Nov., 1888, London
Of course Lord Ava had to be introduced to the unmet Party members before transportation could be arranged. Dr. Davis made one significant introduction: "This is Abdul, Mr. Forester's student. We are intending to return him to his homeland."
Lord Ava: "How odd. Why did his family not have him sent home?"
Mr. Blake: "His - parents were murdered. We took on the responsibility for his safety."
Lord Ava: "How remarkable."
The ship for Port Said (the largest Anglic Mediterranean base) was larger far than the ones Our Adventurers had heretofore traveled upon: the HMS Gigantic, sister ship to the Titanic and the Olympic, from the Cumulus class of the White Star Line. Thus it departed from Southhampton rather than Dover. Among the thousand or so passengers, Our Heroes were somewhat bemused to find themselves installed in first class cabins - as befitted the rank of Lord Ava.
Steele found himself at the Captain's table the first night. Thereafter he was seated at the chief engineer's table where his every move was scrutinized technically. He was invited to the engine room and happily accepted, thus being privileged to see the Gigantic's 4 separate lift engines and 12 pontoon propellers.
Mr. Forester laid down ground rules for Abdul and Po: "You shouldn't wander by yourselves, you should come to class, and you should not go into areas inappropriate for 1st class passengers."
Mr. Blake required that there be someone with Abdul at all times, but the boy need not be kept secluded in the cabins.
Po piped up, "When I wander into the areas I'm not supposed to be in, I won't take him."
Mr. Blake, knowing he couldn't stop Po, answered simply, "Thank You."
Abdul, showing his impeccable training, did not complain, but admitted to being a little irritated at being watched at all times. [Actually he did a credible impression of a teenage huff, which Mr. Blake ignored.]
The ladies found the voyage delightful, as they found all of the officers of the ship were excellent dancers, and the ship's orchestra was quite good (though small). They did not turn down any of the invitations to dance from the male members of the expedition.
Port Said, Gateway to the East
Lord Ava mentioned his intent to visit some old family friends and invited Dr. Davis to accompany him. She accepted and thus met an elegant Saudi family, well versed in Anglish fashions and customs.
Meanwhile, the other Party members started again on the several-times addressed subject of "telling Lord Ava."
Penrington: "Are we going to tell him about the prince?"
Blake: "I want to get well past the point of we-are-under-European-influence" before he is told.
Po: "When will we tell him the Statues are pieces of memory."
Blake: "When the time seems appropriate."
Po: "Is there any chance that he is reporting our movements back to others in Anglia?"
Miss Costorari: "He's a spy on our side."
After appropriate arrangements, Our Heroes embarked on the 2-hour train ride to Cairo that, although they traveled 1st class, still took an entire day. Once in Cairo, they were installed in The foreign quarter hotel, the Shepheard. In the hotel bar, Mr. Forester encountered a former schoolmate, Porter Fallow. He in turn introduced his companion, Weatherby, a grad student in Oriental studies from London College University. Forester told about being on an expedition to the lost city of Ad Irem; Fallow told of his employment in the search for the lost tomb of Kahofet with Prof. Turnball of LCU, who was intent on "serious archaeology." The men discovered that they'd all been traveling on the Gigantic and marveled over never having met thereon. Fallow exhibited a photograph he'd taken aboard ship, "This fellow never took off his fur hat the whole time!" Forester made a mental note to tell Po that fact, and then was introduced to Arabic liquor. Respective expedition members were discussed: the Nasmyth engine, the lovely Miss Costorari, the other (more junior) grad student James Windibank out acting as purchaser, and the Times journalist. Fallow mentioned that the Times had written up Prof. Turnball's last lecture (back in August) and the fact that it was illustrated by the radiologist projecting his photographs on a wall.
Mr. Forester did, in fact, later remember to tell Po about the man with the fur hat being aboard the Gigantic. Miss Costorari participated in an experiment whereby it was found that at least Forester's photographic technique did not capture an image of a spirit that the gypsy claimed was present. [Though it was only one experiment and there was some room for experimental error.]
