Chapter 24 26/27

26 Randall was still waiting to speak to George Wheeler in Mainz, and he thought there would be no doubt that the publisher would fix the problem.Once this problem is resolved, including Bogardes can be fired immediately. The "Second Resurrection" will eventually be saved from falling into Frumi's hands. The voice of the German switchboard service staff rang again: "George Wheeler has been notified, and he will pick it up in a while." After a while, Wheeler's thunderous voice shook Randall's eardrums. "Hello! Who is it? Steve Randall?" "Yes, George, I have to..."

"They pulled me out of an extremely important meeting, said there was an emergency call. What the fuck is so important? Can't wait until I get back?" Randall ignored Wheeler's annoyance and insisted stubbornly, "Yes, can't wait. George, it's important, we have a problem here." "If it's about publishing..." "It involves the whole process, and the International New Testament itself. I'll tell you as soon as I can. I saw Frumi last night." "What did you say? Met Frumi?" "Yes, he asked me to go. I was curious, so I went."

"Dangerous deal, what does he want?" "Let's talk after seeing you, the main problem is—" "Look, Steve, let's talk tomorrow." Wheeler sounded distressed. "I have to go back to Henning and the other publishers. There's an emergency. Let's talk about it later." "I think I know about all your emergencies," Randall interrupted. "You just found out that Plummer and Frumi were trying to blackmail Henning, and they got evidence that Henning was a Nazi in 1933." And participate in the burning of books." An exclamation came from the Mainz end. "How do you know?" Wheeler asked.

"From Frumi." "That bastard." "What do you want to do?" Randall wondered. "We still don't know for sure. Frumi has negatives and some prints, but pictures can be deceiving, pictures can distort facts and don't tell the truth. Carl Henning was a child, just starting preschool, and they were just Playing in the street, he was in it just for the fun of it. What kid wouldn't want to throw his textbooks in the fire? He wasn't a Nazi, he didn't belong to the Hitler Youth or anything like that. But if it was publicized Come out, distorted or sensationalized, you are doing propaganda, you should know."

"It looks bad and I know it's going to have a big impact on sales." "Not yet, though," said Wheeler bluntly. "We have several plans in place to keep their mouths shut. One thing is for sure, the secret must not be revealed to Froome under any circumstances." "George, I called you and said something similar. I was in Krasnapolsky, and I had a blackmail case, and I wanted to know..." "What blackmail? What happened there?" Randall briefly told how he learned about the traitor in their project through a meeting with Frumi. "Who?" Wheeler interjected.

"Our librarian. Hans Bogardes. I met him an hour ago. He admitted that he's been passing on our..." "Fire him!" Wheeler yelled. "Did you tell him? Huh?" "No, wait a minute, George." "You go and tell him right away, you say Dr. Deckhard and George Wheeler authorized you to do this, and tell Heldrin and his guards to go upstairs and throw that bastard out." "George, it's not that simple, which is why I called you." "what do you mean?" "He's blackmailing too. He's claiming he has a loophole in the Gospel of James. He says he's going to hand it over to his boyfriend—that reporter Plummer—yes, that's what it is. If we Fire him and he'll destroy us all."

"Steve, what the hell are you talking about? What evidence?" Randall picked up his notebooks and read to Wheeler a passage from the Gospel of James, followed by a study of Lake Fucinus. "Ridiculous!" Wheeler fumed. "We have the best experts in the world—carbon identification experts, article analysis and criticism experts, Aramaic language experts, ancient Jewish experts, and Roman history experts. After many years of research by them, every word of the Gospel of James, Phrases, sentences are carefully examined under a magnifying glass by the sharpest eyes and brains in the world. They all pass unanimously and without exception and confirm its authenticity. What, who listens to gay librarians member's nonsense."

"George, they won't listen to a gay librarian, a nobody, but the whole world will listen to Frumi, if he brings it up." "No, he won't bring it up, because there's nothing to bring up, nothing wrong. Monty's findings are true, and our International New Testament is infallible." "So how do we explain our International New Testament saying that Jesus stepped across a dry lake in Rome that was only drained 3 years later?" "I'm sure either Bogardes or you made a mistake and made a mess. There's no doubt about it." He paused. "Okay, okay, just to reassure you, read the material to me again— —Slow down, wait a minute, and let me get my pen and paper. Well, read me that gibberish."

Randall read to him slowly, and when he finished he said, "That's all, George." "Thanks, I'll show it to someone else. But it's all a sham in the end, forget about it, carry on as usual, we've got to fix the problem here." "Okay," Randall was relieved, "Then, I will do it, fire Hans Bogardes, and I will ask Captain Heldrin to send him out of the hotel." There was a small moment of silence on the other end, "About Bogardes, yes, of course we're going to fire him. But Steve, on second thought, maybe we should handle it ourselves. I mean, like firing Bogardes Employees like Dess, that's not your remit, it's our responsibility to hire and fire. Dr. Deckhard always likes to get it right in that kind of thing. You know the Germans, that's all. Today Forget about Bogardes for now, do your job. Tomorrow, when we get back to the office, we'll do our duty, I think that's the best. Now, I'd better go back to Henning on our current issues. Mmm , Steve, and thank you for your vigilance by the way. You plugged the loophole in Amsterdam, and you deserve a bounty. As for that—the lake, whatever it's called—Fucinus? Forget it." Wheeler is gone.

Randall hung up the phone. However, 5 minutes later, Randall was still sitting in the swivel chair behind the table. He couldn't forget it, and his thoughts returned to the conversation just now. George Wheeler's tone and his change in attitude about firing Hans Bogardes puzzled him.He had initially thought of throwing Bogardes out of Krasnapolski immediately, but after hearing the librarian's discovery and threats, Wheeler suddenly became less stubborn and wanted to fire him immediately. strangeness. But there was something more puzzling to Randall, the way in which Wheeler brushed aside the anachronisms Bogardes had discovered.Wheeler doesn't have new facts to deny it, he just kicks it under the blanket.Of course, Wheeler is not a theologian, not a scholar, so he cannot be expected to find real answers.But Randall decided he needed to find someone soon, preferably with an explanation.

