Выбрать книгу по жанру
Фантастика и фэнтези
- Боевая фантастика
- Героическая фантастика
- Городское фэнтези
- Готический роман
- Детективная фантастика
- Ироническая фантастика
- Ироническое фэнтези
- Историческое фэнтези
- Киберпанк
- Космическая фантастика
- Космоопера
- ЛитРПГ
- Мистика
- Научная фантастика
- Ненаучная фантастика
- Попаданцы
- Постапокалипсис
- Сказочная фантастика
- Социально-философская фантастика
- Стимпанк
- Технофэнтези
- Ужасы и мистика
- Фантастика: прочее
- Фэнтези
- Эпическая фантастика
- Юмористическая фантастика
- Юмористическое фэнтези
- Альтернативная история
Детективы и триллеры
- Боевики
- Дамский детективный роман
- Иронические детективы
- Исторические детективы
- Классические детективы
- Криминальные детективы
- Крутой детектив
- Маньяки
- Медицинский триллер
- Политические детективы
- Полицейские детективы
- Прочие Детективы
- Триллеры
- Шпионские детективы
Проза
- Афоризмы
- Военная проза
- Историческая проза
- Классическая проза
- Контркультура
- Магический реализм
- Новелла
- Повесть
- Проза прочее
- Рассказ
- Роман
- Русская классическая проза
- Семейный роман/Семейная сага
- Сентиментальная проза
- Советская классическая проза
- Современная проза
- Эпистолярная проза
- Эссе, очерк, этюд, набросок
- Феерия
Любовные романы
- Исторические любовные романы
- Короткие любовные романы
- Любовно-фантастические романы
- Остросюжетные любовные романы
- Порно
- Прочие любовные романы
- Слеш
- Современные любовные романы
- Эротика
- Фемслеш
Приключения
- Вестерны
- Исторические приключения
- Морские приключения
- Приключения про индейцев
- Природа и животные
- Прочие приключения
- Путешествия и география
Детские
- Детская образовательная литература
- Детская проза
- Детская фантастика
- Детские остросюжетные
- Детские приключения
- Детские стихи
- Детский фольклор
- Книга-игра
- Прочая детская литература
- Сказки
Поэзия и драматургия
- Басни
- Верлибры
- Визуальная поэзия
- В стихах
- Драматургия
- Лирика
- Палиндромы
- Песенная поэзия
- Поэзия
- Экспериментальная поэзия
- Эпическая поэзия
Старинная литература
- Античная литература
- Древневосточная литература
- Древнерусская литература
- Европейская старинная литература
- Мифы. Легенды. Эпос
- Прочая старинная литература
Научно-образовательная
- Альтернативная медицина
- Астрономия и космос
- Биология
- Биофизика
- Биохимия
- Ботаника
- Ветеринария
- Военная история
- Геология и география
- Государство и право
- Детская психология
- Зоология
- Иностранные языки
- История
- Культурология
- Литературоведение
- Математика
- Медицина
- Обществознание
- Органическая химия
- Педагогика
- Политика
- Прочая научная литература
- Психология
- Психотерапия и консультирование
- Религиоведение
- Рефераты
- Секс и семейная психология
- Технические науки
- Учебники
- Физика
- Физическая химия
- Философия
- Химия
- Шпаргалки
- Экология
- Юриспруденция
- Языкознание
- Аналитическая химия
Компьютеры и интернет
- Базы данных
- Интернет
- Компьютерное «железо»
- ОС и сети
- Программирование
- Программное обеспечение
- Прочая компьютерная литература
Справочная литература
Документальная литература
- Биографии и мемуары
- Военная документалистика
- Искусство и Дизайн
- Критика
- Научпоп
- Прочая документальная литература
- Публицистика
Религия и духовность
- Астрология
- Индуизм
- Православие
- Протестантизм
- Прочая религиозная литература
- Религия
- Самосовершенствование
- Христианство
- Эзотерика
- Язычество
- Хиромантия
Юмор
Дом и семья
- Домашние животные
- Здоровье и красота
- Кулинария
- Прочее домоводство
- Развлечения
- Сад и огород
- Сделай сам
- Спорт
- Хобби и ремесла
- Эротика и секс
Деловая литература
- Банковское дело
- Внешнеэкономическая деятельность
- Деловая литература
- Делопроизводство
- Корпоративная культура
- Личные финансы
- Малый бизнес
- Маркетинг, PR, реклама
- О бизнесе популярно
- Поиск работы, карьера
- Торговля
- Управление, подбор персонала
- Ценные бумаги, инвестиции
- Экономика
Жанр не определен
Техника
Прочее
Драматургия
Фольклор
Военное дело
The Seventh Scroll - Smith Wilbur - Страница 109
"Happy landings!" Nicholas gave them the toast in red Chianti.
"Eight hours between the throttle and the bottle," jannie apologized, as
he drank the toast in Coca-Cola.
They lay down their clothes to get a few hours' sleep on the bunks
bolted to the bulkhead behind the flight deck, but it seemed to Royan
that she was woken only a few minutes later by the quiet voices of the
two pilots completing their pre-take-off checks, and the whine of the
starters on the huge turbo-prop engines. As Jannie spoke on the radio to
the control tower, and Fred taxied out to the holding point, the three
passengers climbed out of their bunks and strapped themselves into the
folding seats down the side of the main cabin. Big Dolly climbed into
the night sky and the lights of the island dwindled and were swiftly
lost behind them. Then there was only the dark sea below and the bright
pricking of the stars above. Royan turned her head to smile at Nicholas
in the dim overhead lights of the cabin.
