Sekhmet is said to swallow the
overflow.”
“Oh, I thought it might be
because she is the goddess who led the Pharaohs in war. Blood and
slaughter, you see.”
“Well, yes,” said the
professor, impressed by the analogy, “there is that side of it
too.”
Miss Lee was not one to sit in
the shadow of her poor mousy cousin. “Sekhmet has two helpers,
doesn’t she, professor?”
He turned his knowledgeable
gaze her way and smiled. “Hathor and Bast – cow and cat. Light and
Dark.”
The ship’s complement had
dropped from eleven to eight. The three British engineers had
decided to take the early train instead, citing the need to get
back to Aswan as soon as possible. The decision had been made late
last night when they discovered the Sekhmet planned to stop for two
days in Luxor and Karnak to take in the sights, and then another
day in Kom Ombo.
“No great loss,” announced
Professor Mallisham, though everyone else secretly wondered if the
trio of engineers didn’t express the same sentiment in private.
As the mooring ropes were being
freed they heard a desperate cry.
“Ahoy there!”
It was the
man-who-was-all-used-up. He requested to come aboard and sail with
them to Aswan. Mr Lee could hardly refuse since the Acting High
Commissioner claimed to be on official business, looking out for Mr
Cassel’s advocate on Eastern affairs. Besides, the favour might one
day be returned by the rich Jew and the British government.
In the end, they were a party
of nine.
“Do you mind if I join you?”
asked the Countess when she found Miss Daisy Clooney on the
starboard side of the paddle-steamer, seated on a deck chair
flicking through a travel book. Unopened, on the chair lay a larger
tome: The Book of the Dead .
“Not at all.” Miss Clooney
closed the travel guide in anticipation of some inevitable
conversation. It didn’t take long.
“Have you done much
travelling?”
“Oh, yes,” said the poor
cousin, much to the Countess’s surprise. “I accompanied Hypatia
last year when she did the grand tour of Europe for her twentieth
birthday. We had a chaperone of course. Miss Wilhemina Hirsch – a
spinster aunt of Uncle Jefferson’s lawyer. She wasn’t as stiff as
we imagined. She actually encouraged us to pursue activities we
really liked. We attended loads of lectures on ancient
civilizations – Roman, Etruscan, Venetian. It was in Berlin that
Hypatia fell in love with ancient Egypt. The Berlin Museum was
utterly brilliant for lectures on Egyptology. We stayed for two
months. That’s where we met Professor Mallisham for the first time.
Oh, don’t let on to Hypatia that I said that. She will be annoyed
with me. Uncle Jefferson has no idea Hypatia planned this sojourn
while we were in Berlin. The professor was lecturing on Philae,
trying to drum up financial support for his pet project.
Mrs Baxter travelled with us
too. It was her job to see to all the travel arrangements. She had
previously travelled quite a bit with her late husband. That’s why
she was hired. When we returned to America she stayed on and became
a sort of personal secretary, but really she is without par when it
comes to finding decent hotels. She was instrumental in planning
this trip to Egypt for Hypatia’s twenty-first birthday party. In
fact, without Mrs Baxter’s expertise and say-so I doubt Hypatia
would have been able to convince Uncle Jefferson to agree to it
despite all her wheedling and cajoling.
It was because Mrs Baxter had
been to Egypt before that she was able to convince Uncle Jefferson
the place was perfectly safe for women and that a visit to all the
ancient sites would be a perfect birthday present for a daughter
crazy about Egyptology. The surprise party on Philae will be the
icing on the cake. That was Mrs Baxter’s idea too. It acted as the
clincher. Hypatia knows all about it but she will act surprised to
please her pa. Do you know about the surprise party?”
“Yes, I heard it from Dr Watson
who
overflow.”
“Oh, I thought it might be
because she is the goddess who led the Pharaohs in war. Blood and
slaughter, you see.”
“Well, yes,” said the
professor, impressed by the analogy, “there is that side of it
too.”
Miss Lee was not one to sit in
the shadow of her poor mousy cousin. “Sekhmet has two helpers,
doesn’t she, professor?”
He turned his knowledgeable
gaze her way and smiled. “Hathor and Bast – cow and cat. Light and
Dark.”
The ship’s complement had
dropped from eleven to eight. The three British engineers had
decided to take the early train instead, citing the need to get
back to Aswan as soon as possible. The decision had been made late
last night when they discovered the Sekhmet planned to stop for two
days in Luxor and Karnak to take in the sights, and then another
day in Kom Ombo.
“No great loss,” announced
Professor Mallisham, though everyone else secretly wondered if the
trio of engineers didn’t express the same sentiment in private.
As the mooring ropes were being
freed they heard a desperate cry.
“Ahoy there!”
It was the
man-who-was-all-used-up. He requested to come aboard and sail with
them to Aswan. Mr Lee could hardly refuse since the Acting High
Commissioner claimed to be on official business, looking out for Mr
Cassel’s advocate on Eastern affairs. Besides, the favour might one
day be returned by the rich Jew and the British government.
In the end, they were a party
of nine.
“Do you mind if I join you?”
asked the Countess when she found Miss Daisy Clooney on the
starboard side of the paddle-steamer, seated on a deck chair
flicking through a travel book. Unopened, on the chair lay a larger
tome: The Book of the Dead .
“Not at all.” Miss Clooney
closed the travel guide in anticipation of some inevitable
conversation. It didn’t take long.
“Have you done much
travelling?”
“Oh, yes,” said the poor
cousin, much to the Countess’s surprise. “I accompanied Hypatia
last year when she did the grand tour of Europe for her twentieth
birthday. We had a chaperone of course. Miss Wilhemina Hirsch – a
spinster aunt of Uncle Jefferson’s lawyer. She wasn’t as stiff as
we imagined. She actually encouraged us to pursue activities we
really liked. We attended loads of lectures on ancient
civilizations – Roman, Etruscan, Venetian. It was in Berlin that
Hypatia fell in love with ancient Egypt. The Berlin Museum was
utterly brilliant for lectures on Egyptology. We stayed for two
months. That’s where we met Professor Mallisham for the first time.
Oh, don’t let on to Hypatia that I said that. She will be annoyed
with me. Uncle Jefferson has no idea Hypatia planned this sojourn
while we were in Berlin. The professor was lecturing on Philae,
trying to drum up financial support for his pet project.
Mrs Baxter travelled with us
too. It was her job to see to all the travel arrangements. She had
previously travelled quite a bit with her late husband. That’s why
she was hired. When we returned to America she stayed on and became
a sort of personal secretary, but really she is without par when it
comes to finding decent hotels. She was instrumental in planning
this trip to Egypt for Hypatia’s twenty-first birthday party. In
fact, without Mrs Baxter’s expertise and say-so I doubt Hypatia
would have been able to convince Uncle Jefferson to agree to it
despite all her wheedling and cajoling.
It was because Mrs Baxter had
been to Egypt before that she was able to convince Uncle Jefferson
the place was perfectly safe for women and that a visit to all the
ancient sites would be a perfect birthday present for a daughter
crazy about Egyptology. The surprise party on Philae will be the
icing on the cake. That was Mrs Baxter’s idea too. It acted as the
clincher. Hypatia knows all about it but she will act surprised to
please her pa. Do you know about the surprise party?”
“Yes, I heard it from Dr Watson
who
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