said, ‘That will do, Hans.’ Ritter went out and Canaris lit a cigarette. ‘So, Professor, a remarkable find. Tell me about it.’
Muller stood there like a nervous schoolboy. ‘I was lucky, Herr Admiral. I’ve been working in the Shabwa area for some time and one night an old Bedouin staggered into my camp dying of thirst and fever. I nursed him back to life.’
‘I see.’
‘They’re a strange people. Can’t bear to be in debt so he repaid me by telling me where Sheba’s temple was.’
‘Payment indeed. Tell me about it.’
‘I first saw it as an outcrop of reddish stone, out there in the vastness of the Empty Quarter. The Herr Admiral must understand that there are sand dunes out there that are hundreds of feet high.’
‘Remarkable.’
‘As I got closer we entered a gorge. I had two Bedouin with me as guards. We had journeyed by camel. There was a flat plain, very hard-baked, then a gorge, a broad avenue of pillars.’
‘And the temple? Tell me about that.’
Which Muller did, talking for a good half-hour while Canaris listened intently. Finally the Admiral nodded. ‘Fascinating. Captain Ritter tells me you made an excellent report to Abwehr.’
‘I hope I know my duty, Herr Admiral, I’m a party member.’
‘Indeed,’ Canaris observed drily. ‘Then you will no doubt be pleased to return to this place with suitable funding and do what you are told to do. This is a project the Führer himself is interested in.’
Muller drew himself up. ‘At your orders, Herr Admiral.’
‘Good.’ Canaris pressed a button on his desk. ‘We’ll keep you informed.’
Ritter entered. ‘Herr Admiral?’
‘Wait outside, Professor,’ Canaris said, and waited until Muller had gone out. ‘He seems harmless enough, but I still have my doubts, Hans. If you used this place as a base it would require a flight of say twelve hundred miles to the Canal and what real damage could one bomber do? In fact, do we have a plane that could make the flight?’
‘I’ve already had a thought,’ Ritter said, ‘but I’d like to explore it further before sharing it with you.’
Canaris frowned. ‘Is this serious business, Hans?’
‘I believe it could be, Herr Admiral.’
‘So be it.’ Canaris nodded. ‘I don’t need to tell you to squeeze Muller dry, details of this Dahrein place, how the Spanish run it and so on. At least they’re on our side, which could be useful.’
‘I’ll see to it, sir.’
‘At your soonest, Hans. A feasibility study. I’ll give you three days.’
Ritter turned and limped out and Canaris went back to his papers.
2
On Wednesday morning Canaris, after sleeping once again on the little military bed in his office, was in the bathroom shaving when there was a knock at the door.
‘Come in,’ he called.
‘It’s me, Herr Admiral,’ Ritter replied. ‘And your breakfast.’
Canaris wiped his face and went out to the aroma of good coffee, and found an orderly arranging a tray on his desk, Ritter standing by the window.
‘Dismissed,’ Canaris said, and picked up his cup as the orderly went out. ‘Join me, Hans.’
‘I’ve already had breakfast, Herr Admiral.’
‘You must have risen early. How conscientious of you.’
‘Not really, Herr Admiral. It’s just that I find difficulty sleeping.’
Canaris was immediately all sympathy. ‘My dear Hans, how stupid of me. I’m afraid I often forget just how difficult life must be for you.’
‘The fortunes of war, Herr Admiral.’ He laid a file on the desk as Canaris buttered some toast. The Admiral looked up. ‘What’s this?’
‘Operation Sheba, Herr Admiral.’
‘You mean you’ve come up with a solution?’
‘I believe so.’
‘You think this thing could be done?’
‘Not only could it be done, Herr Admiral, I think it should be done.’
‘Really.’ Canaris poured coffee into the spare cup. ‘Then I insist that you have a cigarette and drink that while I see what you’ve got here.’
Ritter did as he was told and limped across to the window. The 3rd of April. Soon it would be Easter and yet it rained like a bad day in November. His leg hurt, but he was damned if he was going to take a morphine pill unless he really had to. He swallowed the coffee and lit a cigarette. Behind him he heard Canaris lift the telephone.
‘The Reich Chancellery, the Führer’s suite,’ the Admiral said, and added after a moment, ‘Good morning. Canaris. I must see the Führer. Yes, most urgent.’ There was a longer pause and then he said, ‘Excellent. Eleven o’clock.’
Ritter turned. ‘Herr Admiral?’
‘Excellent, Hans, this plan of yours. You can come with me and tell the man yourself.’
Ritter had never ventured beyond the main reception area at the Chancellery before and what he saw was breathtaking, not only the huge doors and bronze eagles but the Marble Gallery, which was four hundred and eighty feet long, the Führer’s special pride as it was twice as long as the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.
When they were admitted to the Führer’s enormous study they found Hitler seated at his desk. He looked up. ‘Something important, I trust.’
‘I think so, my Führer,’ Canaris said. ‘This is my aide, Captain Ritter.’
Hitler took in the scarred face, the stick, the medals, rose, came round the table and took Ritter’s hand. ‘As a soldier I salute you.’
He went back to his chair and Ritter, overwhelmed, stammered, ‘What can I say, my Führer?’
Canaris intervened. ‘The question of the Suez Canal. Captain Ritter has come up with an extraordinary plan. In fact, what is the most extraordinary thing about it is its simplicity.’ He laid the file on Hitler’s desk. ‘Operation Sheba.’
Hitler leaned back, arms folded in an inimitable gesture. ‘I’ll read it later. Tell me, Captain Ritter.’
Ritter licked dry lips. ‘Well, my Führer, it all started with a professor of archaeology at the University called Muller and an extraordinary find he made in Southern Arabia.’
‘Fascinating,’