"Well, Taita, we are back on court for the final set." Her voice was
tight with excitement.
"The one good thing about being forced to sneak about like this is that
Pegasus may take a while to find out that we are back in the Abbay
gorge." Nicholas looked complacent.
"Let's hope that you are right." Royan held up her right hand and
crossed her fingers. "We will have enough to worry about with what Taita
has in store for us, without Pegasus muscling in on us again just yet."
They are on their way back to Ethiopia," said von Schiller with utter
certainty.
"How can we be certain of that, Herr von Schiller?" Nahoot asked.
Von Schiller glared at him. The Egyptian irritated him intensely, and he
was beginning to regret having employed him. Nahoot had made very little
headway in deciphering the meaning of the engravings on the stele that
they had taken from the monastery.
The actual translation had offered no insurmountable problems. Von
Schiller was convinced that he could have done this work himself,
without Nahoot's assistance, given time and the use of his extensive
library of reference works.
It comprised, for the most part, nonsensical rhymes and extraneous
couplets out of place and context. One face of the stele was almost
completely covered by columns of letters and figures that bore no
relation whatsoever to the text on the other three faces of the column.
But although Nahoot would not admit it, it was clear that the underlying
meaning behind most of this had eluded him. Von Schiller's patience was
almost exhausted.
He was tired of listening to Nahoot's excuses, and to promises that were
never fulfilled. Everything about him, from his oily ingratiating tone
of voice to his sad eyes in their deep lined sockets, had begun to annoy
him. But especially he had come to detest his exasperating habit of
questioning the statements that he, Gotthold von Schiller, made.
"General Obeid was able to inform me of their exact flight arrangements
when they left Addis Ababa. It was very simple to have my security men
at the airport when they arrived in England. Neither Harper nor the
woman are the kind of people that are easily overlooked, even in a
crowd. My men followed the woman to Cairo-'
"Excuse me, Herr von Schiller, but why did you not have her taken care
of if you were aware of her movements?"
"Dummkopf!" von Schiller snapped at him. "Because it now seems that she
is much more likely to lead me to the tomb than you are."
"But, sir, I have done-' Nahoot protested.
you have done nothing but make up excuses for your ilure. Thanks to you,
the stele is still an enigma,'
own fa von Schiller interrupted him contemptuously.
"It is very difficult-'
"Of course it is difficult. That's why I am paying you a great deal of
money. If it were easy I would have done it myself. If it is indeed the
instruction to find the tomb of Mamose, then the scribe Taita meant it
to be difficult."
"If I am allowed a little more time, I think I am very near to
establishing the key-'
"You have no more time. Did you not hear what I have just told you?
Harper is on his way back to the Abbay gorge. They flew from Malta last
night in a chartered aircraft that was heavily loaded with cargo. My men
were not able to establish the nature of that cargo, except that it
included some earth-moving equipment, a front-endloading tractor. To me,
this can mean only one thing.
They have located the tomb, and they are returning to begin excavating
it."
"You will be able to get rid of them as soon as they reach the
monastery." Nahoot relished the thought.
"Colonel Nogo will-'
"Why do I have to keep repeating myself?" Von Schiller's voice turned
shrill and he slapped his hand down on the tabletop. "They are now our
best chance of finding the tomb of Mamose. The very last thing that I
want to happen is that any harm should come to them." He glared at
Nahoot. "I am sending you back to Ethiopia immediately.
Perhaps you will be of some use to me there. You are certainly no use
here."
Nahoot looked disgruntled, but he had better sense than to argue again.
He sat sullenly as von Schiller went on, "You will go to the base camp
and place yourself under the command of Helm. You will take your orders
from him.
Treat them as if they come directly from me. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Herr von Schiller," Nahoot muttered sulkily.
"Do not interfere in any way with Harper and the woman. They must not
even know that you are at the base camp. The Pegasus geological team
will carry on its normal duties." He paused and smiled bleakly, then
went on, "It is most fortunate that Helm has actually discovered very
promising evidence of large deposits of galena, which as you may know is
the ore from which lead is obtained. He will continue the exploratory
work on-these deposits, and if they bear out their promise they will
make the entire operation highly profitable."
"What exactly will be my duties?" Nahoot wanted to know.
"You will be playing the waiting game. I want you there ready to take
advantage of any progress- that Harper makes. However, you are to give
him plenty of elbow room.
You will not alert him by any overflights with the helicopter, or by
approaching his camp. No more midnight raids.
Every move that you make must be cleared with me before, I repeat
before, you take any action."
"If I am to operate under these restrictions, how will I know if Harper
and the woman have made any progress?"
"Colonel Nogo already has a reliable man, a spy, in the monastery. He
will inform us of every move that Harper makes."
"But what about me? What will be my work?"
"You will evaluate the intelligence that Nogo collects.
You are familiar with archaeological methods. You will be able to judge
what Harper is trying to achieve, and you will be able to tell what
success he is enjoying."
"I see,'Nahoot muttered.
"If it were possible I would have gone back to the Abbay gorge myself.
-However, this is not possible. It may take time, months perhaps, before
Harper makes any important progress. You know as well as anybody that
- Предыдущая
- 109/177
- Следующая