He straightened up in his chair. He himself was one of the believers, both as a publisher and as a believer. He couldn't sell to the world and himself something that had a problem that hadn't been solved. Here, on his desk, was a bug that Bogardes had discovered, and if the question wasn't answered, the credibility of the project would be ruined. Sure, it's not a big deal, but... There was an old saying, he couldn't remember Herbert, George Herbert, or perhaps Benjamin Franklin, that flashed into his mind, "Because a nail is missing A horseshoe is lost, a horse is lost for want of a shoe, and a rider is lost for want of a horse." Oh, the knight must not get lost. He's going to nail this nail into it. Randall took the phone and pressed the buzzer. "Angela, call Naomi for me and tell her I'm flying to Paris in two hours and ask her to arrange a meeting with Professor Henri Aubert's laboratory later this afternoon. Dating." "Traveling again? Steve, what's the matter?" "Just to investigate," he said, "a little investigation." Randall came to Paris again, to the location of Professor Aubert's office and laboratory. Now, Randall was already sitting at one end of the sofa, facing Aubert who was opening the file folder, holding the materials Randall gave him. Oberth pressed his furrowed brows before he began to read the content, his facial features showing some confusion. "I still don't understand, Mr. Randall, why did you ask me to read the results of the papyrus experiment again? I can only tell you that there is no difference from last time." "I just want to double check that I haven't missed anything." Professor Aubert was very dissatisfied with this statement, "There will be nothing missing, especially in this papyrus experiment." He looked at Randall seriously, "What special reason bothers you ?" "Honestly," Randall admitted, "there's something troubling about the translation of a page called Papyrus Nine." Randall reached for his briefcase from the side of the sofa and pulled out the paper with Edron's photo. The photo of Scrap Paper No. 9, "This is it." He said, and handed it to the French professor. "A beautiful photo!" Oberth shrugged, "Very well, I'll take another look at the papyrus test." Randall put the photo back in his briefcase, put the pouch on, and smoked while watching Professor Aubert go through his test report.Oberth took out two pages of yellow paper and began to read them seriously. After a pause, Oberth began to raise his head, "The result of our test No. 14 is exactly the same as what you know. The papyrus is definitely passed down from the first century, and it can be pushed back to AD 62. That's what James wrote on this pressed fiber." In order to achieve double reliability, before coming to Paris, Randall made some preparations for this meeting. "Professor," he said, "radiocarbon tests have been criticized by several authorities. White has made three different tests on the same ancient piece of wood and each time yielded a different date. The farthest It was 746 BC, and it was 289 BC at the latest. After Dr. Libby's 1951 report on the 'Dead Sea Scroll Painting' experiment, someone wrote an article in the American magazine saying that 'the radiocarbon date test has many confusions, Contradictions and shortcomings', will your inspection report also have some errors?" Professor Aubert pursed his lips and smiled. "Of course I will have errors. Those critics you mentioned are certainly right. But the errors you mentioned were as early as the 1950s. At that time, our experimental errors may be 50 years. Later, as technology improved , we've improved. The margin of error has shrunk to 25 years." He tossed the clip aside. "If you still have doubts about the reliability of Papyrus Nine, you can get rid of the idea. I have the test reports here, and I have experience in interpreting them. That is enough. In fact, my words It should have been enough to reassure you, Mr. Randall, you can trust me." "Can I?" Randall said.He hadn't meant to burst out, but the matter was so important that it was impossible to hide the truth. "You promise I can trust you completely?" Professor Aubert, who had already stood up and was about to end the meeting, sat down again with a more solemn expression, "Sir, what do you mean?" Realizing that he's on the ropes, Randall simply says, "I mean you're not telling me the truth, what did you tell me about yourself the last time we were together?" Oberth stared at Randall for a while, then opened his mouth and asked, cautiously this time, "What are you talking about?" "You talked about your future beliefs, and you told me that you finally gave your wife the child she always wanted. Later, I learned from a certain source that you had a ligation, and