The Seventh Scroll tes-2

by Wilbur Smith

  evoke from his aging body were less intense.

  Utte had her recording equipment set up before her on the table. It was

  part of her multifarious duties to keep, accurate and complete records

  of every meeting and conversation. Then von Schiller looked past these

  two trusted employees to the two other men standing at the table.

  Colonel Nogo he had met for the first time that morning, as he stepped

  down from the Jet Ranger helicopter that had flown them down from Addis

  Ababa to the base camp here on the summit of the escarpment of the Nile

  gorge. He knew very little about him, except that Helm had selected him,

  and was so far satisfied with his performance. Von Schiller himself was

  not equally impressed. There had already been some bungling. Nogo had

  allowed Quenton Harper and the Egyptian woman to slip through his

  clutches. After a lifetime of operating in Africa, von Schiller placed

  little trust or store in blacks and preferred to work with Europeans.

  However, he realized that for the time being Nogo's services were

  indispensable.

  He was, after all, the military commander of the southern Gojam. No

  doubt once he had served his purpose he could be taken care of Helm

  would see to that. He would not have to bother himself with the details.

  Von Schiller looked now at the last man at the table. Here was another

  who was indispensable for the time being. Nahoot Guddabi was the one who

  had brought the existence of the seventh scroll to his attention.

  Apparently some English author had written a fictionalized version of

  the scrolls, but von Schiller never read fiction of any sort, either in

  German or in any of the four foreign languages in which he was fluent.

  Without Nahoot bringing the existence of the Taita scrolls to his

  notice, he might have overlooked this opportunity of his lifetime.

  The Egyptian had come to him as soon as the original translation of the

  scrolls had been completed by Duraid Al Simma, and the existence of an

  unrecorded Pharaoh and his tomb had been mooted. Since then they had

  been in constant contact, and when the time.came that Al Simma and his

  wife had started to make too much headway with their investigations, von

  Schiller had employed Nahoot to get rid of them and to bring the seventh

  scroll to him.

  The scroll was now the shining star of his collection, safely housed

  with his other ancient treasures in the steel and concrete vaults below

  the Schloss in the mountains that was his private retreat, his Eagle's

  Nest.

  Despite this, the choice of Nahoot to under-take the more sensitive work

  of ridding him of Al Simma and his wife had proved to be a mistake. He

  should have.. sent a professional to take care of them, but Nahoot had

  argued that he was capable of seeing it through, and he had been well

  paid for the work that he had mismanaged so ineptly.

  He "too would be disposable in time, but right now von Schiller still

  needed him.

  There was no question that Nahoot's understanding of Egyptology and

  hieroglyphics was far in advance of von Schiller's own. After all,

  Nahoot had spent most of his life studying them, while von Schiller was

  an amateur and only a comparatively recent enthusiast. Nahoot was able

  to read the scrolls and this new material that they had acquired as

  though they were letters from a friend, whereas von Schiller was obliged

  to puzzle over each symbol and resort frequently to his reference books.

  Even then, he was not capable of picking up the finer nuances of meaning

  in the text.

  Without Nahoot's assistance he could not hope to solve the riddles which

  confronted him in the search for Mamose's tomb.

  This was the team who were now assembled beneath him, waiting for him to

  start the proceedings. "Sit down, please, Fr5ulein Kemper," he said at

  last. "You too, gentlemen. Let us get started."

  Von Schiller remained standing on his block at the head of the table. He

  enjoyed the feeling of superior height.

  His short stature had been a source of humiliation ever since his

  school-days when he had been nicknamed Tippa' by his peers.

  "Fr-dulein Kemper will be recording everything which is said here this

  afternoon. She will also issue each of you with a folder of documents

  which she will collect from you again at the end of this meeting. I want

  to make it very clear that none of this material will ever leave this

  room.

  It is of the most confidential nature, and belongs to me alone. I will

  take a most stringent view of any breach of this instruction."

  As Utte handed out the folders, von Schiller looked at each recipient in

  turn. His expression made it clear what the penalty would be for any

  contravention of his instructions.

  Then von Schiller opened the dossier that lay on the tabletop in front

  of him. He stood over it, leaning forward on his bunched fists.

  "In your folders you will find copies of the Polaroid photographs that

  were recovered from Quenton-Harper's camp. Please look at these now."

  Each of them opened their own folder.

  "Since our arrival Dr Nahoot has had an opportunity to study these, and

  he is of the opinion that they are genuine, and that the stele in the

  photographs is an authentic artefect of ancient Egyptian origin, almost

  certainly dating from the Second Intermediate Period, circa 1790 BC. Is

  there anything you wish to add to that, Doctor?"

