Free Tutankhamun Uncovered by Michael J Marfleet Page A

y’ think, Blackden?”
    His colleague reflected for a moment. “You could be right. I wouldn’t have given young Carter the credit for that much cunning, though.”
    “But what about Newberry? That bastard’s as cunning as they come. Never liked us. I can tell. Always complaining about my work. Tore up one of your drawings, didn’t he?”
    “That he did. That he did. But I had been hurrying that day. I was not happy with it myself.”
    “Don’t make excuses for the man. He’s been looking for an opportunity to put one over on us ever since he heard you were to be seconded to Petrie’s camp.”
    Blackden gazed thoughtfully into the night.
    “Any thoughts?”
    Blackden continued his reflections. Finally he turned to his colleague. The expression on his face said it all. “It wouldn’t hurt so much...” he began.
    “Mmm...? Yes... Yes?” urged Fraser expectantly.
    “It wouldn’t hurt so damn much if we’d managed to get ourselves a little bit of the other these last two days!”
    Reminding Fraser of compounded defeat was more than the man could stand. He smacked his fists against his thighs again and again. As he circled for the third time Blackden caught him by the shoulders and looked him right in the eyes. “Stop your ranting, man, and listen. I have an idea.”
    Fraser folded his arms in a tight personal embrace, sat back into a canvas folding chair and stared at his friend.
    “They were there only for a day, right?”
    “Rright.”
    “They have discovered the place and are going back to document it later. They are too busy here right now and probably will not be able to return to Hatnub for some weeks. Why don’t we relieve them of the task take off for Hatnub tout suite and complete the work for ourselves?”
    A broad smile opened up on Fraser’s face. “Brilliant! Let’s grab some fellahs and a guide in the morning and get after it.”
    “It would be foolish to be too hasty. If we take it easy here for a couple of days first there won’t appear to be any connection.”
    Fraser took a deep, relaxing breath. “I feel so much better. A defeat turned into a success. As satisfying as the orgasms we failed to achieve in Minya. I’m off to m’ bed.”
    It was three mornings later at daybreak when the two took off for Hatnub on camelback. They were gone almost a week.
    Carter thought little of it. They had gone, he felt, in curiosity to see for themselves what he and Newberry had discovered. Newberry, who had never been drawn to endear himself to the two, was less complacent.
    “I am uneasy over their absence, Howard,” he admitted one evening after work. “Had they been away just a day or two I could have put it down to professional curiosity. But five days. They are up to something, m’ lad. Mark my words. This business has a rotten smell about it. Though at present, I confess, I cannot identify the carcass.”
    The two reprobates and the ‘carcass’ returned the following evening. As the camels loped into camp, it was clear from the expressions on the faces of their riders that ‘MW’ and ‘GW’ were a lot happier than they had been a week earlier. The camels lowered themselves to their knees and Fraser and Blackden eased a little painfully from their saddles. They greeted their colleagues with unashamed glee.
    “We have completed documentation of the inscriptions at Hatnub!” Blackden announced in a matter-of-fact way. “Knew you guys wouldn’t have the time. Some of my best work, if I say it myself. Should be a book to be proud of, do you not think?”
    To start with, Carter did not comprehend the significance of Blackden’s words. The experienced Newberry, however, was quite set back on his heels. It was a sledgehammer blow. Newberry looked at Carter. The Egyptologist’s blank expression communicated shock, disbelief and distrust.
    But Fraser quickly defused the situation. “Your find, of course. You will wish to add a text, perhaps some plates of your own. But you will,