Sheba (7 page)

 

 

Kane sighed. 'That makes sense. And then he walked out on you, I suppose?'

 

 

She nodded. 'He didn't come home from the University one night. He left a letter for me in his office. He told me not to worry. Something very important had come up and he had to go away for a few weeks.'

 

 

'It still doesn't explain why you're looking for him here in Bahrein.'

 

 

'I'm coming to that,' she said. 'I received a package four days ago from the British Consul in Aden. It contained some documents and a letter from John. In it he said that he was leaving on the coastal steamer for Bahrein. From here he intended to go up-country to Shabwa. He'd left the package with the Consul with strict instructions to forward it to me if he hadn't claimed it himself within two months.'

 

 

Kane stared at her in complete surprise. 'But Shabwa's a bad-security area,' he said. 'Right on the edge of the Empty Quarter - one of the greatest deserts on the face of the earth. What on earth was he doing up there?'

 

 

For a moment she hesitated, and then said slowly, 'Have you ever heard of Asthar, Captain Kane?'

 

 

He frowned slightly. 'An ancient Arabian goddess - the equivalent of Venus. She was worshipped in the time of the Queen of Sheba.'

 

 

She nodded. 'That's right. The Queen of Sheba was also high priestess of the cult.' There was a moment of stillness between them before she continued in a calm voice, 'My husband had reason to believe that out there in the Empty Quarter are the ruins of the great temple Sheba built in honour of the goddess Asthar.'

 

 

For a little while there was silence as Kane looked at her in astonishment and then he shook his head. 'Oh, no, Mrs Cunningham. If that's what your husband was looking for, it's no wonder you haven't heard from him.

 

 

There isn't a damned thing out there except sand, heat and thirst.'

 

 

'My husband knew differently. You see, he made an amazing discovery some months ago. Part of his research work entailed the translation of ancient Arabic manuscripts and parchments, many of which had come from St Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai. While working on one of these, he noticed it had been used before and the older script partially erased. By using specialized equipment available at the University, he managed to make a copy of the original writing.'

 

 

Kane was beginning to get interested. 'Was that also in Arabic?'

 

 

She shook her head. 'No, it was in Greek. An account of a special mission performed by a Greek adventurer called Alexias. He was serving as a centurion in the Tenth Legion of the Roman Army.' She leaned back in the chair. 'Have you ever heard of a Roman general called Aelius Gallus?'

 

 

He nodded quickly. 'He tried to conquer Southern Arabia in 24 BC. Got as far south as Sheba and sacked the city of Marib. On the way back he had a rough time. Lost most of his army in the desert.'

 

 

She nodded. 'According to Alexias they moved much farther south to Timna and then marched on Shabwa. It was there that Aelius Gallus heard of Sheba's Temple. It was supposed to lie close to the ancient spice route between Shabwa and Marib, which cuts across a corner of the desert. There were fantastic tales told of the wealth of the place. Alexias was commissioned to lead a small body of cavalry into the desert on a lightning raid. They were to rejoin the main army at Marib.'

 

 

She paused and Kane said, 'Well, go on. Did he find it or didn't he?'

 

 

She smiled. 'Oh, he found it all right. The route across the desert was marked by seven stone pillars and the temple was about eighty or ninety miles from Shabwa. It lay in a gorge in a great outcrop of rock which, according to Alexias, reared unexpectedly out of the sand dunes. When they arrived, the temple was deserted except for one old priestess who tended the flame on the high altar. The scouting party who were first into the place were so disappointed at not finding the treasure, they tortured the old woman to make her talk. Alexias arrived too late to prevent it. She died cursing them."

 

 

In the silence which followed, Kane was conscious of a sudden irrational shiver. He said, 'Did they manage to find the temple treasury?'

 

 

She shook her head. 'It was too well hidden. They spent two days searching for it without success and then started back to Shabwa. The first night out they were caught in the open by a terrible sandstorm. It raged for more than a day. They lost some of the horses and had to double up. When they reached the first well, they found it had been poisoned.' She raised her shoulders slightly and shrugged. 'Cutting out the messy details, only Alexias came out of the desert alive and walking on his own two feet.'

