The Girl in the Nile by Michael Pearce Page B

daily with informers.”
    “Does he? Yes, well I suppose that’s true. All the same, five thousand pounds! Surely that is excessive? What is the going rate for bodies in Cairo, Mr. el Zaki? Much less than that, I would have thought. Much, much less. Twenty pounds? Fifty pounds at most. A hundred, very exceptionally. Yes, I would have thought this was worth a hundred only.”
    “We are not exactly dealing in bodies,” said Owen. “We are merely trying to buy information.”
    “Not even a body? And five thousand pounds! The price looks higher every time you speak, Captain Owen. I really do not think bargaining is your line. Information, you say? What information?”
    Owen was forced to admit he did not exactly know. “Well!” said the Prince. “Five thousand pounds is a lot of money to pay for something you do not exactly know.”
    “Before any money changed hands we would, of course, need to be satisfied that the information was worth it.”
    “I would certainly hope so! But, tell me, Captain Owen, what do you expect would be the nature of this information for which you are prepared to pay so high a price?”
    Owen was silent.
    Mahmoud was not, however.
    “Marks on the body,” he said. “How she died.”
    “I see.”
    The Prince considered the matter thoughtfully.
    “Important as that is,” he said, “I am not sure that it is worth five thousand pounds. Certainly not to me. After all, if what I think you are supposing is true, it would hardly be in my interest for such information to emerge. I speak hypothetically, of course.”
    “But look at it another way,” said Owen. “If the information did not support what you think is Mr. el Zaki’s view, would it not be helpful to know this? Would it not, as it were, clear the matter up? And might not that be worth five thousand pounds?”
    “I do see your point. But I would regard that as a matter of public, not private interest. And I think, therefore, that the public should pay.”
    Owen tried in vain to convince him. The Prince was not to be persuaded.
    He played one last card.
    “Perhaps you are right,” he said, with the air of one who had himself been convinced. “It
is
a public matter. The public should pay. Yes, I am sure you’re right. I’ll get on to it straightaway. It was just that—well, I thought you might have a special interest in what we found out—”
    “Oh, I do! I do!”
    “—and not wish it to be shared too widely. After all, it could be misinterpreted.”
    The Prince smiled.
    “I think I can rely on you to see that it is not. After all, in view of the Special Agreement currently being discussed between the British government and the Egyptian government—”
    “What Agreement is this?”
    “You have not heard? Not even the Mamur Zapt? Well,” said the Prince, “I do call that news management of the highest order. Obviously something there for you to study. Yes, quite a lot there for you to study, I would say.”
    He accompanied them to the door. As they parted, he clapped Owen on the back.
    “Don’t be downhearted, old fellow. It’s all for the best. You’ve been working jolly hard, I know. You and Mr. el Zaki.” The Prince’s arm reached out to enfold Mahmoud. “But you’ve both got more important things to do, I’m sure.”
    “I don’t quite follow you.”
    “Well,” said the Prince, “it’s easy, isn’t it? You’ve both been working very hard—two of the best in the Khedive’s service— and you haven’t been able to find anything. This—proposal of yours, it’s not going to come to anything, is it? I mean— five thousand pounds is a lot of money. And for what? Some highly dubious information? Not worth it. I’m sure everyone will agree. So—”
    “So what?”
    “Is not this the time to drop the whole affair? It’s really becoming rather tedious. Worse, now I come to think of it, a positive drain on resources. Yes, that’s it—a drain on the Government’s scarce resources. You see how quickly