able to stand when he got up again. As the meal wore on he began to doubt that he would. He fidgeted once or twice, and saw Avram's warning glance. Avram seemed to have entered into the spirit of the quest as if finding the truth of Lovat's service here were as important to him as it was to Pitt. Pitt wondered if Avram's interest was the result of his inveterate curiosity, the love of answers and the exercise of the skill in finding them, or if he too expected some appropriate gift at a later date. Right at the moment, sitting in acute discomfort in the balmy night a thousand miles from home and anything even remotely familiar, it mattered to him not to offend, or disappoint, this curious man, and it would require a fine judgment to succeed.
Finally the last date had been eaten and with a smile Ishaq asked why Pitt had come to Egypt. It was the signal that he was ready to be of help.
"An English soldier has been killed in London," he replied casually, trying as discreetly as possible to unfold his legs and keep the agony of cramped limbs out of his face as pain shot through him. He gasped, and turned it into a cough. "He is not so important in himself, but his death threatens to create a scandal because of who is accused of having shot him," he continued, and saw some understanding replace the bewilderment in Ishaq's face. After all, if an Egyptian is killed in London, what does that matter in Alexandria? He nodded politely.
"He served in the army here about twelve years ago," Pitt added. "In England it is harder to learn much about him. I want to know his reputation, and if he earned any enemies among his fellows." Better at this time not to mention Ayesha. He could always add that later, if it seemed a good idea. "His name was Edwin Lovat."
Ishaq waited, his eyes on Pitt's face.
Pitt named Lovat's regiment and his rank, then gave a brief description of his physical appearance, trying not to sound desperate as he saw no reaction in Ishaq's face.
Ishaq nodded. "I remember them," he said without any emotion at all.
"Them?" Pitt asked, without hope. Perhaps to Ishaq English soldiers were all much the same. He could not blame him. Pitt was trained to observe and identify, and if anyone had asked him to swear to one Egyptian in the street over another, he could not have done so.
"Those four," Ishaq replied. "Always together. Fair-haired, blue-eyed, walked like..." He gave up and looked at Avram. He said something in Arabic.
"Swagger," Avram supplied.
"Do you know the names of the others?" Pitt asked. If not, he could ask the present military officials. They would tell him at least that much. It was no secret which of his colleagues a man sought out in his off-duty hours.
"Yeats," Ishaq said thoughtfully. "And Garrick," he added. "I cannot think of the last one."
"That is very good. Thank you," Pitt said eagerly. "Were they good soldiers-Lovat in particular?" The moment he had said it, he thought it stupid. How could any British soldier be good in the eyes of an Egyptian?
Avram said something in Arabic and Ishaq nodded. He answered Pitt as if it were he who had asked. "He had courage and he obeyed the rules that mattered."
Suddenly, Pitt was interested. "And the other rules?" he said softly.
Ishaq grinned, white teeth in the firelight, then suddenly he was totally serious. "The others he was careful to break only when he would not be seen," he replied.
Pitt drew in his breath to ask the obvious question.
Avram interrupted. "He was brave. That is good. A coward is of use to no one. And he was obedient, yes? A soldier who cannot obey orders is a danger to his fellows, is that not true?" This time he looked at Pitt.
"Certainly," Pitt agreed, not sure why he had been cut off. Had he been too direct, or was it a question whose answer might embarrass Ishaq? Why? Illegal dealings of some sort? Immoral? "Did the soldiers spend their time off duty in the village or go into Alexandria?" he asked.
Ishaq spread his hands. "Depends how long," he replied. "There is little to do here, but the city needs money for pleasure."
"It is a beautiful city simply to walk around," Pitt said, quite sincerely. "There is much to learn of history, the cultures of many other people; not