Twist.
Twist understood his meaning, and moved to loosen Myra’s grip on him. She hardly seemed to notice as her attention shifted to the coast now filling the northern horizon. Jonas let Twist tell her its name first, and then filled in more information as needed, himself.
The ship was speeding quickly around the south-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, past Somalia, and entering the Red Sea. By mid-day, they had passed Ethiopia and come to Sudan to the west, and were off the coast of the famous city of Mocha to the east, half way up the coast of Arabia. Rounded rock mountains and smooth flat coasts of cream-and-gray sand seemed to line the dark, cerulean waters of the Red Sea in one continuous palette, dotted sparingly with ports, towns, and palm trees.
Even with the apparent vacancy of the land around it, this long, narrow sea was considerably more crowded than the open Arabian Sea had been, as vessels hurried from one end to the other. Consequently, Myra wanted to stay out on deck all day, watching the endless variation of ships glide by on all sides.
Though the sun was already falling behind the tall, jagged, dusty mountains that stood on the eastern coast of Egypt, it felt like little time had passed at all when the ship slowed and slipped gracefully into the Gulf of Suez. Twist could easily see the mouth of the canal under the pale blue sky—a wide, straight channel with sharp edges against the soft and shifting desert all around it—beside a relatively small and utilitarian looking town nestled at the edge of the sea. Twist had expected something much more impressive, given that this was a place he had actually heard of.
“Not much, is it?” he remarked to Jonas as the ship pulled into a tiny, square-walled shipping yard, just to the side of the canal.
“It's not a tourist spot,” Jonas said with a shrug. “No one usually stops here. They just go on north to the Mediterranean or south, down to India or China. Suez is just a place one passes through.”
“So, where's the city?” Myra asked, returning to them on the deck after having taken a run around all sides to find the best view of the sunset.
“Right here,” Jonas said, waving a hand to the clump of buildings behind the shipyard.
“Oh,” Myra said, frowning slightly. “I thought Egypt would be more … legendary.”
“I've got to take you two to Cairo and Giza and win back Egypt's good name,” Jonas muttered, shaking his head.
Once the ship was docked, the large sailor with the gold teeth called something to Jonas. He and Myra both turned to respond with words Twist couldn’t decipher. He understood the basic idea, however, as Jonas and Myra both moved to disembark.
Having only stopped to pick up food for their dinner and drop off their passengers, the crew of the cotton ship left Suez within the hour, speeding elegantly up the long canal.
“So, why didn't we just stay with them?” Twist asked as he, Jonas, and Myra wondered the wharfs at the edge of the small city. All around them, Egyptian workers loaded cargo to and fro along the bare, dry wood.
“Because they're taking the canal,” Jonas answered. “Every ship that takes it has to log their cargo and passenger manifests in Port Said at the other end. The mags watch the canal because there are so many archeological digs around here.”
“I'm very glad you know that,” Twist said with total honesty. “Then, how do we get to Paris from here?”
“Actually, I wasn't kidding about Cairo. There's a world-class airship dock there, and one of the seven wonders of the world, and some great street food...” he continued, now counting on his fingers and looking more excited as he spoke, “I know this really good gambling den just off the Nile. Oh, and there's mummies in all the museums.”
“Real mummies?” Myra asked, looking frightened.
Jonas looked at her critically. “Are you afraid of dead people?” She only stared at
Twist understood his meaning, and moved to loosen Myra’s grip on him. She hardly seemed to notice as her attention shifted to the coast now filling the northern horizon. Jonas let Twist tell her its name first, and then filled in more information as needed, himself.
The ship was speeding quickly around the south-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, past Somalia, and entering the Red Sea. By mid-day, they had passed Ethiopia and come to Sudan to the west, and were off the coast of the famous city of Mocha to the east, half way up the coast of Arabia. Rounded rock mountains and smooth flat coasts of cream-and-gray sand seemed to line the dark, cerulean waters of the Red Sea in one continuous palette, dotted sparingly with ports, towns, and palm trees.
Even with the apparent vacancy of the land around it, this long, narrow sea was considerably more crowded than the open Arabian Sea had been, as vessels hurried from one end to the other. Consequently, Myra wanted to stay out on deck all day, watching the endless variation of ships glide by on all sides.
Though the sun was already falling behind the tall, jagged, dusty mountains that stood on the eastern coast of Egypt, it felt like little time had passed at all when the ship slowed and slipped gracefully into the Gulf of Suez. Twist could easily see the mouth of the canal under the pale blue sky—a wide, straight channel with sharp edges against the soft and shifting desert all around it—beside a relatively small and utilitarian looking town nestled at the edge of the sea. Twist had expected something much more impressive, given that this was a place he had actually heard of.
“Not much, is it?” he remarked to Jonas as the ship pulled into a tiny, square-walled shipping yard, just to the side of the canal.
“It's not a tourist spot,” Jonas said with a shrug. “No one usually stops here. They just go on north to the Mediterranean or south, down to India or China. Suez is just a place one passes through.”
“So, where's the city?” Myra asked, returning to them on the deck after having taken a run around all sides to find the best view of the sunset.
“Right here,” Jonas said, waving a hand to the clump of buildings behind the shipyard.
“Oh,” Myra said, frowning slightly. “I thought Egypt would be more … legendary.”
“I've got to take you two to Cairo and Giza and win back Egypt's good name,” Jonas muttered, shaking his head.
Once the ship was docked, the large sailor with the gold teeth called something to Jonas. He and Myra both turned to respond with words Twist couldn’t decipher. He understood the basic idea, however, as Jonas and Myra both moved to disembark.
Having only stopped to pick up food for their dinner and drop off their passengers, the crew of the cotton ship left Suez within the hour, speeding elegantly up the long canal.
“So, why didn't we just stay with them?” Twist asked as he, Jonas, and Myra wondered the wharfs at the edge of the small city. All around them, Egyptian workers loaded cargo to and fro along the bare, dry wood.
“Because they're taking the canal,” Jonas answered. “Every ship that takes it has to log their cargo and passenger manifests in Port Said at the other end. The mags watch the canal because there are so many archeological digs around here.”
“I'm very glad you know that,” Twist said with total honesty. “Then, how do we get to Paris from here?”
“Actually, I wasn't kidding about Cairo. There's a world-class airship dock there, and one of the seven wonders of the world, and some great street food...” he continued, now counting on his fingers and looking more excited as he spoke, “I know this really good gambling den just off the Nile. Oh, and there's mummies in all the museums.”
“Real mummies?” Myra asked, looking frightened.
Jonas looked at her critically. “Are you afraid of dead people?” She only stared at
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