Ramose and the Tomb Robbers (5 page)

“You don’t want to stay in this place,” said a voice at Ramose’s shoulder. It was a short man with a beard and eyes that looked in different directions. “It’s full of thieves.”

“We don’t have much choice,” Ramose said. “There are no other boats leaving for the north.”

“I’m aboard a naval boat, taking men up to the Delta,” the man replied. “I could talk to the captain for you. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you sailed with us. We’ve just stopped to buy some fresh meat. We’ll be leaving again in about an hour.”

The three friends returned to the wharf. While they had been searching the town for somewhere to spend the night, the naval boat had tied up. It was a sleek craft. Ramose grinned at Hapu and Karoya as they boarded the boat. They couldn’t believe their luck.

“This is more like it,” said Hapu as they moved off.

The naval boat was bigger, cleaner and faster. It cut through the water at twice the speed of the cargo boat under the power of twenty soldiers at the oars. The captain stood at the stern shouting orders and operating the rudder oar.

They travelled until it was dark and then camped on the riverbank. Their camping place was away from any town or village and it was very peaceful. The soldiers invited them to share their food.

After they’d eaten all the lamb and onions they could, they laid out their reed mats on the sandy shore beneath a grove of date palms.

“It’s good to be away from that awful town,” said Karoya looking up at the stars through the palm fronds.

“Maybe our luck’s changed,” said Hapu.

Ramose listened to the stillness of the night and hoped he was right.

Their new friend was called Hori. He was travelling with two other men. One was a big man called Intef, who seemed to have an excess of muscles, but a shortage of brains. The other was called Seth. He had a mean mouth and a scar on his neck as if someone had unsuccessfully tried to chop off his head.

“We’re going to Memphis to join the navy,” Hori told them over breakfast. “The captain is my sister’s husband’s brother.”

Ramose couldn’t help wondering if a man who was cross-eyed would make a good soldier, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

“We’re joining a unit that is going to sail over the Great Green to conquer the eastern lands.”

Karoya was horrified at the thought of sailing on the sea.

“I’ve heard that sometimes the boat goes so far out to sea that you can’t see the shore.” Karoya’s eyes were wide. “That can’t be true, can it?” she asked.

“It’s true,” said Hori. “And sometimes the waves rise up to the height of three men.”

“Why are you going to do this?” said Karoya. “Why don’t you stay on land where it’s safe?”

“We were working in the alabaster quarries in the south. It’s hard work. I heard that Pharaoh, may he have long life and health, was recruiting for the navy. My friends and I thought we’d give it a try.”

Ramose couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something he didn’t like about Hori and his friends. Perhaps it was the way one of Hori’s eyes always seemed to be on him.

They made good progress. “At this rate we’ll be in Memphis in two days,” said Hapu the next day.

Hapu had been in a very cheerful mood ever since they’d come on board. He chatted happily to Hori, telling them all about the work on Pharaoh’s tomb.

“It’s supposed to be a secret, Hapu,” said Ramose wishing his friend was grumpy and silent again, instead of happy and talkative.

“I haven’t said where the tomb is,” said Hapu. “And anyway it’s destroyed now.”

Ramose was starting to get nervous about arriving in Memphis. He had begun to think that he would never regain his place as heir to Egypt’s throne, never see his father, never become pharaoh. Suddenly, in two days, he would be able to contact his sister again and see his sick father.

Now that the wait was over, the thought of arriving in Memphis quite scared him. His plan for actually getting inside the palace there was rather vague. He decided that the best thing to do was to find his sister first, but how he would get to her without the vizier knowing he hadn’t yet worked out.

Hori came and sat beside him.

“You are a scribe, I see,” said Hori looking with one eye at the palette and pen box in Ramose’s bag.

“An apprentice scribe,” said Ramose.

“That’s a nice set of scribal tools,” said Hori.

“I inherited it from my previous master, who died in the flood,” lied Ramose closing his bag. He was conscious that the ebony palette inlaid with gold, ivory and turquoise was far too rich for an apprentice scribe to own.

“Tell me what you make of this,” Hori said pulling a very old-looking piece of papyrus from his own bag.

Ramose noticed that it had a royal seal, though the blob of wax was cracking with age. He unrolled the papyrus and read the flowing script.

“It’s instructions,” he said.

“Instructions on how to get inside a pyramid?” asked Intef.

Seth thumped him in the chest to silence him.

“No,” replied Ramose. “Instructions on how to lead a good life and attain knowledge. I’ve read many texts like this. My tutor made me copy them out endlessly.”

He turned over the scroll. “There is mention of a pyramid, the pyramid of one of the old pharaohs.”

The three men leaned forward. “Does it say anything about the tomb within the pyramid?”

“It could be about the location of a tomb, but it’s written like a puzzle, a riddle, as if the person who wrote it didn’t really want anyone to find it. Where did you get it from?”

“Oh, I just picked it up somewhere,” Hori said vaguely. Intef and Seth, who had hardly spoken since they’d been aboard, started whispering to each other. “I’ll hand it in to the authorities when we get to Memphis.”

They tied up in the afternoon. “Why are we stopping so early?” asked Hapu. “We usually keep going till sunset.”

“This is a good place to moor for the night,” said the captain. “Further up, the riverbank is rocky and it’s more difficult to get ashore.”

