ian God to protect us according to His will; they say five
prayers to Allah daily, the one and only God, and at the same time at
every hour of the day they perform countless acts and ceremonies to
propitiate malign spirits and powers. They are a curious people--the
best of them are very devout, but some of the most devout are not the
best by any means."

"Do you mind if Michael sees the fortune-teller? It would be so
interesting."

"He knows Abdul." Freddy looked at Mike. "It's different to letting
one of our womenkind meddle in such things."

"Did the ancients believe in dreams?" Margaret said. Michael's eyes
had spoken; he had seen the man.

"Don't you remember Joseph's dream?"

"Oh, of course!" Margaret said. "But Joseph seems a modern in this
valley."

"The ancients looked upon dreams as 'revelations' from a world quite as
real as that which we see about us when we are awake. They were sent
by the gods and, according to the texts in the tombs, much desired."

Margaret's and Michael's eyes met. Her dream which had brought them
together again had undoubtedly been sent by God.

There was an industrious silence for a little time, then Margaret
asked, "Have you ever come across any traces of Akhnaton's religion in
the tombs in this valley?"

An amused smile hovered round Freddy's mouth. It was obvious that
Margaret had caught something of Mike's enthusiasm for the heretic
Pharaoh.

"No, nothing of his religion," he said. "It is too far from his scene
of action; his influence was almost local--it was a personal influence
and died at his death. He was a man born before his time; the world
was not ready for his doctrines--they were far above the people's
heads."

"How do we know?" Mike said eagerly. "Surely God knows best when to
send His messengers, when to reveal Himself?"

"Anyhow," Freddy said, "you know that when he died his teachings died
too. The people who had professed his beliefs returned to their old
gods. The one and only trace of Akhnaton's influence here is in his
mother's tomb, where every sign of Aton worship has been chopped off
the wall, every trace of his symbols obliterated. Akhnaton had no
doubt introduced them into his mother's tomb; she had shared his
beliefs, which had not, of course, become extreme at the time of her
death."

"Truth never dies," Mike said. "His beautiful city was abandoned, his
temples neglected and overthrown, his people again became the victims
o