that you voluntarily asked not to have children a few years ago. Yes, so you—you are—can't impregnate a woman." Oberth was visibly shocked. "Where did you hear that, sir? Who told you?" "Pastor Frumi, he seems to have carefully investigated all the people involved in this project, and he gave me this information about you for free." "You believed him? But you saw my wife, sir, and you saw with your own eyes that she was already in the third trimester of pregnancy." It was getting harder and harder for Randall to keep the conversation going.However, he made up his mind to investigate to the end. "Professor Oberth, I didn't say that your wife couldn't have children either. I meant that, according to Frumi, you couldn't give her children, even though you told me you did." He hesitated, then went on. Say, "I only bring this up because we're talking about trust." Professor Aubert nodded, as if talking to himself, his tone seemed to soften a little, "Very well, you are right. If you want to trust me, you must trust everything I say, without exception. Well, it's true, what the person who gave you the information told you is true, I had an operation, a vasectomy, stupid, a long time ago, I was infertile, I couldn't get a woman pregnant. Usually, this You don't want to say that, so you can't judge me and my integrity by that. What matters is what I tell you about the Bodronas parchment and the James Papyrus for us and what I've recovered Faith. I’m telling the truth on both counts. There’s the fact that I tell my wife I want a baby as much as she does, or more than she does, so — I let her figure out how to conceive Pregnant." Randall was so embarrassed at the moment that he actually brought out this big thing, and now he hated Frumi to death.This old thing made him include his colleagues as objects of suspicion. "I'm sorry, Professor. I should have had no doubts about what I said to you for myself." The French scientist tried to force a smile, but couldn't. "Under the circumstances, it is understandable for you to do so, but are you satisfied now?" "I'm extremely satisfied," Randall said, preparing to leave. "I want to reassure myself that you have guaranteed the age of the papyrus, and can you guarantee that the words on the papyrus are from the time of Jesus?" Professor Aubert suddenly became alert again, perhaps a professional sensitivity. "Sorry, again, I think you've misunderstood me. I'm not guaranteeing that the writing on the papyrus is from the date of Jesus, only that the papyrus is from that date. Our radiocarbon testing can only prove the papyrus The paper for Number Nine. As for what is written on the papyrus—though I am sure it is reliable and true, it does not belong to my field, it is not the scope of my research." Randall never considered this difference, he paused, "So, whose field? Who can identify the age of handwriting?" "That process required many specialists, at least two scientists, one examining the papyrus under ultraviolet light for traces of original writing, to see if someone had written on the ancient papyrus. The other chemist, Do a chemical analysis of the pigments in the ink. An analysis of the ink will tell you if it's roughly AD 62." "But who will determine the writing itself?" "Experienced scholars, theologians, and scriptural critics. The scriptural critics will compare this Aramaic fragment with other extant Aramaic texts that have been confirmed to be reliable, and they will find that the text is written On the right side of the papyrus, not on the left or on the back. But the most important criterion is style and style—or usage of the ancient language—the usage of this ancient language, by which Aramaic itself is judged.” Ober Professor Te forced a smile, "But all of this has already been done, it was done when verifying the Gospel of James. They have employed legions of experts to do these things, and I see no reason for you to Doubt them." "Of course, you're right," said Randall, "but, even if I'm unreasonable and stubborn, suppose I still have a little doubt, how can I get rid of it?" "It's very simple, go to the best Aramaic language specialist in the world, there is no other way." "Who is the best Aramaic language expert?" "There is one Aramaic scholar who stands out," said Professor Oberth. "Of course, there are many good ones, like Dr. Jeffries in the 'Second Resurrection' project, or Reverend Frumi. But there are other One far superior to these is the abbot Mitros Petroporos of the monastery of Simopietra on the holy mountain." "Dean Petroporos," Randall said, frowning, "I'm not familiar with this name, nor is the Holy Mountain. Where is it?" "One of the few truly strange places left in the world," said the professor enthusiastically, "the