Poirot - Chapter 6 The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb

Poirot - Chapter 6 The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
The adventure of the Egyptian Tomb.I have always considered that one of the
most thrilling and dramatic of the manyadventures I have shared with Poirot was that
of our investigation into the strange seriesof deaths which followed upon the discovery and
opening of the tomb of King menHurrah. Hard upon the discovery of the
tomb of Teudanca Men by Lord Carnarvon, Sir John Willard and mister Blibner of

(00:23):
New York, pursuing their excavations notfar from Cairo in the vicinity of the
Pyramids of Gize, came unexpectedly ona series of funeral chambers. The greatest
interest was aroused by their discovery.The tomb appeared to be that of King
men Hurrah, one of those shadowykings of the Eighth Dynasty when the Old
Kingdom was falling to decay. Littlewas known about this period, and the

(00:46):
discoveries were fully reported in the newspapers. An event soon occurred which took a
profound hold on the public mind SirJohn Willard died quite suddenly of heart failure.
The more sensational newspapers immediately took theopportunity of reviving all the old superstitious
stories connected with the ill luck ofcertain Egyptian treasures. The unlucky mummy at

(01:07):
the British Museum, that hoary oldchestnut was dragged out with fresh zest,
was quietly denied by the museum,but nevertheless enjoyed all its usual vogue.
A fortnight later, mister Blibner diedof acute blood poisoning, and a few
days afterwards a nephew of his shothimself in New York. The curse of
men Hurrah was the talk of theday, and the magic power of dead

(01:30):
and gone Egypt was exalted to afetish point. It was then that Poirot
received a brief note from Lady Willard, widow of the dead archaeologist, asking
him to go and see her ather house in Kensington Square. I accompanied
him. Lady Willard was a tall, thin woman, dressed in deep mourning.
Her haggard face bore eloquent testimony toher recent grief. It is kind

(01:53):
of you to have come so promptly, Monsieur Poirot. I am at your
service, Lady Willard. You wishto consult me, you are I am
aware a detective. But it isnot only as a detective that I wish
to consult you. You are aman of original views. I know you
have imagination, experience of the world. Tell me, Monsieur Poirot, what

(02:15):
are your views on the supernatural?Poirot hesitated for a moment before he replied.
He seemed to be considering. Finally, he said, let us not
misunderstand each other. Lady Willard,it is not a general question that you
are asking me. There it hasa personal application, has it not.
You are referring obliquely to the deathof your late husband. Ah, that

(02:38):
is so, she admitted. Youwant me to investigate the circumstances of his
death. I want you to ascertainfor me exactly how much is newspaper chatter,
and how much may be said tobe founded on fact. Three deaths,
Monsieur Poirot, each one explicable,taken by itself, but taken together
surely an almost unbelievable coincidence, andall within a month of the opening of

(03:01):
the tomb. It may be meresuperstition. It may be some potent curse
from the past that operates in waysundreamed of by modern science. The fact
remains three deaths, and I amafraid, Monsieur Poirot, horribly afraid it
may not yet be the end.For whom do you fear? For my
son? When the news of myhusband's death came, I was ill.

(03:23):
My son, who has just comedown from Oxford, went out there.
He brought the body home. Butnow he has gone out again in spite
of my prayers and entreaties. Heis so fascinated by the work that he
intends to take his father's place andcarry on the system of excavations. You
may think me a foolish, credulouswoman, But Monsieur Poirot, I am
afraid supposing that the spirit of thedead king is not yet appeased. Perhaps

(03:46):
to you I seem to be talkingnonsense. No, indeed, Lady Willard,
said Poirot quickly, I too believein the force of superstition, one
of the greatest forces the world hasever known. I looked at him in
surprise. I should never have creditedPoirot with being superstitious, but the little
man was obviously in earnest ep.What you really demand is that I shall

(04:08):
protect your son. I will domy utmost to keep him from harm.
Yes, in the ordinary way,but against an occult influence. In volumes
of the Middle Ages, Lady Willard, you will find many ways of counteracting
black magic. Perhaps they knew morethan we moderns with all our boasted science.
Now let us come to facts thatI may have guidance. Your husband

(04:30):
had always been a devoted Egyptologist,hadn't he? Yes? From his youth
upwards he was one of the greatestliving authorities upon the subject. But mister
Blibner, I understand, was moreor less of an amateur. Oh quite,
he was a very wealthy man whodabbled freely in any subject that happened
to take his fancy. My husbandmanaged to interest him in Egyptology, and

