Lord of the Silent: A Novel of Suspense by Elizabeth Peters Page A

is one of the words you are not to repeat, Sennia." "Damned, you mean?" said Sennia, in her high-pitched chirp. "I know." "Show me which of the men gave this to you." "He didn't give it to me, I found it," Sennia said indignantly. "He only told me where to dig." "Show us," Ramses said. "Please." "You really like it, then?" Sennia asked, beaming at Ramses. Children are not as dense as we think. She could tell the difference between the polite thanks she usually received and this concentrated interest. "It is important? Would you like it? I will give it to you, and look for more if you want me to." "No, Little Bird, you found it and it is yours. I will keep it for you if you like. Now show me where it was." We all went with them, for this little mystery had captured our imaginations. Holding Emerson's hand, Sennia led our caravan to a rubbish dump southwest of our line of tombs. Some of these mounds were twenty or thirty feet high, formed of the debris removed from various excavations. I remembered this one quite well; it had been the scene of a nasty accident the year before. "You didn't let her go up there, did you?" I demanded of Gargery, who had not been able to get a word in before. "No, madam, and I had the deuce of a time preventing her," said Gargery in injured tones. "Madam, the fellow who helped her find the thing was just one of the guards; he never offered to touch her even and he was very polite, madam, at least I think he was, from what I could understand. He was smiling and bowing all the while, madam. You said I was not to be rude to those chaps when they were only-" "Yes, yes, Gargery, that's all right. No harm was done. It is just rather strange." "He wanted to give her a little present," Gargery insisted. "And the fun of finding it herself." "You believe he put it there?" "He must have done, madam. It was low to the ground, where she could reach it without climbing, and buried only a few inches deep. Just there, madam." We had reached the bottom of the mound, and Sennia too was pointing. "There are lots of things sticking out," she explained. "Mostly bits of stone and boring pottery." The statement was correct. Most excavators do not sift their fill. Emerson studied the side of the mound thoughtfully. "Quite right," he said. "This is more interesting, isn't it?" "It has writing on it," said Sennia. "So I knew it was important. Is it important?" "Yes," said Ramses. "And rather unusual. I've seen similar votive stelae, but most of them came from the Theban area. Do you think you could find the kind gentleman who gave-who showed you where to dig?" We did not find the kind gentleman, though Emerson spent a good half hour trying. The description given by Sennia and Gargery would have fitted most of the guards-turbaned, bearded, wearing a galabeeyah and sandals. FROM MANUSCRIPT H It was not until the Friday following their arrival that Nefret was able to move their belongings to the Amelia. Fatima had had the dahabeeyah in spotless condition, all ready for them, but somehow it was never quite convenient to make the move. She had refused a number of well-meant offers to make their rooms at the house more comfortable, and, once she had carried her point, more well-meant offers to help her arrange furniture, hang pictures, and shelve books on the dahabeeyah. She wanted to do it herself, to transform the quarters which had belonged to various members of the family in turn into their quarters, their home. Though it was the day of rest for the workers, Ramses had gone off to Giza with his father that morning. Just like a man-they hated the fuss and confusion of moving. She had scolded him a little, for the fun of it-he knew she was teasing, and she loved seeing his austere features relax into a smile and his eyes reflect her laughter-but she was happy to be alone. For a while. Straightening, she rubbed her aching back and contemplated the piles of books littering the floor and the tables in the saloon. It was a large room