Holy Mountain is a monastic district on a remote peninsula of its own in Greece, just across the Aegean Sea from Athens." Facing each other, 150 kilometers apart. This is an autonomous monastery area, with a total of 20 Greek Orthodox monasteries, ruled by a religious synod composed of a representative elected from each monastery. This organization was established more than 1,000 years ago, about by the Built by Peter, it is the only group that has escaped Islamic or Turk rule. In this century, there are almost 8,000 monks living on the top of the holy mountain. Now, about 3,000 or so." Randall had never heard of this, and found it very strange. "Those monks—what are they doing there?" "What are they doing there? Prayer. They seek a state of divine ecstasy in which they are one with God. They seek God's revelation. In fact, there are two factions on the holy mountain. , tolerance, and chastity; the other school pays more attention to the development of personality, pursues relaxation, demands more democracy, and allows the pursuit of money, property, and enjoyment. Of course, Dean Petroporos belongs to the orthodox school. The great achievement in the Mi language is known all over the world. He prayed and studied at the same time, just as someone can teach, paint, or do some gardening when he is not praying." "Have you met the dean?" Randall asked. "No, not with my own eyes. But I spoke to him once on the phone. Doesn't that make sense? Actually, several monasteries have telephones, and I wrote to him. You know, Holy Mountain It is a warehouse of ancient books, and their library has at least 10,000 ancient books. Once, Dean Petroporos sent some medieval parchment found to me for identification. I heard that he was the first century's supreme authority on the Aramaic language." As he spoke the last sentence, Randall pulled out the personnel directory from his briefcase—a list of several people who had worked and were working at the Krasnapolski Hotel in Amsterdam.He quickly glanced at the project's list of international language experts and translators, but did not find the name of Dean Mitros Petroporos. Randall looked up. "It's odd, to say the least, that the Dean's name isn't listed among the past or present language advisors of The Second Resurrection. We have history's most important archaeological and Religious discoveries, written in Aramaic, we are here to hear you speak the most authoritative expert in Aramaic in the world, but this expert is not included in this project at all. Can you think about why he Not hired?" "I'm sure they visited him once or twice," the professor said. "It would be inconceivable that a discovery like the James Papyrus would have missed his eye. There must be a reason for it." "For what reason, I would like to know." "Ask your Dr. Deckhard and Mr. Wheeler, their translators, and they'll know. Or see Professor Monty, he'll understand." "It would," Randall said, realizing that finding Wheeler or any of the other publishers would be impossible, as would Professor Monti, who had retired to Rome.Randall suddenly remembered, "Professor Oberth, I just thought of an idea. I might have to figure out something about Petroporos. Do you have a phone?" Professor Aubert left the sofa and pointed to the phone on the table, "You can use my phone to talk about some private matters. I'm going to put up the files we tested and see what happened in the lab. I have 10 minutes Come back later, do you need my secretary to hang up for you?" "If you don't mind, I'd like her to put a collect call on our engineering headquarters in Amsterdam. I want to speak to Miss Angela Monty." He and Angela talked on the phone for a few minutes, pretending to ask if there was anything in the office that needed attention. Then I turned to the question as if I had thought of it randomly, "Angela, I have one more thing to ask you by the way, did your father show the Aramaic experts to see the James papyrus after he found it, or just He gave it to the publisher and they got someone to read it?" "Of course my father showed it to Aramaic experts. My father's Aramaic is very good, and he knows the value of what he found. But just to be prudent, he still asked some excellent Aramaic experts to review it." "Only in Rome? Or also asked scholars elsewhere?" "Goes everywhere, it's necessary, you already know the outcome." After a pause, he added, "Steve, why are you asking this?" "Just curious." "Just curious? Steve, I know you're more than just curious. Why do you care so much about Aramaic?" There was no need to keep it a secret from her, he thought.She had proved herself this morning to be absolutely authentic. "Well, I don't have time to go into details. I found the informer of our