Chapter 3 spy in the pyramid
"Do you remember Miss Layla Gade?" Hastings leaned over the desk and asked, "It's that young archaeologist from Cairo University who assisted you in the Nile Mermaid incident."
Rand nodded. "Of course I do. She was an excellent assistant." He still remembered her soft voice, her rosy cheeks, and the soft kiss she gave him on her last adventure. "What's up with her?"
"She's a member of the scientific expedition to the Pyramid of Khufu. We think there's movement there, and the Russians are interested. A Communist has left London to join the expedition."
This news made Rand very excited. "Do you know who it is?"
Hastings shook his head. "The information we have is that Moscow sent an Englishman who can pretend to be an archaeologist. As for who, we don't know. But since Russia sent someone, we should also investigate. When I heard that Leila Gai When De was a member of the scientific expedition team, I thought you would be the perfect candidate for this mission."
"What about the Secret Communications Bureau?"
Hastings smiled. "The Secret Communications Bureau can do without you, at least for a short period of time without you. This is a punishment for you to form such an excellent team."
Rand didn't argue much.As the weather in London keeps getting worse, spending time with Layla Gade must be fun.
Cairo in October was almost as hot and dry as June, and the political climate was no different than Rand's last trip to Cairo.Russians still populate Egypt's capital—technicians, businessmen, and sometimes air force officers—sent to support the construction and fight against Israel.War is imminent.
The morning after arriving in Cairo, Rand rented a car and headed to the Giza Plateau, ten miles west of the city.After crossing the Nile River by the Giza Bridge, you can see the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Khafre, gradually approaching from the horizon.As the distance shortens, other smaller pyramids such as Menkaure come into view.
The Pyramid of Khufu is the largest pyramid in Egypt and a prize-winning site for ancient tomb robbers and current scientists.Looking around on the plateau where it is located, Rand can see some Egyptians working hard at the base of the tower, and there are scattered tourists scattered around. On one side of the pyramid, there are several tents and a few parked cars. desert car.That was the expedition team he was looking for.Rand stopped the car at the first Briton he met and asked, "Is Layla Gade here? I'm an old friend of hers."
The man in front of him was tall and thin, and he was an officer with a cold face.He looked at Rand, and then replied: "She and a few people are under the Sphinx."
Rand walked leisurely through the boundless yellow sand and came to the bottom of the Sphinx.Although the statue itself is a giant, against the backdrop of the side of the pyramid, the Sphinx is very small.Three stood in its shadow, studying the great stone face with its broken nose.He recognized Layla immediately, a small, dark-haired girl with lovely high cheekbones that he remembered fondly.
"Hey, hello! Sorry to bother you, but I think I see a familiar face."
She turned around and showed a smile. As soon as she spoke, the gentle and soft voice that had lingered in Rand's dreams many times came out. "Mr. Rand! Nice to see you again!"
"I stayed in Cairo for a few days, and people from the university said they could find you here."
"Yes. We work hard. This is Sir Stamford Jones, a fellow countryman of yours, who finances our work. And his wife, Melinda."
Sir Stamford was a thin, middle-aged man who looked even more languid against the backdrop of his youthful wife.Melinda and Layla were about the same age, not yet thirty, and they had met at Cairo University.She was Sir Stamford's second wife.They were so newly married that he hadn't learned how to deal with her youthful energy.
"My wife brought me over to see the sphinx, Mr. Rand. What's the point? All I see is a lion with a woman's face. What's the point?"
Leila smiled. "The most common explanation is that the sphinx was a half-lion, half-girl monster that, in the fourth century BC, symbolized the alternation of the zodiac constellations Leo and Virgo."
Melinda chimed in to agree, "The Egyptians knew a lot about the stars. Some say the pyramids themselves are a kind of astronomical observatory."
"That's one way of saying it," Leila agreed, "but it's not my preference."
"What are you doing here?" Rand asked.
"Professor Donald is in charge here. He is trying to continue the work of the Nobel laureate, Luis Alviri. Using cosmic rays to record the channels in the pyramid. After computer analysis and recording results, we may be able to find some Chamber of Secrets discovered."
