The birds swooped on and he thought for a moment that he had missed. Then first one and then the other seemed to check in mid flight and fall like stones.
The boatman whooped with delight and hurried the boat to where they had fallen and Owen was pleased, too, exhilarated. He had not meant to take part but then it had all happened so quickly, and he had not been able to resist.
The boatman retrieved the birds and showed them to Owen, smiling. Then he stowed them away with the other birds.
Hotel? he said, picking up the paddle.
Tvardovsky, said Owen, looking around him. Wheres Tvardovsky?
Everywhere were reeds. There was no sight of Tvardovsky.
The other boat, said Owen. I need to find the other boat!
The boatman shrugged but then reluctantly began to paddle back in roughly the direction they had come. Only, among the reeds, the direction was no longer clear. In this part of the lake they reached to head-high and grew so thickly that you could not see more than a yard or two in any direction.
Tvardovsky! Owen called. Where are you?
But there was no reply.
Ahmed! called the boatman. Ahmed!
From somewhere further off they could hear the sounds of the other boats returning, the delighted chatter of the sportsmen.
And then, floating out from behind the reeds, dyeing the water, came a little trail of red; not from a bird this time.
2
Reactions afterwards were strangely muted. His Highness had, fortunately, departed the previous evening. His office issued a statement of regret on his behalf but otherwise seemed surprisingly unconcerned.
As long as its kept out of the newspapers, they said offhandedly.
The Russians took a similar view.
These things happen, the Russian Consul said philosophically, especially at shooting parties.
The party itself dispersed after breakfast a good, solid breakfast for the hunters, with grapefruit fresh from the tree, fish fresh from the lake, and devilled kidneys which were not fresh at all but seemed somehow appropriate.
The Khedives party left with them, including the princes, who had quite enjoyed the mornings excitement but now that it was over saw no point in staying. Prince Fuad alone remained behind to wrap things up.
The authorities had, of course, been notified immediately and shortly after breakfast the local Mudir appeared. He came with an air of resignation, clearly expecting the worst. The little experience that he had had of dealing with the great had taught him that was what you usually got.
Theres been an accident, said Prince Fuad peremptorily.
The Mudir spread his hands in deprecation.
So he had heard. Regrettable, he said, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the ground in front of Prince Fuads feet. Yes, regrettable. Very. And of an effendi, too? Even more regrettable. But every cloud had a silver lining. At least, so he gathered, it was of a foreign effendi.
What difference does that make? demanded Prince Fuad.
Well, said the Mudir, gaining in confidence, or, possibly, garrulous through nervousness, it wasnt like losing one of your own family. It wasnt even like losing an ordinary Egyptian
His voice died away as his lowered eyes suddenly caught sight of the Russian Consul standing beside Prince Fuad.
On the other hand, he babbled, desperately switching tack, the death of an effendi was always terrible. Even a foreign effendi. No, no with sighing heart that was not what he had meant
What did you mean? asked Prince Fuad unkindly.
Well, floundered the Mudir, it wasnt like the death of a mere fellah. Or his eye scanned desperately one of the waiters, say. That would have been of no account at all.
There Prince Fuad agreed entirely.
This was of an effendi, though, he pointed out.
Exactly! And that was why he, a humble Mudir, was glad to come and offer his services
An accident, said Prince Fuad. Got that? Right. Well, off you go
Owen was moved to protest.
Oughtnt the Mudir at least speak to the boatman? After all, he had been in the boat when
Why not? said the prince, looking at his watch. And you go along with him to see he doesnt get it wrong.
The boatman, Ahmed, was still in a state of shock. He had been sitting opposite Tvardovsky, holding the boat still as the birds flew over. He had been noting the birds and seeing where they fell when suddenly he had become aware that Tvardovsky had slumped sideways and was hanging over the side of the boat and there was blood trickling down into the water, and blood seeping into the water in the bottom of the boat and blood trickling on to the boatmans foot and
And by this time it was pretty clear that they were not going to get much more out of him.
