They decided to do something special for their last day. Arriving at a picturesque town overlooking the sea, they spent the day sightseeing. Then, as the sun began to set, they changed into their finest clothes and checked into the most expensive guesthouse they could find. After enjoying a sumptuous dinner, delivered to their room, Kate put on all of her jewelry, including the magnificent gold necklace Ramesses II had given her.
“Very impressive,” said AP, and he meant it.
“Thanks,” said Kate. “This trip’s been an absolute blast. But the time’s gone so fast—it seems like we’ve been here a week.”
AP pulled out the abacus and re-checked the settings. His face lit up in the glow from the screen. “There’s still time to change your mind if you want.”
“No,” she said dreamily, slipping her arm through his. “This has been absolutely fantastic, but it’s time to go.”
“I didn’t mean about going home,” he said with a grin. “I was talking about accepting the Pharaoh’s offer of becoming a queen!”
Before she could reply there was a dazzling flash, and they tumbled to the floor in AP’s room.
“Okay, it’s only me,” shouted a familiar voice from downstairs. “Dad only got to the end of the driveway when he realized he’d left his wallet on the hall table.” Moments later, the door closed and they were alone again.
“You’ve lost your tan,” said AP. “The Celestial Priestess is as pale as a ghost.”
“The wab’s white too!” said Kate. “It’s so weird the way things change instantly. We arrive in ancient Egypt, we’re both brown and bald, and we speak the language. Then, ZAP, we’re home again as if it never happened.”
“Like that holiday in Florida when we took off in a snowstorm and arrived in a heat wave.”
“What about that creep Snakebite?” said Kate, sounding serious. “He’s been on all the trips. How come he happens to be there at that particular time?”
“He must be able to tell that we’re there.”
“How?”
“The abacus gives off that bright flash. Maybe Snakebite can detect it, the way the TV used to pick up interference from Dad’s old lawnmower.”
“What if he could do that when it’s not being used? He could come here and attack us!”
“No need to worry about that,” AP assured her. “The thing’s been sitting here for months and nothing’s happened.”
“Let’s hope you’re right. I’d hate to wake up in the middle of the night and find him staring down at me.”
“Changing the subject, what did you think of ancient Egypt?”
“Awesome.”
“As good as I said it would be?”
“Way better. I had the time of my life!”
“The Celestial Priestess.” He said the name slowly. “Sounds pretty impressive.”
Kate smiled. “The name I really liked was Gold Butterfly Woman.”
“You really hit it off with Talking Cloud, didn’t you?”
“He was a lovely old man. He reminded me so much of Granddad.”
“Was that your favorite trip?”
She thought for a while before answering. “Yes…yes I think so—apart from that battle! Egypt was definitely the most fun. Medieval England was…different. But life on the Great Plains with the Sioux was special. It was like watching a wonderful movie. You’re all involved and never want it to end, then suddenly the credits start rolling. And you sit there in the dark because you don’t want to break the spell.”
AP nodded without saying anything.
“How about you? What was your favorite trip?”
“Probably the first one. I really connected with Arthur, like you with Talking Cloud. I was really sorry when we had to leave.”
“I was sorry to leave Egypt too. I had a good thing going there!”
“So, are you ready for another trip?”
“What, right now?” asked Kate.
“No. But sometime in the next few weeks.”
“What’ve you got in mind?”
“There are so many interesting times and places. After ‘Camelot’ I’d like to see some real castles—with armor and jousting. Maybe the next trip should be to the Mesozoic, to see living dinosaurs.”
“What about Snakebite?”
“He’s just the price we have to pay for all the fabulous things we see. Besides,” AP broke into a grin, “he may not be so bad when you get to know him!”
Kate pulled the pillow from his bed and hit him with it.
* * *
On the other side of the world, and forty-seven years into the future, Robert Drew was developing an apparatus to detect the abacus when it was not in use. The device he’d built for tracking it during activation—first tested in Medieval England—had taken over two years to perfect. He hoped the new equipment would be ready much sooner.
