and if these should not suffice to persuade , he thought , he might point out that after all , he had brought the cure back , in the first place : he and laurence , with maximus and lily and the rest of their formation , and if anyone had a right to say where it should be shared out , they did : no-one would even have known of it if temeraire had not contrived to be sick in africa , where the mushrooms which cured it grew .