The next few days are a blur of preparations. Before you know it, you
and Bruce are on a TWA jet heading for Rome on the first leg of the
trip to Cairo. On the plane, your uncle explains his plan to place
special instruments in a chamber under the center of the largest
pyramid at Giza. He hopes to test the pyramid's effect on the paths
of cosmic rays—rays made up of high-speed particles from space that
usually penetrate deep into the ground. "If my theory is correct," he
says, "these rays could be concentrated by the pyramid to produce an
unlimited amount of energy." While Bruce is talking, you notice that
a man nearby is straining to hear him. No doubt he's just curious. He
is strange-looking, though! In Rome you change to an Egyptair jet You
are startled to notice the same man from the other jet aboard your
Cairo-bound plane. "I will have lots of red tape to take care of at
the airport when we land," says Bruce. "Why don't you just breeze
through customs and take a cab to the Star and Crescent Hotel, where
we're staying? My assistant, Andrea, will be waiting there for you.
She can get you settled in our room while my equipment is unloaded
from the plane." As soon as you land, Bruce is off to the baggage
area, leaving you alone in a foreign land. As if that isn't enough,
the stranger from the plane appears and hands you a small, folded
piece of paper, then dashes toward the taxi stand outside the
terminal.
Quickly you unfold the note. Scrawled in red ink are the words
"Beware the Sphinx." You have heard about the statue of the Sphinx
next to the Pyramids. But why should you beware of it? The thought
occurs to you that "sphinx" could be a code word and not refer to the
actual Sphinx at all. Maybe the note is a meaningless hoax. On the
other hand, it could spell danger for you and Bruce. You remember the
time you felt an urge to get off a bus in your hometown—just before
it was hit by a truck. Now you have a hunch that you should follow
this man.
If you try to follow him,
If you decide that it is wiser to go to your hotel,
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