project. It wasn't Dr. Knight, it was someone else. Through that person, I got a piece of information that there may be mistranslations in those papyrus documents. place, thus creating a contradiction." "Oh, impossible! So many Aramaic experts, the best of the present, have studied the words on the papyrus." "Yeah, that's what bothers me," Randall said. "Not all the best experts are consulted. I was just here and I heard from Professor Aubert in Paris that the world's best alamy The linguist is Mitros Petroporos Abbot, the head of a monastery on a sacred mountain in Greece. I found out that this name is not on the list of 'Second Resurrection' staff, Angela, this name, you know ?” "Mitros? Petroporos? Of course, I saw him with my own eyes. My father knew that he was an outstanding scholar in Aramaic. Five years ago, my father and I went to the holy mountain to pay homage to this abbot. He told us Very enthusiastic." "Did your father show the papyrus to Abbot Petroporos?" "That's right. Had the abbot check and verify the Aramaic script. It was an unforgettable experience, the monastery - I forget which one - was really picturesque. The abbot took a long time to examine and analyze the writing, My father and I had to stay there overnight and eat the horrible food - cooked octopus I think, which was not inspected until the next day by the superintendent. The superintendent was thrilled with the discovery and said there was no such thing in the world What could compare to this discovery, he vouched for its absolute reliability." "Good, good to know, trust me," Randall said with relief. "The only thing that confuses me is why Dr. Deckhard didn't hire Dean Petroporos but Dr. Jeffries to oversee the final translation. I think that Dean should be the first scholar they should hire." "But, Steve, they tried. My father recommended the Dean, and the publishers wanted him, and the obstacle was Mitros Petroporos himself. He was already on an extended fast, and otherwise Plus, with the limited diet, sanitation, and dirty water he had in the monastery, he fell ill, terribly. By the time my father and I met him, he was already very weak. Anyway, translation work At the beginning, the dean was too ill to leave the holy mountain to come to Amsterdam. The publishers naturally couldn’t wait for him. But they were very satisfied that the dean had reviewed the contents of the papyrus. As for the translation, they felt that it would be no problem to use other scholars It can be done, anyway, the ability is about the same.” "That's fine," Randall said. "Now you should stop those unnecessary worries and come back to me?" "I will definitely go back to see you, dear, see you in the evening." Hanging up the phone, Randall felt much better.If Abbot Petroporos had attested to the writings on the papyrus, as Professor Oberth had attested to the papyrus material itself, there would be no need to look elsewhere, and there would be no problem.Assuming that Hans Bogardes found an error in the text, which could only have been caused by careless translation, Randall would have the publisher and theologians check it out.As for himself, he did his best.He took some solace in the thought that the International New Testament—his own new faith—would be invincible. Five minutes later, Randall was waiting outside Professor Aubert's office with his briefcase in his hands to thank him for being so generous with his time to work with him. After Professor Aubert came back, Randall thanked him, "I'm going back to Amsterdam, everything is clear now." "Ah, great, I'm glad," he said, "I'll take you to the door." Professor Oberth said as he walked, "that is to say, you got Dean Petroporos from Miss Monty for the project. publishers have done the work." "Not exactly for the project," Randall said, "but the dean did look at and examine the papyri of the Gospel of James five years ago, and he was all positive. In fact, Professor Monty and His daughter, Angela Montiffe, spent two days in the monastery with the abbot, and the abbot spent two days reading the Aramaic Gospels." The professor stared straight at Randall. "Did I hear you, Mr. Randall, that Miss Monty and her father went to see the Dean?" "yes!" "They went to the Holy Mountain together?" "Yes, Miss Monty was there with her father." "Miss Monty told you?" Professor Aubert said disapprovingly. "Yes, she told me." Professor Aubert looked back and laughed loudly. "impossible." Randall was walking, but stopped suddenly, "What's so funny?" Professor Aubert tried to restrain himself, he put an arm around Randall's shoulder. "Because she's teasing you, Mr. Randall, she's--what is-- teasing you." Randall was not happy, "I don't understand." "You'll understand, you know, anyone who