"Interesting," Rand admitted.
"The war stopped Alviri from the experiment, but Professor Donald got permission from the government to continue. He's fascinating. You must meet him."
When they were on the road, Sir Stanford said, "Melinda and I are going back to the hotel."
Leila looked disappointed. "So fast?"
"We'll be back tomorrow," Melinda assured. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Rand."
"Strange couple," Rand commented after they drove away.
"Mismatched pair," Layla agreed, "but he paid for our research, so I just had to smile. Now, tell me how you are, Rand—you look great."
"I'm well maintained for a man over forty," he grinned. "Have you been swimming in the Nile again lately?"
She made a face. "How could I have been persuaded by you to do such a thing?"
"I have a way of dealing with Scottish-Egyptian half-race girls."
"You still remember!"
"My job is to memorize things. When can I see Professor Donald?"
"You can do it now. Come with me."
"Is he a thin, dead-faced Englishman?"
"No, that's Roger Boorman, our foreman here. He manages the native laborers who lay our lines. You can see them climbing up and down the pyramids!"
She led Rand through the sand to the base of the Great Pyramid.After getting closer, he found that the stones on each floor were of different heights.Some were more than three feet high, making the ascent to the top of the tower not as easy as he had imagined. "There are two hundred and one floors in total," Leila introduced, "Do you want to try climbing?"
"No, thanks. It's ugly up close, isn't it?"
"It wasn't always like this. It turned out that the outermost layer was a layer of polished limestone, which must have shone brightly in the sunlight. But after several earthquakes in the 13th and 14th centuries, the Arabs peeled off the outer layer of the pyramid and used it Those precious limestones rebuilt their city and built many mosques in Cairo. Without the protection of limestone, the masonry inside gradually weathered."
"You know so much."
She grinned at him. "My job is to memorize things too. Come on, I'll take you in and introduce you to Professor Donald."
He followed her up the side of the pyramid until he felt his legs run out of strength.The entrance was only fifty feet off the ground, but that was high for Rand. "You want me to crawl in here?" he asked.
"The inside gradually becomes spacious. But still be careful. The downward slope of the passage is twenty-six degrees."
Rand tried his best to keep up with her speed. In the narrow and low passage, like a monkey, he first went down and then climbed up.He heard a scream and a flapping of wings as something flew past his face. "what is that?"
"It's just a bat," Leila reassured. "Before, there were a lot of them."
"Look," Rand gasped, "what have you done to me?"
She held up the flashlight and smiled back. "Nobody ever visits me just because they happen to be passing the pyramids, Rand. Remember? I know what you do. I'm the girl who dived in the Nile and nearly killed you. Strange things happen and you show up. I want to know why."
"What's weird?"
"That's right. A weird Egyptian named Hassad came to the labor force looking for a job. We had no shortage of men, so we sent him away. The next day a boulder fell on one of the workers and nearly They beat him to death. Within an hour, Hassad showed up and got the job he wanted."
"It's purely a coincidence," Rand said of his own thoughts, "unless someone here urgently needs Hassad to join the labor force, and will throw stones at others."
"Is that what you came here for? We have enemies among us?"
"Enemy is a relative word. Whose enemy?"
They walked to the end of the narrow passage sloping upwards to the great hall of the pyramid.It was still steep, but Rand was able to straighten up, and in the light of the battery lights, survey the high-ceilinged passage.When they reached the royal chamber at the top, two men were already waiting there.Layla made the introduction. "Professor Donald of Cairo University. This is also your compatriot, Graham Rackoy."
Rackoy is an Englishman who needs no description. He wears a top hat and leans on a cane. This look can be seen everywhere in England.But Donald has attracted Rand's attention.He is tall, with a beard, giving people the appearance of wisdom and maturity, but he hides a body of muscular body that would put athletes to shame.Rand guessed he was only in his thirties, and in good health.
"It's a joy to have a visitor," Donald said, shaking Rand's hand firmly. "We've spent a few weeks laying the wires, and we'll start right away."
