The Secret of Abdu El Yezdi Read Online Free PDF Page B

murmured. “SS Britannia ? Is there such a ship, Captain?”
    â€œThere was an RMS Britannia . An ocean liner. We sold her to the Prussians some ten years ago. They renamed her SMS Barbarossa . There’s no Steamship Britannia . Never has been.”
    â€œAnd you say this message has been repeated over and over?”
    â€œCountless times and without variation,” Spoolwinder said. “It used up nearly all our paper supply, and the telegraph burned the rest.”
    â€œMay I keep this copy?”
    Lawless said, “By all means,” and straightened as the boatswain’s whistle suddenly sounded. He muttered, “Look out, here we go,” then yelled, “ship’s company, attention!”
    The crew fell silent, stood with stomachs in, shoulders back, and chins up, and all eyes turned to the second set of double doors at the far end of the chamber. They swung open and Doctor Quaint stepped in, moved aside, and bowed two men through. On the left, Lord Stanley, the secretary of state for foreign affairs—short, stocky, and with a permanently aggressive expression—and on the right, His Royal Highness Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, widower of the late Queen Victoria, overweight, his long sideburns ill-concealing his developing jowls and thickening neck, and appearing to bear the weight of the world upon his shoulders.
    â€œHe looks ill,” Sister Raghavendra whispered.
    Burton gave a quiet grunt of agreement.
    Quaint guided the new arrivals across the ballroom and introduced them to Captain Lawless.
    â€œAn incredible ship, Kapitän !” Prince Albert declared. He spoke with a heavy German accent. “ Mein Gott, gigantisch , no? How many crew?”
    â€œThirty-five, Your Royal Highness. We were thirty-six but lost a man in Central Africa.”
    â€œAch! Unfortunate! I understand you haff quite the adventure. Most successful. You solve the mystery of the Nile.”
    â€œNot I, sir. May I present the expedition’s leader, Captain Richard Burton, and his medical officer, Sister Sadhvi Raghavendra?”
    The prince smiled at Burton, who noticed lines of pain around the man’s eyes. “Oh dear. Your reputation goes before you, Burton. I am afraid almost to meet you.”
    Burton bowed. “I give you my solemn assurance, Your Royal Highness, that whatever calumnies you have heard about me are probably entirely true.”
    â€œ Ja! I expected no less! You are a warrior! A man who must cut his own path through life. We are similar, you and I.”
    â€œSimilar, sir?”
    â€œIt is so! For just as you haff chopped your way through the jungles of Africa, so I haff chopped through the jungles of German Politik . We are relentless, no?”
    â€œThen I take it your endeavours have met with success?”
    â€œIt is correct. Just as yours. I tell you this, Burton: the union of Hanover, the Saxon Duchies, unt Bavaria—the new Central German Confederation—through the middle of Prussia it will slice, so we weaken our opponents, you see? Bismarck is now nothing but bluster unt hot air. He haff no power remaining unt can offer no opposition to the forthcoming British–German Alliance. We deny him his Deutsches Reich . It is sehr gut for our countries. Sehr gut! Unt now the question of Italian independence haff been settled with Austria, I am confident there will be no more wars in Europe.”
    The prince turned to Sister Raghavendra. “But forgive me, Fräulein , this is disgraceful! I do not wish to bore you with such matters. Europe is a game of chess. One concentrates unt concentrates on the next move until one’s good manners, they are forgotten completely. For far too long I haff been dealing with the devious men.”
    He raised Raghavendra’s hand to his lips and continued, “I am—what is the word, Kapitän Burton: überwältigt ?”
    â€œOverwhelmed, sir.”
    â€œAch! Indeed.