Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23 "'The Citadel was first used for defense,'" Amy said, reading aloud from the new guidebook. "'Now it has many holy sites. It offers some of the best views of the city.'" "It also has a bunch of streets with no signs," Dan said, looking around. "How are we going to find this shop?" "With great difficulty, obviously," Amy answered, consulting the map. They walked through the twisting streets and alleys of the Citadel for twenty minutes. Finally, they found themselves in an unmarked alley. Most of the signs were in Arabic. There were no numbered addresses. "Never mind how we're going to find it, how did Grace find it?" Dan wondered.

“‘城堡最初是用来防御的。’”艾米大声朗读着新指南中的内容。 “‘现在那里有许多圣地。 从这里可以看到这座城市最美的景色。“还有很多街道没有路标，”丹环顾四周说。 “我们怎么才能找到这家店呢？”“很明显，非常困难。”艾米一边看地图一边回答。 他们在城堡里蜿蜒曲折的街道和小巷里走了二十分钟。 最后，他们发现自己来到了一条没有标记的小巷。 大多数标志都是阿拉伯语。 没有编号的地址。 “别管我们怎么找到它，格蕾丝是怎么找到它的？”丹奇怪。

Amy stopped in front of a narrow doorway that appeared like all the others. The window was dark. It looked closed. "This is it." "You sure?" "I'm sure. Look." Dan's photographic memory clicked in. "It's just like Grace's card. Treasures, Egypt, and welcome were all in a line going down." Amy clutched his arm. "She led us here, Dan. This is it!" Amy pushed open the door, and a bell tinkled. The shop was long and narrow, its shelves crowded with pottery and metalwork. Rugs covered the floor. In the very back, she could see a man sitting at a counter reading a book. He looked up at her for a moment.

艾米在一扇狭窄的门前停了下来，那扇门看起来和其他人一样。 窗户很黑。它看起来很封闭。 “就是这样。”“你确定吗?”“我确定。 看。”丹的过目不忘突然出现了。 “就像格蕾丝的卡片一样。 财宝、埃及、欢迎都排成一行往下走。” 艾米抓住他的胳膊。“是她领我们来的，丹。 就是这里！”艾米推开门，铃声叮当作响。 这家店又长又窄，货架上摆满了陶器和金属制品。 地毯铺满了地板。在最后面，她看到一个男人坐在柜台前看书。 他抬头看了她一会儿。

"You are welcome to look around." He looked back down at his book. That was weird. She'd never been anywhere in Egypt where someone wasn't eager to sell her something, pressing close, offering her bargains and cups of tea. "Excuse me?" Dan walked forward. "Did you sell this item?" He placed the base on the desk. The man picked it up. He was a handsome young Egyptian dressed in a snowy white shirt and a striped scarf that he'd wrapped around his neck despite the heat. He gave the base a quick glance. "Hard to say," he said. "It looks like something we would use to showcase a souvenir. I can show you some just like it." "We don't want another one," Amy said. "We want to know if you remember this one." "I am sorry." He looked at her for the first time, and he must have caught her frustration. "I am not sure what you are asking." "Do you remember meeting a woman called Grace Cahill?" The man shook his head. "I know no one by that

“欢迎你四处看看。” 他又低头看他的书。 这很奇怪。在埃及的任何地方，她都见过有人不急于向她推销东西，步步紧逼，给她提供便宜货和茶。 “对不起?”丹向前走去。 “你卖这个东西了吗？”他把底座放在桌子上。 那人把它捡了起来。他是一个年轻英俊的埃及人，穿着一件雪白的衬衫，尽管天气很热，他还是把一条条纹围巾围在脖子上。 他迅速地瞥了一眼基地。 “很难说，”他说。“它看起来像是我们用来展示纪念品的东西。 我可以给你看一些一模一样的。” “我们不想再要了，”艾米说。 “我们想知道你是否记得这个。” “对不起。”他第一次看着她，他一定感受到了她的沮丧。 “我不知道你在问什么。” “你还记得见过一个叫格蕾丝·卡荷尔的女人吗？”那人摇了摇头。 “我不认识这样的人

name." Amy and Dan exchanged a glance. Now or never. Grace had led them here for a reason. Dan slipped the Sakhet out of his backpack. Amy had given it to him to carry. "Have you ever seen this?" Dan saw recognition in his eyes, but he quickly shook his head. "No." "We're Grace Cahill's grandchildren," Dan said. "We believe she sent us here." He looked at them for a long moment. His gaze was searching and somehow honest. Then he leaned forward. "That is a beautiful necklace, miss." "Thank you." "Thirty years ago, the clasp broke. May I?" His fingers reached out and touched the clasp gently. "My father repaired it. I'm glad to see it is still intact." "So you do know her." "Forgive me for my hesitation. One must be careful. My name is Sami Kamel. Please call me Sami."