"What are you going to do?"
"We set up a spark chamber in the lower basement below the pyramid. It records cosmic rays from outer space that pass through the walls of the pyramid. After computer analysis, we can determine the location of the secret chamber or passage. Al Dr. Viry has successfully applied this technique to several other pyramids."
"This place is really big." Rand said an obvious fact.
Graham Rackoy cleared his throat. "The word 'big' is not enough to describe this place! The pyramid used a total of 2.5 million limestone and granite blocks-according to Napoleon's investigation, these stones could build a wall around France, or build all of England church."
Professor Donald nodded in agreement. "No matter what the original purpose of this building is, whether it is an observatory, a tomb or a place of worship, the builders have created an incredible miracle."
"It must take hundreds of years," Rand concluded.
"According to Herodotus, it took only twenty years. The power of human beings is incredible."
After spending another hour touring the queen's room and the crypt, Rand was desperate for some fresh air in the sun.They climbed out of the pyramid and, led by Lakoy, walked towards the campsite a few hundred yards away. "It's time for a cocktail," said the Englishman. "We've got to do our hospitality, you know."
At this time, the expressionless man Rand met earlier appeared out of nowhere and whispered something to Professor Donald.After a while, Rackoy joined them, leaving Rand and Leila Gad aside. "When did Roger Boorman join your expedition team?" he asked.
"We only came here two weeks ago. All of them came together. I think Boorman and Rackie came from England together. Do you think one of them—?" She was told by the returning Don Nadeau interrupted.
"Boorman says the work force is in trouble. I'll have to check it out. Graham's going to serve you some real London gin in his tent while it's over."
Gram prepared wine for them, while talking endlessly about the pyramids.He even showed Rand a small wooden model about a foot high. "Of course it doesn't mean anything," he said, "but the proportions and angles are precise."
"Do you really think there are secret chambers that have yet to be discovered?"
Racko shrugged. "Donald is convinced of this." There was a roar of engines in the sky, and it grew louder. Rand stepped out of the tent to see two Russian-made Egyptian jets whistling overhead, heading toward the Fly to Cairo airport. "Mr. Rand, don't mind the noise. We're used to it."
"Of course, you will stay here at night." Leila said.
"I don't intend to," Rand replied.
"Nonsense! We've got plenty of room. I would have liked Mr. Stanford and Melinda to stay, but they can't live without running water and other conveniences."
They talked for a long time, and Lakoi poured another drink.Rand also decided to stay overnight.He felt optimistic about the prospect of this task.Layla had already pointed out that the mysterious Egyptian worker named Hassad was suspicious, and Rand thought it would be wise to keep an eye on him.If Hassad was an enemy spy, he had been inserted by someone already in the expedition—most likely Boorman and Lakoy, the only two Britons here.
At ten o'clock Layla took him to his tent. “Today is tiring enough. Sometimes, we drive back to Cairo for the night, but today you climb up and down, you must want to rest early.”
"I agree," Rand agreed, "but I will remain vigilant."
"Do you have a gun?"
"Do I need that?" he asked rhetorically, unwilling to acknowledge the hard object under his armpit.
"I hope you don't need to."
"You said earlier that something strange happened. What else but falling stones?"
She hesitated for a moment, and then said: "These are the lines laid up and down the pyramid. Alviri technology doesn't need to lay so many wires at all."
"Have you asked Professor Donald?"
"No. I think he has his reasons."
Rand nodded. "meet tomorrow."
He lay down, reading a book about the pyramids by the light of the emergency lights.But within an hour, Leila came back again, patting his tent lightly. "It's Hassad," she said softly. "I saw him skulking around. I think he's going to Cairo."
Quickly Rand tucked the holster into his loose shirt and hurried across the dark desert.In the bright moonlight, he saw Hassad's figure 50 meters away, and he was moving towards the road.Tracking this person seemed easy, but the figure in front of him suddenly disappeared.Rand stopped in amazement, scanning the ground.Nothing moves.He walked forward slowly.
