The Moses Riddle (Thomas McAllister 'Treasure Hunter' Adventure Book 1) by Hunt Kingsbury
Authors: Hunt Kingsbury
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version of the Amenophis Builders Notes that you used to keep for the Library of Cairo? The one with the complete Book III?”
Thomas smiled and looked over at his bookcase. There, in a climatecontrolled case, lay the Amenophis Builders Notes . One of only three in existence. Thomas’s version was the only one with a complete Volume II, Book III. Technically, it was the property of the Egyptian government but, since he had uncovered it in Room Four of the Amenophis III tomb, he was entrusted with it, with the caveat that he make it available to other researchers. It was worth three-quarters of a million dollars, maybe a million at the right auction . More than enough to fund a yearlong expedition in the Valley of the Kings.
“Yes, I’ve got it right here, Geno. What do you need?”
“Well, I’ve got a translation here—Morgan’s first edition—but in the middle of Volume II, Book III, Morgan skips five pages. Skips them cold. He notes it with an asterisk, saying that these pages were unreadable at the source. But his translation is off of Carter’s version, not yours. I was wondering, old buddy old pal, if you could copy those pages for me and fax them over. What do you say?”
Thomas smiled. This was exactly why he liked Gene. Ever the sleuth.
“Sure, I’ll fax them to you. I don’t have a copier here, though. I’ll have to take it over to the university.” He caught himself and a wave of dread poured over him. “I mean, I’ll take it to Kinko’s.”
“Thanks, Thomas. It’s Volume II, Book III, pages four through nine. Front and back. I really appreciate it. It’s for a class I’m putting together on Egyptian building techniques.”
“No problem. I’ll do it tomorrow. Is that all right, time wise?”
“Sure, that’s perfect, no rush. Hey, you ever read that thing cover to cover? The Builders Notes ?”
“You know, Gene, I never have. But, if I don’t rent Inherit the Wind , I just might do it tonight. It’s still early here.”
Gene gave Thomas his fax number and apologized again about the job, reminding Thomas to call if he wanted a referral, and they hung up.
He liked old Gene the Pedantophile. Tomorrow he’d like Gene a whole lot more.
CHAPTER 7
Gene had made him feel slightly guilty for being entrusted with such an important document and not having taken the time to read it: history of the building of the tomb of Amenophis III, combined with notes on the restoration of temples at the Necropolis of Saqqara. Thomas had read about half of it. Like the notes on the building of any large structure, it was tedious and, after a while, repetitive.
An Egyptologist could not possibly read every document written by the ancients. Most of them were records of economic transactions. The Amenophis Notes would be interesting to a student doing a dissertation on the detailed construction of an Egyptian tomb, or to someone wanting to learn about ancient restoration projects, but not to a seasoned Egyptologist. That would be like a World War II expert reading not only the plans for the buildings that Hitler’s architect Albert Speer built, but actually reading the construction notes taken as the building went up. Too much detail.
But Thomas was drunk, too drunk to drive to the video store to rent a movie. So he started to read the Builders Notes . There were two volumes, each containing three ten-page books. He had read Volume I years ago, so he started with Volume II.
The notes were written in hieroglyphics, and although Thomas was fluent, it was slow going. Especially when drunk. To make matters worse, Thomas continued to drink as he read. He was into Book Two when he finished the gin and discovered he was low on cigarettes. Instead of going out for replenishments he kept reading. His eyes became heavy, yet he plodded on. It was 4:00 a.m. when he turned from the second book to the third. In a mental fog, he was having trouble interpreting the symbols. The normal process of understanding each symbol,
Thomas smiled and looked over at his bookcase. There, in a climatecontrolled case, lay the Amenophis Builders Notes . One of only three in existence. Thomas’s version was the only one with a complete Volume II, Book III. Technically, it was the property of the Egyptian government but, since he had uncovered it in Room Four of the Amenophis III tomb, he was entrusted with it, with the caveat that he make it available to other researchers. It was worth three-quarters of a million dollars, maybe a million at the right auction . More than enough to fund a yearlong expedition in the Valley of the Kings.
“Yes, I’ve got it right here, Geno. What do you need?”
“Well, I’ve got a translation here—Morgan’s first edition—but in the middle of Volume II, Book III, Morgan skips five pages. Skips them cold. He notes it with an asterisk, saying that these pages were unreadable at the source. But his translation is off of Carter’s version, not yours. I was wondering, old buddy old pal, if you could copy those pages for me and fax them over. What do you say?”
Thomas smiled. This was exactly why he liked Gene. Ever the sleuth.
“Sure, I’ll fax them to you. I don’t have a copier here, though. I’ll have to take it over to the university.” He caught himself and a wave of dread poured over him. “I mean, I’ll take it to Kinko’s.”
“Thanks, Thomas. It’s Volume II, Book III, pages four through nine. Front and back. I really appreciate it. It’s for a class I’m putting together on Egyptian building techniques.”
“No problem. I’ll do it tomorrow. Is that all right, time wise?”
“Sure, that’s perfect, no rush. Hey, you ever read that thing cover to cover? The Builders Notes ?”
“You know, Gene, I never have. But, if I don’t rent Inherit the Wind , I just might do it tonight. It’s still early here.”
Gene gave Thomas his fax number and apologized again about the job, reminding Thomas to call if he wanted a referral, and they hung up.
He liked old Gene the Pedantophile. Tomorrow he’d like Gene a whole lot more.
CHAPTER 7
Gene had made him feel slightly guilty for being entrusted with such an important document and not having taken the time to read it: history of the building of the tomb of Amenophis III, combined with notes on the restoration of temples at the Necropolis of Saqqara. Thomas had read about half of it. Like the notes on the building of any large structure, it was tedious and, after a while, repetitive.
An Egyptologist could not possibly read every document written by the ancients. Most of them were records of economic transactions. The Amenophis Notes would be interesting to a student doing a dissertation on the detailed construction of an Egyptian tomb, or to someone wanting to learn about ancient restoration projects, but not to a seasoned Egyptologist. That would be like a World War II expert reading not only the plans for the buildings that Hitler’s architect Albert Speer built, but actually reading the construction notes taken as the building went up. Too much detail.
But Thomas was drunk, too drunk to drive to the video store to rent a movie. So he started to read the Builders Notes . There were two volumes, each containing three ten-page books. He had read Volume I years ago, so he started with Volume II.
The notes were written in hieroglyphics, and although Thomas was fluent, it was slow going. Especially when drunk. To make matters worse, Thomas continued to drink as he read. He was into Book Two when he finished the gin and discovered he was low on cigarettes. Instead of going out for replenishments he kept reading. His eyes became heavy, yet he plodded on. It was 4:00 a.m. when he turned from the second book to the third. In a mental fog, he was having trouble interpreting the symbols. The normal process of understanding each symbol,
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