knows anything about the Holy Mountain will know that Miss Monty could never have been to the Holy Mountain. She wouldn't have set foot on the peninsula five years ago, today, or in the future. I haven't told you before Did you mention it? That’s why the Holy Mountain is a unique place in the world. No woman has been allowed to set foot on the border of this monastery, not a single woman has been allowed to go there for 1,000 years.” "what?" "It's true, Mr. Randall. Since the ninth century, because of the vow of chastity, in order to reduce sexual temptation, women have been forbidden to go to the holy mountain. In fact, except for uncontrollable insects, butterflies and wild birds, any female All are forbidden. There are only cocks and no hens on the holy mountain, only bulls and no cows, only rams and no ewes, there are cats and dogs, but there are no females, the population is all male, and no one has ever been born. Son, the Holy Mountain is a world without women. So I promise, Miss Angela Monty was just teasing you when she said she'd been there." "She's dead serious." Randall's voice was barely audible. The professor looked at Randall's face and became serious, "Maybe she said that Professor Monty had met Dean Petroporos himself." "Neither of the two have seen the dean." Randall said fiercely, "The dean has never seen any Aramaic language on papyrus." Randle paused, "But, he will see Yes. Because I want to show him, Professor Oberth, how do I get to the Holy Mountain?" ------------------ 27 Almost two days later, Steve found himself in the Middle Ages, which was unbelievable. It's a sunny afternoon in Greece, and Steve arrives at his destination, the Monastery of Thiemopietra.It's a very, very old wood and stone building with outdoor promenades and cantilevered balconies clinging to the cliff, 1,200 feet above the Aegean Sea. Randall was carrying a light duffel bag stuffed with a change of clothes and toiletries bought in Paris, and his combination suitcase.He wearily walked across the dusty courtyard.Leading the way was Father Spanos, a middle-aged man in a purple cassock who greeted Steve when he arrived at the compound on a mule.The guide who drove us was Flajos, a local, young, with cross-eyed eyes and a nasty smirk. "Follow me, follow me." Father Spanos muttered in front of him in his thick, earthy English, and Randall, who was already out of breath, followed the agile priest. Entering the Simopietra Monastery, climbed the rickety wooden steps. A deep, drawn-out sound echoed through the air from under the monastery, and the echo was like the ringing of an old dull bell. Randall stopped, startled by the sound. "What is it?" he asked. Father Spanos had reached the top of the building by this time and called down: "It is the signal for the second prayer meeting, the sound of the wooden clock striking the cypress boards, calling our hundred prayers to pray. The first The prayer is at midnight, the second after lunch, and the third and last just before sunset." Randall climbed to the top of the stairs. "How long is this second prayer?" "Three hours, but don't be afraid, you don't have to wait that long to see Dean Petroporos, he is waiting for you, he won't pray very long." The priest showed his jagged teeth, "Are you hungry?" Hungry?" "Ok." "The meal has been prepared for you. After you finish eating, the dean will be ready. Come." Randall followed Father Spanos again, wearily down a wide, damp, whitewashed corridor.There are some hewn Byzantine columns in the corridor, and some frescoes of saints.Finally, they entered a prison-like reception room.The walls inside had just been painted grey, and in the middle of the room stood a long table, with some shiny wooden benches, on which lay a plate of food, a fork that was hardly clean, and a large wooden spoon. Father Spanos led Randall directly to the table and sat down. "You can dine now," said the host. "After the meal, the dean will meet you in his office next door." "How is the dean? I hear he has been very ill five years ago." "He was ill, with intestinal disturbances, and a bout of typhoid fever. But the abbot was very resistant, and the climate, spiritual life, herbs, and powers gained from contact with the Holy Spirit revived Abbot Petroporos. , he is fine." "Has he been out in recent years?" "No, except that he has been to Athens twice, but he plans to travel abroad once soon." Father Spanos turned around and clapped his hands vigorously. "I will take my leave first. Someone will serve you later." "Wait a minute," Randall said, "I have another question. I heard that no woman can enter the monastery on this peninsula. Is it true?" Father Spanos lowered his head slightly, and said in a solemn tone: "This order was made ten centuries ago. No matter whether human or beast, no female has defiled our place. Three exceptions, one in 1345 A.D. In 1999, a Serbian king and queen came ashore; in modern times, Romanian Empress Elizabeth has been to this monastery; there is also a British ambassador's wife, Ms. Stratford di Racliffe, but both of them were distracted. .Except for these few times, no woman has been here. For example, in 1938, one of our church members died, Mihailo Toldo, at the age of 82, and he lived until his death with a woman Haven't seen it either." "How is this possible?" “托尔多神父的母亲死于难产，他来到我们这儿时是个孤儿，刚生下来4个钟头。