Further Reading
For Young People
Medieval Britain and the Arthurian legend
Although many books have been written about King Arthur, most are fiction and are not included. The ancient Britons, unlike the ancient Egyptians, left few written accounts of their times which is why we have so little reliable information about them.
The Discovery of King Arthur. Geoffrey Ashe, 1985. Henry Holt, New York, 224 pp.
Everyday Life in Roman and Anglo-Saxon times. Marjorie and C.H.B. Quennell, 1959. B.T. Batsford, London, 236 pp.
Plains Indians and Custer
Atlas of Indians. Gilbert Legay, 1995. Barron’s Educational Series, Hauppauge, New York, 95 pp.
Indians of the Plains. Elaine Andrews, 1992. Facts on File, New York, 96 pp.
Plains Indians. Fiona MacDonald, 1993. Barron’s Educational Series, Hauppauge, New York, 56 pp.
The Plains Indians. Colin F. Taylor, 1994. Crescent Books, New York, 256 pp.
Ancient Egypt
Egypt (Ancient World Series). Jane Shuter, 1999. Steck-Vaughn Company, Austin, Texas, 63 pp.
Egyptian Mummies: People from the Past. Delia Pemberton, 2001. Harcourt, San Diego, 48 pp.
Life in Ancient Egypt. Thomas Streissguth, 2001. Lucent Books, San Diego, 93 pp.
Lost Civilizations: The Ancient Egyptians. Allison Lassieur, 2001. Lucent Books, San Diego, 96 pp.
People Who Made History in Ancient Egypt. Jane Shuter, 2001. Steck-Vaughn Company, Austin, Texas, 48 pp.
Pharaohs and Priests. Jane Shuter, 1999. Heinemann Library, Des Plaines, Illinois, 32 pp.
For Parents and Teachers
Medieval Britain and the Arthurian legend
See Further reading —for Young People above.
Plains Indians and Custer
Atlas of the North American Indian. Carl Waldman, 2000. Facts on File, New York,
385 pp.
Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee. Dee Brown, 1972. Bantam Books, New York, 458 pp.
Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux. John G. Neihardt (editor) 1979 (first published 1932). University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 298 pp.
Crazy Horse and Custer. Stephen E. Ambrose, 1996. Anchor Books, New York, 527 pp.
Everyday Life of the North American Indian. J. Manchip White, 1979. Dover Publications, Mineola, New York, 256 pp.
The Indians of the Great Plains. Norman Bancroft-Hunt, 1981. Orbis Publishing, London, 128 pp.
Indians of the Plains. Robert H. Lowie, 1982 (first published 1954). University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 222 pp.
My People the Sioux. Luther Standing Bear, 2006 (first published 1928). University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 288 pp.
The Story of the Little Big Horn. W. A. Graham, 1988 (first published 1926). University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 178 pp.
Ancient Egypt
Chronicles of the Pharaohs: The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt. Peter A. Clayton, 1994. Thames & Hudson, London, 224 pp.
The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Richard H. Wilkins
on, 2000. Thames & Hudson, London, 256 pp.
Egypt and the Egyptians. Douglas J. Brewer & Emily Teeter, 1999. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 218 pp.
Egyptian Mummies: Unraveling the Secrets of an Ancient Art. Bob Briar, 1994. William Morrow, New York, 352 pp.
Everyday Life in Egypt in the Days of Ramesses the Great. Pierre Montet, 1981 (first published 1958). University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 365 pp.
Gods of Ancient Egypt. Barbara Waterson, 1996. Sutton Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, 227 pp.
The Hieroglyphs of Ancient Egypt. Aidan Dodson, 2001. New Holland Publishers, London,
144 pp.
The Horizon Book of Daily Life in Ancient Egypt. Lionel Casson, 1975. American Heritage, New York, 128 pp.
Introducing Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Barbara Watterson, 1993. Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, 152 pp.
