ly clever."

"An inspector may now raid their premises at any time of the day or
night, and nothing is allowed to be sold outside authorized and
licensed shops. Every dealer has to keep a day-book, with an entry of
each object in his shop over five pounds in value, the purchaser's name
must be filled in, and every page of the register sealed by the
Inspector of Antiquities."

Michael laughed. "Trust the native mind to find a way to circumvent
all these fine restrictions!"

His thoughts had flown to Millicent. If she had, as Abdul believed,
discovered the jewels and the gold, where were they now? It was very
odd that, even with this damning evidence that she had anticipated his
find before his eyes--for she and she alone could have known of it--his
finer senses refused to believe that she had cheated and tricked him.
He had no argument to put forward to justify his belief; it was one of
those beliefs which are rooted in something finer and truer than
circumstantial evidence. His only argument in her favour was that he
had never found her mercenary, but, as Abdul had answered him, a woman
will sell her soul for jewels.

He felt woefully sick and dejected, far too physically exhausted to run
the risk of exposing himself to the scorn and laughter of the
excavator, who was speaking to him in a manner which unconsciously
betrayed to the hypersensitive Michael that he considered the traveller
rather too odd to waste much valuable time over. Michael wondered, in
a slow, broken sort of way, what the cold eyes would look like if he
suddenly produced the uncut crimson amethyst from the purse in his
waistbelt. He would probably have said that it was a clever part of
the native fable; he would probably say that the ancient stone might
have come from any royal tomb in Egypt, that it proved nothing.

As a lengthy silence had elapsed, Michael felt that it was incumbent on
him to be getting on his way. He must pretend to the excavator that he
was now well enough to resume his journey. As he rose, rather inertly,
from his low seat, he said:

"You say the native who brought the information of the find said
nothing at all about the jewels and the gold?"

"Not a word! We have heard all that since. As you know, news travels
in the desert in the most amazing fashion, once the natives get ear of
it."

"Won't you try and follow up the track of the story--find out how it
originated? Are you content to take it for granted th