 

 

'He must have been quite a man,' Kane said.

 

 

She nodded. 'I'll let you have the translation of his manuscript to read. You can judge for yourself. He doesn't explain how he rejoined the army, but he obviously managed it successfully. He ended up as commander of the fort at Beer-sheba in Palestine, writing an account of his adventures.'

 

 

Kane got to his feet and walked across to the edge of the parapet. He looked out across the harbour to the Gulf of Aden beyond, shrouded in its perpetual heat haze.

 

 

The Catalina swung in across the town and splashed into the waters of the harbour. Beyond it a freighter moved slowly across the horizon towards the Indian Ocean, and three dhows, in formation, swooped in towards the harbour like great birds.

 

 

He saw none of these things. Before him stretched the Empty Quarter - and somewhere in its fastness was Sheba's Temple.

 

 

When he lit a cigarette, his hands were trembling and his body was seized by a strange excitement. It was a feeling he had experienced only twice before in his life.

 

 

In both instances he had been a member of an expedition on the brink of an important discovery.

 

 

But this - this was different. It was something momentous - the find of a lifetime. Something to rival Knossos or the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in the Valley of Kings.

 

 

When he turned to face her he was surprised at the steadiness of his voice. 'Have you any idea of the importance of all this if what you tell me is true?'

 

 

She frowned. 'I suppose you mean the treasure?'

 

 

'To hell with the treasure!' He came back to the table and dropped into his seat. 'All we know about the Queen of Sheba is contained in the Bible. There hasn't been a single inscription found referring to her by name, not even in Marib, which is supposed by most experts to have been her capital. Such a discovery would create a world sensation, and not only in academic circles.'

 

 

'I see,' she said slowly. 'That explains why my husband kept his discovery to himself.'

 

 

Kane snorted. 'The damned fool. Only a properly equipped expedition can handle this sort of thing successfully.'

 

 

'But don't you see?' she said. 'He was trying to prove something to me. This had to be his own discovery, alone and unaided. If fame came to him, then he had achieved it by his own efforts, owing help to no man.'

 

 

Kane laughed harshly. 'If he tried to penetrate the

 

 

Empty Quarter on his own, then he was a fool. If he hasn't died of thirst, he's probably lying face-down in the sand somewhere with his throat cut.'

 

 

Deep pain appeared in her eyes and she nervously clasped and unclasped her hands. 'You said Shabwa was a bad-security area, Captain Kane. What exactly did you mean by that?'

 

 

He shrugged. 'The borders of the Aden Protectorate and Oman are in dispute with Saudi Arabia. There's been constant tribal friction for years. Military security in the area is handled by the British, and believe me, they've had their hands full. Because they can't be everywhere at once, they've labelled certain places bad-security areas. In other words they can't be responsible for what happens to anyone stupid enough to go there.'

 

 

When she looked across at him her face was troubled. 'And Shabwa is one of these areas?'

 

 

Kane nodded. 'Very much so. People do visit the area, of course. At the moment there's an American geologist called Jordan up there looking for oil. He's managed to survive by tossing Maria Theresa silver dollars around like confetti and surrounding himself with a picked band of cut-throats, who make sure he stays alive because it's to their own advantage.'

 

 

'Have you ever been there?'

 

 

He nodded. 'Often, but then I'm pretty well known amongst the tribes in that area. They're mostly Musabein, and friendly enough if they take to you. The trouble is that the fringes of the Empty Quarter are inhabited by outlaws. Men cast out by their tribes for various reasons - mostly unpleasant. If they get hold of you, they'll skin you alive and peg you out in the sun. Nice people.'

 

 

There was complete horror on her face. 'And you think something like that must have happened to my husband?'

 

 

He shrugged. 'There's a fair-to-even chance.' She shuddered violently and buried her face in her hands. Kane got to his feet and stood beside her, a hand on her shoulder. 'Believe me, Mrs Cunningham, I'm only trying to be honest with you. Anything could have happened to him.'

