Tomb of the Golden Bird by Elizabeth Peters Page B

except grunt today." "Not true," said Emerson, stung. "I gave Carter a good deal of useful advice." " 'Discouraging' is the adjective I would choose. Howard has made a remarkable discovery, and the signs are propitious. Why can't you admit it?" "Hmph," said Emerson.  Chapter Three By the following afternoon the contents of the cable carter had dispatched to Lord Carnarvon was known to all the informed citizens of Luxor. Foremost among these was Daoud, who quoted the cable to us verbatim. "At last have made wonderful discovery in the Valley. A magnificent tomb with seals intact." "How does he know it is magnificent?" Emerson grumbled, when Daoud reported this to him. "There will be much gold," said Daoud with complete conviction. "The golden bird of Mr. Carter is an omen of good luck." This was the common opinion in Luxor. Even Emerson admitted there was no need to place extra guards at the tomb. Its entrance had been filled in and the passage was still blocked. "Even if they bribed the guards, they would have to finish the whole job in a single night. Anyhow," he added morosely, "we still don't know what is down there. The tomb may be empty." "Quite right," I agreed. "Since there is nothing to be done until Lord Carnarvon arrives, perhaps you will consider turning your attention toour work. Shall I invite Mlle. Malraux and Mr. Farid to visit us here, or will you go to Cairo to interview them?" Emerson gave me a blank look. "Who?" I reminded him of the identity of the persons I had mentioned. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "A woman and an Egyptian," he said. "I was under the impression that we would seek the most qualified persons and not be influenced by your socialist theories." "The word 'socialist' is ill chosen, Emerson. If you are referring to my sentiments on the subject of discrimination against females and non-Europeans, I got them from you." "Hmph," said Emerson, stroking his chin. "These young people are at least as well qualified as their competitors," I went on, warming to the subject. "And less likely to find employment in a profession which, like most, is dominated by arrogant men. I am only proposing to level the playing field, in whatever small—" "Oh, bah." Emerson threw up his hands. "Have it your own way, Peabody. You always do. But," he added, frowning fiercely, "I insist upon the right to make the final decisions. I will go to Cairo myself." I had known he would. There was nothing to be done with his— Howard's, I should say—precious tomb until Lord Carnarvon arrived, and Emerson could think of little else. He was a perfect nuisance on the dig, emerging from periods of frowning abstraction to shout contradictory orders at everyone. Furthermore, the mere fact of his interviewing the pair meant that he had agreed in principle to the enlargement of our staff. I had already arranged with Cyrus that they should be housed at the Castle. From Manuscript H Insofar as Ramses was concerned, it was a relief to have his father out of the way for a few days. It wasn't easy to get on with one's ownwork even when Emerson was in a cooperative frame of mind, and for the past few days he had been hard to deal with. The French Institute staff would be arriving shortly to take over at the workmen's village of Deir el Medina, and Ramses wanted to finish the translation of the papyri they had found the year before. Cyrus amiably agreed that he wasn't needed in the West Valley. Ramses had already made copies of the texts in Ay's tomb. They would have to be collated with the photographs Nefret and Selim had taken, but that job could wait. He was alone in the house that day, except for the servants, so it ought to have been easy to concentrate, but his mind wandered—from memories of the man who had been his amiable and murderous assistant, to the voices of his children playing in the garden, to the Great Cat of Re, who was determined to recline on the delicate papyrus scraps laid out on the table. "Go and bully the dog,"