ere carried away into captivity by the Assyrians
they sent their records secretly to Jerusalem. Ever since the
secession the Israelites and Jews had been jealous enemies. But
they were relatives after all, boasting a common ancestor, proud
of the same history, more or less observing the same religion.
And Schechem was only about thirty miles from Jerusalem, which
was considered an impregnable fortress until the Babylonians took
it later on. So they sent their records to Jerusalem, and the
Jews hid them. Where? Where do you suppose?"

"The likeliest place would be Solomon's Temple."

"You think so? Then you think superficially, my young friend.
Let us return to that Tomb of the Kings again for a moment. That
place that you visited is such an obvious fake that even the
guide-books make light of it. The one all-important thing in
Palestine that never yet has been discovered is the real Tomb of
the Kings. Yet Jerusalem, where it certainly must be, has been
searched and looted a hundred times from end to end. Therefore--
you follow me?--the Jews must have concealed it very cunningly.
Answer me, then: would the Jews, who were always a practical
people and not corpse-worshippers like the Egyptians, have taken
all that trouble to hide the tomb of their kings unless there
were important treasure in it? Answer me!"

"So you expect to find treasure in addition to the lost Book of
Chronicles?"

"Certainly I do! The treasure will make the whole proceeding
safe. Let the British have it! The fools will be so blinded by
the glamour of gold, that I shall easily extract the things of
real value--the invaluable manuscripts! Then let the men who
call themselves historians take a back seat!"

He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Were you looking for the Tomb of the Kings, then, before the
War?" Grim asked him.

"Not exactly. Under the Turks it was difficult. The Turks were
beautifully corrupt. By paying for it I could get permission to
excavate on any property owned by Christians. But the minute I
touched Moslem places the Turks became fanatical. The Arabs,
now, are different--fanatics, too, but with a new sort of
fanaticism--new to them, I mean--the kind that made the French
revolutionists destroy everything their ancestors had set value
on. There are plenty of Arabs so full of this disease of
Bolshevism that they would make it easy for me to desecrate what
others believe is holy ground. But the