William Carmichael said to the thin, weedy youth who opened the door inquiringly:

‘Send Mr Jim to me, please.’

Jim Fanthorp entered the room and looked inquiringly at his uncle. The older man looked up with a nod and a grunt.

‘Humph, there you are.’

‘You asked for me?’

‘Just cast an eye over this.’

The young man sat down and drew the sheaf of papers towards him. The elder man watched him.

‘Well?’

The answer came promptly.

‘Looks fishy to me, sir.’

Again the senior partner of Carmichael, Grant amp; Carmichael uttered his characteristic grunt.

Jim Fanthorp reread the letter which had just arrived by air mail from Egypt:

…It seems wicked to be writing business letters on such a day. We have spent a week at Mena House and made an expedition to the Fayum. The day after tomorrow we are going up the Nile to Luxor and Aswan by steamer, and perhaps on to Khartoum. When we went into Cook’s this morning to see about our tickets who do you think was the first person I saw? – my American trustee, Andrew Pennington. I think you met him two years ago when he was over. I had no idea he was in Egypt and he had no idea that I was! Nor that I was married! My letter, telling him of my marriage, must just have missed him. He is actually going up the Nile on the same trip that we are. Isn’t it a coincidence? Thank you so much for all you have done in this busy time. I-

As the young man was about to turn the page, Mr Carmichael took the letter from him.

‘That’s all,’ he said. ‘The rest doesn’t matter. Well, what do you think?’

His nephew considered for a moment – then he said:

‘Well – I think – not a coincidence…’

The other nodded approval.

‘Like a trip to Egypt?’ he barked out.

‘You think that’s advisable?’

‘I think there’s no time to lose.’

‘But, why me?’

‘Use your brains, boy; use your brains. Linnet Ridgeway has never met you; no more has Pennington. If you go by air you may get there in time.’

‘I–I don’t like it, sir. What am I to do?’

‘Use your eyes. Use your ears. Use your brains – if you’ve got any. And if necessary – act.’

‘I–I don’t like it.’

‘Perhaps not – but you’ve got to do it.’

‘It’s – necessary?’

‘In my opinion,’ said Mr Carmichael, ‘it’s absolutely vital.’

Mrs Otterbourne, readjusting the turban of local material that she wore draped round her head, said fretfully:

‘I really don’t see why we shouldn’t go on to Egypt. I’m sick and tired of Jerusalem.’

As her daughter made no reply, she said:

‘You might at least answer when you’re spoken to.’

Rosalie Otterbourne was looking at a newspaper reproduction of a face. Below it was printed:

Mrs Simon Doyle, who before her marriage was the well-known society beauty, Miss Linnet Ridgeway. Mr and Mrs Doyle are spending their honeymoon in Egypt.

Rosalie said, ‘You’d like to move on to Egypt, Mother?’

‘Yes, I would,’ Mrs Otterbourne snapped. ‘I consider they’ve treated us in a most cavalier fashion here. My being here is an advertisement – I ought to get a special reduction in terms. When I hinted as much, I consider they were most impertinent – most impertinent. I told them exactly what I thought of them.’

The girl sighed. She said:

‘One place is very like another. I wish we could get right away.’

‘And this morning,’ went on Mrs Otterbourne, ‘the manager actually had the impertinence to tell me that all the rooms had been booked in advance and that he would require ours in two days’ time.’

‘So we’ve got to go somewhere.’

‘Not at all. I’m quite prepared to fight for my rights.’

Rosalie murmured: ‘I suppose we might as well go on to Egypt. It doesn’t make any difference.’

‘It’s certainly not a matter of life or death,’ said Mrs Otterbourne.

But there she was quite wrong – for a matter of life and death was exactly what it was.

‘That’s Hercule Poirot, the detective,’ said Mrs Allerton.

She and her son were sitting in brightly painted scarlet basket chairs outside the Cataract Hotel in Aswan. They were watching the retreating figures of two people – a short man dressed in a white silk suit and a tall slim girl.

Tim Allerton sat up in an unusually alert fashion.

‘That funny little man?’ he asked incredulously.

‘That funny little man!’

‘What on earth’s he doing out here?’ Tim asked.

His mother laughed.

‘Darling, you sound quite excited. Why do men enjoy crime so much? I hate detective stories and never read them. But I don’t think Monsieur Poirot is here with any ulterior motive. He’s made a good deal of money and he’s seeing life, I fancy.’

‘Seems to have an eye for the best-looking girl in the place.’

Mrs Allerton tilted her head a little on one side as she considered the retreating backs of M. Poirot and his companion.

The girl by his side overtopped him by some three inches. She walked well, neither stiffly nor slouchingly.

‘I suppose she is quite good-looking,’ said Mrs Allerton.

She shot a little glance sideways at Tim. Somewhat to her amusement the fish rose at once.

‘She’s more than quite. Pity she looks so bad-tempered and sulky.’

‘Perhaps that’s just expression, dear.’

‘Unpleasant young devil, I think. But she’s pretty enough.’

The subject of these remarks was walking slowly by Poirot’s side. Rosalie Otterbourne was twirling an unopened parasol, and her expression certainly bore out what Tim had just said. She looked both sulky and bad-tempered. Her eyebrows were drawn together in a frown, and the scarlet line of her mouth was drawn downwards.

They turned to the left out of the hotel gate and entered the cool shade of the public gardens.

Hercule Poirot was prattling gently, his expression that of beatific good humour. He wore a white silk suit, carefully pressed, and a panama hat, and carried a highly ornamental fly whisk with a sham amber handle.

‘-it enchants me,’ he was saying. ‘The black rocks of Elephantine, and the sun, the little boats on the river. Yes, it is good to be alive.’ He paused and then added: ‘You do not find it so, Mademoiselle?’

Rosalie Otterbourne said shortly:

‘It’s all right, I suppose. I think Aswan’s a gloomy sort of place. The hotel’s half empty, and everyone’s about a hundred-’

She stopped – biting her lip.

Hercule Poirot’s eyes twinkled.

‘It is true, yes, I have one leg in the grave.’

‘I–I wasn’t thinking of you,’ said the girl. ‘I’m sorry. That sounded rude.’

‘Not at all. It is natural you should wish for young companions of your own age. Ah, well, there is one young man, at least.’

‘The one who sits with his mother all the time? I like her – but I think he looks dreadful – so conceited!’

Poirot smiled.

‘And I – am I conceited?’

‘Oh, I don’t think so.’

She was obviously uninterested – but the fact did not seem to annoy Poirot. He merely remarked with placid satisfaction:

‘My best friend says that I am very conceited.’

‘Oh, well,’ said Rosalie vaguely, ‘I suppose you have something to be conceited about. Unfortunately crime doesn’t interest me in the least.’