"Connie Willis - Death on the Nile" - читать интересную книгу автора (Willis Connie)

and CookeтАЩs Touring Guide to EgyptтАЩs Antiquities, and there are half a dozen others in her luggage. Not
to mention FrommerтАЩs Greece on $35 a Day and the Savvy TravelerтАЩs Guide to Austria and the three or
four hundred other guidebooks sheтАЩs already read out loud to us on this trip. I toy briefly with the idea
that itтАЩs their combined weight thatтАЩs causing the plane to yaw and careen and will shortly send us
plummeting to our deaths.

тАЬ тАШFood, furniture, and weapons were placed in the tomb,тАЩ тАЭ Zoe reads, тАЬ тАШas proviтАФтАЩ тАЭ The plane
pitches sideways. тАЬ тАШтАФsions for the journey.тАЩтАЭ

The plane lurches again, so violently Zoe nearly drops the book, but she doesnтАЩt miss a beat. тАЬ тАШWhen
King TutankhamunтАЩs tomb was opened,тАЩ тАЭ she reads, тАЬ тАШit contained trunks full of clothing, jars of wine,
a golden boat, and a pair of sandals for walking in the sands of the afterworld.тАЩтАЭ

My husband Neil leans over me to look out the window, but there is nothing to see. The sky is clear and
cloudless, and below us there arenтАЩt even any waves on the water.

тАЬ тАШIn the afterworld the deceased was judged by Anubis, a god with the head of a jackal,тАЩ тАЭ Zoe reads, тАЬ
тАШand his soul was weighed on a pair of golden scales.тАЩ тАЭ

I am the only one listening to her. Lissa, on the aisle, is whispering to Neil, her hand almost touching his
on the armrest. Across the aisle, next to Zoe and Egypt Made Easy, ZoeтАЩs husband is asleep and LissaтАЩs
husband is staring out the other window and trying to keep his drink from spilling.

тАЬAre you doing all right?тАЭ Neil asks Lissa solicitously.

тАЬItтАЩll be exciting going with two other couples,тАЭ Neil said when he came up with the idea of our all
going to Europe together. тАЬLissa and her husband are lots of fun, and Zoe knows everything. ItтАЩll be like
having our own tour guide.тАЭ

It is. Zoe herds us from country to country, reciting historical facts and exchange rates. In the Louvre, a
French tourist asked her where the Mona Lisa was. She was thrilled. тАЬHe thought we were a tour
group!тАЭ she said. тАЬImagine that!тАЭ Imagine that.

тАЬ тАШBefore being judged, the deceased recited his confession,тАЩ тАЭ Zoe reads, тАЬ тАШa list of sins he had not
committed, such as, I have not snared the birds of the gods, I have not told lies, I have not committed
adultery.тАЩтАЭ

Neil pats LissaтАЩs hand and leans over to me. тАЬCan you trade places with Lissa?тАЭ Neil whispers to me.

I already have, I think. тАЬWeтАЩre not supposed to,тАЭ I say, pointing at the lights above the seats. тАЬThe seat-

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 Death on the Nile

belt sign is on.тАЭ He looks at her anxiously. тАЬSheтАЩs feeling nauseated.тАЭ So am I, I want to say, but I am
afraid thatтАЩs what this trip is all about, to get me to say something. тАЬOkay,тАЭ I say, and unbuckle my seat
belt and change places with her. While she is crawling over Neil, the plane pitches again, and she half-
falls into his arms. He steadies her. Their eyes lock.

тАЬ I have not taken anotherтАЩs belongings,тАШ тАЭ Zoe reads. тАЬ T have not murdered another.тАЩтАЭ