他长大成人，直至暮年，从来没有离开过这儿，从来没有见过一个女人。还有一个例子，”神父咧开那参差不齐的牙齿笑了笑，“希腊一个妇科医生，被他的女病人们折磨得苦不堪言，想逃出来享受享受干净和安逸。他来到圣山度假。他知道，在这儿，再没有女病人用得着他打搅他。是真的，我们无需受夏娃的引诱，只有上帝及兄弟友会的诱惑。粗茶淡饭，希望你能吃得满意。” 斯帕诺斯神父刚出去不久，一个腼腆的守法衣长袍的教士开始招待兰德尔吃午饭。饭菜很简单：一大碗粥、几块白鱼、一块乳酪、一些葫芦菜、一块黑面包、一杯土耳其咖啡、一个桔子。安杰拉曾告诉他有煮章鱼，幸好这次没有。不过那一大杯强烈的红酒倒是让他这顿饭吃得蛮香的。 可是，兰德尔的心思确实不在饭菜上，他在回忆着两天前在巴黎的情景。 安杰拉?蒙蒂辜负了他对她的信任，她又对他撒了谎，她说她到过圣山，可这是一个她从来不可能到过的地方。 在整个艰苦的旅途中，兰德尔心头怒火中烧，所有的火气都指向了她。他曾爱过并相信过这意大利女孩，上周他以为她是个叛徒、骗子，可她想让他满意地证明自己哪一个都不属于。后来，他爱她更深了，也更信任她了，可是，现在——这个绝对再也不能辩白的谎言！ 从法国到希腊的心情最坏的一路上，他脑袋里充满了愤怒的斥责声，都是冲着她，他骂她，粗野地叫她不知廉耻的、骗人的母狗。他一向不愿用这种词汇来说女人的，可是他无从表达他的愤怒，他对这个姑娘极度的失望，这个他曾经以为值得他像信任别人一样再度相信的姑娘。不过，他仍然想着她，试图编出几个借口来为她的谎言作解释，因为他仍然爱着她，可是他找不出借口，一个也没有。 快到终点时，他的愤怒渐渐减弱了。 他决心把她从他脑子里赶出来。 他回想三天来发生的事情。这三天把他带到了这个荒僻的单性异乡的半岛上。 上周五下午在巴黎，安杰拉撒谎后——他妈的，赶出她去，驱除她去，别想她，集中精力办事——一时冲动，他下定决心把博加德斯发现的詹姆斯纸草纸上的年代错误交给这个世界上最权威的阿拉米语专家来做最后的判定。 然后，还是在巴黎时，他花了一个上午的时间弄到一张清单，一份来圣山的批准书。没有奥伯特教授的声望及政治势力，这至少要花几个星期才能弄来。由于奥伯特教授的帮忙，他只用了几个小时的时间，希腊外事部基督教分部就为他办好了去圣山独立区的特别护照。奥伯特又联系了一位大学教授，托那个人与圣山的彼得罗波罗斯院长联系，约定了见面时问。院长同意在西莫皮特拉修道院接见他。这之后，便是仓促地准备旅行。 路线确定下来后，兰德尔给阿姆斯特丹挂了两个电话。他告诉维多利亚旅馆让他们给安杰拉?蒙蒂留个话说他有一个特殊任务要出去5至6天。他又给克拉斯纳波斯基酒店的乔治?L?惠勒打电话，可是得知这个出版商和亨宁在美因茨忙着。兰德尔便简单地给他留了几句话，大意是他要就博加德斯错误去见彼得罗波罗斯院长，几天之内即返回为宣布日到来的公众宣传做准备。 昨天，星期六，他乘奥林匹克喷气式飞机从巴黎起飞到希腊的萨洛尼卡市。飞行不到4小时，便跨上萨洛尼卡市宽宽的大街。穿过希腊摩尔式建筑的房子，以及数不清的拜占庭教堂。然后他在美国领事馆拿到了去圣山的护照后，又在地中海旅馆度过了一个难眠之夜。 今天一大早，他从萨洛尼卡乘上一艘脏乎乎的，像是用油炸过的油饼似的汽船，行程80英里到圣山的官方港口达芙尼。在那个红顶的警卫站里，一个头顶天鹅绒帽子的警官，给他的护照盖了个章。接着在海关小屋里，几个长头发的僧人检查了他的随身行李。一个严厉的僧侣居然真的——真的！——摸了摸又戳了戳他的胸部，解释说这是“为了确认你是不是女扮男装”。 通过行李和性别的检查，兰德尔见到了他的向导，他早在那等他了。这是一位名叫维拉霍斯的希腊年轻人，既是向导又是驭骡人。维拉霍斯雇了一个私人小船，把他们从海边摆渡到不远的西莫皮特拉修道院。小船看来不很结实，但是突突作响的单引擎和来回晃动的小船，还是把微微有些醉意的舵柄旁的主人和躲在遮阳的破帆布下面的维拉霍斯和兰德尔，安全运到了高高栖在海边岩石上的修道院下那个挤在大石头堆中间的船库里。 维拉霍斯在那儿经过一番讨价还价后租了两头骡子。他们骑着这两头骡子，沿着峭壁上那条曲曲折折的直通鹰巢顶的危险的小路费劲地向上爬。20分钟后，他们在一个神龛那儿喘息了一会儿。神龛里供着圣母和圣乔奈姆和圣安妮的神像。从他们带的餐具盒里取水时，维拉霍斯解释说西莫皮特拉就是“银石”的意思。那个修道院——他们的目的地，在最高处是1363年被一个很有眼光的隐士发现并建起来的。 兰德尔唯一的意愿是逃离这条危险的小路，尽快到达目的地。经过一路颠簸，天堂最终出现在路的尽头了。令人精疲力尽的15分钟后，他们到了山顶，远处白菜地那边，耸着一堵修道院的大高墙。负责接待他的斯帕诺斯神父正站在修道院门口一个破破烂烂的木板地的阳台上等他。 兰德尔想，所有这些异地梦魇，就是为了探出耶稣怎会在没有放干水的湖上经过的。 此次想要解开谜底的旅行是异乎寻常和疯狂的，他不禁奇怪自己为什么要这样做。但是他知道，他只要保持自己刚刚产生的，几乎是很微弱的信仰而已。 “兰德尔先生——” 他从长椅上转过身，发现斯帕诺斯神父站在他身旁。 “如果您愿意的话，米特罗斯?彼得罗波罗斯院长现在想见你，你称他为神父就是了。” 兰德尔欣然地把他的旅行包交给修道士，自己拿着公文包，被领进院长办公室。 他走进的这间房子宽敞得出奇，而且灯火通明。墙上画的是非常形象但很粗糙的宗教壁画，许多有代表性的圣像，如天使长加百利报喜，圣母玛利亚加冕等。屋顶悬挂着的是一盏白色的金属吊灯，房里到处是点燃着的油灯，把这间房子笼罩在单调的黄晕中。一张圆桌上，堆满了厚厚的中世纪古籍，桌旁站着一位至少70岁或更大年纪的人。 他戴一顶黑色的圆筒形无边毡帽，穿一件厚厚的黑色长袍，上面按宗教级别缝着一个骷髅，脚穿一双粗制的农夫鞋。这是一个小小的瘦弱的希腊人，浓密的白胡须，棕色的皮肤，他瘦瘦的鼻子上架着一副古怪的无边方形眼镜——眼镜向下压得很低。 斯帕诺斯神父介绍了院长后就离去了。 “兰德尔先生，欢迎你到这儿来，你一路上辛苦了吧！”他语调温柔，给人一种安慰感。 “神父，我非常荣幸在这里被接待。” “你喜欢我们用法语还是意大利语交谈？或许英语更令你满意？” 兰德尔笑了。“尽量用英语好了——尽管我希望我懂阿拉米语。” “噢，阿拉米语，实际上它并不像你想象得那么令人生畏。当然，我这样说是不很适当的，因为我把一生都用来研究它了。不过，我们还是可以好好地谈一下。”他在圆桌旁一个背部有梯格式横档的椅子上坐下来，兰德尔紧跟着坐在他身旁。“我猜想，”他接着说，“你恐怕要在这儿度过一个晚上，然后再返回萨洛尼卡市。” "If you can." “我们欢迎偶而来的客人。当然，你可能发现我们这里有许多不便之处，举个例子说吧：我们修道院里没有浴缸。我们喜欢说'经过基督洗礼的人不必再沐浴'。但是你将发现我们的床垫都很干净，没有蚊子或其它蟑螂之类的虫子。” “彼得罗波罗斯神父，我的唯一兴趣是阿拉米语。” “当然，这是我主耶稣的语言，虽然没有华丽的词藻，但却隐含着地球上一些最伟大的智慧。是的，这就是阿拉米语，——闪语语系中的一支。它是叙利亚和美索不达米亚高地的一种语言。阿拉米人都讲这种语言，这些人是游牧民族，在公元前五世纪后定居在巴勒斯坦北部。在基督长大成人时，阿拉米语还是加利利穷人的普通语言。希伯来语只限于那些受过教育的人用。但希伯来语和阿拉米语非常接近，可以说它们就像是叔伯兄弟一样。” “它们的区别在哪儿呢？” “这很难解释。”彼得罗波罗斯院长抚摸着胡须说，“我该怎么说呢？希伯来语和阿拉米语都有相同的22个字母，但是这只是辅音。这两种语言都没有元音符号。但是当大声朗读时，这两种语言都有许多字母表里没有的语音。当口语被记载下来时，没有的语音或元音就用与它们最近似的辅音符号表示出来。一个用希伯来语书写和另一个用阿拉米语书与的人会用同样的辅音记下同样的词——但是，每个人会加上不同的、稍有区别的符号表示元音。举个例子来说，如果詹姆斯用希伯来语写My Lord或My G0d，那么写出来的将是Eli——但用阿拉米语言写出来的却是Elia。我讲清楚了吗？” “噢，”兰德尔说，“我想我有些明白了。” “这并不重要，”院长说，“你所关心的，我想，是古阿拉米语吧？” "Not bad." “那么让我们接着谈，兰德尔先生，我听说你希望我检验一份用公元一世纪的阿拉米语书写的手稿。此外，对你来访的原因我一无所知。” “神父，您听说过'第二次复活'计划吗？” “'第二次复活'计划？” “这是个代号，是在阿姆斯特丹进行的一项印刷《圣经》的活动。一群出版商结合在一起，打算根据6年前在罗马城外获得的重大的考古发现，出版《圣经》新的版本。” “啊，当然——”院长打断他的话说，“现在我想起来了。英国《圣经》学者——杰弗里斯，杰弗里斯博士曾邀请我共同翻译新发现的阿拉米语材料。他写的并不很明显，但是引起了我很大的好奇心。当时如果不是我病得很厉害的话，我一定会接受他的邀请。但已不可能了。兰德尔先生，你能告诉我这是关于什么内容的吗？我一定替你保密。” 在接下来的5分钟里，兰德尔毫不犹豫地把彼得罗纳斯羊皮纸和詹姆斯福音书的要点告诉了院长。 他讲完之后，院长的眼睛亮了起来。“这可能吗？”他咕哝着，“这可能吗？能有这样的奇迹吗？” “有可能，而且存在着。”兰德尔静静地说，“这就要靠您来判断挖掘中发现的手稿中的一块令人奇怪的碎片了。” “这是主的作品，”院长说，“我只是他的仆人。” 兰德尔提起手提箱，放到腿上，打开，寻找埃德隆拍摄的第九号手稿的照片。他一边找，一边说，“这是由意大利考古学家奥古斯图?蒙蒂在罗马附近的一处古迹发现的。别人告诉我说蒙蒂教授和他的女儿在5年前曾拜访过您，请求您证实他的发现。可我觉得他的女儿不可能到过圣山。” "Absolutely impossible." “但是我想知道蒙蒂教授自己是否真的来到这里向您请教？” 院长摇着头说：“没有，没有叫那个名字的人来拜访过我。至少……”他的声音低了下来，眼角闪动着，竭力去回想些什么。