Suddenly, a snake-like arm stretched out, caught his ankle, and Rand fell to the ground.Before he could draw his gun, the Egyptian caught him off guard and tipped him over to the sand.Rand saw a dagger that gleamed silver in the moonlight stabbing down, and suddenly dodged to the side.
He felt the blade slice through his shirt sleeve, and a hand took the opportunity to slash toward his attacker's neck.Hassad grunted and fell.Rand straightened himself and stood up.Hassad didn't move, he bent down and turned him over.He died, fell on his own knife, and was stabbed to death.
In this untrustworthy business, Rand's first reaction was that Leila Gade had set him up.He searched Hassad's pockets suspiciously.He felt a pipe, a cigarette holder, with something stuck in it.He put the thing in his pocket and turned back to the campsite.
Layla had been waiting for him. "What happened?"
"A little trouble. Hassad's dead."
"You killed him?"
"It was an accident. He attacked me with a knife."
"Should we tell the others?"
Rand thought for a moment, "Better not. I don't want to deal with the local police." He took out the metal cigarette holder and found a paper roll inside.
"What's this?" Layla asked.
"Found it on him."
He unfolded the scroll, revealing the above message, apparently a string of passwords: PMIONCTRADINGCAYDWEALARTOIROARRORSSEW-ERCEAAIRAKCCREOVERBASES.
"Can you untie it?"
"It just takes time and a little luck. It's my job."
"what do you want me to do?"
"Go back to your tent and go to bed. Act surprised when Hassad's body is found tomorrow morning."
Left alone, Rand began to study the code in front of him.Grouping every five letters into groups—a common practice—Hassard carried it, and that says a lot.The Egyptian was a teleporter, and he'd taken information from someone here, passed it on to his superiors in Cairo, and then, no doubt, passed it on to Moscow.Hassad tried to protect this intelligence with a knife.
Rand stared at the code, five letters in groups of twelve.There are sixty letters in total.He started with the frequency of letters, there are 10 R, 9 A, and 7 E.But in such brief messages, letter frequencies often lead one astray.Interestingly, the last part of the password, the word overbases appears, is this a coincidence?
An hour later, Rand carefully put the note aside and went to bed.It wasn't as easy as he expected.
Before dawn, he woke up and continued to decode the code, but still found nothing.He didn't go to breakfast with them until he heard the others get up, too, and wait for Hassad's body to be found.While enjoying coffee and eggs, Professor Donald explained some knowledge about the pyramids, including some far-reaching theories proposed by Menzies and Smith.They were eating in Lakoy's tent, and Donald said, "Rand, pass me that pyramid model. I'll show you."
Rand handed him the wooden pyramid, and Donald continued: "They believe that in every channel and every dimension of the pyramid, there is a chronicle of mankind. Some even assert that the Great Pyramid prophesied The second coming and the end of the world."
"Nonsense!" Roger Boorman yelled, and Rackoy nodded in agreement.
Rand was listening, and Leila sat quietly beside him.She had just gone out to fetch a pot of freshly brewed coffee when she leaned sideways and whispered, "Hassard's body is gone."
Rand nodded, hoping no one overheard her.Someone decided to hide the corpse for ulterior motives.He caught a glimpse of white dust on the fingers of his left hand.Sniffing gently, the smell reminded him of a school classroom.He wondered why there was chalk dust on Rakoi's pyramid model.
Mr. Stanford Jones and Melinda arrived at ten o'clock and began their daily routine of inspections.While Donald showed them around, Rand patrolled the campsite, looking for places where Hazard's body might be hidden.Finally, he began to climb the pyramid, resting after each few floors to check the lines laid by Donaldo's crew.This place was ideal for shortwave radio transmissions, but high-rise buildings in Cairo would work just as well.Laying wires just to use it as a signal tower is unlikely.
"Hello—going for a walk?"
He looked down and saw Melinda Jones in a buff trouser suit, climbing the boulder.Rand held out his hand: "It's not easy to climb this."
She stopped beside him, out of breath. "Are you going to climb to the top of the tower?"
"No! I was about to give up."