(04:54):
it was his money that was souseful in financing the expedition and the nephew.
What do you know of his tastes? Was he with the party at
all? I do not think so. In fact, I never knew of
his existence till I read of hisdeath in the paper. I do not
think he and mister Blibner can havebeen at all intimate. He never spoke
of having any relations. Who arethe other members of the party. Well,

(05:17):
there is doctor tosswill a minor officialconnected with the British Museum, mister
Schneider of the Metropolitan Museum in NewYork, a young American secretary, doctor
Ames, who accompanies the expedition inhis professional capacity, and Hassan, my
husband's devoted native servant. Do youremember the name of the American secretary Harper?

(05:40):
I think, but I cannot besure. He had not been with
mister Blibner very long. I knowhe was a very pleasant young fellow.
Thank you, Lady Willard. Ifthere is anything else for the moment nothing,
leave it now in my hands,and be assured that I will do
all that is humanly possible to protectyour son. They were not exactly reassuring
words, and I observed Lady WillardWinCE as he uttered them. Yet at

(06:03):
the same time, the fact thathe had not pooh poohed her fears seemed
in itself to be a relief toher. For my part, I had
never before suspected that Poirot had sodeep a vein of superstition in his nature.
I tackled him on the subject aswe went homewards. His manner was
grave and earnest. But yes,Hastings, I believe in these things.

(06:24):
You must not underrate the force ofsuperstition. What are we going to do
about it? To jour pratique thegood Hastings, Ebienne. To begin with,
we are going to cable to NewYork for fuller details of young mister
Blibner's death. He duly sent offhis cable. The reply was full and
precise. Young Rupert Blibner had beenin low water for several years. He

(06:46):
had been a beechcomber and a remittanceman in several south Sea islands, but
had returned to New York two yearsago, where he had rapidly sunk lower
and lower. The most significant thingto my mind was that he had recently
managed to borrow an enough money totake him to Egypt. I've a good
friend there I can borrow from,he had declared. Here. However,
his plans had gone awry. Hehad returned to New York cursing his skin

(07:10):
flint of an uncle who cared morefor the bones of dead and gone kings
than his own flesh and blood.It was during his sojourn in Egypt that
the death of Sir John Willard occurred. Rupert had plunged once more into his
life of dissipation in New York,and then without warning, he had committed
suicide, leaving behind him a letterwhich contained some curious phrases. It seemed

(07:31):
written in a sudden fit of remorse. He referred to himself as a leper
and an outcast, and the letterended by declaring that such as he were
better dead. A shadowy theory leaptinto my brain. I had never really
believed in the vengeance of a longdead Egyptian king. I saw here a
more modern crime. Supposing this youngman had decided to do away with his

(07:53):
uncle, preferably by poison. Bymistake, Sir John Willard receives the fatal
dose. The young man returns toNew York, haunted by his crime.
The news of his uncle's death reacheshim. He realizes how unnecessary his crime
has been, and, stricken withremorse, takes his own life. I
outlined my solution to poiro He wasinterested. It is ingenious what you have

(08:13):
thought of there. Decidedly, itis ingenious. It may even be true,
but you leave out of count thefatal influence of the tomb. I
shrugged my shoulders. You still thinkthat has something to do with it?
So much so mon amie, thatwe start for Egypt tomorrow. What I
cried, astonished, I have saidit an expression of conscious heroism spread over

(08:35):
Poiot's face. Then he groaned,But oh, he lamented the sea,
the hateful sea. It was aweek later. Beneath our feet was the
golden sand of the desert. Thehot sun poured down overhead Poirot, the
picture of misery wilted by my side. The little man was not a good
traveler. Our four days voyage fromMarseilles had been one long agony to him.

(09:00):
He had landed at Alexandria, thewraith of his former self, even
his usual neatness, had deserted him. We had arrived in Cairo and had
driven out at once to the MinaHouse hotel, right in the shadow of
the Pyramids. The charm of Egypthad laid hold of me. Not so.
Poirot dressed precisely the same as inLondon. He carried a small clothes

(09:22):
brush in his pocket and waged anunceasing war on the dust which accumulated on
his dark apparel and my boots.He wailed regard them, hastings, my
boots of the neat patent leather usuallyso smart and shining. See the sand
is inside them, which is painful, and outside them, which outrages the

