Page 147

Ellie gaped at Neil. “Youthrewa three-thousand-year-old document of immeasurable historical importance at Mr. Forster-Mowbray?”

“No!” Neil protested. His shoulders slumped. “I threw it at Mr. Jacobs.”

“It was actually quite well done,” Constance offered helpfully. “That villain had just produced a firearm and was about to riddle us with bullets, only Neil launched the tablet at him and then knocked both of us over the railing into the river.”

She flashed Neil a conciliatory smile.

“Might’ve been well done, but it left the damned thing in Fusty Mothball’s hands,” Adam pointed out.

Neil straightened with effort, forcing himself to wade in. “There were measurements in the final line of the Akkadian. Something about eight hundred and fifteen cubits past the entrance to this wadi.”

“Guess that’s where they’re digging.” Adam cast a grim look back at the glow of the excavation.

“Which cubits?” Sayyid cut in.

The others turned to him in surprise. Sayyid had been oddly quiet throughout the reunion. Ellie could still see an edge of anger in his eyes as he looked at Neil.

“Of course!” Neil bit out the words like a curse. “How could I have missed that?”

“Explain,” Zeinab ordered sharply.

“In the Ancient Egyptian measurement system, there are two types of cubits,” Sayyid elaborated. “There is the small cubit, the meh nedjes—that works out to approximately forty-five centimeters in length. And then there is the meh nisut—the royal cubit. That is a bit longer, at five-two centimeters.”

“Well—more or less,” Neil hedged as if he couldn’t quite help himself. “The cubit rod that Lepsius found in the tomb of Maya came in at exactly fifty-two-point-three centimeters. But then Maspero found a cubit rod box at Lisht that indicated a measurement of closer to fifty-two-point-nine, so you see it isn’t entirely clear that the standard remained consistent between the Old Kingdom and—”

Zeinab interrupted him. “Which cubit would Mr. Forster-Mowbray use?”

“Not Mr. Foster-Mowbray,” Ellie modified. “It would be Professor Dawson who did the calculations.”

Sayyid frowned thoughtfully. “If he was classically trained, he will most likely know the cubit through the Roman system of measurement—which aligns with the Egyptian meh nedjes. The small cubit.”

Ellie felt a buzz of excitement. “But it was theroyalcubit that served the standard unit of measurement in Ancient Egypt, wasn’t it?”

“It’s what was used to lay out the dimensions of the pyramids at Saqqara and Giza,” Neil confirmed quickly.

“So Dawson’s unit is off by seven centimeters!” Ellie concluded.

“Seven centimeters?” Constance echoed, unimpressed.

“Seven centimeters times eight hundred and fifty,” Adam clarified. “Which works out to about a hundred and ninety feet.” He met Ellie’s eyes significantly. “Hundred and ninety feet can make a hell of a difference.”

Ellie glanced back at the glow and racket of Julian’s dig. “They’re in the wrong place!”

“Should we simply let him be, then?” Jemmahor suggested.

“We cannot be sure that he would give up if he does not find what he is looking for in the first place he digs,” Zeinab declared firmly. “And it is possible that your professor might realize his mistake.”

“I… can’t rule that out,” Neil admitted uneasily. “He’s not entirely ignorant of Egyptology. Just excessively sure of himself.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Adam added dryly.

Zeinab looked down at her sandals as her mind worked furiously. When she raised her head again, her eyes spoke of a decision. “I would like to know whether there is anything at the true location for him to find.”

“Right.” Adam sighed resignedly. “Hell. Fairfax, grab the back of my shirt.”

“Your shirt?” Neil hurried after Adam as he moved across the ridge. “Why?”

“In case I pass out,” Adam replied, stepping up to the edge of the cliff.