He is quite content that the cruise of the _Aphrodite_
should be a wild-goose chase so long as the evidence of the papyrus is
proved to be false. And that is my chief stumbling-block. Perhaps you
do not realize that, to an antiquarian, the search yields as keen
pleasure as the find. The cost of this expedition is a matter of no
consequence to my grandfather, and I repeat that, under other
conditions, I should regard it as a most enjoyable and memorable
excursion. But these two people have made me nervous, and that is why I
was determined they should not get rid of you at Suez, because I felt
that I could trust you with my doubts and fears, and look to you for
help should an emergency arise. Otherwise, Mr. Fenshawe and I would be
at their mercy."
"You can count on me to the end," said Royson earnestly, "but I would
ask you not to forget that the officers and crew are all Englishmen,
and, from what I have seen of them, they would never lend themselves to
any undertaking which meant actual treachery to their employers.
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