Page 129 of Babel

Chapter Twenty-Two

This group is remarkable, although it has vanished in the invisible depths which are behind us.

VICTOR HUGO, Les Misérables, trans. Frederic Charles Lascelles Wraxall

Their shock was fleeting. Anthony broke into a run, and they followed without question. But instead of doubling back on Magpie Lane all the way to Merton Street, from where they might escape out towards Christ Church meadow, he took them back onto Kybald towards the college.

‘What are you doing?’ Ramy panted. ‘That’s where everyone—’

‘Just hurry,’ Anthony hissed.

They obeyed. It was wonderful to have someone tell them what to do. Anthony led them through the doors behind the kitchen, past the Old Library, and straight into the hall. On the other side of the wall, the garden party was still going on in full force; they could hear string instruments and voices through the stone.

‘In here.’ Anthony waved them into the chapel.

They darted in and shut the heavy wooden doors behind them. Outside service hours, the chapel felt strange: unearthly, silent. The air inside was repressively still. Apart from their panting, the only movement was the dust motes floating in the prisms of light streaming through the windows.

Anthony stopped before the memorial frieze of Sir William Jones.

‘What are you—’ Letty began.

‘Hush.’ Anthony reached towards the epigram, which read, He formed a digest of Hindu and Mohammedan Laws. He touched a succession of letters in turn, which sank slightly back into the stone when pushed. G, O, R...

Ramy snickered. Anthony touched a final letter in the much longer Latin inscription above the frieze, a rambling celebration of William Jones’s life and accomplishments. B.

Gorasahib.*

There was a scraping noise, then a whoosh of cold air. The frieze popped several inches out from the wall. Anthony pushed his fingers into the crack at the bottom edge and slid the panel upwards to reveal a pitch-black hole in the wall. ‘Get in.’

One by one, they helped each other inside. The tunnel turned out to be much wider than it appeared from the outside. They only had to crawl on their hands and knees for several seconds before the shaft emptied into a larger corridor. Robin could just feel the damp earth skimming the top of his head when he stood, though Ramy exclaimed when his head bumped against the ceiling.

‘Hush,’ Anthony grunted again as he pulled the door down behind them. ‘The walls are thin.’

The frieze slid back into place with a thud. The light in the passage disappeared. They groped their way forward, cursing as they stumbled against each other.

‘Ah, sorry.’ Anthony struck a match, and a flame materialized in his palm. Now they could see that several yards in, the cramped shaft expanded outwards into something more like a hallway. ‘There we go. Keep going, there’s a long walk ahead.’

‘Where—’ Letty began, but Anthony shook his head, lifted a finger to his lips, and pointed to the walls.

The tunnel widened more and more as they walked. The branch leading to the Univ chapel was apparently a new addition, for the passage where they walked now seemed much larger and older. Dried mud gave way to brick walls, and at several junctures, Robin saw sconces affixed to the upper corners. The dark should have felt claustrophobic, but in fact it felt comforting. Swallowed in the belly of the earth, truly hidden from view for the first time since their return voyage, they all found that they could finally breathe.

After several minutes of silence, Ramy asked, ‘How long’s that been there?’

‘Only a few decades, actually,’ said Anthony. ‘The tunnels have been here forever – they aren’t a Hermes project, we only took advantage of them – but that entryway is new. Lady Jones had the frieze installed not too many years ago, but we got in fast before construction work was done. Don’t worry, no one else knows. Is everyone all right?’

‘We’re okay,’ said Robin. ‘But, Anthony, there’s something you have to—’

‘I imagine there’s quite a lot you need to tell me,’ said Anthony. ‘Why don’t we start with what you’ve done with Professor Lovell? Is he dead? The faculty seem to think so.’

‘Robin killed him,’ Ramy said cheerily.

Anthony turned to glance at Robin over his shoulder. ‘Oh, really?’

‘It was an accident,’ Robin insisted. ‘We were quarrelling, and he – I don’t know, I suddenly... I mean, I did use this match-pair, only I didn’t know I was doing it until it was over—’

‘What’s more important is the war on China,’ said Victoire. ‘We’ve been trying to find you, to tell you. They’re planning an invasion—’

‘We know,’ said Anthony.