Just for Kids / The Haunted Dagger "Chapter 5"

 

By Jane Richards

 

 

 

There was shouting and confusion from the hallway, spilling out into the courtyard. Seth stopped one of the servants, asking what had happened and was given a confused story blurted out as the servant ran outside. The boys followed, both wondering what this was all about. As they reached the outside steps the man, who had identified himself as Imhotep, came hurrying toward them.

 

"Prince Sethi, something has happened in the north. The messenger has just reached us from your Father, King Djoser. An uprising in the Delta area has taken place. He requests you and your brother return immediately to On. Now that you are the Crown Prince, you will be expected to replace him in the capital while he is away." the priest breathlessly informed them." I, as vizier will accompany you, of course. We must start our journey right away."

 

"Djoser? My father is Djoser? That was the name of the Pharaoh who had the step pyramid built at Saqqura!" Seth thought. He then felt like a bomb had hit him right in the pit of his stomach. If his father was supposed to be Djoser, then the man called Imhotep must be the architect who designed the step pyramid. They must have been transported back into the third dynasty of the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt!........but, how? "King Djoser didn't have any sons named Sethi or Ramose, so where do we fit in," he continued to think to himself.

 

Another messenger ran in the gateway and up to Imhotep. "Sir, the uprising in the Delta is apparently being backed by a faction from the west. Our general has been given this information from one of his spies. There is a battle being fought in the desert west of On."

 

This bit of news seemed to upset the vizier. He turned to one of his men and gave a command. Everyone began to move out of the gate and head to the north. The boys were in the front with Imhotep, riding in a carrying chair.

 

Ramey leaned toward his brother, and in a low voice asked," Seth, why don't they have any horses? I thought Egyptians had chariots like the one we saw in the museum that came from 'Tuts' tomb?"

 

"No, Ramey. The Egyptians didn't have horses or chariots until much later in time. The Hyksos, who conquered the northern part of Egypt before the New Kingdom, are the ones who brought the horse and chariot into Egypt. At least that's what the museum said," explained Seth to his brother as they were conveyed along at a fast pace.

 

In the camp below the temple site, chaos reigned, as every available person attempted to help find the two sons of the American Archaeologist. They had mysteriously disappeared into a giant hole created by, what seemed to be, an earthquake. Yet no other place in Egypt had recorded any quakes! Not even the seismographs at the Cairo University.

 

A convoy of military vehicles wound its' way through the desert toward the oasis location of the archaeologists' camp. They had been called out to aid in the search for the boys. On the trucks, along with the soldiers, were pieces of heavy equipment. They would be used to excavate the large hole. There had been difficulty in digging by the archaeologists and their helpers. The men had been met with large pieces of stone and mud-brick. The hole would collapse as attempts were made to move them.

 

The boys' Father and Mother were terribly upset. They were both standing at the edge of the pit, dirt covered and beside themselves. "Marc, you can't blame yourself for an accident," murmured his wife, as she slipped her hand around his arm.

 

With head down, her husband shook his head. "I'm the one who let the boys up on the site. They are my responsibility," he returned, as they made their way down the trail towards the oncoming military convoy.

 

 

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