And Mr. Forester did try to buy a guidebook to aid the expedition in Egypt. However bedazzling the colourful bazaars of Cairo, there were no books to be found. However, on return to the Shepheard Hotel, the tutor found he was lighter by £5.
At last Mr. Blake decided that conditions were acceptable for telling Lord Ava the Other Purposes of Our Expedition. A guide and horses were hired for a trip to the Great Pyramids, an hour and a half easy ride from the hotel. Smith and Steele, of course, took the trip "in stride", being unwilling to risk damaging horses. At the pyramids, Miss Costorari was surprised to note, "No spirits - just a sense that there is a tug coming from a point directly away from anywhere I look."
Having sent the guide away to water the horses, Dr. Davis properly introduced Abdul as the Prince of Yemen. Mr. Blake made an apology for arguing against telling Lord Ava any sooner. His lordship, polite but clearly unsettled, greeted the boy as "Sharif ibn Hammas." His lordship seemed even more disapproving when it was admitted that Scotland Yard had not been told of the boy's recovery. Lord Ava pointed out that the dagger described by the Party was one used by Yemeni assassins - to which Abdul agreed - and that that meant that there was likely a civil war ongoing.
To Abdul, Lord Ava asked, "Was [Foster] also one of your minders?"
Abdul shook his head in the negative.
Ava: It's an internal Yemeni problem.
Dr. Davis: "In all likelihood, yes. But the statuette is a separate problem."
After as complete a description of the acquisition of Abdul and three statues as well as what little information was available on the other statues and Miss Costorari's visions [but, however, not going into the Party's encounter with Priest Sauniere or the possible problem of the fur-capped people], Dr. Davis stammered in an apologetic tone, "Now you have the information of a full member of the expedition."
Lord Ava replied dryly, "At least I am no longer working in the dark."
Blake, brushing off the inconvenience, "At least the route heretofore has been basically pre-ordained."
Lord Ava looked at the radiologist with disturbing skepticism.
Mr. Blake went on to state his opinions about the possibility that the Foreign Office and Lord Ava had already known about Abdul and, possibly, most of the Party's previous activities. This too was met with disapproving silence. [Blake's comments were couched in "wink wink nudge nudge" terms that made it clear that Blake believed Lord Ava was a spy.]
Meanwhile Po and Miss Costorari had been discussing the likelihood of acquiring a treasure from one of the surrounding pyramids.
Po: "Can you ask a spirit?"
Miss Costorari, flatly: "There are no spirits here."
Steele: "Does this mean there's no one to warn you if something goes wrong?"
Miss Costorari: "That's your job."
Mr. Blake, catching the last of that conversation, looked as though he'd gained new insight.
Po also tried to tell Lord Ava about the men-in-fur-hats-very-dangerous but, in the hubbub, Lord Ava did not acknowledge hearing the Chinese boy, having (it seems most likely) not heard the small voice.
After perfunctory tourist behaviour about the Great Pyramids, made uncomfortable to some by their apparent mishandling of their noble sponsor, the Party remounted for the return trip. Lord Ava encouraged Dr. Davis to join him as he rode somewhat in advance of the group. The two conversed for some time in the privacy that afforded. Later Dr. Davis would confide to Miss Costorari that his lordship had been gallant.
Lord Ava: "You should withdraw from this expedition. The Yemeni can't be trusted."
Dr. Davis: "Will you withdraw?"
Lord Ava, grimly: "I will see this through." [Well, the conversation was a bit longer than that.] [Well, yes, but this was the on-camera part.][See Apology.]
Back at the hotel, inquiries were made about the camel merchant Ali bin Hazri. A delegation consisting of Mr. Penrington, Mr. Blake, Miss Costorari and Po (mind-linked to Dr. Davis) were appointed to negotiate for the statuette. Ali bin Hazri's place of business was located on the other side of Cairo, on a rise overlooking the river. In the style of an Egyptian home, it was built around a courtyard, cool and pleasant. An assistant tried to determine the Party's desires, clearly working in his employer's best interests. Mr. Blake took the lead, "We are interested in a statue we have heard he owns."
"Bin Hazri is a collector of the arts. Which statue do you mean?"