Kings and Queens of Ancient Egypt. Various contributors, portraits by Winifred Brunton, 1924. Hodder and Stoughton, London, 160 pp.
Mummies: Death and Life in Ancient Egypt. James Hamilton-Paterson and Carol Andrews, 1978. Collins, London, in association with British Museum Publications Ltd., London, 224 pp.
The Priests of Ancient Egypt. New Edition. Serge Sauneron, 2000. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 215 pp.
Notes
These notes explain some of the facts in the story, and give some background information about the real historical events and how they compare to what Kate and AP saw.
[1] Fishermen in medieval England used a rod and line, without a reel. Claudius Aelianus, a Roman writer of this period, says feathers were attached to the iron hook to lure the fish, instead of bait.
[2] A quill pen is made from the wing feather of a large bird, like a chicken, by cutting off the end at an angle. When the hollow quill is dipped in ink, some of the ink runs up inside the quill (by a process called capillary action), and the quill acts as a reservoir.
[3] A league, a unit of distance used in Roman times, was about 1.5 miles (just over 2 kilometers).
[4] Parchment, made from the inside layer of sheep skin, was used for writing upon long before paper was developed.
[5] Enchanter’s nightshade (Circaea lutetiana)—not to be mistaken for deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), which is a poisonous plant—was once used for cleaning wounds.
[6] To find the North Star (Polaris), find the Big Dipper (or Plough). Draw a line through last two stars at the “cup” end. Polaris lies along this line, about one Big-Dipper-length away. You can find a star map online using the keywords “North Star” and “Big Dipper.”
[7] Although hook and line fishing was used by Indians, spearfishing was more common.
[8] General Crook had 260 Indians under his command, mostly Crows and Shoshones.
[9] Black Hawk, the warrior who brought word from Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, is a fictional character. Indians at that time would have called the Little Bighorn by its Indian name: Greasy Grass.
[10] AP and Kate would have been very lucky to be picked up on the Bozeman Trail because it was not being used by settlers until shortly after the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
[11] While General Crook was heading north along the Rosebud River to find the Sioux, Crazy Horse and his warriors were heading south to find the soldiers. Crazy Horse spotted them on the morning of June 17. He took them by surprise while Crook and his soldiers were letting their horses graze. Crook took such a beating that he retreated back to his fort. (See Crazy Horse and Custer, pp. 420–4.)
[12] About a week before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Custer ordered that all of the sabers be crated, so it is unlikely he wore one on June 22.
[13] Bloody Knife, like the other scouts, did think there were too many Sioux for the Army to handle.
[14] Custer would have addressed his men sometime before the battle, but there is no record that he did so before setting out on June 22.
[15] Custer usually had the band playing, and their most popular tune was “Garryowen.” However, Custer left the band behind sometime around June 16.
[16] The comment by Gibbon as Custer rode off is in his own words. (See Crazy Horse and Custer, pp. 427–8.)
[17] Bloody Knife really did say that Custer couldn’t hit a tent from the inside! (See Crazy Horse and Custer, pp. 365, 378.)
[18] There was a real conversation between two officers after the Council of War meeting on June 22, 1876, where one said he thought Custer was going to be killed. (See Crazy Horse and Custer, p. 428.)
[19] Sitting Bull did have a vision of soldiers falling with their heads down.
[20] Knife warned Custer there were more Sioux than they had bullets for, but it is not known whether he suggested they wait until Gibbon arrived.
[21] Custer did shout out, “We’ve caught them napping,” but not until his detachment was in position at the north end of the Indian camp.
[22] Custer sent Reno’s orders by messenger because Reno was already some distance away. Custer said his detachment would support him, but instead of following Reno into the attack, Custer took his men to the north end of the camp.
[23] The 20-minute length estimate for Custer’s battle is from Crazy Horse and Custer, p. 443.
[24] Reno almost lost his nerve at the start of the fighting when Bloody Knife was shot dead, and his brain splattered across the Major’s face.