"I don't understand why my husband is so interested in this pile of rocks!" She opened a pack of cigarettes and lit one.
"Probably because it's the largest rock pile in the world."
"Perhaps you're right. Stanford has always been fascinated by the supreme."
"It's the same with women."
"Thank you, sir!" She bowed slightly.
"But you seemed to be very interested in this pile of stones yesterday, and you have been speculating about its use as an observatory."
"Oh, what Stanford likes is what I like. Otherwise I wouldn't have married him. Although he has plenty of money, I still want him to be careful."
They climbed to a higher place and looked far away, across the long yellow sand, they could see the high-rise buildings and mosques of Cairo. "The view is magnificent!" he said.
"Perhaps the ancient Egyptians thought they could see the whole world from the top of the pyramid."
After a while, they descended and returned to the campsite.Just in time to see Professor Donald and Sir Stanford whispering.Seeing Melinda and Rand approaching, they immediately separated and started chatting.Whatever they were saying, Sir Stamford clearly didn't want his wife involved.After a few perfunctory words, Rand left to find Leila.
When he found her, she was examining measurements of pyramid bases, assisted by an Egyptian worker. "I saw you and Melinda climb up," she said.
"A nice girl. Wonder why she married Sir Stamford."
"Money and power. When she was in college, Melinda wanted both money and power."
Rand examined the scribbles left by the upper reaches of Taki. "They're scribbling all over the place, aren't they?"
"Here too, graffiti has a long and illustrious history. Most of the early excavators left their names on the walls of the pyramids. Even Mercator, the map maker, carved own name."
After the workers walked away, Rand asked, "Layla, what do you think happened here?"
"I don't know, it's just that this is different from the expedition team I participated in before. The tasks assigned to me by Professor Donaldo are also like this one, just to send me away."
"Where are Boorman and Rackoy?"
"Boorman worked around him a lot, and Rackoy rarely did."
"Have you ever seen Lakoi marking his pyramid with chalk?"
"No. Why do you ask?"
"Just weird. There was chalk dust on the model this morning."
He caught a glimpse of Melinda and Sir Stamford leaving by the main tent. "Let's go over and say goodbye," he suggested.
"It's going fast," said Sir Stamford, "quickly, very well!"
"I want it done as soon as possible," Melinda complained. "I can't wait to get back to London. My body can't stand the heat." She turned to Boorman. "Mr. Half the pyramid, I need a lift."
"Of course." He said, handing one over.But even Melinda's alluring beauty couldn't melt that icy face.
"We'll come back tomorrow," Sir Stamford promised.
Donald nodded, "It's almost finished tomorrow."
Rand watched them across the level ground to the waiting cars.Melinda was talking to her husband, holding an unlit cigarette, gesticulating, and probably still babbling that she wanted to go back to London as soon as possible.
That evening, after a pleasant dinner with Donald, Leila, and two Englishmen, Rand decided to stay another night.He knew that staying any longer would invite more suspicion, but he hoped that another night would allow him to decipher the coded message.Back in his tent, he unfolded the note and scanned it again: PMIONCTRADINGCAYDWEALARTOIROARRORSSEWERCEAAIRAKCCREOVERBASES.
Sixty letters.He arranged them in a vertical row, and after a while, a smile slowly climbed up the corner of his mouth.
"Rand!" Layla rushed into his tent. "They found Hassad's body. Buried beneath a small pyramid."
"It doesn't matter now. My job is over, too."
"The password?"
He nodded. "Let's go to Professor Donald, Boorman and Lakoy."
They met others in Donaldo's tent, which was already lit as night fell.The professor looked anxious, with a hint of troubled concern on his bearded face.
"Hassad was killed, do you know anything?"
"That wasn't murder. He tried to kill me last night and fell on his own dagger."
"Then you hid the body?"
"The one who hid the body is someone else." Rand cast a glance at Graham Rackoy.
"Mr. Rand, what is your purpose in coming here?"
"This." He spread the note on the table.
Donald raised his eyes. "Can you read this?"
"can."