Owen made a last try.
Had he been conscious of the shot?
There had been so many shots. It had been just when the birds were flying over, at the height of the fusillade, in fact. He had not been conscious of any one particular shot, still less of the shot that had
He began to shake uncontrollably.
Well, there you are, said Prince Fuad, who had joined them. It was just when everyone was shooting and one of the shots went astray. Thats the trouble with amateurs. The shots could go anywhere. I said as much to His Highness. Its not like a shoot in Scotland, I said I had some very good shooting there last year with Lord Kilcrankie when everyone knows what theyre doing. Anything could happen! Well, I think he took my point, and thats why he stayed away. Just as well, we wouldnt have wanted him getting mixed up in this kind of thing, would we? Would we? he asked the Mudir suddenly.
The Mudir, too, began to shake uncontrollably.
No, he managed to get out at last.
Of course, we had to have the shoot, though, said the prince, as they were walking away. The Russians were absolutely insistent on it.
They returned to the terrace.
Hes quite satisfied, Prince Fuad informed the Russian Consul. Definitely an accident.
Oh, good, said the Consul.
What else could it be? asked the Financial Adviser.
Owen made one last effort.
What about the guns? Oughtnt we to call them in? Then the bullet could be checked against the guns to find out which
Oh, I dont think thats necessary! interrupted Prince Fuad.
Indeed not! cried the Russian Consul. Think of the embarrassment it could cause!
Well, yes, but
It was obviously an accident. Whats the point of apportioning blame?
The Mudir was only too anxious not to apportion blame. He took Tvardovskys name and a few particulars from the Russian Consul and then made tracks as fast as he possibly could.
The incident, though unfortunate, might well have been forgotten had it not been for an unusual feature of the legal system. Under the Egyptian legal code, which was modelled on the French one, investigation of a potential crime was the responsibility not of the police but of the Department of Prosecutions of the Ministry of Justice, the Parquet, as it was known. The police would notify the Parquet of the circumstances and the Parquet would then decide whether they merited formal investigation, in which event a Parquet officer would be assigned to the case.
In the provinces the system was slightly different. The police came under the local governor, the Mudir, as he was called, and it was he who had the formal responsibility of notifying the Parquet when a crime was suspected.
The Mudir had, then, notified the Parquet of Tvardovskys death. Strictly speaking or, rather, loosely speaking, which was the way more normal in the provinces no notification was required as the death was the result of an accident. However, as the Mudir himself had remarked, the death of an effendi was different and it had loomed sufficiently large in his mind for him to include it in a report. The Parquet officer who had read the report had written back requesting further details. When these did not satisfy him, he announced that he was opening a formal investigation.
Of course, said the British Consul-Generals aide-de-camp, as he and Owen were walking into the hastily summoned meeting together, it would have to be Mahmoud!
In a country which tended to take a relaxed view of the conduct of business, Mahmoud El Zaki was an exception; although if you had said so he would have taken umbrage. He resented slights on his country. In private, however, he had to admit there was some truth in the charge; and, therefore, to make up for any deficiency he always worked with twice the zeal of anyone else.
Well, of course, said Prince Fuad huffily, the Ministry of Justice can do just what it likes.
That, unfortunately, was just what it couldnt do: firstly, because the Minister was an appointee of the Khedive, who would speedily appoint someone else if the Minister showed too many signs of independence; secondly, because at the top of every Ministry, sitting next to the Minister, Egyptian, was an Adviser, British, whose advice it was unwise not to follow.
The Minister muttered something about judicial process once started being hard to stop.
Nonsense! said Prince Fuad. The question is: who is boss? Thats all! Are we the processs masters or its servants?
Well, said the Minister unhappily.
Well, said the Adviser.
Mamur Zapt?
Owen hesitated. It was sometimes difficult serving two masters: the Khedive, to whom in theory he was responsible, and the British, who had put him there.
Ordinarily, he said, I would side with Prince Fuad. However, I think that in this case we have to remember that the eyes of the world may be upon us. This was the death of someone who was being invited in to invest in Egypts prosperity, and if we seem to be taking it too lightly, other investors may be deterred.