(09:43):
eye. Sight. Also the heat. It causes my mustaches to become limp,
but limp. Look at the Sphynx, I urged, even I can
feel the mystery and the charm itexhales. Puarot looked at it discontentedly,
and it has not the air happy, he declared, How could it I've
buried in sand in that untidy fashion. Ah, this cursed sand. Come

(10:05):
now, there's a lot of sandin Belgium, I reminded him, mindful
of a holiday spent at naciser Marein the midst of late dune. Impeccables,
as the guidebook had phrased it.Not in Brussels, declared Poirot.
He gazed at the pyramids thoughtfully.It is true that they at least are
of a shape, solid and geometrical, But their surface is of an unevenness,
most unpleasing. And the palm treesI like them not, not even

(10:28):
do they plant them in rows.I cut short his lamentations by suggesting that
we should start for the camp.We were to ride there on camels,
and the beasts were patiently kneeling waitingfor us to mount. In charge of
several picturesque boys headed by a volubledragoman, I pass over the spectacle of
Poirot on a camel. He startedby groans and lamentations, and ended by

(10:52):
shrieks, gesticulations, and invocations tothe Virgin Mary and every saint in the
calendar. In the end he descendedignominiously in finished the journey on a diminutive
donkey. I must admit that atrotting camel is no joke for the amateur.
I was stiff for several days.At last we neared the scene of
the excavations. A sunburnt man witha gray beard, in white clothes and

(11:13):
wearing a helmet came to meet us. Monsieur Poirot and Captain Hastings. We
received your cable. I'm sorry thatthere was no one to meet you in
Cairo. An unforeseen event occurred whichcompletely disorganized our plans. Poirot paled his
hand, which had stolen to hisclothes. Brush stayed its course. Not
another death, he breathed, Yes, sir Guy Willard, I cried,

(11:37):
No, Captain Hastings, my Americancolleague, mister Schneider and the cause,
demanded Poirot, Tetanus. I blanchedall around me. I seemed to feel
an atmosphere of evil, subtle andmenacing. A horrible thought flashed across me,
supposing I were the next mon Dieu, said Poirot in a very low

(11:58):
voice. I do not understand this. It is horrible. Tell me,
Monsieur, there is no doubt thatit was Tetanus. I believe not,
But doctor Eames will tell you morethan I can do. Ah, of
course you are not the doctor.My name is Tosswell. This then,
was the British expert, described byLady Willard as being a minor official at
the British Museum. There was somethingat once grave and steadfast about him that

(12:22):
took my fancy. If you willcome with me, continued doctor Tosswell,
I will take you to sir GuyWillard. He was most anxious to be
informed. As soon as you shouldarrive. We were taken across the camp
to a large tent. Doctor Tosswelllifted up the flap and we entered.
Three men were sitting inside. MonsieurPoirot and Captain Hastings have arrived, Sir

(12:45):
Guy said Tosswell, the youngest ofthe three men, jumped up and came
forward to greet us. There wasa certain impulsiveness in his manner which reminded
me of his mother. He wasnot nearly so sunburned as the others,
and that fact, coupled with acertain haggardness round them eyes, made him
look older than his twenty two years. He was clearly endeavoring to bear up

(13:05):
under a severe mental strain. Heintroduced his two companions, Doctor Ames,
a capable looking man of thirty oddwith a touch of graying hair at the
temples, and mister Harper, theSecretary, a pleasant, lean young man
wearing the national insignia of horn rimmedspectacles. After a few minutes to sultory
conversation, the latter went out,and doctor Tosswell followed him. We were

(13:28):
left alone with Sir Guy and doctorEames. Please ask any questions you want
to ask, Monsieur Poirot, saidWillard. We are utterly dumbfounded at the
strange series of disasters. But itisn't It can't be anything but coincidence.
There was a nervousness about his mannerwhich rather belied the words. I saw
that Poirot was studying him. Keenly, your heart is really in this work,

(13:50):
sir guy. Rather, no matterwhat happens or what comes of it,
the work is going on. Makeup your mind to that? Poiret
wheeled round on the other What haveyou to say to that, Monsieur le
docteur, well drawled the doctor.I'm not for quitting myself, Poirot made
one of those expressive grimaces of histhen evidentent. We must find out just

(14:13):
how we stand. When did misterSchneider's death take place three days ago?
You are sure it was tetanus dead? Sure it couldn't have been a case
of strychnine poisoning, for instance.No, Monsieur Poirot, I see what
you're getting at. But it wasa clear case of tetanus. Did you
not inject anti serum? Certainly wedid, said the doctor dryly. Every