  "Thank you Herr von Schiller." Nahoot smiled eaginously, but his dark

  eyes weren nervous. There was something cold and dispassionate about the

  old German that terrified him. He had displayed ro emotion whatsoever as

  he ordered Nahoot to arrange the death of Duraid Al Simma and his wife.

  Nahoot knew that he would be equally unmoved if he were- to order

  Nahoot's own murder. He realized that he was riding the tiger's back. "I

  would just like to qualify that statement. I said that the stele

  pictured in these prints appeared to be genuine. Of course I would not

  be able to give you a definite opinion until I was able to examine the

  actual stone at first hand."

  "I note your qualificatioq," von Schiller nodded, "and we are assembled

  here to find the means to obtain the stele for your examination and

  verdict." He picked up the glossy print that Utte had made from the

  original that morning in the laboratory darkroom in the adjoining hut.

  Photography was not the least of her many talents and skills and she had

  done a very competent job. The copies of the Polaroids that Helm had

  transmitted to him in Hamburg had been blurred and distorted, but still

  they had been sufficient to bring him rushing across the continents in

  all this haste. Now he held these clear likenesses in full colour, and

  his excitement threatened to suffocate him.

  While they were all silent, he caressed the print as lovingly as if it

  had been the actual object that it portrayed.

  If this were genuine, as he knew instinctively that it was, then it

  alone would be well worth the considerable cost in time and money and

  human life that he had already paid.

  It was a marvelous treas
ure, to match even the original seventh scroll

  which was already in his collection. The condition and state of

  preservation of the stele after four thousand years seemed to be

  extraordinary. He lusted for it as he had for few things in his long

  life. It required an effort to set aside this pervasive longing, and to

  apply his mind to the task ahead of him.

  If, however, the stele is genuine, Doctor, can you tell us, or rather,

  can you suggest to us where it may be situated, and where we should

  direct our search?"

  "I believe that we should not consider the stele in isolation, Herr von

  Schiller. We should look at the other Polaroids that Colonel Nogo was

  able to recover for us, and which Frdulein Kemper has so ingeniously

  copied." Nahoot set aside the one print and selected another from the

  pile in the folder in front of him. "This one, for example."

  The others riffled through their own folders and selected the same print

  as he was displaying.

  "If you study the background of this copy, you will see that in the

  shadows behind the stele there appears to be the wall of some type of

  cave or cavern." He looked up at von Schiller, who nodded encouragement.

  "There also appears to be some type of barred doorway."Nahoot set the

  print aside and selected another. "Now, see here. This is a photograph

  taken of another subject. It is, I believe, of a mural decoration

  painted upon either a plastered wall or the bare rock of a cave,

  possibly an excavated tomb, It seems to have been taken through the

  grille of the gate which I pointed out to you in the first photograph of

  the stele. This mural is almost certainly Egyptian in style and

  influence. In fact it very strongly reminds me of those murals that

  decorated the tomb of Queen Lostris in Upper Egypt in which the original

  Taita scrolls were uncovered."

  "Yes. Yes. Go only' von Schiller encouraged him.

  "Very well, then. Using the barred gate as the connecting factor, there

  is every reason to believe that both stele and murals are located in the

  same cave or tomb

  "If that is so, what indications do we have as to where Quenton-Harper

  photographed these Polaroids7' Von still frowning angrily as he looked

  at each of Schiller was jl them in turn. They all tried to avoid his

  blue, penetrating scrutiny.

  Colonel Nogo," von Schiller singled him out, "this is your country, You

  know the terrain intimately. Let's hear our thoughts on the subject."

  Colonel Nogo shook his head. "This man, this Egyptian-' he used the

  epithet disparagingly, "is mistaken. This is not an Egyptian tomb in the

  photographs."

  "Why do you say that?" Nahoot challenged him angrily.

  "What do you know about Egyptology? I have spent twenty five years-I

  "Wait," von Schiller silenced him peremptorily. "Let him finish." He

  looked at Nogo. "Go on, colonel."

  "I agree that I don't know anything about Egyptian tombs, but these

  photographs were taken in a Christian church."

  "What makes you so sure? Nahoot demanded bitterly, his authority

  challenged.

  "Let me explain to you that I was ordained as a priest fifteen years

  ago. Later, I became disillusioned with Christianity and all other

  religions, and left the Church to may believe become a soldier. I tell

  you this so that you that I know what I am talking about." He smiled

  with ilious malice at Nahoot, before going on. "Look at superc and you

  will be able to make out on this first print again, the wall in the

  background, near the corner of the grille gate, the outline of a human

  hand and the stylized picture mbols of the Coptic Church. You can see

  -of a fish. Those are sy see them reproduced in any church or cathedral

  in the land." Each of them peered at their own copy of the same of them

  ventured an opinion until von print, but none Schiller had given his,

  "You are right," von Schiller said softly. "There is, as you say, the

  hand and the fish."

