Emerson swallowed a sandwich. “You have rescued him too many times, Peabody. Should he decide to wander off into the desert again, or climb the bluff to frolic in the tombs, let him do so. The important thing is that he stays away from the site until the serdab is opened and the contents removed and catalogued. I do not trust him to behave in a professional manner.”

“We could bring him back to the dahabeeyah until he is no longer under the influence of that drug,” I proposed.

Nefret gave us a dimpled grin. “That will make things crowded, since Ramses and David are taking the night train. David sent a telegram to the office in Minya requesting that the boat and Daoud meet them.”

Emerson’s eyes brightened, but he hid his emotional response with a harrumph. “Do they have the bust of Nefertiti?”

I felt a powerful outpouring of relief. I knew they had been in danger in Cairo, and in the past they had not proven themselves to take sensible precautions—if any at all. “What matters is that they are safe and on their way here.”

“David’s telegram was terse,” Nefret said. “I have not laid eyes on this bust, and I don’t give a whit about it.”

“If you had seen it, you might feel differently,” I said softly.

Emerson picked up the last of the sandwiches and announced that he was returning to the site. He was mumbling threats about thrashing Morgenstern as he left the room.

“Is there any way to test the schnapps?” I asked Nefret.

She shook her head. “My clinic in Luxor does not have the equipment to do that, and it would take weeks, or even months, to mail a sample to the hospital in Paris and receive a response. I could drink a small quantity of the schnapps to see what effect it might have on me.”

“Absolutely not! I forbid you from considering it. I have observed the deleterious effect it has had on Morganstern, and I will not allow you to put yourself at risk. You are very dear to us, Nefret.”

“It was just a thought,” she said, giggling at the fierceness of my expression. “Shall we go to the top deck and partake of something other than tea? I have had a wearisome day. Liezel burst into tears frequently, to the alarm of the police officers. She demanded to see von Raubritter’s corpse. I tried to deter her, but she insisted, then fainted into my arms and had to be carried out of the makeshift morgue—which is cooled only by a fan and a very few blocks of ice. I was exhausted by the time she climbed on the train, with the luggage and coffin stored in the cargo car. The German embassy promised that someone would meet her at the Cairo station.”