Gavin Lyall - Judas Country

When nobody was overhearing, Ken laid the folded paper on the table. 'Your father posted it last night, the Sergeant took it out and opened it. Roy took it off him.'

Mitzi's hand reached for it, then stopped, as if she were suddenly scared.

Slowly, hands trembling just a little, she unfolded the paper. 'Have you read it?'

I said: 'We don't read German.'

She skimmed it quickly, ending on a frown. 'But it does not say where is the sword.'

Ken lifted his glass and took a gulp and put it down again, face expressionless.

Mitzi said: 'Who was it being sent to?'

He gave her the envelope. 'Have you heard of Pierre Aziz?'

'I think my father… I think I have heard the name.'

'How about Franz Meisler?'

'Yes, he was working with my father in Israel. I think he is now in America."

I glanced at Eleanor. But she shook her head. 'Say – d'you mind telling me just what that is?'

Mitzi looked down at the paper again. 'Only a… a description of a sword.'

'May we hear it?'

Mitzi sipped, cleared her throat and started. The sword which we… in the tomb… at Akka… have found… is of… made of steel. With a name… on the… blade… of Ufert.' She looked up doubtfully, but Eleanor nodded enthusiastically.

'Ufert, that's right. Twelfth-century German sword-maker. Go on.'

'With… doubleedged blade… straight… guardpiece… some traces of gilding on the Knauf l The knob?'

'Pommel,' Eleanor said.

'Yes… which is of iron. With on one side… a gem of about 25 millimetres… perhaps a ruby.'

Eleanor frowned. "That's odd.'

'Odd? ' said Ken. 'A ruby 25 millimetres across? It's a sight better than odd.'

'No, I mean one set into a twelfth-century European sword. They hadn't picked up the idea of decorating swords much, at that time. Sorry, go on.'

Mitzi took another sip of her whisky sour, blinked and went on. 'On the other side of the… the pommel… a… an inlay of gold wire… and enamel… in shape of a shield… three gold leopards on red.'

"Three leopards! ' There was a sudden light behind Eleanor's eyes – which were blue, I noticed for the first time.

I said 'So the owner kept a pet shop?'

'No – it means the owner was probably Coeur de Lion. King Richard the Lion-Heart.'

After a long time I said: 'I suppose that would make it quite interesting, historicalwise.'

Eleanor looked at me. 'Just quite.'

'I thought it was lions on the English whatsit.'

'No, three leopards was Richard's bearing. Lions came in just after. Mind, to a Gerrnan sword-maker they were both as mythical as dragons.' She looked at Mitzi. 'Is that all?'

She'd been silently mouthing her way through the paper. 'No… then is the measurements of the sword, and then where it was found: in the ruins of the church of Sainte-Croix.'

I took out a pipe and started scraping it out. 'What is that thing, then? – a sales brochure?"

Eleanor said: 'No. Well, yes. Sort of, perhaps. A sword like that would only have a limited intrinsic value-'

Ken bent his eyebrows at her. 'With that ruby?'

'We-ell… there's rubies and there's rubies, particularly around that time. Twelfth-century swords aren't exactly common – most of them were still made of iron and rusted away when they didn't break, and I wouldn't believe in this one if ithadn't been found in a tomb where it might have been properly protected… But still, there's a few around and as works of art they're nothing and not great swords besides: the real European arms and armour came much later. But if you can tie that sword to King Richardand prove it's one he carried on his Crusade… Well, name your price.'

I said: 'I thought naming prices was your end,' and began to fill the pipe.

'Well – start at half a million and it could go as high as one.'

Ken started to say something but it jammed in his throat like a fishbone. Finally he said huskily: 'Dollars?'

'Sure.'

You can smell a million dollars; you can taste it. But I've never been able to do more.

Eleanor went on: 'The nice thing is, it was found at Acre: that's where Richard sailed home from. Probably he presented it to somebody, you know: "I must away but let my sword stand guard in Outremer until my return".' She looked a little abashed. They did say things like that.'

Ken said: 'I bet they also said: "Sorry I can't pay the ten ducats, but keep this until I've pushed through a tax raise".'

'Yes – the Crusaders were always in money trouble. You know, hecould have found the tomb of Henry of Champagne.' She turned to Mitzi. 'Didn't he tell you anything about this?'

She shook her head quickly. 'He was good at secrets. Only he said that he had found a most valuable sword.'

Tasked: 'Who was Henry?'

'He took over from Richard. He was quite a diplomat: kept a small kingdom going there without any military back-up. But he died a couple of years before Richard. Fell out of a window while reviewing some troops.'

Ken said: 'No wonder he's remembered as Henry of Champagne.'

'They didn't invent the wine for another four hundred years. Anyway, Henry was supposed to have been buried in Sainte-Croix. So, the regulation thing would have been to leave the sword in place and whistle up other archaeologists to witness the find.'

'And give it to the Israeli government.' Ken said. 'So instead, he wrote out this description, got his assistant to sign it, and hid the description in one place and the sword somewhere else. The real value comes when those two get together again – am I right?'

Eleanor nodded. 'Something like that. The description's worth nothing by itself; the sword could be worth a few thousand -but the big museums wouldn't touch it without any documentation.'

There was a time while we just sat and thought. The bar-stools were filling up rapidly. A BEA captain I'd known in the RAF at one end, the usual bunch of journalists at the other, some Swedish officers in the middle.

Mitzi cleared her throat nervously and said: Then perhaps I should go and talk to this Herr Aziz in Beirut. Do you know how much it costs to go there?'

'Costs?' said Ken, appalled.'Costs? You're talking to two men who own an airline. You're our guests. However-' he looked at his empty glass and then Eleanor '-could you spring for another round?'

Kapotas raked a trembling hand through his hair. 'You want what?'

'Just the seventy-five pounds I'm owed already,' I said pleasantly. 'Only now, before the banks close. And, of course, tacit agreement to us using the aeroplane. I'm not asking for permission, you understand; only that you don't notice.'

'But you don't expect me to…' He seemed as much muddled as dazed. 'But this is absurd. What do you want to do with the plane?'

'We just want to pop across to Beirut on – what would you call it? A merchant venture, perhaps.'

'And you can participate, ' Ken joined in. 'Don't get the idea that we're limiting your contribution just to the seventy-five that you owe Roy anyway. If you want to put in some more of your own, then naturally you share, prorata, in the eventual profit.'

'Of which,' I added, 'we have every confidence.'

After a time, Kapotas said in a calm but slightly shaky voice: 'Have you been drinking?'

'A jar or two,' I admitted. 'But nothing noticeable.'

Ken said: 'Are you really trying to tell us that you're turning down this unique opportunity?'

Kapotas just looked at him.

I said: 'All right, but you'll be sorry. So just write me the cheque for seventy-five and I'll get round to the bank.'

'I keep telling you, I can do nothing until Harborne, Gough-'

'And we both know Harborne, Gough's reckoning they can screw me by waiting until I get so bored I'll fly the aeroplane home for nothing rather than pay my own fare. And we know the hotel's got money in the bank here and you must have some discretion about using it. So start.'