The Gold in the Grave (5 page)

The light from the oil lamps glittered on all that gold. Gold everywhere, above my head and beneath my feet. I was dazzled by gold and my greed made me almost faint.

I slipped through the door into the back chamber that was packed with treasure and Antef began to close it behind me. “When the funeral arrives stay silent,” he warned.

The door closed with a thud that sounded as hollow as my lonely heart felt.

It was cool in the chamber, not cold. But I shivered. Gods and ghosts were haunting me. I swear they were there in the shadows.

I heard the workmen finish in the vault outside. Then a lot of noise as the funeral procession arrived and the priests placed the King in his coffins.

Then I heard a softer sound nearby as the door to my hiding place slid open. I crouched behind a large model boat. And waited for the thrust of a guard’s sword. Instead I heard the hiss, “Paneb? Are you there?”

It was Dalifa. She closed the door quickly and gave me her sharp-eyed look. She whispered. “The funeral is over. They’ll be sealing the tomb … listen!”

I strained my ears. Suddenly the door swung open and lamplight spilled in. A guard stuck his head around the door and looked at us. I groaned. Nailed to the walls of Thebes, I knew it. I knew it would all go wrong.

The guard raised his lamp and grinned. “Are you all right, kids?” he asked.

“Kerpes?”

Dalifa hissed. “Go away baboon-brain.”

The big man frowned. “Sorry. Just thought I’d see if you were comfortable.”

“We’ll all be comfortable nailed to the walls of Thebes,” she spat. “Get out!”

“See you in the morning,” the flat-nosed man said and closed the door. His footsteps clumped away.

After a while it was silent–silent as a grave! Dalifa gave a sharp nod. “Right, we are shut in. Start opening boxes and filling these pouches.”

She lit an oil lamp and handed me some linen bags and began to fill them with golden arm bands and statues, jewels and rings.

I scrabbled in the wooden cases and came up with more. We moved out into the entry chamber and then into the burial room itself. Soon we had twenty bags filled with treasures.

Dalifa turned to the door and began to scrape at a crack in the top corner with her dagger. The corner broke off as Antef meant it to and there was just enough room for someone small like me or Dalifa to crawl through. But the far side was already blocked with small stones and they fell in on our heads.

“What if Antef doesn’t come back for us?” I asked.

Dalifa pointed at the treasure. “For this Antef will chew his way through the stone. Be patient!”

And so we waited through the long night. Slowly I slipped into sleep. I awoke when stones fell through the broken corner of the door and Antef’s face stared through.

“Time to go!” he said.

Chapter 6
The Face of Death

I passed one of the bags to Antef and then helped Dalifa up to the opening. I crawled after her, clutching a bag full of rings. I stuffed it into my belt so I could use my hands to pull myself along.

Sharp stones scraped at my knees and elbows and the dust choked my throat and stung my eyes.