The soldiers set up their camp on shore near some pretty farming land. Some of them used the extra daylight hours to wash their kilts at the river’s edge. Others fished with their spears. Karoya helped the cook collect fuel for the cooking fire.

Hapu leaned back comfortably on a ridge of sand. “I shall almost miss this life.”

“Make the most of it, you could be in prison this time tomorrow,” said Ramose in a low voice. “Arrested for breaking into the palace.”

“Don’t be so gloomy. It’s too nice a day.”

The sun was setting and the sky turned pale orange. It was a nice day, but Ramose couldn’t help but worry about what might be ahead of them.

They had a pleasant meal of ox meat, newly baked bread and vegetables. After dinner the soldiers played senet and a rather childish ball game. Hapu joined in enthusiastically.

Ramose laid out his reed mat away from the soldiers where it was quieter. The others eventually settled down to sleep, but Ramose lay awake looking at the stars. He couldn’t sleep. Hapu was snoring softly. Karoya was sleeping under her head shawl. All the soldiers were asleep as well. The only other creature awake was Mery who was trying to settle down on Ramose’s stomach. Ramose had pushed the cat away at least half a dozen times, but it kept coming back, digging its claws into his chest. Ramose sat up abruptly and grabbed the cat. He stuffed it into his reed bag.

“Now perhaps you’ll go to sleep and leave me alone,” hissed Ramose.

He tied a leather thong around the opening. The bag was loosely woven, the cat would be able to breathe easily enough. He lay down again with a sigh.

Just as Ramose was starting to drift off to sleep, he felt a hand clamp over his mouth. It was a dirty, sweaty hand that smelt of onions. Ramose tried to pull it off, but other hands turned him over roughly and tied his arms behind his back. A gag was tied tightly over his mouth. Ramose fought furiously against his bindings but he couldn’t break free. A short, dark figure hauled him to his feet and forced him to walk away from his friends and into the darkness. He struggled against his captors. They muttered and cursed him. Something cracked him on the head.

Someone was slapping his face. It hurt. His whole head hurt. “Come on, wake up,” said a rough voice. It was Hori. “Intef’s tired of carrying you.”

Ramose was lying on the ground. Hori was leaning over him. He slapped him again. Ramose tried to sit up, but he couldn’t because his hands were tied behind him. His jaw was stiff and sore. His mouth was dry because of the tight gag. He rolled onto his side. Ramose didn’t know where he was. It was still dark. He couldn’t hear the sound of the river, but the air was still moist and he could feel grass beneath him. Hori and Intef were watching him. Seth was opening Ramose’s bag. He undid the string. There was a ferocious spitting and hissing as Mery leapt out of the bag. Seth shrieked. Mery darted off into the darkness.

“It’s a monster,” Seth yelled. “The boy’s got a monster in his bag.”

Ramose would have laughed if he hadn’t had a strip of linen gagging him. He hoped the cat could find its way back to Karoya.

“It was the slave girl’s cat, stupid,” said Hori. “Let’s get moving. We’ve got a long way to go before it gets light.”

Ramose’s moment of pleasure disappeared as Intef dragged him to his feet. After walking for about two hours in the dark, the moon rose. Ramose could see two pyramids in the distance, their limestone faces gave off a soft glow in the moonlight. They were walking towards the larger pyramid. It was surrounded by tombs, chapels and temples. As they got closer, Ramose could see that there was a row of trees planted around the edge of the pyramid. There were not only date palms and tamarisks, but also sacred persea trees.

It was starting to get light by now. Ramose was tired. He could tell the other men were as well, but Hori was making them hurry. He led them to a crumbling rectangular tomb where he broke open the door and they went inside just as the sun rose. Inside was a chapel with painted walls. Ramose knew that somewhere below them an important person would be buried.

“No one goes outside until it’s dark again,” said Hori laying down his reed mat.

“I don’t like the idea of sleeping in a tomb,” said Seth looking nervously in all the dark corners.

Intef’s brow furrowed. “What if I want to…”

“Go now,” said Hori. “Seth, you go out and find a temple that’s still in use and steal some of the food offerings.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes.”

Seth left reluctantly. He soon returned with food and the robbers feasted on the meat, vegetables and sweet cakes that he had stolen from a temple. When they had finished eating, Hori belched loudly.

“Untie the scribe’s hands.” He nodded to Seth who went over and untied the rope around Ramose’s wrists.

They gave him a piece of dry bread and a few mouthfuls of warm beer.

“Intef, you sleep in front of the door,” Hori said as he settled himself down. “Just in case the scribe decides to wander off.” He grinned at Seth. “Or in case any spirits try and get us.”

They were all asleep within a few minutes. All except for Ramose. He couldn’t sleep. Seth had insisted on leaving a lamp burning. In the dim light, Ramose looked at the paintings on the walls of the chapel. He peered at the writing. It was the tomb of a priest called Amenhotep. There was a painting of the priest and his wife, ploughing in the Field of Reeds in the afterlife. Another painting showed the couple praising Osiris. The third wall had a scene from Amenhotep’s funeral. The fourth wall showed a banquet with girls dancing and playing musical instruments. In the dim light it reminded Ramose of the palace and his own room with its wall paintings. There was an offering table, but it looked like it had been a very long time since anyone had brought offerings for Amenhotep.