Part 7 (1/2)

”Well, well.” Emerson waved his opinion away. ”Amarna does offer temptations. The Royal Tomb has never been properly investigated, and there are certainly other tombs in that remote wadi.”

He took a bite of fish. Mr. Vincey, who had been listening in modest silence, now spoke. ”I too have heard rumors of other tombs, but such rumors are common in Egypt. Have you any evidence?”

His voice was mild and the question was certainly reasonable, I could not understand why Emerson shot him such a hard look. ”I don't deal in rumors, Vincey, as you should know. I knew of the Royal Tomb at least a decade before its 'official' discovery.”

It was a testimonial to Emerson's reputation that no one expressed doubt of this statement, but Newberry exclaimed, with unusual heat, ”You might have had the courtesy to inform your friends, Emerson. Petrie and I spent hours looking for the confounded place in the winter of '91, and I got myself in hot water when I wrote that letter to The Academy The Academy accusing Grebaut of falsely claiming credit for discovering the tomb.” accusing Grebaut of falsely claiming credit for discovering the tomb.”

”What's a little hot water, when the cause is just?” demanded Emerson, who might be said to have spent most of his life up to his neck in boiling liquid. ”Grebaut is the most incompetent, stupid, tactless nincomp.o.o.p who ever called himself an archaeologist. Except for Wallis Budge, of course. I do not announce discoveries until I am in a position to deal with them myself. The depredations of the natives are hard enough on the antiquities, the depredations of archaeologists are even worse. Heaven only knows what meaningful objects were kicked aside by Daressy and Sayce when they- ”

Sayce began to sputter, and Mr. Reisner said quickly, ”Then you won't be returning to the Sudan? That region fascinates me. There is so much to be done there.”

”It tempts me,” Emerson admitted. ”But Meroitic culture is not my field. Curse it, I can't be everywhere!”

I had hoped to avoid mentioning the Sudan, for I knew what would follow. Archaeologists are no more immune to idle curiosity than the next man. A general stiffening of attention ran round the table, but before anyone could frame a question we were distracted by the arrival of a short, stout individual who swept up to our table with the regal manner of a viceroy- which, in a professional sense, he was.

”M. Maspero!” I exclaimed. ”How delightful! I did not know you were in Cairo.”

”Only pa.s.sing through, dear lady. I cannot stay, but upon hearing of your arrival I could not deny myself the pleasure of welcoming you back to the scene of your many triumphs.” Ogling me in his amiable Gallic fas.h.i.+on, he continued, ”You have the secret of eternal youth, chere madame, indeed you are younger and lovelier than you were that day of our first meeting in the halls of the museum. Little did I know what a momentous day it was! You may not think, gentlemen, that I resemble the little G.o.d of love, but I had the honor that day to play Cupid, for it was I who introduced madame to the gentleman who was to win her heart and hand.”

With a grandiloquent flourish of his hand he indicated Emerson, who responded to the amused smiles of the others with a stony stare. He had been extremely critical of Maspero when the latter was Director of the Department of Antiquities, but he had detested the latter's successors even more. Now he said grudgingly, ”You had better come back to the job, Maspero. The cursed Department has fallen apart since you left. Grebaut was a disaster, and de Morgan- ”

”Ah, well, we will talk of that another time,” said Maspero, who had

learned from painful experience that it was necessary to cut Emerson short when he began talking about the failings of the Department of Antiquities. ”I am in haste, I must go on to another appointment. So you must tell me at once, madame, what all Cairo aches to know. How fares the interesting young lady who owes you so much? Of all your triumphant adventures, this was surely the most magnificent!”

”She is in excellent health and spirits,” I said. ”How kind of you to inquire, monsieur.”

”No, no, you cannot stop there, with conventional courtesy. You are too modest, madame, I will not allow it. We must hear the whole story. How you learned of her plight, what brilliant deductive methods you applied in order to locate her, the perils you faced on the dangerous journey.”

Emerson's expression had petrified to such an extent his face might have been carved of granite. The others leaned forward, lips parted and eyes aglow. They would be able to ”dine out” on this story for the rest of the season, since no one had heard it firsthand.

I had not looked forward to telling the tale to our professional colleagues. Unlike the general public, they had the expert knowledge to find the flaws in our little fiction. However, I had known the moment must come and I had prepared for it with my usual thoroughness.

”You do me too much credit, monsieur. I had no idea such a person as Miss Forth existed. As you must have heard, we went in search of her cousin, who had become lost in the desert after he set out to look for his uncle and aunt. Like many other rash travelers, they had vanished when the Mahdi overran the Sudan.” I paused to take a sip of wine and select my words carefully. Then I resumed, ”Since the region has been pacified, there have been rumors that some of these people in fact survived.”

”It was some such idle rumor that sent Mr. Forthright into the desert?”

Maspero shook his head. ”Rash and foolish.”

”It was Divine Guidance that inspired him,” Sayce said reverently. ”And led you to the rescue of this innocent child.”

I could have kicked the kindly old man. A remark like this was bound to break through Emerson's silence, for he particularly dislikes giving G.o.d the credit for his own achievements. Unfortunately I could not kick Emerson, since he was seated across the table from me.

”Divine Guidance inspired him to lose himself in the desert,” said my husband. ”Having better sense, we did not rely on- ”

Since I could not administer a warning kick on the s.h.i.+n, I had to find another way of stopping him. I knocked over my winegla.s.s. The heavy damask tablecloth absorbed most of the liquid, but a few drops spattered my brand-new frock.

”What did you rely on?” Carter asked eagerly.

”If it was not Divine Guidance, it was pure luck,” I said, frowning at Emerson. ”We had the usual adventures. You know the sort of thing, gentlemen- sandstorms, thirst, Bedouin attack. Nothing to speak of. From displaced persons we met along the way we heard of the missionaries- they belong to some strange Protestant sect, like the Brothers of the New Jerusalem- you remember them, Reverend - and finally reached the remote village where they had miraculously survived fourteen years of war and misery. Mr. and Mrs Forth had pa.s.sed on, but their child lived. We were fortunate enough to be able to restore her to her heritage.”