[25] Natron, which the ancient Egyptians called netjeryt, is sodium carbonate.
[26] Ramesses II did have a vizier named Nehy, but the stories told here of his death and later burial are fictitious.
[27] AP knew that steel was better than iron for making a permanent magnet, but he also knew that steel had not yet been invented!
[28] AP calls each of the pots with copper and iron in them a battery, but that’s not quite right. The individual containers with their copper and iron electrodes, should have been called cells. When cells are joined together they form a battery (of cells).
[29] AP had to trade goods for their journey down the Nile because ancient Egyptians did not use money.
How to Repeat the Experiments in the Book
If possible, do these experiments with a partner so you can talk about them and help each other. You MUST have an adult helper for some experiments.
Make soap (Chapter 5)
Making soap is easy but it involves boiling a liquid which soon becomes caustic. This activity therefore requires adult supervision and great care. For these reasons the instructions will not be included here. This would be an ideal project to do at school. Visit our website www.abacusAdventure.com to see how to get the instructions.
Use a small hole to improve vision (Chapter 8)
This simple experiment only works for people who have to use glasses to read. So, if you don’t use reading glasses, find someone who does: maybe an older family member like a grandparent. This person will be the subject of your experiment.
You’ll need:
a square piece of paper, 2 × 2 inches (5 × 5 cm)
a needle or pin
a subject: someone who needs reading glasses
1. Ask your subject to try reading something, like a newspaper or the small print on a cereal box, without wearing glasses. Do this indoors, without a reading lamp. The print will look blurry and your subject will probably be unable to read it.
2. Use the pin to make a small hole (about 1 mm in diameter) in the piece of paper. Ask your subject to hold the paper up close to one eye, so he or she can see through the hole. If your subject can’t see properly, try making the hole a little bigger. The print should no longer look fuzzy, and your subject should be able to read it.
Note: Can your subject read small print without wearing glasses outdoors in bright sunlight (or indoors, using a bright lamp)? The answer is probably yes. This is because the pupil—the black hole in the center of the eye—gets smaller, or contracts, when bright light falls on it. So reading outdoors in bright sunlight is just like reading through a pinhole. Squint
ing has the same effect.
Make a pinhole camera (Chapter 29)
You’ll need:
an adult helper
an empty tin can, open at one end
a hammer and a nail
wax paper or a white plastic bag
an elastic band
a piece of thick, dark cloth large enough to cover your head
a small piece of aluminum foil (the size of a postage stamp)
Scotch tape
a needle or pin
a sharp pencil or round toothpick
1. Ask your adult helper to punch a small hole in the center of the bottom of the can using a hammer and nail. Prick a hole in the center of the aluminum foil. Tape the foil to the bottom of the can, lining up the pinprick with the hole. Hold it up to the light to check the alignment.
2. Using a sharp pencil or round toothpick, enlarge the hole in the foil to a diameter of 1/16 inch (1.5 mm). Use a twisting action while you do this to make sure the hole is round.
3. Cut off a piece of wax paper or plastic just large enough to cover the open end of the can, with an overlap of about 1 inch (2 cm). Secure the paper or plastic with the elastic band, pulling it tight like a drum. This is the screen of your pinhole camera.
4. Go outside, preferably on a bright day, and point the pinhole toward a distant object, like a tree. Place the cloth over your head and drape it around the screen end of your pinhole camera. Make sure the cloth cuts out most of the light but doesn’t cover the screen. Your face should be about 9 inches (23 cm) away from the screen. Focus your eyes on the screen and move the camera from side to side. You should see an upside-down image of the object on the screen.
Generate electricity with a lemon (Chapter 31)
You’ll need:
a lemon
a knife
a copper coin (1 cent or 1P or 2P)
a paper clip (the silver-colored iron kind, not the gold-colored brass or colored kinds)
1. Wash the coin thoroughly—you’re going to lick it!
2. Use the knife to make two small slits in the skin of the lemon, ¼ inch (5 mm) apart.
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