“Then you will take this with you,” Salman replied, handing him a lantern from his saddlebag.“And this.”
David glanced at the rolled document the guide had pulled out with the lantern, the crude drawing a map of the inside of the pyramid.“You are going in the Robber’s Tunnel,” he stated.“Which means you will turn sharply to the left to get to the ascending shaft.Do not continue down when you see this corridor,” Salman instructed, pointing to the intersection where a passage continued downward.“Only go up.”
“What if I miss the corridor?”
“You will not, but if you did, you would go down under the ground, into an unfinished chamber,” he explained, motioning to indicate the area beyond the footprint of the pyramid.“Nothing to see there.A wasted trip,” Salman said.
“Not even paintings or carvings?”David asked.
The dragoman shook his head.“This was built before they did such things in the tombs,” he replied.“You will see inscriptions—hieroglyphics—when you go to the newer tombs.”
“Understood.”With a canteen hanging from around his neck, David scrambled up the side of the pyramid, his route not nearly as intentional as Diana’s had been.A moment later, he joined her at the chevron-topped entrance into the pyramid, the stones expertly joined to handle the stress and weight of the blocks atop them.
Randy moved closer to the base, directly below the opening.“Please don’t be long,” he called up.
Diana struck a Lucifer match on the rock and lit herfanoos.“Does Mr.Salman have any recommendations for me?”she countered, shaking the match until the flame blew out.
A grimace crossed his face.“Salman says it is hot and that the passage into the King’s Chamber is small,” he responded, obviously not sharing her enthusiasm for exploring.“There is a rope for when you need it,” he added.“You will go straight and then to the left, and then when you can, you must go up.”
“I have studied the drawings,” she reminded him.She pointed to a spot further up the north face.“I am glad I am not going in that way.”
“As am I,” he called up.The entrance above where she stood was for the descending passage and would have required her to travel downward at a fairly steep angle to reach the ascending passage.Although Randy was fairly sure she could have negotiated the passage, she would also have had to climb up to get out.
Randy knew she had not only studied the drawings, but that she remembered every bit of their detail.He thought of changing his mind and telling her she was forbidden from going into the pyramid, but he knew she would never forgive him if he did.The opportunity to explore an ancient wonder wasn’t something that happened very often.And this, the Great Pyramid, was the only remaining Ancient Wonder of the World.
“I love you, my sweet, so you had better come back to me,” he shouted.“But if you’re not back in an hour, I am coming for you.”He paused a moment, his attention on his cousin, who had joined Diana at the entrance.A lantern dangled from one hand, but David set it down to remove his top coat and hat.He left them draped on one of the blocks near the entrance before retrieving the lantern.
Diana blew Randy a kiss, her hands encased in leather gloves, one gripping her lantern.A moment later, she followed David and disappeared into the darkness.
He grinned.“Where did David get a lantern?”he asked in surprise, his query directed to their guide.
Salman allowed a guffaw, waving to the saddlebags on the back of his Arabian.“I always carry a lantern with me,” he claimed.“For those who insist they must go inside.”
“I’m not so sure this is such a good idea,” Barbara said, finally putting voice to a protest upon seeing her son disappear into the pyramid.“He’s the sole heir to the Devonville marquessate,” she added in a worried whisper.
“He will be fine,” Salman stated.“As will the girl.There is nothing to fear.Well, except for an occasional snake.”
Will gave the guide a quelling glance before he offered Barbara an arm.
Meanwhile, Harry made his way to stand next to Randy.“You let her go in there?”he asked in alarm.
Randy regarded the earl with an expression that suggested his query was mad.“Since I wish to remain her husband, then I must, my lord,” he said.“Besides, she knows I am not comfortable in tight spaces, and Penton has agreed to accompany her.”
“Are you just going to stand here and wait for her?”
Randy nodded in the direction of their guide.“I’m going to continue following him, my lord,” he replied.“If they have not come out in an hour, then I will go in.”
With one last glance to where Diana had disappeared into the pyramid, Harry shook his head and returned to his countess.“She’s as bad as you,” he said under his breath.
Stella beamed in delight before allowing a titter.
Salman cleared his throat, anxious to continue their tour.“This, the largest of all the pyramids in Egypt, was built for the pharaoh Khufu.The corners are aligned almost perfectly to the north, the south, the east and the west,” he said waving his hands to indicate the directions.“The base is seven-hundred and fifty feet on each side, and at its tallest, it was about four-hundred and eighty feet.”
“Was?”Harry questioned.
“It lost itspyramidion—its capstone—” He paused and held his hands in the shape of a small pyramid.“So it is not as tall these days,” he said with a shrug.“About thirty feet of its height is gone.”
“When?”Will asked, his brows furrowed.
