I have at my discretion. All I ask is to plot and catalogue the find, and to requisition any objects of special interest for further study.”
“Be my guest,” said Kit. “Just so long as we secure the map, I’ll be happy.”
While the two continued their discussion, Mehmet appeared on the quarterdeck to say that the captain required Kit’s direction in locating the village.
“There are five settlements on the west bank of the river,” Mehmet said. “The captain wishes to know which is the one you seek.”
Kit thought for a moment. “The third, I think. I remember passing two as we came downriver. But I’ll know it when I see it.”
“We are coming to the first one now,” said the steward.
Kit rose and went to the rail. He saw tall date palms, their spindly trunks high above a collection of low mud-brick hovels. Women were washing at the water’s edge, their children playing in the shallows. Atop the bank, two men loaded a donkey to twice its height with new green rushes, and another led a buffalo along the path to pasture while dogs barked at his heels.
“This isn’t the place,” Kit announced after a quick survey.
Mehmet relayed the message to the captain, and then announced that breakfast would be served. Kit and the doctor returned to the main deck where, beneath a striped canopy, a table had been set up and places laid. “I hope you are as hungry as I am,” called Thomas. “We must eat a hearty breakfast if we are going into the desert today. It will be too hot to eat until after sundown.”
They enjoyed a good breakfast of fruit and sweet breads, tiny red sausages spiced with paprika and onions, yoghurt, and coffee. While they were eating, the boat approached another riverside settlement, which after a cursory inspection Kit decided was not the right village. “Third time’s a charm,” he said, returning to the table.
They finished their meal as the boat rounded a slight bend and the next hamlet hove into view. He saw the well and the stone steps leading down to the river’s edge. He saw the boat that had taken him downriver to Luxor. “This is the one!” declared Kit from the rail. He pointed to the tallest structure in the village. “There is Khefri’s house.”
The captain brought the boat to moor, and the crew put out the gangplank. “Ready?” asked Thomas, donning his white straw hat.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” replied Kit.
“Then lead the way.”
Down the gangplank, up the bank, and into the village where, thanks to Khefri and his father, Ramesses, the requisite negotiations for labourers and animals were begun. By the time the sun was standing directly overhead, the expedition had swelled to respectable proportions with the acquisition of four donkeys, two mules, and six additional workers to undertake the excavations. They then set about assembling the necessary provisions for the men and animals. Khefri had wangled himself a job as overseer and interpreter for the workers, and took his new role with a seriousness that Thomas admired. While Kit and Thomas stood in the shade of a date palm, the young Egyptian organised the party and supervised the packing.
By the time all was ready, the sun had long since begun its descent into the west. Ramesses, who had done quite well out of the negotiations, invited Kit and Thomas to supper. They spent another night aboard the boat, and set off the next morning with Kit and Khefri leading the way.
“All I know,” Kit confided to his new colleague a few minutes after setting off, “is that the tomb is in a wadi to the west of here—beyond the ruined temple.” He glanced at Khefri. “You know the temple?”
“Of course. But there are many wadis,” Khefri told him. “It is not possible to know which one you mean.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.” Kit thought for a moment. “This particular wadi is very large and splits into two branches after a few hundred meters or so. Also, there are small tombs and burial niches carved in the walls all along the way.”
“Why did you not say this at the beginning, Kit Livingstone?”
“You know the place?”
“Of course. Everyone knows this place.”
“If you can get us there, I can find the tomb.”
They spent the night in the desert camped outside the ruined temple. Kit showed his new benefactor the avenue of sphinxes and the ley line it contained. “The leys seem to be time sensitive,” he explained as the two