Bored and a bit hungry, Ramses left the carriage and walked through several more to the service bar. It was closed. He remembered that David had put chocolate bars in a paper bag that was now in the trunk with their clothes and the five Nefertiti busts. As he walked back toward their carriage, he spotted a conductor dozing on a stool. He gently shook the man’s arm and in Arabic said, “Excuse me, but can you tell me how much longer it will be before we get to Minya?”

After a jerk, the man opened his eyes and took out a pocket watch. He squinted at it, and then said, “Less than an hour, Brother of Demons, unless a herd of camels wanders onto the tracks. That will cause a delay. The engineer has been told of your presence and will stop at your usual place after Minya. Is there anything I can do for you?”

There were times when Ramses would have preferred anonymity, but in this case he was pleased that he would not be obliged to go to the front of the train to have a word with the engineer. He thanked the conductor. It would be more than an hour and a half before they departed the train. Loading the trunk and crossing the Nile to the dahabeeyah would require another hour. After the train had left the Cairo station, David had gone to the service bar to purchase warak enab and shawarmas for dinner. Latif’s appetite for the stuffed grape leaves and sandwiches had left his spectators in awe. There was not so much as a crumb on the floor of the compartment.

When Ramses reached the final carriage, he hesitated in front of the door that opened into the freight car. On dire occasions that had lasted for days, he had gone without sustenance, and his body had not suffered. He reminded himself of this as the notion of chocolate gave rise to salivation. The aroma might awaken Latif, but they could share the booty.

“What the hell,” he said as he entered into the total darkness of the freight car. He had a mental map of the car and went directly to Miss Annabelle Hadley’s purloined trunk. Reminding himself to make sure it was returned to her in a timely fashion, he knelt and opened it. He felt around until he brushed the paper sack of chocolate bars. He congratulated himself as he placed it in his pocket, but then sat back on his heels. The contents of the trunk were not arranged as he remembered—and his memory was reliably sharp. The trunk had been carried on the eroded streets of Cairo, and then lifted onto the freight car. Its contents would have shifted, but not relocated. He removed the wadded newspapers and oddments of clothing. The five busts were aligned at the bottom. The wrapping paper had been loosened, and the canvas bag was agape.