  "But I assure you the hieroglyphics on the stele and the murals and the

  wooden coffin are all Egyptian," Nahoot . "I would stake my life on it."

  defended himself stoutly Nogo shook his head, and began to argue. "I

  know what I am saying-'

  Von Schiller held up his hand to silence them both while he considered

  the problem. At last he came to some decision.

  "Colonel Nogo, show me on the satellite photograph the site of

  Quenton-Harper's camp where you obtained these Polaroids-'

  Nogo stood up, and came around the table to stand beside von Schiller.

  He leaned over the atellite photograph and prodded his forefinger at the

  spot near where the Dandera river joined the Nile. The photograph had

  once been in the possession of Quenton Harper, and had been captured in

  the raid on his camp. There were numerous markings in coloured marker

  pen on the copy, which Nogo presumed had been placed there by the

  Englishman.

  "It was here, sir. You can see that Quenton-Harper has marked the spot

  with a green circle."

  "Now show me where the nearest Coptic church is situated."

  "Why, Herr von Schiller, it's right here. Again Quenton-Harper has

  marked it with red ink. It is situated only a mile from the campsite.

  The monastery of St. Frumentius."

  "There is your answer, then." Von Schiller was still frowning "Coptic

  and Egyptian symbols together. The monastery."

  They stared at him, none of them daring to question his conclusion.

  "I want that monastery searched," he said softly. "I want every room and

  every inch of every wall examined." He turned back to Nogo. "Can you get

  your men in there?"

  "Of course, Herr von Schiller. I already have one of my reliable men in

  the monastery - one of the monks is in my pay. Added to that, there is

  still martial law in force here in Gojam. I am the military commander. I

  am fully mpowered to search for rebels and dissidents and bandits

  wherever I suspect they may be sheltering."

  "Will your men enter a church to perform their duty?" Helm wanted to

  know. "Do you personally have any religious scruples? It may be

  necessary to - how can I put it desecrate hallowed premises."

  I have already'explained to you that I have renounced religion for other

  more worldly beliefs. I would take pleasure in destroying such

  superstitious and dangerous symbols as will certainly be found in the

  monastery of St. Frumentius. As for my men, I will select only Moslems

  or Animists who are hostile to the cross, and all it stands for.

  I will lead them personally. I assure you that there will be no

  difficulty in that respect."

  "How will you explain this to your superiors in Addis Ababa? I do not

  want to be associated in any way with your actions at the monastery,'

  von Schiller said.

  I have been ordered by the high command in Addis to take all possible

  steps against the dissident rebels that are operating in the Abbay

  gorge. I will be completely able to justify any search of the

  monastery."

  "I want that stele. I want it at any cost. Do you understand me,

  colonel?"

  i under
stand you perfectly, Herr von Schiller."

  "As you already know, I am a generous man to those who serve me well.

  Bring it to me in good condition and you will be well rewarded. You may

  call on Mr Helm for any assistance that he can give you, including the

  use of Pegasus equipment and personnel."

  "If we are able to use your helicopter, it will save a great deal of

  time. I can take my men there tomorrow, and if the stone is in the

  monastery I will be able to deliver it to you by tomorrow evening."

  "Excellent. You will take Dr Guddabi with you. He must search the area

  for other valuables and translate any inscriptions or engravings that

  you find in the monastery.

  Please provide him with military uniform. He must appear to be one of

  your troopers. I do not want to become involved in recriminations at a

  later date."

  "We will leave as soon as it is light enough to take off tomorrow

  morning. I will commence the arrangements immediately." Turna Nogo

  saluted von Schiller and strode eagerly from the hut.

  hough Colonel Nogo had never entered either the qiddist or the maqdas,

  he had often visited the monastery of St. Frumentius. He was therefore

  fully aware of the magnitude of the task ahead of him, and the likely

  reaction of the monks and the congregation to his forced entry to their

  premises. In addition, he was familiar with numerous similar rock

  cathedrals in other parts of the country. In fact he had been ordained

  in the famous cathedral of Lalibelela, so he knew just how labyrinthine

  one of these subterranean warrens could be.

  He estimated that he would need at least twenty men to secure and search

  the monastery, and to fend off the outraged retaliation of the abbot and

  his monks. He selected his best men personally. None of them was

  squeamish.

  Two hours before dawn he paraded them within the security of the Pegasus

  compound, under the glare of the floodlights, and briefed them

  carefully. At the end of the briefing he made each man step from the

  ranks in turn and recite his orders to ensure there was no

  misunderstanding.

  Then he inspected their arms and equipment meticulously.

  Tuma Nogo was painfully conscious of his own culpability in allowing the

  Englishman and the Egyptian woman to escape, and he could sense the

  danger in Herr von Schiller's attitude towards him. He had few illusions