Mr. Blake described the four-armed style.
"Perhaps Bin Hazri has such a statue; for me, I have never seen the like. If he does have one, it must be one of his most prized possessions for him to have never shown it to me."
Blake mentioned Wuld Ali.
The negotiators were shown into Bin Hazri's room and were made welcome with seating cushions and Anglish tea. Eventually the merchant said, "The statue is too dear to me. I could never part with it save to the British Museum for £10,000." Mr. Blake shrugged his defeat. The radiologist was no merchant-bargainer. The merchant would be out for the best deal he could get and was willing to take a l-o-n-g road to get there.
Over the next three days, Miss Costorari took over the negotiations (thoroughly enjoying the challenge), intermittently discussing with the Party the problem of What Bin Hazri Might Want that was within the Expedition's power. She suggested that the knowledge of an expedition to the Valley of the Kings might somehow be useful. The merchant, after all, collected Egyptian antiquities and was extraordinarily proud of Egyptian history. Eventually she determined that an official - scholarly -- place in Prof. Turnball's expedition would meet his price.
To find out more about Prof. Turnball, Miss Costorari turned to Mr. Forester who recalled that Fallow and Weatherby had been anxious to meet her. The junior members of the professor's expedition agreed that he was a brilliant man, a great archaeologist, and a teetotaler. But they could introduce the gypsy to him. Quite taken by her charms, in fact, they thought it was a great idea, right up until the time she was introduced to their professor and the students couldn't figure out what to say.
Miss Costorari explained her interest as a member of the expedition looking for the City of Brass, sponsored by the Society.
Professor Turnball responded coldly, "One of those treasure hunters."
Hastily Miss Costorari admitted, "It is not the pure study of knowledge such as is gained through the University."
Prof. Turnball thawed slightly, "Exactly! Tawdry information mongers. I won't even get started on why their sponsors should be supporting the University."
Miss Costorari left the interview happy at least in understanding that scholarly precedence seemed to be of value to the professor.
However "scholarly places" in such expeditions as Prof. Turnball's were only given to people with authoritative titles. Somehow Bin Hazri needed to be designated as a scholarly expert and not as a collector or merchant. The group considered whether or not they could ask Lord Ava to ask the British Consul to establish a Dept. of Egyptian Antiquities with Bin Hazri as head. That seemed a bit much to ask. What was needed was something similar to the Anglish Society for Geographical and Foreign Studies. Why not create such a society? Thus it was that Lord Ava was asked to convince Sir Evelyn Barring (Anglish chief consul for Egypt) to get the Khedive (the Egyptian viceroy for the Ottomans) to charter a Society of Egyptian Studies. Dr. Davis noticed that Lord Ava did not offer anyone a chance to accompany him to that interview with the Consul-general of Egypt. The charter cost about £100 plus setting up an initial meeting - complete with hall, audience, and a standing ovation for the first presenter, Prof. Turnball. Mr. Forester stayed awake and asked pertinent questions.
Thus it was that the professor was in an excellent mood when Miss Costorari introduced him to the president of the society, Ali bin Hazri, and urged that the latter accompany the Valley of the King's expedition "so that such brilliant presentations happen more often here in Cairo." The next morning, Prof. Turnball undoubtedly awoke with the feeling of "what have I done?"
Nonetheless, Ali bin Hazri presented the gypsy with his statuette of Idha -- as well as a considerable discount (from his marked up prices) on the camels the Party would need, and the status of "scholar" in the SoES. The statuette of Charity appeared to be an old tired man with a walking stick held in his lower right hand and palms of the other hands open and out in the traditional begging gesture. Miss Costorari touched the statue and her vision continued: The chain was a barrier, possibly metaphorical, into the city. The first symbol on it was Hospitality. Clearly there will be an order to the symbols.
Ali bin Hazri was asked what he knew of the other statues in the set.
Lord Ava observed, "That mountain will be encountered en route to the Yemeni capital."
[Note: Will and Steve left early.]
Next Run: On Camel Out of Jiddah
(a) Cumulative (b) Cumulative since Volume II
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