Chapter21
Cataracts in the River Cause a Kerfuffle
Later that night
Once the dishes had been cleared and the ladies had departed for the parlor, the gentlemen remained seated around the dining table.
“The wind seems to be in our favor,” Will said, his gaze directed on the bank of the river.Although the sun had set hours earlier, a nearly full moon provided enough light to illuminate the western shore of the Nile.The passing landscape featured a number of triangular silhouettes, natural conical mountains made from ancient volcanic activity.At night, they appeared as if they were pyramids.
“Mahmood mentioned the usual time to Luxor is about a fortnight,” Harry commented.“Even going upstream as we are.”
“Are there any stops along the way?”Tom asked.
Will nodded.“Nasir—he’s one of the crewmen—said we’ll stop at a couple of villages where we’ll take on supplies.There is also another stop which features two temples.”
“Dendera,” David remarked with excitement.“I’m most anxious to see the Temple of Isis.It’s on the roof of another temple.I’ve been reading about it in volume four ofLa Description de l'Égypte,” he added, referring to one of the books he had purchased upon their arrival in Alexandria.
“What about the Temple of Hathor?”Tom countered.“Isn’t that the one with the zodiac on the ceiling of a temple?”
“Not any longer,” Randy said, frowning.“Diana was quite distressed to learn that a thief used explosives to remove it about twenty years ago.”
“He stole the ceiling from a temple?”Tom asked in disbelief.
“Yes, and he sold it to the king of France for a hundred-and-fifty-thousand francs,” Randy explained, his disgust evident.“At least it’s on public display in Paris, but...”He shrugged as he sighed his disappointment.
David sounded a low whistle.“Damn,” he muttered.“I suppose that means we’ll have to stop in Paris on the way home if we wish to see it.”
Harry and Will exchanged glances of amusement.“The British Museum is not without its share of Egyptian artifacts,” Harry commented.“Including the Rosetta Stone.Have you seen it?”
David nodded.“Of course.I have a set of prints of all three sections of it,” he claimed.“I’ve been studying the Greek versus the Egyptian hieroglyphics in an attempt to sort their meaning.So far, all I have learned for certain is that the hieroglyphics surrounded by an oval are the name of a pharaoh?—”
“A cartouche,” Randy clarified.
“—long triangular shapes are knives, and wiggly snakes are either a depiction of evil or the enemy.The rest...”He lifted a shoulder.“I have some time to study it more thoroughly before we reach any temples.”
Randy dipped his head, deciding it best he not mention that Diana had already memorized the translations on the stone.As to whether or not she had devised the meaning of the hieroglyphics, he didn’t yet know.
Afew days later
Having finished their afternoon play near the stern ofThe Dendera, Helen regarded her younger brother with a grin.“I do hope if I ever have a boy, he’ll be just like you,” she murmured.
The young crewman manning the rudder—a boy of probably only ten years of age—watched them, amusement and perhaps a hint of jealousy apparent on his face.
Bradley babbled incoherently, his attention suddenly captured by a bird that flew overhead.“Bird,” he said.
Helen’s eyes widened in surprise.“Bird, yes,” she said, watching as the Steppe eagle circled before flying off to the north.“Let’s go tell Father you’ve learned a new word.”She rose from the deck, happy her wide skirts hid what her legs had to do in order for her to stand from a sitting position.
She leaned forward and lifted Bradley into her arms when a shout sounded from somewhere near the front of the ship.Glancing toward the stern with a look of concern, she noted how the young crewman’s eyes widened before he scrambled to his feet and leaned hard against the control for the rudder.The vessel suddenly veered sharply.She struggled to keep her balance, but with Bradley settled on one hip, she couldn’t counteract the motion, and the sense of falling had her emitting a shout of “oh!”
On his way toward the stern by way of the thin corridor that ran through the center of the ship, Tom had just emerged into the sunlight when he heard the captain yell and felt the deck shift hard beneath his feet.
Off to his right, he caught sight of Helen and managed to move close enough so she landed in his outstretched arms as she fell.Her hold on the babe never lessened, though, and Bradley was saved from falling onto the wooden deck.
A slight scraping noise along the outer hull and another sudden shift beneath his feet had Tom struggling to lift her until she was standing.He tightened his hold on her as more shouts could be heard by the other crewmen.
Her eyes wide, she glanced up at him and then at Bradley, whose huge grin was entirely at odds with what was happening.
“Are you...are you all right?”he asked in alarm.