I do think the Mamur Zapt has a point there! declared the aide-de-camp.
So do I! said the Adviser.
Im afraid so, murmured the Minister.
Well, said Prince Fuad crossly, seeing that he was outgunned, what are we going to do about it, then? Couldnt you tell your people merely to go through the motions? he asked the Minister. I mean, thats what they usually do, dont they?
The Minister murmured something about the officer in question being particularly zealous.
Would you like me to speak to him? demanded Prince Fuad.
No! said the Minister, who knew Mahmoud and knew that if Prince Fuad spoke to him in his usual way, he was likely to speak back.
I agree, said the aide-de-camp quickly. The less the Khedives office is seen to have to do with this, the better!
Theres something in that, conceded Prince Fuad. However, we are still left with the question of what were going to do. We cant just leave the Parquet to run wild on a thing like this.
Nor should we, said the aide-de-camp. I have a suggestion. This is the death not just of an effendi but of a foreign effendi. Given the circumstances, it is likely that if a case comes to court, it will fall under the Capitulations. The Capitulations were a system of privileges granted to foreign powers which, among other things, gave their citizens the right to be tried under their own national courts. Would it not be wiser if a representative of the Capitulatory Powers was associated with the case from the start?
That would certainly please the Russians, said the Adviser.
It would have to be someone we could trust, said Prince Fuad.
Quite so; and for that reason I was thinking of someone in the service of the Khedive who would also be acceptable to the Powers: the Mamur Zapt.
Youve landed me in it, said Owen accusingly, as he walked away from the meeting with the aide-de-camp.
You were already landed, said the aide-de-camp, Paul, whom he had hitherto considered his friend.
You do not usually join me in my investigations, said Mahmoud. Why this one?
An important person, I suppose.
And yet they seemed prepared to let the whole matter drop.
I think they would have let it drop if you hadnt started asking questions.
But is not an important person an important person whether I ask questions or not?
I think the important thing may be that he was foreign.
But that is wrong. The law is the same whether a man is foreign or not.
Quite.
Or should be.
Exactly so.
They were waiting on the platform of the Gare Centrale. On learning that Owen was going to join him in his inquiries, Mahmoud, scrupulous as ever, had sent him a note saying that he was going down to the Fayoum to see the spot where the incident had occurred and inviting him to accompany him.
What was it in the report that made you ask questions? asked Owen.
Mahmoud looked slightly ashamed.
I was angry, he admitted. It was such a slack piece of work. An accident, yes, but even with an accident there are details that should be included. The death of a visitor to our country, a guest, you could say one needs to be satisfied. All the more when it is a shooting. An accident, maybe, but even when the shooting is accidental, someone is responsible. The Mudir made no effort to find out who had fired the gun. That is deplorable. He should have called in the guns at least
I did suggest that.
You did?
Yes. They didnt feel it was necessary.
Who didnt feel it was necessary?
Prince Fuad. The Russian Consul.
What is it to do with them?
Strictly speaking, nothing, I suppose. However, if youre a humble Mudir
I know, I know. Mahmoud frowned. But it is wrong all the same, he burst out excitedly dereliction of duty always excited him. A Mudir should have pride, he should have a sense of his responsibilities, he should
Mahmoud stopped and shook his head.
I know, he said. He is only a Mudir after all. And in the provinces the older relationships still
He stopped again.
But that is what is wrong! It is what is wrong with the country, too. There is still the old deference to the Khedive, to the Pashas. It gets in the way of doing things properly. And until we start doing things properly, what hope has the country of advancing? All right, he is only a Mudir, but
Even if he had called the guns in, said Owen placidly, all that it probably would have shown us was that it was one of the financiers. And I dont think they were very anxious to show that.
But that, too, is wrong. You cannot have the law applying to some people and not others. We would have treated him fairly. We understand about accidents. Why cannot they trust us? said Mahmoud bitterly.