的名字。”艾米和丹交换了一下目光。 时不再来。格蕾丝带他们来这里是有原因的。 丹从背包里抽出沙凯特。 艾米让他拿着。 “你见过这个吗？”丹从他的眼睛里看出了认同，但他很快摇了摇头。 “没有。”“我们是格蕾丝·卡希尔的孙子，”丹说。 “我们相信是她派我们来的。” 他久久地看着他们。 他的目光锐利而又诚实。 然后他向前倾了倾身子。“小姐，这项链真漂亮。” “谢谢你。”“三十年前，扣子断了。 我可以吗?”他伸出手指，轻轻地摸了摸扣子。 “我父亲把它修好了。我很高兴看到它仍然完好无损。” “这么说你确实认识她。”“请原谅我的犹豫。 每个人都必须小心。我叫萨米·卡梅尔。 请叫我萨米。”

"I'm Amy, and this is Dan." "So you've come at last." He left his chair at the counter and went to the door. He flipped the sign to CLOSED. "Please. If you would come with me." He bowed slightly, then moved a curtain and disappeared. Amy and Dan followed him into a small, cozy room. He directed them to sit and then poured them mint tea in fragile porcelain cups. "Your grandmother knew my father," he said. "And my father's father. My father's father was a famous… how can I say this… crook." Amy and Dan laughed a little, startled. "But a good man," Sami went on with a smile. "A forger of antiquities. He did a favor for your grandmother in the late forties, he would never say what. When my father took over the business in 1952, he convinced my grandfather to retire the, uh, illegitimate part of his business. We sell some good items, some high-quality, some cheap, but our customers always know what they are getting. Your grandmother came to the shop on

“我是艾米，这是丹。” “你终于来了。”他把椅子放在柜台旁，向门口走去。 他把告示牌翻转为“关闭”。 “请。如果你愿意和我一起去。” 他微微鞠了一躬，然后拉开窗帘，消失了。 艾米和丹跟着他走进一间舒适的小房间。 他让他们坐下，然后用易碎的瓷杯给他们倒薄荷茶。 “你祖母认识我父亲，”他说。 “还有我父亲的父亲。我父亲的父亲是一个著名的……我怎么能这么说呢……骗子。” 艾米和丹吓了一跳，笑了起来。 “但他是个好人，”萨米笑着继续说。 “一个古董伪造者。他在四十多岁的时候帮了你奶奶一个忙，他从不说什么。 当我父亲在1952年接管公司时，他说服了我祖父把公司里不合法的部分退休。 我们卖一些好东西，有高质量的，有便宜的，但我们的顾客总是知道他们得到的是什么。 你奶奶昨天来店里

every visit to Egypt. She was great friends with my grandfather and my father." Amy took a sip of tea. "You said, 'you've come at last.'" "Your grandmother told my father that you would be coming. He has been keeping something for her for some time now. She bought it on her last trip to Cairo. And now, I give it to you." He spun on his chair and reached out to the bookcases behind him. He flipped a lever concealed in the wood molding and the books revolved. He withdrew an old wooden game board and placed it on the tea table. "This." "She left us a game of checkers?" Dan asked. Sami smiled. "Not checkers. Senet. It's an ancient Egyptian game. A number of sets have been found in tombs, but no rules have survived. This one is not that old, but it is beautiful. Mother-of-pearl inlay and carved wood. We think it once had valuable marking pieces, perhaps made of gold, because there was originally a key to lock this drawer, where the pieces were kept." "A drawer?" Amy reached out but he held up a

每次去埃及。她是我祖父和父亲的好朋友。” 艾米喝了一口茶。“你说，‘你终于来了。’”“你祖母告诉我父亲你会来的。 他为她保留一些东西已经有一段时间了。 她上次去开罗时买的。 现在，我把它送给你。” 他在椅子上转了个身，伸手去摸身后的书架。 他拨动隐藏在木模子里的杠杆，书就转了起来。 他取出一块旧的木制游戏板，放在茶几上。 “这。”“她给我们留了一盘跳棋？”丹问道。 萨米人笑了。“不是跳棋。 Senet。这是一种古埃及游戏。 在坟墓中发现了许多套，但没有规则保存下来。 这个没有那么旧，但是很漂亮。 珍珠母镶嵌和木雕。 我们认为它曾经有过很有价值的标记，可能是金制的，因为最初有一把锁抽屉的钥匙，抽屉里放着这些标记。” “抽屉里?”艾米伸出手，但他举起了