Hi, Anton Shepelev! -> All
I read your message from 05.08.2021 13:45

-----Beginning of the citation-----
Publio to spies (later):
  Send your men into the markets and wharfside dives and learn if
  one Beloso, a Zingaran, is in Messantia. Conan said he had a gem,
  which he will probably seek to dispose of.
----- The end of the citation -----

 AS> Publio back-shifted `have' into `had', but kept the present tense
 AS> of `will'*. Why? If Conan's information about Beloso's posession of
 AS> the gem deserves a degree of remotentess exressed by the past
 AS> tense, why not give like treatment to his words about the intent of
 AS> Beloso to sell it, i.e.:

 AS> Conan said he had a gem, which he would probably seek to dispse of.

IMHO, "which he will probably seek to dispose of" doesn't belong to
Conan, and, therefore, there is no need for the time switch.

Bye, Anton!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2021

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