himself to some excavators who were glad of his intelligent assistance,
he actually dug for a month in the neighbourhood of ancient Thebes, but
without finding anything in particular.

It was not till two years later that he made his great discovery, that
which is known as Smith's Tomb. Here it may be explained that the state
of his health had become such as to necessitate an annual visit to
Egypt, or so his superiors understood.

However, as he asked for no summer holiday, and was always ready to do
another man's work or to stop overtime, he found it easy to arrange for
these winter excursions.

On this, his third visit to Egypt, Smith obtained from the
Director-General of Antiquities at Cairo a licence to dig upon his
own account. Being already well known in the country as a skilled
Egyptologist, this was granted upon the usual terms--namely, that the
Department of Antiquities should have a right to take any of the objects
which might be found, or all of them, if it so desired.

Such preliminary matters having been arranged by correspondence, Smith,
after a few days spent in the Museum at Cairo, took the night train
to Luxor, where he found his head-man, an ex-dragoman named Mahomet,
waiting for him and his fellaheen labourers already hired. There were
but forty of them, for his was a comparatively small venture. Three
hundred pounds was the amount that he had made up his mind to expend,
and such a sum does not go far in excavations.

During his visit of the previous year Smith had marked the place where
he meant to dig. It was in the cemetery of old Thebes, at the wild spot