“If it is stolen,” said he, “no one can cash it but my father; but I’d like to see the Arab or Bega clever enough to find the draft where I’ve hidden it. Come on, boys; we’re free now; so let’s hurry back to our party and the treasure.”
The camels had been watered and fed by the hotel attendants, and we hastened to mount them and start on our return journey. As we left the town it was a little after eleven o’clock, for much valuable time had been consumed in settling Archie’s business.
“But it’s what I came to Egypt for,” said he, “and father would be wild if I neglected the business he sent me on, even to get a share of that treasure. As it is I’m afraid he’ll think me a poor hand at a bargain, to take less than was agreed upon.”
“There’s no trusting to the word of these native merchants,” I remarked, as we sped away over the sands. “How much did you manage to get for that rubbish, Archie?”
“About twenty-five hundred dollars. But I ought to have had three thousand.”
“And what did it cost to make the stuff?” I inquired, curiously.
“Oh, the material is mostly mud, you know; but the molds and the workmanship are expensive. With the freight and my own expenses added, the finished product cost us nearly nine hundred dollars.”
“Not a bad deal, then,” said I, with a laugh. “Your father will find himself a bit richer, anyhow.”
“But think of what those rascally merchants will make!” he exclaimed indignantly. “The scarabs, which cost them about half a cent each, they’ll sell for twenty piasters—and that’s a whole dollar!”
“Say, boys,” observed Joe, quietly, “we’re being followed.”