“Lo, the possessor of this Book becomes as the Scribe of the Gods, Thoth himself! For Ra hath breathed upon it; Shu hath entered it!
“Saith Amenhotep, son of Hap: ‘Behold, as Ra the Sun-god liveth, the Magic Book may be found in a box behind the wall of the false door built within the western end of my tomb chamber!’
“Now, Hotepra heard the oath of Amenhotep and the saying which he said.
“Lo, Hotepra, Great High Priest of Amen, believed the words of the son of Hapi.
“Hotepra, Great High Priest of Amen, signed the contract, taking the Great Gods, Osiris, Ptah and Ra as witnesses.”
“There, Clem! In all your years of research among ancient documents have you ever run across the Luminous Book, the Book of Thoth? Could it, by any chance, be that mysterious book made use of long ago by the sorcerers and magician attached to the great Temple of Amen at Thebes? If such be the case, it is an undoubted reference to the book from which Moses studied, the source of Aaron’s successful attempt to confound the magicians of Pharaoh. At any rate, Clem, you will agree with me that this faded sheet, this last will and testament of the old architect, may turn out to be of far greater interest than even this splendid copy of the Ritual. I wonder if the will was placed in the Ritual on purpose or through the carelessness of someone. Hotepra himself it may have been, three thousand years ago!”
Dr. Gardiner smiled at his friend’s enthusiasm: “One thing at a time, Steven! Yes, I have met with the Book of Thoth before. And in each and every case it was referred to as a book containing magical incantations of great power. In one case an unknown architect states that he ‘raised this monument whose pylons reach the dome of heaven by means of the magic Book of Thoth.’ Your man, Amenhotep, son of Hap, has left an inscription, now in the Leiden Museum, in which he affirms that he ‘possessed the Eye of Horus’—whatever that may mean—and further that he was ‘one who knew all the Wisdom contained in the Book of Thoth, scribe of the Gods.’ That this was no empty boast we may sight the stupendous temples raised by him at Thebes, not forgetting ‘the Colossi,’ which alone would have assured him undying fame, if indeed he erected them. The tomb to which he refers in this testament is thought to be beneath the Temple of Der el-Medinet. Possibly it is included in your concession, Steven. Your men may stumble upon the mummy of Amenhotep, Magic Book and all!”
Dr. Gardiner turned to his wife: “Well, Dear! We must be off, to help Ali with the packing. I hope you have a successful winding up of the diggings, Steven!”