr Coleman.
Heres Sairey Gamp.