shape of a hawk, with one broken wing drooping across its barred breast,
and the legend: 7, Taita the slave, have obeyed your command, divine
Pharaoh.' Underneath the maimed hawk was a single column of
hieroglyphics that spelled out the stem warning: 'Stranger!
The gods are watching. Disturb the king's eternal rest at your peril!'
reaking the seals on the doorway was a momentous act, and despite the
fact that the time before the onset of the rains was fast running out,
neither of them was prepared to undertake it lightly.
They had to make every effort to keep permanent re ds cor of everything
they discovered, and to inflict as little damage as possible while
gaining access.
They spent one of their precious remaining days preparing for the
break-in to the tomb. Naturally, Nicholas's first concern was the
security of the tomb area. He asked Mek Nimmur to place an armed guard
on the causeway over the sink-hole in the approach tunnel, and access
beyond this point was restricted. Only Nicholas, Royan, Sapper, Mek,
Tessay and four of the monks whom Nicholas had selected were allowed
across the bridge.
Hansith Sherif had proved himself repeatedly during the clearing of the
lower tunnel. Physically strong, willing and intelligent, he had become
Nicholas's principal assistant. It was Hansith who carried the tripod
and spare camera equipment while Nicholas photographed the approach
tunnel and the sealed doorway. He shot three rolls of high-speed film to
make certain that they had a complete record of the unbroken seals and
the doorway surrounds. Only when the filming was completed would
Nicholas allow Hansith and the other three monks to bring up the tools
needed for the break-in.
Sapper moved the Honda generator up as far as the sink-hole, to reduce
the voltage drop over the distance that the current had to travel down
the cable. Then he set up, the floodlights on the upper landing of the
staircase and focused them on the white expanse of the plastered
doorway.
VAen they assembled at the threshold they were all in a sober mood.
Despite the fact that the tomb was thousands of years old, it was still
an act of desecration that they were about to perpetrate. Royan had
translated the hieroglyphic warning on the sealed doorway to Sapper, Mek
and Tessay, and none of them was prepared to take it lightly.
Nicholas marked out the square opening he intended cutting through the
plaster covering, This was large enough to afford access, but it also
enclosed the royal cartouche and Tatia's maimed hawk seal. He intended
lifting these out in one piece, and preserving them intact. In his
imagination, he could already see them displayed in a prominent position
in the museum at Quenton Park.
Nicholas began on the right'hand upper corner of the opening. First he
used a long, needle-sharp awl as a probe.
He pressed and twisted the needle point through the dried clay in an
attempt to determine exactly what lay beneath the surface. Very soon he
found out that the plaster had been laid over laths of finely interwoven
reeds.
