“一个幽灵。”安妮小声说。
但是杰克却只顾瞪着她看，心里满是恐惧。
幽灵开始说话了。她的声音空洞而带有回音。
“我是哈特比。”她说，“尼罗河王后。你们是来帮我的吗?”
“是的。”安妮说。
杰克还是说不出话来。
“这一千年来，”幽灵王后说，“我一直在等人来帮助我。”
杰克的心跳得如此厉害，他觉得自己几乎就要晕过去了。
“一定要让人找到我的死亡书。”她说，“有了它我才能度到我的来世。”
“你为什么需要死亡书呢?”安妮问，她似乎一点也不害怕。
“它能告诉我帮我畅行地下世界的魔咒。”幽灵王后说。
“地下世界?”安妮问。
“在我度往来世之前，我必须在地下世界去经历那里的各种可怕事情。”
“什么样的可怕事情?”安妮问。
“毒蛇。”幽灵王后说，“还有火的湖泊、 怪兽和魔鬼。”
“哦。”安妮不由得靠近了杰克。
“我哥哥把死亡书藏起来了。这样盗墓贼就拿不到了。”幽灵王后说，“但他把秘密信息刻在了墙上，告诉我怎么去找到它。”
她说着指了指墙。
杰克仍然处于震惊的状态之中动弹不得。
“在哪里?”安妮问，“是这里吗?”她眯起眼睛看着墙。“这些小图画是什么意思?”
幽灵王后伤感地笑了。“唉，我哥哥忘了我有个奇怪的毛病。我总是看不清离我的眼睛很近的东西。这一千年来我都无法阅读他留给我的信息。”
“哦，这并不是什么奇怪的问题。”安妮说，“杰克也什么都看不清。所以他才戴眼镜的。”
幽灵王后惊奇地看着杰克。
“杰克，把你的眼镜借给她。”安妮说。
杰克从鼻梁上摘下眼镜，递给了幽灵王后。
王后后退了两步，说：“恐怕我没法戴你的眼镜，杰克。我是空气做成的。”
“哦，我忘了。”安妮说。
“不过你们也许可以帮我描述墙上的这些象形文字。”幽灵王后说。
“象什么?”安妮问。
“象形文字!”杰克说，他终于有勇气说话了。“那是古埃及的书写方式，就像是用图画来表示文字。”
幽灵王后冲着杰克微笑着说：“谢谢你，杰克。”
杰克也对她微笑着。他又戴上眼镜，上前贴近墙壁仔细地看了好久。
“哦，天啊。”他小声说。
5 The Ghost-Queen
“A ghost，” Annie whispered.
But Jack could only stare in horror.
The ghost began to speak. She spoke in a hollow， echoing voice.
“I am Hutepi，” she siad. “Queen of the Nile. Is it true that you have come to help me?”
“Yes，” said Annie.
Jack still couldn’t speak.
“For a thousand years，” said the ghost-queen， “I have waited for help.”
Jack’s heart was pounding so hard he thought he might faint.
“Someone must find my Book of the Dead，” she said. “I need it to go on to the Next Life.”
“Why do you need the Book of the Dead?” asked Annie. She didn’t sound scared at all.
“It will tell me the magic spells I need to get through the Underworld，” said the ghost-queen.
“The Underworld?” said Annie.
“Before I journey on to the Next Life， I must pass through the horrors of the Underworld.”
“What kinds of horrors?” Annie asked.
“Poisonous snakes，” said the ghost-queen.“Lakes of fire. Monsters. Demons.”
“Oh.” Annie stepped closer to Jack.
“My brother hid the Book of the Dead.So tomb robbers would not steal it，” said the ghost-queen. “Then he carved this secret message on the wall， telling me how to find it.”
She pointed to the wall.
Jack was still in shock. he couldn’t move.
“Where?” asked Annie. “Here?” She squinted at the wall. “What do these tiny pictures mean?”
The ghost-queen smiled sadly. “Alas， my brother forgot my strange problem.I cannot see clearly that which is close to my eyes. I have not been able to read his message for a thousand years.”
“Oh， that’s not a strange problem，” said Annie. “Jack can’t see anything either. That’s why he wears glasses.”
The ghost-queen stared in wonder at Jack.
“Jack， lend her your glasses，” said Annie.
Jack took his glasses off his nose.He held them out to the ghost-queen.
She backed away from him. “I fear I cannot wear your glasses， Jack，” she said. “I am made of air.”
“Oh. I forgot，” said Annie.
“But perhaps you will describe the hieroglyphs on these walls，” said the ghost-queen.
“Hi-row-who?” said Annie.
“Hieroglyphs!” said Jack， finally finding his voice. “It’s the ancient Egyptian way of writing. like writing with pictures.”
The ghost-queen smiled at him. “Thank you， Jack，” she said.
Jack smiled back at her. He put his glasses on.Then he stepped toward the wall and took a good long look.
“Oh， man，” he whispered.
