The Khamsin Curse Read Online Free PDF

strangle
you? Or was it a loose translation of The Terrifying One or Father
of Dread? Was it built for the pharaoh who built the second
pyramid? Or was it a mythological relic from an earlier time? A
symbol of eternal vigilance? Or eternal loneliness?
    “Who shot off its nose?” Dr
Watson gazed up at the missing chunk. “Napoleon or the British or
the Mamluks?”
    “Never let facts get in the way
of a good myth, mon ami , it was a muslim iconoclast in the
fifteenth century. Imagine seeing a giant head poking out of the
desert. That’s all you could see until 1878 when an archaeologist
partially excavated some giant paws. Then came the body. So how
many centuries of shifting sand did it take to cover it?”
    “Fascinating question. I’m
going to take a walk around the perimeter. Care to come?”
    She shook her head as she moved
out of the burning sun into the shadow of the hybrid beast. “I
studied it in detail from all sides when I visited Egypt with my
step-aunt. You go ahead. I’ll wait here.” She sat down in the shade
and began to fan her face.
    “Man fears Time,” said a husky
male voice from somewhere close; a voice that sounded strangely
familiar, “Time fears the Sphinx.”
    The calash driver had crept up
on her, but there was something strangely familiar about him too,
especially the pale blue eyes incongruously framed by a thick black
beard, furry eyebrows and a nuggety face.
    “Major Nash!”
    Innate handsomeness shone
through the heavy disguise. There was no masking those demigod
looks which always managed to set the female heart beating that
little bit faster. Though she managed to pretend it was because he
had taken her by surprise.
    “Shhh! Keep your voice down.
Mycroft wanted me to warn you that Colonel Sebastian Moran is in
Cairo. We had it on good authority that he was in Rhodesia but he
returned to Cairo a week ago.”
    “We saw him in the hotel
yesterday. He was talking to Professor Mallisham.”
    “Do you know what they were
talking about?”
    “No, but the colonel didn’t
look happy. Did Mycroft send you all the way to Egypt to alert us
to Colonel Moran?” That would explain why a photograph of the
colonel hadn’t been included in the faces to look out for. It
hadn’t been a conspiracy to keep the doctor in the dark.
    “Several men are looking our
way. We’re standing too close together. Look annoyed. Put your
hands on your hips, wave your parasol around, berate me then storm
off toward the calash. I’ll follow sheepishly a few paces behind
you. While I pretend to check the harness we can talk further.”
    A few moments later she was
seated in the calash with the hood up, fanning her face in an
agitated manner.
    “I’m here on another matter,”
he addressed her way without meeting her gaze. “There’s a strong
rumour someone may try to sabotage the Aswan Dam. It’s an important
project for the British Empire. Failure isn’t an option. As soon as
I ditch this disguise I’ll arrive at the hotel under the guise of
Mr Ernest Cassel’s advocate on Eastern affairs.”
    “So you’ll be travelling to the
construction site at the earliest opportunity?”
    “Yes, I have a formal letter of
introduction to Mr Jefferson Lee. He has a river steamer going that
way the day after tomorrow. I’m going to hitch a berth.”
    That bit of news caused a brief
but welcome frisson. “Dr Watson and I will also be hitching a berth
along with the three engineers overseeing the construction of the
dam – Willcocks, Aird and Baker.”
    How on earth did she manage to
score an invitation when she’d only just arrived in Cairo the
previous evening? His invitation had been weeks in the planning. He
still hadn’t figured out what her relationship to Mycroft Holmes
was and it bothered him no end. He fiddled with the carriage
harness then strolled around to the opposite side to do more of the
same.
    “Are you acquainted with Mr
Lee?”
    “No, we met last night at
dinner. We’re going to check what