“蒙蒂，你说是蒙蒂？是从罗马大学来的那个人吗？” "right!" “我想起来了，我曾同他通过信，我肯定是这样的，可能是在四、五年前吧，或者甚至更早些。这位罗马的教授曾希望我去罗马，由他负担路费，去证实一些阿拉米语手稿。他自己太忙了，无法抽身到圣山来拜访我。后来——我又想起了另一件事——杰弗里斯博士在邀请我合作翻译时，的确提及过一位发现两部著名的公元一世纪时的文件的意大利考古学家。但是，至于与蒙蒂本人在这儿——圣山或其他的地方会面，没有，我不曾如此幸运地拜会过他。” “我也认为您不曾见过他。”兰德尔说，尽力掩饰住他的痛苦，“我只不过想确证一下。”他把公文包放到地上，只拿出手稿的相片和阿拉米语英文译本的复制品。“这是我来圣山所要呈现给您看的。但是，在我给您看之前，院长，让我先把这个问题的由来说一下，希望您能解答。” 兰德尔没有提及博加德斯及他在该项目中的使命详情，只简单地说明了在《国际新约》正在印刷的过程中，有人偶然发现，在讲述耶稣从罗马经过富西纳斯湖肥沃的土地逃往埃及这一章里有一个年代错误，一个差异。 “但是，根据罗马历史学家记载，”兰德尔总结说，“直到3年后那个湖才干枯了。” 院长听清楚了。“允许我看一下译文。”他请求说。 兰德尔把它递给他，说：“请看第四和第五行。” 院长读了译文，又重新读了第四和第五行。“我们的主，在带着教徒逃出罗马的那天晚上穿过了富西纳斯湖的大片土地。那个湖早就被凯撒大帝派人排干了，那时罗马人已经在开垦并耕耘了。”他摇着头，陷入了沉思。“是的，现在如果你允许我看看这个译本的阿拉米语原文……” 兰德尔把相片递给院长，这位希腊老人扫了一眼相片，皱起眉头，然后抬起头。“这又不过是件复制品，兰德尔先生，我必须看一下原稿。” “我没有，神父。他们不允许我或其他任何人携带着它旅行，这手稿太珍贵了。他们把它安全地保存在阿姆斯特丹的一个特殊的地下室里。” 院长显然很失望。“这样的话，你给我的任务就双重困难了。看阿拉米语那些细小的文字就已够困难的了。但是检验复制品中的阿拉米文字，并且试图准确地翻译它们，那几乎是不可能的。” “但是，这张相片是用红外线拍的，它显示出手稿中最微弱的特征，而且……” “不管怎样，兰德尔先生，复制品只不过是第二手资料，对于我年老昏花的双眼来说，总是不能解决问题的。” “那么，神父，您至少能分辨出相片上到底有什么吧？” “我是想看一下，我当然尽力而为了。”他咕哝着站起身，蹒跚着走到放着灯的桌旁，拉开抽屉，取出一个巨大的放大镜。 兰德尔密切地注视着神父弓下腰，把手稿的相片放到灯下，透过放大镜研究它。一连几分钟，神父一直全神贯注地检查着相片。最后，他把放大镜放在桌子上，拖着双腿走向他的椅子，然后拿起译文，又重新读起来。 他一言未发地把译文还给了兰德尔，抚摸着他雪白的胡须，说：“你应该知道，杰弗里斯博士和他的同事能够直接看原文，因而有优势。记住这一点的话，便可以说他的翻译是最好的。果真如此的话，那么这些文件一定被认为是基督史上最令人震惊、最激动人心的发现了。” “我也毫不怀疑这一点，”兰德尔说，“但是，我的确怀疑——或者至少我想知道，是否阿拉米语的翻译是最确切的呢？” 神父搔着胡子后的下巴，陷入了沉思。“就我从这张相片上分辨得出的结果来看，翻译是非常准确的。我不能断言的确是这样的。许多阿拉米文字，你自己也能看得出，经过几世纪已经褪色了，原来的文字几乎消失了，变得模糊不清了。在你所说的那几行里，有几个字几乎认不出来了。” “我知道，神父，但仍……” 这位希腊老人没有理睬兰德尔，继续说下去：“古代手稿经常是这样的，一个外行人是不能理解这些问题的。首先，我们要来谈谈这些纸草纸的原料。你知道这个保留下来的手稿的纸草纸是什么吗？这种纸是由埃及尼罗河地区生长的一种草茎中抽取其木髓制成的。木髓被剪成条状，然后把两层这样的木髓条交叉粘在一起。这样生产出来的纸草纸不比我们当代廉价的证券纸持续的时间长多少，当然更不能保存十九个世纪。在潮湿的气候中，这种纸就分解了；在干燥的条件下，能保存时间长一些，但是变得极其脆弱，用手指一接触就可能破碎或碎成粉末。你给我看的相片中的手稿碎片，可能是太脆了，磨得太厉害了，以至于上面的文字几乎是模糊不清的。而且，在公元一世纪的时候，阿拉米文是用方体字形书写的，木髓纸上的各个字母或各个字都是独立写下来的，因此，单个字间不是互相联系着的。人们也许认为这样书写比较容易辨认和阅读。其实恰恰相反。用草书写成的字体都要远远比它好读。非常遗憾的是，草书到了公元九世纪时才出现。这些障碍就使得研究一件复制品更加艰难了。” “然而，这种阿拉米语足可以被阅读的，而且全部翻译出来了。” “的确是这样。就像分布在世界各地的3100份《新约》的碎片和手稿一样——其中80份写在纸草纸上，200份用安色尔体，也就是说大写体——也成功地被翻译出来了。但是，这是在克服了巨大的困难之后才得以翻译成功的。” 兰德尔仍坚持着。“很显然，这些手稿中的困难也被克服了。詹姆斯福音书被翻译出来了。而且您也说过，您认为它翻译得可能很精确。那么，您怎么能解释其它内容中的不一致性呢？” “有几种可能的解释，”院长说，“我们不知道在公元62年的詹姆斯是否受过很好的教育，以至于他自己能够书写福音书。也许是他写的，但更有可能是，为了节省时间，由他口授，让经过训练的抄写员书写，然后他只不过再签上名罢了，这份手稿可能是抄写员第一次写下来的原稿，或者是另外一份手抄稿——也就是詹姆斯说他送给其他二人中的一份——由抄写员记录下来的。或者是一个抄写员，由于手或眼睛劳累，或者由于大脑走神，可能把一个字，几个字，或者一句话抄错了。记住，在阿拉米语中，把一个小小的点点错了位置，就能全部改变那个字的意思。举个例子来说，在阿拉米语中有一个字可以当'死亡'或者'村庄'讲，其差别完全是靠一个点的位置。这么一点小小的错误非常可能造成时代错误。或者，的确可能，在基督去世13年后书写或口授耶稣的传记，詹姆斯自己有可能把我们的主从哪里或如何从罗马离开这一事实记错了。” “您相信是那样吗？” “不相信，”院长说，“这份资料太宝贵了。即使在当时，也不允许人们犯这么粗心的错误。” “那您的看法如何？” “我认为最有可能的解释是：当代的翻译者——当然理应非常尊重杰弗里斯博士和他的同事们——在把阿拉米语翻译成英语或其它语言时犯了错误。这种错误也许是由于两种原因中的一种导致的。” “那些原因是——” “第一个原因很简单：今天我们不可能知道公元62年詹姆斯所知道的所有阿拉米语。我们不知道阿拉米语的全部词汇。而且没有这种文字的词典，而且以前也没有一本词典传给我们。因此当我们成功地发现了许多古代纸草纸的资料的时候，新发现的手稿又给我们提出许多以前我们从未见过的词。我记得有人在米地沙漠的一绿洲上的穆拉巴特洞穴中曾发现过一些手稿，叫我前去帮助翻译。这次发现包括公元130年用阿拉米语写成的许多法律合同和反叛罗马的犹太首领考克巴用阿拉米语写的两封信。他是公元132年反叛罗马的负责人。其中就有无数我以前从未见过的阿拉米语文字。” “那么当时您是怎样翻译它的呢？” “用了与杰弗里斯和他的同事们在翻译詹姆斯手稿时遇到一些不认识的字时一样的处理方法——即通过与文中认识的字进行对比，通过与熟悉的语法形成的相似点猜度出作者所要传达的意思和意味。这里我想说的是，用现代的文字去表达古代的语言有时是不可能的。有时，翻译则更像是解释。但是这种解释有时会导致错误的产生。” 院长若有所思地摸着胡须，然后接着说，“第二种危险，兰德尔先生，是每一个阿拉米文字都可能有几种意思。举个例子说，有一个阿拉米字表示'灵感'、'教诲'和'幸福'。遇到这种情形，翻译者就要决定用哪一种解释为好。翻译者的决定既是主观的，又是客观的。主观上讲，他必须要权衡一下一行或几行中不同字并列的含义。客观上来说，他必须要努力发现原来存在的一点或一笔现在已经消失了。而这非常容易被忽视，被错误地估计，非常容易犯错误。人类并不是知道所有一切事物的。他们极其容易判断错误。以前在从希腊文翻译成英文詹姆斯钦定本《圣经》时，翻译人员就把'人子'译成了'他的儿子'。实际上，古希腊语中没有'他的'这个词。这个错误在冉版的标准译本中才被更正为'儿子'。这个变动可能比较精确些，但它已把新版改变了'耶稣'的含义。” “那么这次翻译中会不会也发生了类似的错误？” “非常可能。阿拉米语被翻译成'我们的主，在带着教徒逃出罗马的那天晚上穿过了富西纳斯湖的古老土地……'如果你把'穿过了富西纳斯湖的大片土地'改为'穿过了富西纳斯湖旁边或附近的大片土地'，或把'早就被凯撒大帝派人排干了'改为'即将被凯撒大帝派人去排干'，便一切问题都没有了。” “您相信那些字有没有可能被误解？” “我相信这是最好的解释。” “如果它们没有被误解呢？如果它们被翻译得很精确呢？” “那么，我将对詹姆斯福音书的真实性、可靠性表示怀疑。” “如果它们仅仅是误解呢？” “那么，我将把新版的福音书看成是人类历史上最重大的发现。” “神父，”兰德尔说道，从椅子里向前侧了侧身，“您难道不认为为了发现这福音书是否是人类历史上最重要的发现，而值得做出任何努力吗？” 院长看起来有些糊涂了。 "what do you want to say in the end?" “我建议您明天早晨和我一起回阿姆斯特丹。在那儿您将亲身检验这手稿的原本，然后彻底地、明确地告诉我们、我们发现的手稿到底是真的，还是伪造的。” “你想让我去阿姆斯特丹？” “明天，您的费用由我们来支付。这样，您将为您的修道院做出重大的贡献。但是，最为重要的是，您的权威将使《国际新约》不再受到怀疑。” 彼得罗波罗斯院长若有所思地点了点头。“最后一点是最为重要的。的确，这将是为上帝工作。是的，兰德尔先生，这样的旅行是可行的。但是，不过明天不行。” “好极了！”兰德尔欢呼着，“那么，您什么时候可以去？” “我一直计划著作为圣山修道院区的代表，参加由我的上级也是我的朋友——康斯坦丁堡大主教主持的希腊正教会的一个宗教会议。我将和教会的大主教们一起参加这个会议。我们必须竭尽全力将我们800万人更加忠实地、更紧密地团结在一起。这次会议的开幕式将于7天后在赫尔辛基举行。我计划5天后离开雅典，前往赫尔辛基。” 老院长慢慢地站起身。兰德尔确信在院长浓密的胡须后掩藏着一丝笑意。 “所以，兰德尔先生，”院长接着说，“刚才我考虑了一下，决定早一天，也就是4大后，离开这里，绕一个弯路。毕竟，我们可以把阿姆斯特丹看成是去赫尔辛基路程中的一站，是不是？是的，我将到那儿，亲眼看一下你们纸草纸的原稿，然后告诉你们发现的是一个奇迹，还是一个伪造品……现在，兰德尔先生，你必须在晚饭前休息一下。我们为你准备了我们最精美的食物，你以前曾经吃过清煮的章鱼吗？” 3天后，兰德尔回到了阿姆斯特丹，回到了他在克拉斯纳波斯基酒店的办公室，他一直等待着乔治?L?惠勒和其他四个出版商会对他的逃避责任大发雷霆。 恰恰相反，惠勒的反应使他大吃一惊。 实际上，兰德尔在昨天傍晚以前就回来了，他在星期一早晨天亮的时候离开了圣山，星期二晚上到达了阿姆斯特丹。当时，他曾想立刻面见惠勒。但是，归途——骑着骡子胆战心惊地下山，乘坐私人飘摇的小船、颠簸的海轮，然后乘喷气式客机从萨洛尼卡市到达了巴黎，在巴黎又换机到阿姆斯特丹，最后乘出租车从机场回到他的旅馆——这次旅行要比第一次旅行更累，将他折磨得精疲力尽。 他回来的时候，衣服已经很脏了，而且累得他摇摇晃晃，根本无法面对惠勒或安杰拉。他甚至累