(14:37):
conceivable thing that could be done wastried. Had you the anti serum with
you? No, we procured itfrom Cairo. Have there been any other
cases of tetanus in the camp?No, not one. Are you certain
that the death of mister Blibner wasnot due to tetanus? Absolutely plumb certain?
He had a scratch upon his thumb, which became poisoned, and septiscemia

(14:58):
set in. It sounds pretty muchthe same to a layman, I dare
say, but the two things areentirely different. Then we have four deaths,
all totally dissimilar, one heart failure, one blood poisoning, one suicide,
and one tetanus exactly, Monsieur Poirot, Are you certain that there is
nothing which might link the four together? I don't quite understand you. I
will put it plainly, was anyact committed by those four men which might

(15:20):
seem to denote disrespect to the spiritof men? Hurrah? The doctor gazed
at Poirot in astonishment. You're talkingthrough your hat, Monsieur Poirot. Surely
you've not been guided into believing allthat fool talk, absolute nonsense, muttered
Willard angrily. Poirot remained placidly immovable, blinking a little out of his green

(15:43):
cat's eyes. So you do notbelieve it, monsieur le docteur, No,
sir, I do not, declaredthe doctor emphatically. I am a
scientific man, and I believe onlywhat science teaches. Was there no science
then? In ancient Egypt, askedPoirot softly. He did not wait for
a reply, and indeed doctor Amesseemed rather at a loss for the moment.

(16:04):
No, no, do not answerme. But tell me this,
what do the native workmen think?I guess, said Doctor Eames, that
where white folk lose their heads,natives aren't going to be far behind.
I'll admit that they're getting what youmight call scared. But they've no cause
to be, I wonder, saidPoio non committally. Sir guy leant forward.

(16:29):
Surely, he cried, incredulously,you cannot believe in Oh, but
the thing's absurd. You can knownothing of ancient Egypt if you think that.
For answer, Poirot produced a littlebook from his pocket, an ancient,
tattered volume. As he held itout, I saw its title,
The Magic of the Egyptians and Chaldeans. Then, wheeling round, he strode
out of the tent. The doctorstared at me. What is his little

(16:53):
idea? The phrase so familiar onPoio's lips made me smile as it came
from another I don't know exactly,I confessed. He's got some plan of
exorcising the evil spirits. I believe. I went in search of Poirot and
found him talking to the lean facedyoung man who had been the late mister
Blibner's secretary. No, mister Harperwas saying, I've only been six months

(17:17):
with the expedition. Yes, Iknew mister Blibner's affairs pretty well. Can
you recount to me anything concerning hisnephew. He turned up here one day,
not a bad looking fellow. I'dnever met him before, but some
of the others had aims, Ithink, and Schneider. The old man
wasn't at all pleased to see him. They were at it in no time,
hammer and tongs. Not a cent, the old man shouted, Not

(17:40):
one cent now or when I'm dead. I intend to leave my money to
the furtherance of my life's work.I've been talking it over with mister Schneider
to day and a bit more ofthe same. Young Bliebner lit out for
Cairo right away. Was he inperfectly good health at the time, the
old man. No, the youngone. I believe he did mention there
was something wrong with him, Butit couldn't have been anything serious, or

(18:04):
I should have remembered one thing more. Has mister Blabner left a will?
So far as we know he hasnot. Are you remaining with the expedition,
mister Harper, No, sir,I am not. I'm for New
York as soon as I can squareup things here. You may laugh if
you like, but I'm not goingto be this blasted old men. Hur

(18:25):
Ra's next victim. He'll get meif I stop here. The young man
wiped the perspiration from his brow.Poirot turned away over his shoulder. He
said, with a peculiar smile.Remember he got one of his victims in
New York. Oh hell, saidmister Harper, forcibly. That young man
is nervous, said Poirot thoughtfully.He is on the edge, but absolutely

(18:48):
on the edge. I glanced atPoirot curiously, but his enigmatical smile told
me nothing. In company with SirGuy Willard and doctor Tosswell, we were
taken round the excavations. The principalfind had been removed to Cairo, but
some of the tomb furniture was extremelyinteresting. The enthusiasm of the young baronet
was obvious, but I fancied thatI detected a shade of nervousness in his