 

 

She pushed herself to her feet and stared up into his face, one hand clutching his arm. 'But he could be alive? It is possible, isn't it?'

 

 

For a moment he was going to tell her just how slim that chance was and then he smiled and patted her reassuringly. 'Sure, it's possible.'

 

 

She started to cry. Kane slipped an arm around her shoulder and led her gently into the bar. 'I think it would be a good idea if you went to your room and rested for a while. I'll make a few enquiries. I might be able to find something out. If your husband was in Dahrein two months ago, someone must have seen him.'

 

 

She nodded slightly as they went out into the hall and mounted the stairs to the first floor. When they reached the door of her room, she took a key from her purse and fumbled at the lock. Kane took it gently from her, opened the door and followed her inside.

 

 

There were several suitcases standing in one corner of the bare room and she went across and opened the top one. After a moment's search she came back, a bulky envelope in one hand. 'This is the translation of the manuscript,' she said. 'I think you'll find it rather interesting.'

 

 

He slipped it into his pocket and smiled. Til see you this evening around seven for a drink. I may have some news for you.'

 

 

She smiled. Til be waiting. I think I'll try and get some sleep in the meantime.'

 

 

For a moment he matched her smile with his own and then he gently closed the door.

 

 

SIX

 

HE MOVED ALONG the corridor and as he reached the head of the stairs a door clicked open behind him. A voice said, 'So you and Mrs Cunningham got together sooner than you had intended?'

 

 

Skiros was standing in the doorway of his private room, a cheroot clamped firmly between his teeth, a faint smile on his face.

 

 

Kane nodded slowly. 'I thought I'd better find out what she was after.'

 

 

The Greek removed his cheroot and groaned. 'Mother of Christ, but it's hot. How about joining me in a drink?'

 

 

For a moment Kane was about to refuse and then he changed his mind. Very little happened in Dahrein that Skiros didn't know about. He nodded and moved forward. 'Come to think of it I could use one, if you make it long and cool.'

 

 

Skiros turned back into the room, wiping his face with his handkerchief. He sagged down into a large wicker chair by the window and gestured towards a table on which stood several bottles and a pitcher of ice-water. 'You mix the drinks, my friend,' he said. 'I haven't enough energy to lift the bottle.'

 

 

Kane closed the door and went over to the table. He quickly mixed two large gin-slings and handed one to the Greek. Skiros swallowed half of it and grunted. 'Christ, that was good. At the beginning of each year I tell myself it will be my last in this accursed hole. I swear on the grave of my mother that I will go home to Greece, but...' He sighed deeply and shrugged his shoulders.

 

 

'Why don't you?' Kane said.

 

 

Skiros grinned, exposing a row of decaying teeth. 'Because I am greedy. Because I can make so much money so very easily here.' He sipped some more of his drink and went on. 'But I might ask you the same thing. What can be the attraction of a place like Dahrein for a man like you?' He grinned and his eyes sparkled. 'Could it be the admirable Mademoiselle Ferret?'

 

 

Kane shrugged calmly. 'Women mean nothing to me, Skiros. I'm in Dahrein for the same reason you are. I can make money here - very easily and tax-free. There aren't many places left where one can do that these days.'

 

 

Skiros chuckled. 'And avoid Europe, the war.'

 

 

'You think it will come?' Kane asked.

 

 

'Of course. Everything Hitler wanted he's got. Why should Poland be different?'

 

 

'Not my affair,' Kane said.

 

 

'Nor mine.' Skiros drained his glass. 'And what of the beautiful Mrs Cunningham? It isn't every day we get so charming a visitor in Dahrein.'

 

 

Kane helped himself to a cigarette from an ivory box on the table. 'Didn't she tell you why she's here?'

 

 

Skiros shook his head. 'She came straight to the hotel from the boat. After she'd booked in she asked for you at once. She didn't give a reason. I assumed at first that you must be old friends. To be frank, I thought that perhaps your past was catching up on you.'