than Monsieur de Montause, oblivious of
everything else, bent over it, and, holding one of the lanterns close
to the inscription, began to pore over the fascinating hieroglyphics.
Smith could not help smiling at the little man's enthusiasm: but it
was necessary to remind him of his share of the compact.

"Ah, oui, oui," he said impatiently; "in a few moments. This is a
magnificent discovery, monsieur; your aeroplane is completely
uninteresting to me. This is nothing less than a portion of the tomb
of Ur-Gur; see, the inscription: 'The tomb of Ur-Gur, the powerful
champion, King of Ur, King of Shumer and Akkad, builder of the wall of
Nippur to Bel, the king of the lands.' This was written nearly five
thousand years ago; what is the aeroplane, a thing of yesterday, in
comparison with this glorious relic of antiquity?"

"Precisely, monsieur; beside it the aeroplane sinks into
insignificance; yet, as a man of honour--"

"Ah, oui!" cried the Frenchman, starting up. "Let us be quick, then;
you take one end, I the other. You push, I pull; voila!"

"It is perhaps not so simple, monsieur," said Smith; "we must first
see that there is no obstruction, and then if you could persuade some
of your men to come back, we should be able to remove the aeroplane
more quickly. I fear we could hardly do it alone."

Monsieur de Montause was so anxious to get rid of his visitors that he
assented eagerly to this course. Four or five of the men, drawn back
by the light of the lantern, were hovering at the end of the trench;
the explorer hailed them, and assuring them that they would suffer no
harm, persuaded, them to lend a hand. Rodier, meanwhile, had walked
through the trench to see that the course was clear, and shoved aside
with little ceremony some of the objects Monsieur de Montause had
unearthed. With the aid of the Frenchman himself and his men the
aeroplane was carefully dragged out into the open.

"It is done. Adieu, messieurs," said Monsieur de Montause. Then,
turning to his men: "As for you, imbeciles, I have no more need of you
at present. Go and eat your supper. I shall eat nothing until I have
deciphered the whole of the inscription."

"One moment, monsieur," said Smith; "we were driven out of our course
by the storm, and I am not certain of our whereabouts. Can you tell me
the latitude and longitude of this place?"

"Ah, no. I am not a geographer. The surface of the globe: bah! It is
the rind of the orange, it is the sh