“I must look dreadful,” said Elisa, trying to tidy up her hair.
“You look wonderful. I can’t imagine a more beautiful woman,” whispered Jack, stroking her cheek. “But you have to tell me what happened.”
Elisa, now thunderstruck by a sudden memory, spun her head round towards the desk, then saw the weighing scale on the floor of the tent, empty. Suddenly, she sprang to her feet and began looking feverishly around her.
“Where is it?” she asked anxiously. “Where’s the sphere?”
“The sphere?” asked Jack, somewhat surprised. “There’s no sphere here.”
“But they carried it over here last night. Look. I was weighing it on that balance, and now it’s not there any more.”
“Try to calm down. Tell me from the beginning.”
“Hisham,” shouted Elisa desperately, darting madly around the tent. “Hisham,
