it.'
'You will be able to get rid of them as soon as they reach the
monastery.' Nahoot relished the thought.
'Colonel Nogo will-'
'Why do I have to keep repeating myself?' Von Schiller's voice turned
shrill and he slapped his hand down on the tabletop. 'They are now our
best chance of finding the tomb of Mamose. The very last thing that I
want to happen is that any harm should come to them.' He glared at
Nahoot. 'I am sending you back to Ethiopia immediately.
Perhaps you will be of some use to me there. You are certainly no use
here.'
Nahoot looked disgruntled, but he had better sense than to argue again.
He sat sullenly as von Schiller went on, 'You will go to the base camp
and place yourself under the command of Helm. You will take your orders
from him.
Treat them as if they come directly from me. Do you understand?'
'Yes, Herr von Schiller,' Nahoot muttered sulkily.
'Do not interfere in any way with Harper and the woman. They must not
even know that you are at the base camp. The Pegasus geological team
will carry on its normal duties.' He paused and smiled bleakly, then
went on, 'It is most fortunate that Helm has actually discovered very
promising evidence of large deposits of galena, which as you may know is
the ore from which lead is obtained. He will continue the exploratory
work on-these deposits, and if they bear out their promise they will
make the entire operation highly profitable.'
'What exactly will be my duties?' Nahoot wanted to know.
'You will be playing the waiting game. I want you there ready to take
advantage of any progress- that Harper makes. However, you are to give
him plenty of elbow room.
You will not alert him by any overflights with the helicopter, or by
approaching his camp. No more midnight raids.
Every move that you make must be cleared with me before, I repeat
before, you take any action.'
'If I am to operate under these restrictions, how will I know if Harper
and the woman have made any progress?'
'Colonel Nogo already has a reliable man, a spy, in the monastery. He
will inform us of every move that Harper makes.'
'But what about me? What will be my work?'
'You will evaluate the intelligence that Nogo collects.
You are familiar with archaeological methods. You will be able to judge
what Harper is trying to achieve, and you will be able to tell what
success he is enjoying.'
'I see,'Nahoot muttered.
'If it were possible I would have gone back to the Abbay gorge myself.
-However, this is not possible. It may take time, months perhaps, before
Harper makes any important progress. You know as well as anybody that
these things take time.'
'Howard Carter worked for ten years at Thebes before he found the tomb
of Tutankhamen,' Nahoot pointed out maliciously.
'I hope that it will not take that long,' said von Schiller coldly. 'If
