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its tall mast had been lowered along the deck. She saw that it was heavily laden with antiquities, from terra-cotta jars and pieces of carved masonry, to two finely decorated caskets and a number of bronze animal figures. There were also half a dozen large crates, some of them badly packed, which soldiers were rearranging and securing with ropes. Suddenly one of the crates was dropped, and an infuriated officer bellowed from the loggia. Tansy glanced up and saw his fist brandishing in the light of a lantern. Realizing that he might see her, she drew hastily back into the room, where Amanda and Mrs. Entwhistle were asleep on the floor in Tusun’s blankets. They too were now clothed in robes, and the wet garments belonging to all three women were hanging from a stone projection on the wall.
    Tansy was about to join them on the floor, when more moonlight shone through the entrance onto the wall opposite. What she had previously thought was plain stonework was now revealed to be beautifully painted with a hunting scene from the time of the pharaohs. Vivid, colorful, and graceful, it showed a young man catching waterfowl among the papyrus and blue lotus of the delta marshes. Birds of every description surrounded him as he stood on a small reed boat beneath which fish swam. In one hand he held a brace of white egrets, while he held out the other to take a papyrus being brought to him not by a retriever dog but by a tabby cat! She went closer, hoping the moonlight would last long enough for her to see it properly. The cat fascinated her, not only because of its unlikely role, but also because it was painted in such exquisite detail that its fur almost invited her to stroke it.
    Mrs. Entwhistle suddenly spoke from the floor behind her. “The pharaohs often used cats instead of dogs, especially here in the delta.”
    Tansy turned in surprise. “Really? I didn’t know that.”
    “Oh, yes, it is quite a well-known thing.” Holding the warm blanket around her, the chaperone got up and came to join her, while Amanda slept on. “Tusun said this place was called Tel el-Osorkon, and so I believe this scene depicts a myth my husband once told to me. It concerns a young nobleman named Osorkon, who lived in the delta and went hunting every day with his faithful she-cat. But the young man was really the rightful pharaoh, and his evil half-brother ordered his death in order to have the throne. One day the cat brought Osorkon a papyrus that revealed his destiny; he defeated his wicked sibling, and on ascending the throne of Egypt he built a temple to his faithful cat, who became beloved of the goddess Bastet.” Mrs. Entwhistle smiled. “It would be agreeable, would it not, to imagine that this place was the very temple, and that the creature we saw when we first arrived was a descendant of Osorkon’s cat?”
    “I had no idea you were so knowledgeable about Ancient Egypt, Mrs. Entwhistle.”
    “Oh, hardly knowledgeable, my dear. I only claim a little learning, gleaned from my dear late husband, who was an antiquarian of some standing.”
    Tansy looked fondly at her. “The Reverend Entwhistle would be very proud indeed to know how staunch and brave you’ve been for Amanda and me.”
    “You are a good girl, Tansy, and worth a thousand A—” Mrs. Entwhistle broke off awkwardly, for she had been about to say a thousand Amandas.
    Neither of them spoke for a moment; then Tansy looked shyly at the older woman. “It seems rather silly for me to keep calling you Mrs. Entwhistle, when you call me Tansy. Would you mind very much if I called you Hermione?”
    “No, of course not, my dear, horrid name though it is. In fact, I would like it very much if we were on more friendly terms.” Hermione cleared her throat. “Now, where were we before? Ah, yes, retriever cats. It’s strange, is it not? We always regard the cat as a law unto itself and quite impossible to train, yet the Ancient Egyptians seem to have managed it.” She reached up to