"What's written on it?"
Rand turned to Layla. "May I ask you to get the pyramid model from Rakoi's tent?"
The British were furious. "What do you want my pyramid for?"
"To decipher the cipher, just use the way the cipher is written. You see, this is not a substitution cipher, but a transposition cipher. It just scrambles the letters of the cipher to hide its true meaning. The chalk dust on the pyramid model makes It dawned on me that models had been used as tools for compiling ciphers. In most transpositional ciphers, the message is often laid out in a square matrix, and the letters are not read horizontally, but vertically. Here, the four sides of the pyramid were used Come—like this."
Rand wrote the code in chalk on the side of the pyramid:
P
MI
ONC
TRAD
INGCA
He turned the pyramid over and wrote on the second side:
Y
DW
EAL
ARTO
IROAR
Third side:
R
OR
SSE
WERC
EAAIR
Then comes the fourth side:
A
KC
CRE
OVER
BASES
"Now, we read line by line, starting with the top line on each side - P, Y, R, A; followed by the second line on each side - M, I, D, W, O, R , K, C. Just like this. After the sixty letters are arranged in the correct order, they can be easily separated, so we can get this message: The pyramid project hides the air base covering the Cairo area radar tower."
"Interesting," said Professor Donald softly, with a hand protruding from under the table, holding a pistol. "Then may I ask you to raise your hand?"
Rand took a step back, obeying.One thing he had learned a long time ago was not to negotiate terms with pistols. "Fine. Looks like you've got the upper hand."
Donald moved the muzzle of the gun slightly to include Graham Rackoy. "You too, Graham. Hands up."
"What are you doing?"
"Is it a letter from you?"
"I don't know! What's with the radar tower?"
"A wonderful plan," Rand interjected. "The Great Pyramid can be said to be a 40-story skyscraper, the commanding height of the entire city of Cairo. At this height, the radar can monitor the take-off and launch of all aircraft and missiles." Low-flying planes can avoid detection, but they cannot escape the radar installations on other aircraft. For Israel, such a secret radar tower hidden in the Great Pyramid is a powerful weapon in the espionage showdown. "
Racko opened his mouth in surprise. "Professor, does he mean you're an Israeli spy?"
"I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. What about you, Rackoy? Did you write that password?"
"Damn it, no! Boorman borrowed the model last night. Said he had to figure something out."
"Boorman?"
They suddenly realized that Boorman was missing.As soon as Rand started explaining the code, he sneaked out. "Put down the gun," Rand said to Donald. "While we are not friends, I am not your enemy. If Boorman is a spy—"
He was interrupted by the sound of car horns coming from the road.Donald hesitated for a moment, and put the gun in his pocket. "Rand, don't play tricks! Find out what's going on."
Outside the tent, in the dim light of late evening, they saw two figures running down the road.Rand recognized Sir Stanford and Melinda. "Hidden!" cried Sir Stamford. "The Egyptians know all about it! The army is on the way!"
As soon as the words fell, a group of military trucks galloping on the road came into view, and their searchlights searched the barren desert.From another tent, a figure flashed out.Rand recognized Roger Boorman.He held up a military .45 caliber automatic rifle, and his usually expressionless face was showing pride at this moment. "Stop!" he snapped. "You are prisoners of the Egyptian government."
Professor Donald stepped up behind Rand and drew a pistol from his pocket.Boorman missed one shot, and he took the opportunity to fire two shots, and the British fell to the ground.
"Good marksmanship!" Stanford praised.
"I don't like being used as a shield," Rand muttered.
Melinda ran over: "He's dead. Is he a spy?"
"You should let your wife know what happened," Donald said to Stanford.
"The less she knows the better. I'm sorry, dear," he glanced over his shoulder, "it looks like we're surrounded by those armies. Professor, any ideas?"
Donald thought for a while. "Climb the pyramids! Small arms are no threat, and they dare not use cannons on the pyramids."
They ran towards the pyramids, Melinda and Layla in front, Graham Rackie followed closely behind, Rand, Sir Stanford and Donald walked side by side at the end, as if no one wanted to put their backs on their backs. Leave it to others.
