Had he been capable of flapping his wings and soaring away, I would have suggested it. “Help me off the camel, and then mount it and ride back to your camp. Do not look over your shoulder. Emerson’s eyesight is remarkably acute, but he may not be able to make out your features at this distance.”

“I am reluctant to desert you, my lady. Are you confident that you are able to walk this final distance?”

“Help me off the camel,” I repeated grimly. “If I cannot walk, I will crawl. You had best stop bleating and follow my directive before my husband takes it upon himself to race toward us in a maelstrom of fire and brimstone.”

Moments later, Omar was astride the camel and galloping in an easterly direction. I paused to readjust the scarves around my neck, straighten my pith helmet, and prepare my defense. Rather than come to my aid, Emerson did not so much as blink as I led the camel to the well. Perhaps I imagined the faint whiff of brimstone emanating from his ears.

“Thank God you’re here!” I exclaimed. “Herr Morgenstern is in dire need of medical assistance. When he fled into the desert, he was stricken by heatstroke. I do hope Nefret will be able to save him before he succumbs.” It seemed like a reasonable beginning.

“And you followed him,” Emerson said flatly.

“I could not allow him to perish. Despite your steely demeanor, you are a man of great compassion, as you have told me often. You would not have dallied here, waiting for others to join your mission of mercy; you would have done precisely what I did.” He opened his mouth, but I continued before I could be treated to an interminable lecture. “We really must take Herr Morgenstern to the dahabeeyah to continue to hydrate him in an effort to lower his body temperature.”

“Were you not concerned about the as-yet-unidentified assassins determined to kill you?”

To be quite honest, I had forgotten about them. “Of course I was, and I took precautions. However, I could not allow timidity to override my Christian duty to a fellow human being who is now hovering on the brink of death.”

Emerson seemed to recognize the futility of further discussion (at that moment, anyway) that focused on my irresponsible behavior and disregard of his words of warning. “Are you quite certain this is the German fellow and not a newly wrapped mummy? The villagers are disconcerted.”

I noted that we had drawn a crowd of busybodies, children, and men with beards. “If there are tomb robbers among them, the only mummy they might have seen would be brown, desiccated, and liable to crumble if disturbed. How do you suggest we best transport Herr Morgenstern?”