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They rode for the entire day.
他們一整天都在趕路。
Toward the end of the afternoon, they came upon a Coptic monastery.
夜幕將至，他們來到一座科普特人的修道院前。
The alchemist dismounted, and told the escorts they could return to the camp.
煉金術士將衛(wèi)隊遣回后，便翻身下了馬。
"From here on, you will be alone," the alchemist said. "You are only three hours from the Pyramids."
“從此以后，你要獨自一人趕路了。”煉金術士說，“從這里到金字塔只剩三個小時路程了。”
"Thank you," said the boy. "You taught me the Language of the World."
“謝謝！”男孩說，“您教會了我世界的語言。”
"I only invoked what you already knew."
“我只不過使你回憶起早已知道的事情。”
The alchemist knocked on the gate of the monastery. A monk dressed in black came to the gates.
煉金術士敲了敲修道院的大門。一位身著黑衣的修士前來開門。
They spoke for a few minutes in the Coptic tongue, and the alchemist bade the boy enter.
他們用科普特語交談了幾句，煉金術士便請男孩進入修道院。
"I asked him to let me use the kitchen for a while," the alchemist smiled.
“我請求他把廚房借給我們用一下。”煉金術士說。
They went to the kitchen at the back of the monastery.
他們一徑來到修道院的廚房。
The alchemist lighted the fire, and the monk brought him some lead, which the alchemist placed in an iron pan.
煉金術士點上火，那修士拿來了少許鉛塊，煉金術士將鉛塊放入一只鐵罐中熔化。
When the lead had become liquid, the alchemist took from his pouch the strange yellow egg.
當鉛變成液體時，他從他的袋子里取出那個奇怪的黃色玻璃蛋。
He scraped from it a sliver as thin as a hair, wrapped it in wax, and added it to the pan in which the lead had melted.
他從上面刮下來一條，細如發(fā)絲，然后，他用蠟把它包裹起來，和鉛一起放入鍋中。
The mixture took on a reddish color, almost the color of blood.
兩種東西混合后變成了血紅色。
The alchemist removed the pan from the fire, and set it aside to cool.
煉金術士將鍋從火上挪開，放在一旁冷卻。
As he did so, he talked with the monk about the tribal wars.
與此同時，他與修士談起了有關部落戰(zhàn)爭的事。
"I think they're going to last for a long time," he said to the monk.
“大槪會持續(xù)很久。”他對修士說。
The monk was irritated. The caravans had been stopped at Giza for some time, waiting for the wars to end.
修士對此早已厭煩。許多商隊在吉薩停留了很長時間，都等著戰(zhàn)爭結束呢。
"But God's will be done," the monk said.
“但愿上帝的意志能夠實現(xiàn)。”修士說。
"Exactly," answered the alchemist.
“但愿如此。”煉金術士回答。