"The code-breaking was brilliant," Donald admitted as they ran to the foot of the pyramid and began to climb up, "but it was too late, before Boorman sent the message."
"I prevented Hassad from delivering the first message," Rand said. "They must have sent the second."
Looking down from the pyramid, they saw army trucks and half-tracks surrounding them.The sound from the loudspeaker pierced the night. "The Egyptian government demands that you, as enemies of the state, surrender immediately!"
"What now?" Sir Stanford asked Donald.
The bearded professor did not answer, but knelt on a stone slab, picked up his pistol, aimed at the nearest spotlight, fired, and hit the target.The lights went out, and there was the sound of small arms fire below.A bullet hit a boulder above Rand's head.There was a roar from below, and the gunfire stopped.
"They will send troops to surround us from the other side," Donald decided. "We can go in, but there is no way out."
"Marmon Passage," suggested Lacoy, "is just below us."
"They know that passage. Remember? They're Egyptian. It's theirs." Donald took aim and hit another spotlight.There was no fireback this time.
"There's a way," Rand said, "by radio."
Donald frowned. "What radio?"
"No time to play dumb. You must have a short-wave transmitter to contact Israel. Otherwise, what's the use of a radar tower?"
"You're right, of course," Donald admitted.
"Ask them for help."
"What can they do? Start a war just to save a few of us?"
"Remember the commando helicopter raid last year? They managed to destroy a large number of Egyptian radar towers on Shadwan Island. Maybe they can help us escape."
"Rand, we're ten miles west of Cairo!" Donald retorted.
"Or you'll spend years in an Egyptian prison!"
Donald took a deep breath and nodded. "Take this," he said, handing Rand the gun. "If they climb up toward us or the Marmon Passage, shoot them. I'll be back in a minute." He followed the airway into the interior of the pyramid.
"I'm scared," Melinda said, "how the hell am I getting involved?"
"It's all my fault," said Sir Stanford. "I'm sponsoring this project on behalf of Israel. I can't tell you. It must be disguised as a scientific investigation in order not to make the Egyptians suspicious."
"What about Boorman?" Rackoy asked, "Who is he?"
"Russian hired spies," Rand explained, "that's why I'm here."
"But what sparked the Russian suspicions? The radar station hasn't even been activated yet."
"It's an interesting question," Rand admitted.
Several shots were heard below, and then a new round of shouting came through the loudspeaker.Rand fired a shot in the air to prevent them from climbing up.He wanted them to wait until daylight before attacking, but he knew that was out of the question.
Suddenly, Donald came back out of breath. "They're going to try," he said, "and we're going to get to the top."
"All the way to the top?"
"All the way to the top. We better start now."
Climbing in the dark is not easy, let alone with two women.Just halfway through the climb, they heard the pursuers begin to climb.Rand started to sweat. He helped Layla while the others took care of Melinda. "How far?" he asked Donaldo panting after they had climbed for nearly an hour.
"I counted. This is the one hundred and seventy-eighth floor. There are two hundred and one floors in total. Let's take a rest here before continuing to climb."
Far behind them came the sound of climbing up the boulder. "They thought we were cornered," said Rackoy.
"If the helicopter doesn't come, they're right." Sir Stamford searched the eastern sky, but couldn't see any light.
"You mean, after we've climbed this, we're going to climb the rope ladder?" Melinda moaned.
"I only wish we had the chance," Donaldo replied. "Prison in Egypt is not a good place. Let's go and climb up in one go."