(19:10):
manner, as though he could notquite escape from the feeling of menace in
the air. As we entered thetent, which had been assigned to us
for a wash before joining the eveningmeal, a tall, dark figure in
white robe stood aside to let uspass with a graceful gesture and a murmured
greeting in Arabic. Poirot stopped.You are Hassan, the late Sir John
Willard's servant. I serve my lord, Sir John. Now I serve his

(19:33):
son. He took a step nearerto us and lowered his voice. You
are a wise one, they say, learn it in dealing with evil spirits.
Let the young master depart from here. There is evil in the air
around us, and with an abruptgesture, not waiting for a reply,
he strode away. Evil in theair, muttered Poirot, yes, I
feel it. Our meal was hardlya cheerful one. The floor was left

(19:57):
to doctor Tosswell, who discoursed atlength upon Egyptian antiquities. Just as we
were preparing to retire to rest,Sir Guy caught Poirot by the arm and
pointed. A shadowy figure was movingamidst the tents. It was no human
one, I recognized distinctly the dogheaded figure I had seen carved on the
walls of the tomb. My bloodliterally froze at the sight. Mon Dieu

(20:18):
murmured Poirot, crossing himself vigorously.Anubis, the jackal headed, the god
of departing souls. Someone is hoaxingus, cried Doctor Tosswell, rising indignantly
to his feet. It went intoyour tent, Harper, muttered sir guy.
His face dreadfully pale, No,said Puarot, shaking his head into
that of the doctor Ames. Thedoctor stared at him incredulously, Then,

(20:41):
repeating doctor Toswell's words, he cried, someone is hoaxing us. Come,
we'll soon catch the fellow. Hedashed energetically in pursuit of the shadowy apparition.
I followed him, but search aswe would, we could find no
trace of any living soul having passedthat way. We returned earned somewhat disturbed
in mind, to find Poirot takingenergetic measures in his own way to insure

(21:06):
his personal safety. He was busilysurrounding our tent with various diagrams and inscriptions,
which he was drawing in the sand. I recognized the five pointed star
or pentagon many times repeated as washis wont. Poiret was at the same
time delivering an impromptu lecture on witchcraftand magic in general, white magic as
opposed to black, with various referencesto the Ka and the Book of the

(21:29):
Dead thrown in. It appeared toexcite the liveliest contempt in doctor Tosswill,
who drew me aside, literally snortingwith rage. Balderdash, sir, he
exclaimed angrily, pure balderdash. Theman's an impostor. He doesn't know the
difference between the superstitions of the MiddleAges and the beliefs of ancient Egypt.
Never have I heard such a hotchpotchof ignorance and credulity. I calmed the

(21:53):
excited expert, and joined Poirot inthe tent. My little friend was beaming
cheerfully. We can now I'll sleepin peace, he declared, happily,
and I can do with some sleep. My head it aches abominably. Ah
for a good tsayne, as thoughin answer to prayer, The flap of
the tent was lifted and Hassan appeared, bearing a steaming cup, which he

(22:14):
offered to Poirot. It proved tobe camomile tea a beverage of which he
is inordinately fond. Having thanked Hassanand refused his offer of another cup for
myself, we were left alone oncemore. I stood at the door of
the tent some time after undressing,looking out over the desert. A wonderful
place, I said aloud, anda wonderful work. I can feel the

(22:34):
fascination, this desert life, thisprobing into the heart of a vanished civilization.
Surely, Poirot, you too mustfeel the charm. I got no
answer, and I turned a littleannoyed. My annoyance was quickly changed to
concern. Poirot was lying back acrossthe rude couch, his face horribly convulsed.

(22:55):
Beside him was the empty cup.I rushed to his side, then
dashed out and across the camp todoctor Ames's tent. Doctor Eames, I
cried, come at once, what'sthe matter, said the doctor, appearing
in pajamas. My friend, he'sill, dying the camma mail tea.
Don't let Hassan leave the camp.Like a flash, the doctor ran to
our tent. Puiot was lying asI left him extraordinary, cried Eames,

(23:18):
looks like a seizure or what didyou say about something he drank? He
picked up the empty cup. OnlyI did not drink it, said a
placid voice. We turned in amazement. Poirot was sitting up on the bed.
He was smiling. No, hesaid gently, I did not drink
it. While my good friend Hastingswas apostrophising the night, I took the

(23:38):
opportunity of pouring it, not downmy throat, but into a little bottle.
That little bottle will go to theanalytical chemist. No. As the
doctor made a sudden movement, Asa sensible man, you will understand that
violence will be of no avail.During hastings brief absence to fetch you,
I have had time to put thebottle in safe keeping. Ah, quick,

(23:59):
Hastings hold him. I misunderstood Poirot'sanxiety. Eager to save my friend,
I flung myself in front of him. But the doctor's swift movement had
another meaning. His hand went tohis mouth. A smell of bitter almonds
filled the air, and he swayedforward and fell another victim, said Poirot
gravely. But the last, perhapsit is the best way. He has

(24:21):
three deaths on his head. DoctorEames I cried stupefied. But I thought
you believed in some occult influence.You misunderstood me, Hastings. What I
meant was that I believe in theterrific force of superstition. Once get it
firmly established that a series of deathsare supernatural, and you might almost stab
a man in broad daylight and itwould still be put down to the curse.

(24:44):
So strongly is the instinct of thesupernatural implanted in the human race.
I suspected from the first that aman was taking advantage of that instinct.
The idea came to him, Iimagine, with the death of Sir John
Willard, a fury of superstition aroseat once. Once, as far as
I could see, nobody could deriveany particular profit from Sir John's death.

(25:06):
Mister Blibner was a different case.He was a man of great wealth.
The information I received from New Yorkcontained several suggestive points. To begin with,
young Blibner was reported to have saidhe had a good friend in Egypt
from whom he could borrow. Itwas tacitly understood that he meant his uncle,
but it seemed to me that inthat case he would have said so
outright. The words suggests some booncompanion of his own. Another thing,

(25:30):
He scraped up enough money to takehim to Egypt. His uncle refused outright
to advance him a penny, Yethe was able to pay the return passage
to New York. Someone must havelent him the money. All that was
very thin, I objected, Butthere was more hastings. There occur often
enough, words spoken metaphorically which aretaken literally, the opposite can happen too.

(25:52):
In this case, words which weremeant literally were taken metaphorically. Young
Blibner wrote plainly enough, I ama leper. But nobody realized that he
shot himself because he believed that hehad contracted the dread disease of leprosy.
What I ejaculated it was the cleverinvention of a diabolical mind. Young Blibner

(26:14):
was suffering from some minor skin trouble. He had lived in the south Sea
Islands, where the disease is common. Enough. Ames was a former friend
of his and a well known medicalman. He would never dream of doubting
his word. When I arrived here, my suspicions were divided between Harper and
doctor Ames. But I soon realizedthat only the doctor could have perpetrated and
concealed the crimes. And I learntfrom Harper that he was previously acquainted with

(26:37):
young Blibner. Doubtless the latter,at some time or another, had made
a will or had insured his lifein favor of the doctor. The latter
saw his chance of acquiring wealth,it was easy for him to inoculate mister
Blibner with the deadly germs. Thenthe nephew, overcome with despair at the
dread news his friend had conveyed tohim, shot himself. Misterner, whatever

(27:00):
his intentions, had made no will. His fortune would pass to his nephew,
and from him to the doctor andmister Schneider. We cannot be sure
he knew young Blibner too, remember, and may have suspected something or again.
The doctor may have thought that afurther death, motiveless and purposeless,
would strengthen the coils of superstition.Furthermore, I will tell you an interesting

(27:23):
psychological fact, Hastings. A murdererhas always a strong desire to repeat his
successful crime. The performance of itgrows upon him. Hence my fears for
young Willard. The figure of aNubis you saw tonight was Hassan, dressed
up by my orders. I wantedto see if I could frighten the doctor,

(27:44):
but it would take more than thesupernatural to frighten him. I could
see that he was not entirely takenin by my pretenses of belief in the
occult. The little comedy I playedfor him did not deceive him. I
suspected that he would endeavor to makeme the next victim ah. But in
spite of la Mermoudite, the heatabominable, and the annoyances of the sand,

(28:06):
the little gray cells still function.Poirot proved to be perfectly right in
his premises. Young Blibner, someyears ago, in a fit of drunken
merriment, had made a jocular willleaving my cigarette case you admire so much,
and everything else of which I diepossessed, which will be principally debts
to my good friend Robert Ames,who once saved my life from drowning.

(28:29):
The case was hushed up as faras possible, and to this day people
talk of the remarkable series of deathsin connection with the Tomb of men Hurrah
as a triumphal proof of the vengeanceof a bygone king upon the desecrators of
his tomb, a belief which,as Poirot pointed out to me, is
contrary to all Egyptian belief and thought.