'So that's what you were doing in here for so long,' Jannie laughed as
Nicholas lifted out the panel. His grin faded as Nicholas reached into
the space beyond and carefully drew out an extraordinary object. 'My
God, what is that?'
'The blue war crown of ancient Egypt,' said Nicholas.
He handed it to Sapper. 'Lay it on the bunk, but treat it carefully.'
He reached into the compartment again, 'And this is the Nemes crown.' He
handed it to Jannie.
'And this is the red and white crown of the two kingdoms. And this is
the death-mask of Pharaoh Mamose.
Last but not least, this is the ushabd of the scribe Taita.' The relics
lay on the fold-down bunk, and they stood and stared at them reverently.
'I have helped you bring out stone friezes and little bronze statues,'
said Jannie softly. 'But notlTing like this before.'
'But,' Sapper shook his head, 'the ammunition crates the Gyppos
offloaded at Aswan? What was in them?'
'Five one'gallon bottles of chemical for the toilet,' said Nicholas,
'Plus half a dozen spare oxygen cylinders, just to make up weight.'
'You switched them.' Sapper beamed at him. 'But how the hell did you
know that Royan was going to scupper us?'
'She was right when she said I must have known she was no thief. The
whole lark was out of character for her.
She is,' he searched for the correct description, ( much too upright and
honest. Not at all like the present company.'
'Thanks for the compliment,' said Jannie drily, 'but she must have given
you more reason than that to make you suspicious.'
'Yes, of course.' Nicholas turned to him. 'The first real inkling I had
was when we came back from Ethiopia the first time, and she immediately
pushed off to Cairo. I guessed she was up to something. But I was
absolutely certain only when I learned that she had passed a message,
through Tessay, to the Egyptian Embassy in Addis. It was clear then that
she had alerted them to our return flight.'
'The perfidious little bitch,'Jannie guffawed.
'Careful there!' said Nicholas stiffly. 'She is a decent, honest and
patriotic young woman, warm-hearted and-' 'Well, well!' Jannie winked at
Sapper. 'Please excuse my slip.'
nly two of the great crowns of ancient Egypt were set out on the
polished walnut conference table. Nicholas had placed them on the heads
of two genuine Roman marble busts that he had borrowed from a dealer
with whom he did regular business here in Zurich. He had drawn the
blinds over the tenth story windows, and arranged the lighting to show
the crowns to the best effect. The private conference room that he had
hired for the occasion was in the Bank Leu building on Bahnhofstrasse.
FT
While he waited alone for the arrival of his invited guest, he reviewed
his preparations and could find no fault with them. He went to the
full-length mirror on one wall and tightened the knot of his old
Sandhurst tie. The stitches had been removed from his chin. Mek Nimmur
had done a first-rate . oh, and the scar was neat and clean.
His suit had been made by his tailor in Savile Row, so it was in a muted