Their climb slowed down due to fatigue, and it took nearly half an hour to reach the top of the tower.站在这个仿佛是世界屋脊的地方，兰德感受到前所未有的无助。下面的追兵好像停下了，但新式的强力探照灯运到了，射出的光线扫过金字塔。
四个男人，两个女人，站在胡夫大金字塔的顶端等待着。终于，兰德听到了螺旋桨的声音从头顶传来。“直升机来了！”
两架庞大的军用直升机从黑暗的天空浮出，在他们上空盘旋，旋翼啪啪作响。下面开了几枪，但他们身处高空，在射程之外。灯光从较近的一架直升机射出，一条绳梯像蛇一样滑了下来。
“我们爬上去，”唐纳多说，“女士优先。”
地面上的军队已经停止了射击，可能因为喷气式截击机已经从最近空军基地起飞了。最后轮到兰德爬绳梯时，他已经可以看到它们喷出的尾烟在金字塔上空萦绕不散。
但他还是和其他人一起，爬进了直升机的机舱，躺倒在地，气喘吁吁。“真精彩，”一个以色列人用英国腔说道，“没想到你们能成功逃脱。”
“我们还没成功逃脱，”斯坦福爵士提醒着他，“外面都是埃及的喷气机。”
喷气机靠近了，却没有开火，好像在等待着什么。兰德把蕾拉拉到身旁，在她耳边低语。他要放手一搏，希望自己是对的。
正当直升机转向东北，准备回国时，美琳达·琼斯突然行动了。她猛地拉开飞行员驾驶室的门，用一支小巧的手枪指着飞行员。“我们不回以色列，”她宣布道，“我们在埃及机场降落。”
“美琳达！这到底是怎么回事？”斯坦福爵士向前跨了一步，她将枪口对准了他。在那一刻，一丝坚决冷酷的笑容浮现在她的脸上。兰德相信她会对她丈夫开枪的。
但就在这时，蕾拉从后面扑上去，飞拳打掉了手枪，将美琳达按倒在地。兰德一把抄起手枪。
“告诉他们我们降落，”他对飞行员下了命令，“喷气机下降时，我们再回升，冲出去。他们那样的速度，不可能及时调转跟上来。”
驾驶员听从了他的命令，飞机猛然上升，冲了出去，另一架也跟了上来。一阵防空炮擦过，试图截住他们，可马上天空又恢复了平静。
“美琳达怎么办？”斯坦福爵士问道，“我简直不敢相信！”
“我想你会发现她是被俄国方面安插进来的，爵士。恕我冒犯，您的年纪正适合娶少妻。以您的身份资助科考队，她就开始怀疑金字塔工程了。她需要在内部，也就是科考队里有个帮手，于是她向俄国方面求助，他们就派来了布尔曼。而他安排哈萨德在美琳达和开罗之间传递情报。布尔曼知道雷达发射站的秘密后，将情报写成密码，交给她。”
“你是怎么知道的？”唐纳多问道，“你让蕾拉在她拔枪时扑倒她。”
“枪声一停，我就知道有他们的人上了飞机。也就意味着她会逼我们降落。至于为什么是美琳达，你好好想想。有人让俄国派来了布尔曼。有人收到了布尔曼的第二条情报，今晚就通报给了埃及。但是哈萨德死后，布尔曼藏起了他的尸体，他又是如何把情报送出去的呢？
“哈萨德把第一条情报卷成卷儿，塞进了烟嘴。布尔曼只不过稍加改变，把第二条情报卷成了香烟。你一定还记得今天在金字塔下面，美琳达向他要了一支烟，而我之前看到她新开了一包。而且她根本没有点燃香烟！她没有点燃，夹在手里。那里面一定藏有第二条情报。”
“聪明，”美琳达坐在机舱地板上说道，“但你们还没成功逃脱。”
“不，我们逃掉了，”唐纳多纠正道，“我们刚刚穿过了苏伊士运河。我们现在安全了。”
“你们也没有赢！”她叫嚣道，“你们该死的雷达发射塔计划泡汤了！”
“没有人赢，”唐纳多赞同道，“从一场漫长而无果的战争中总结出的另一条结论。”
兰德走到机舱前部，蕾拉身边。 "How are you?"
“我觉得还好。这次比在尼罗河游泳还要糟糕。”
"terribly sorry."
“他们很可能再也不会让我回埃及了。”
“在英国也有很多值得考察的古老遗址，”他说，“如果你想试试的话。”
她微笑着抬头看着他，“说不定我会的。”
Notes:
Notes: