The evening meal turned out to be a bit of a nuisance, eager as they all were to calculate how they might remove the keystone. The tools they had brought were not designed for major excavation work so it would require a lot of ingenuity to devise a workable plan. In the end it was decided that they would use the pry bars and brute strength, to see if they could move the stone at all. The fact that the shovel they'd found had appeared to be sufficient for the task, gave them some hope. Failing that, they considered trying to get a large enough opening to drive the bars in and try pulling with the ropes. It all seemed pretty hopeless but they still had some time and felt that it might as well be put to use. Massam spent a good portion of his convincing his Bedouin friends that there was nothing to fear in attempting to open the tomb. Amin was the most reluctant. He refused to take part in the work, suggesting instead that he would continue to mind the camels and keep a sharp watch at their backs. Satisfied that he could do no more, Massam relayed this to the professor, receiving a thoughtfully considered acceptance. Karl had reluctantly agreed earlier, to suspend their investigation and return to the camp where Melanie insisted he rest, have a decent meal, and get a good night's sleep.

Dawn found them back in front of the huge rock; amazingly the wind had not returned and the full force of the sun's heat was still an hour or so away. Stone and the two women felt they had barely slept, but Karl's enthusiasm had them bumbling around, dressing, and eating with only the campfire for light. With his trademark hustle and bustle, he dragged them off in the pitch dark, back to the wadi, and what was rapidly becoming, his obsession. There was little Melanie and Oura could do at this point except watch, as Stone and the two Bedouins grunted and strained against the pry bars, sweat coursing down their faces even before the sun showed up. Karl gave it a bit of a try but found the effort too taxing so he resigned himself to cheer leading. After a short time, Stone stripped off his shirt and wiped his wet face, setting his feet and giving the bar another heave. The two women looked at one another then quickly away, trying to cover their guilty stares. Oura stood silently, pivoting at the waist, one finger resting against her cheek.

She knew Massam was not pleased with Stone's nakedness and she felt a small thrill knowing he wouldn't make a scene just then. Melanie picked up on the exchange between the brother and sister and felt pleased that she didn't have to answer to others for her thoughts or emotions.

"Arrrh!" Sadam yelled and pointed with his free hand to the base of the stone.

"Hey! I think we've moved it," Stone said, squinting to where Sadam pointed.

Karl rushed over and practically buried his nose in the ground, "It has! About two inches. Good work."

"I don't know about good," Stone grimaced, massaging his shoulder.

"Take some water." Oura was quick to offer the canteen to Stone, taking the opportunity to stay close, while skimming her eyes over the muscles of his damp torso as she did.

Unaware of the stir he was creating, Stone thanked her and gulped down a huge swallow, then poured a small shower over his head. "Aagh, that feels good," he spluttered, Thanks." He passed the canteen back to Oura who took her time moving away. Massam slammed his hand against the bar and turned away, causing everyone to stop and stare at him.

Stone realized the problem immediately and slipped his sodden shirt back on. "Sorry pal. A thoughtless error." He looked around the group, giving a helpless shrug.

Karl stood and touched Massam lightly on the back, "He apologizes my friend. We all do. Please don't be offended. Let's concentrate on the problem at hand." He guided Massam back by the elbow, anxious that nothing delayed their efforts.

Massam turned and frowned at Stone, modifying it to a glare at his sister. "I accept your apology." Stone gave him a weak smile, a habit he was getting into that he didn't enjoy, and immediately resumed his effort with the pry bar.

*****

"Where the hell have you been?" Max grabbed a handful of the young Arab's robe and jerked him until they were nose to nose.

"Peace effendi. Peace. I have news worthy of my long absence." Snake Eyes pulled free of Max's grip and straightened his robes. He was eager to put this infidel in his place. "I circled way around the campsite and in my journey, which was not an easy passage effendi, heard the sound of banging and voices. The men you seek are in a narrow gully about two kilometers in that direction," he pointed with the blade of his knife, which, Max realized uncomfortably, must have been pulled when he was grabbed, "they are working to free something in the rock face on one side. I managed to get close enough to hear one of the men say 'it' had moved." He watched Max's face for gratitude.

"Were they all there?"

"All but one. I guess he's still minding the animals."

"You guess, eh? I'm not so sure." Max pulled at his beard and stared in the direction of the wadi. "Baddu, you sneak up there and see if you can still spot the other one. And make bloody sure you're not seen."

Baddu sneered and gathered himself up imperiously, "I am like the wind, the shifting sand. Always moving, always there, but invisible."

"Yeah, yeah. Just get going, and remember what I said." He considered Snake eye's information, extremely interested in what the professor might have found. He decided it would be prudent to wait; let them do the work, then swoop in and claim the spoils. Yes. He ignored the dark frown of the younger Arab.

*****

"The small one returned with some information I think." Surri was getting worn out, climbing back and forth to spy on their quarry. "He was pointing to the north and babbling a lot, then the older one began creeping up to the plateau. Baeder just sits there . . . kind of like you Sergeant." Rafiman looked up, surprised. Was his Corporal insinuating a lack of team effort on his behalf? Had he made a mistake relaxing the rules? Maybe he should return their situation to its previous formality. He gave the Corporal a quizzical glance and stared him back into a squatting position.

"My intuition tells me that they are playing a waiting game and just keeping everyone's location on record. We will continue to do the same until they make a move."

"What if they move at night?"

Rafiman noted the missing 'sir' right away, "In that case Corporal," he replied with oily glee, "you had better get some rest so you can prevent that from escaping our notice." Surri just pouted.

The Tomb

"I don't believe it," Stone exclaimed, putting another powerful heave on the bar, "this thing moves like it's on bearings now." The huge stone inched forward, its smooth sides catching the first sunlight in nearly four thousand years. Almost two feet of rock was exposed and moving easier with each levering action. Karl was hopping about like a kid on Christmas, he kept stepping in the way of the workers, his hands caressing the sides of the stone as though it were some precious jewel. "Uh, professor. I can't do this with you standing there."

"Look at it! Just look at it! The workmanship. What an amazing feat of mechanics; fitting this stone with such close tolerance. Are we near the end do you think?"

"Hard to tell, looking through your head sir, " Stone complained good naturedly.

Massam stopped prying and tapped Stone on the arm, "It has tilted forward. Look." They all crouched down and peered at the base of the stone. It had been set into the wall on a slight downward incline and now it had appeared to have tilted forward.

"Well I guess that tells us we're at least past the half way mark." It's gonna be a lot tougher now."

Karl grasped Stone by the shoulders and panted, "Lift me up. Let's see if there is a space at the top now." With little choice, he hefted the professor up, wincing as a pair of bony knees jabbed him in the face. "Great! There's a bigger space up here. Get me down. Put me down!"

"Okay. Okay."

"I think we could loop a rope over the back, work it down and then pull it the rest of the way out." Karl's excitement was nearly out of control.

"That's gonna take a lot of pulling and we don't have that much room in front of it if it should suddenly pop out and fall forward."

"We can do it, we can do it!" Karl was almost hyperventilating with excitement, "It's moving quite easily now, I'm sure we can do it!"

Stone rolled his eyes and waved to Massam to get the rope. The two men hoisted Sadam up until he could rest his chest on top of the rock and slip the rope over and around the back. When they let him down, they found that the rope would only go down about two feet and Stone looked back at the professor, shaking his head. "We'll never pull it at that angle."

"Try. C'mon, let's try." Karl bustled about handing the ends of the rope to the two women and taking a confident grip in front of them. "Come on you two. Grab an end. Okay, all together now. On three. One. Two. Threeee!"

The effort required was considerably less than anticipated and the huge rock slid forward, teetering for a moment then falling out and crashing to the ground, barely missing Stone and Massam who were at the front.

"Jesus! I knew it. That was too close," Stone tossed the end of the rope aside and stomped down the wadi in disgust. When he turned back he saw five blank faces gaping at the hole in the cliff's opening.