Dr. Phibes Rises Again Page #2

appointed tide reveals a secret door,

through which we'll find new life.

And now, bon voyage to all of us.

With you, Victoria, safe in your

sealed abode, we drive to Southampton.

Then Channel, then the open sea.

Come, Vulnavia, we sail!

Ah, sweet Victoria, what happy

times of years ago I think of now.

It won't be long, my love,

before we've reached our goal.

And moving, breathing, you in

my arms again and I in yours.

In Egypt I shall find the key,

the key to the elixir of life.

June 1st. At sea, bound for Egypt.

I'm taking three drops

of my elixir of life.

The vials are almost empty.

If I fail in Egypt, I am doomed.

"Awaken, O sick one!

Thou has slept."

"They have lifted thine head

toward the horizon. Appear!"

"Thou art justified against those

that sought to do thee harm."

One of my favourite passages

from The Book of the Dead.

All relating to the divine incarnation

and the phenomenon of rebirth.

Singularly appropriate, Ambrose.

Our voyage has now begun, Vulnavia.

Though brief, the time aboard this

ship will seem too long, I know,

so eager are we to arrive in Egypt

and complete the preparations

I began long years ago.

Here, in the mountain

marked on this papyrus,

beyond corridors which led once

to a Pharaoh's hidden tomb,

awaits the key to

resurrection and to life.

I shall decipher it!

Nothing, nothing will stop me now!

I must tell Victoria, hidden safe

below away from curious eyes.

We have but three short weeks

until that glorious day.

How would you pinpoint the most

important part of the globe?

Rocks erode and fall.

Sand changes daily, hourly.

Rivers flood, twist,

form new courses.

Topographically, the world is in

a perpetual flux. But the sky...

The sky remains the

one constant factor.

What are all these theories

of yours leading up to?

They're not my theories alone.

Ancient civilisations knew

about this, capitalised on it.

To what end?

The return of the

life force, Ambrose.

As I say, they're not my theories.

They're 3,000 years old.

Let me show you another aspect of this.

Where's that model of the mountain?

- In the hold.

- Then I'll tell you tomorrow.

But, Biederbeck, I won't be able

to sleep. I must know, tonight.

I'll get it. Have you discussed

this with anybody else?

Of course not.

And, Ambrose, I forbid you to

tell anyone of this conversation.

Probably one of these.

Let's see now.

No. No, that's not it.

Huh!

Not quite the kind of

model I'm looking for.

It might just be

stored in here, sir.

Empty, I suppose.

Pity.

Ah! That looks more like it. Yes.

Thank you very much. I mustn't

keep you from your duties.

- I could quite easily just...

- I can manage by myself.

- As you say, sir.

- Thank you. Good night.

Good night to you, sir.

What the hell?

Come in.

- Biederbeck.

- Yes, Captain?

I'm sorry to be the

bearer of bad news.

I have made two sweeps and

found no trace of your friend.

Very well, then. That's that.

I'm afraid that we must

face up to the fact that...

Well, time is running

out, Mr Biederbeck.

No doubt you'll resume

your normal course.

Good heavens, no!

Naturally, I intend to use

my every power to find him.

We shall search until

dawn, if necessary.

But you said yourself, there's

no hope. It's been two hours.

This delay is intolerable.

Please bring your

ship around, Captain.

I remind you that the navigation

of this ship is my responsibility.

I shall, of course, bear

your suggestion in mind.

- Was he a good swimmer?

- I have no idea, Captain.

I suppose he never...

How can I put this?

I supposed he never

touched the bottle?

Then how'd he get in there

in the first place?

The blighter must have

drunk his way in.

I come back from leave and the

first thing I find is this!

Oh? What's that, then, sir?

"The Gloucester Squirt murder."

"The Gloucester Square murder."

I can hardly read your writing.

"On arrival, I discovered the

man's body surrounded by..."

- Balls.

- Look here, Trout!

- On the snooker table, sir.

- What?

Oh.

"...balls on the snooker table."

"Cause of death was apparently

by a small gold... snake"?

"...which entered

the man's left ear,

and, having pierced the skull,

reappeared through the right."

In one ear and out the other, sir.

"Death, it would appear,

was... instantaneous."

Brilliant! Why was his employer, the main

witness, allowed to leave the country?

It was a delicate matter,

involving a difficult gentleman.

You're dealing with a more difficult

one now! Do you know what time it is?

- After one.

- I've been waiting since nine!

I was called out last night.

- Where to?

- Er, what's it called? Fawley.

- Never heard of it.

- It's at the mouth of Southampton Water.

A man's body had been washed up.

- Fallen overboard?

- In a sense, sir.

Men fall overboard all the time.

That's what the locals are for!

This one was inside a bottle, sir.

- Do what?

- He was inside a bottle.

Glass, it was. About

seven feet long.

Corked?

To Egypt, and our arrival here.

My compliments to you, Vulnavia.

You have done wonders

with the local fish.

But we must not dally.

While Victoria safely sleeps, we

must hasten to the caves within

and learn what time has wrought

since last I ventured there.

See, Vulnavia!

Not a thing has been disturbed.

Some minor decorating,

some touching up,

and it will seem like home.

Lights!

Music, Vulnavia!

A song of celebration.

Unveil the band.

- We're looking for a madman, sir.

- You've bloody well found one!

Do you realise that this

is Saturday afternoon?!

We thought we'd have a little

talk with you in private...

We do appreciate you coming

at such short notice, Mr?

Lombardo. I didn't have much option with

a police car rolling up outside my club.

Frightful intrusion! And, as I

say, on a Saturday afternoon.

- Well, it is a rather delicate matter, sir.

- Oh?

- We've, um...

- We've found a body.

- I didn't know you'd mislaid one. Whose?

- Ambrose's.

- The man who fell off the...

- Ah, him!

Yes, sir.

If it's about insurance, it's much too

early for me to commit. I mean...

Well, it seemed pretty obvious

that he was... pissed.

- We're loath...

- I beg your pardon?

loath to involve anybody

else at this juncture.

But we have a strong reason to

believe that he was murdered.

- Murdered?

- Killed.

Yeah, I got that.

Shoved the old boy off, eh?

- Did you know the gentleman?

- Not intimately, but professionally.

He went on cruises to the Middle

East. He was an archaeologist.

Digging around in the dirt.

Like you chaps.

- Quite.

- This may seem an obvious question, sir,

but on this passenger list was there

anyone you'd describe as at all...

how shall I put it... odd?

The whole ruddy lot of them.

No, that's a slight exaggeration.

No, I wouldn't say

exceptionally odd.

Oddish?

Well... is that it?

For the time being. Thank you.

If you should have second thoughts,

we would like to hear from you.

All right, you can rely on me.

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