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acquit you from the charge of senility, Professor. This is really most unusual. These symbols are Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs – a form of picture writing. Thanks to the work of Champollion, Uhlemann and other scholars, they are now readily translatable, although the process might take me some time.’
    ‘But how on earth could the writing have been inscribed on the inside of the jars?’ Mina asked. ‘There would not have been room to guide a stylus through the opening.’
    ‘That is where the creator of these unique vessels has been most ingenious,’ Sarah replied with a smile. ‘Canopic jars are normally made on a potter’s wheel – a device that has hardly changed for millennia. However, these two jars – most unusually – were constructed in a different manner.’
    She lifted up one of the larger pieces and held it up to the light. ‘Do you see the slightly raised seam which runs from top to bottom of this side of the vessel? That shows that it is what ceramicists call a “slab pot”. Such containers are usually square shaped, but a skilled potter can produce a rounded version. They are made from a thin sheet – or sheets – of clay, which are then rolled up or stuck together to make the final shape.’
    I clapped my hands. ‘I see! So the hieroglyphic writing could have been scratched onto the clay before it was rolled together – to appear on the inside of the final product. How ingenious.’
    ‘And how extraordinary,’ Van Helsing interjected. ‘To take an inordinate amount of time and trouble to record a message that will probably never be read. Tell me, Miss Wilton, how long will it take you to prepare your translation?’
    ‘Let me see. I may have to further dismantle the pots in order to do so, but they are so badly damaged already I think that we can permit such vandalism. I have no lectures to deliver on Friday – shall we say tomorrow evening, at six? Perhaps it would be best if I came here, Professor; we are likely to have more privacy than at my house in Endsleigh Street. Meanwhile I suggest you communicate with Inspector Delland and inform him of the provenance of the jars. I propose you say nothing regarding the hieroglyphs as yet, other than that I am subjecting the fragments to further examination.’

 
     
    Chapter 6
     
    The following morning we sent Van Helsing’s butler to Scotland Yard with a note for the Detective Inspector giving him Sarah’s preliminary findings concerning the jars, and stating that she might have more to tell him after further examination of the shards. There seemed little else that we could do until our appointment with Sarah Wilton that evening, and after breakfast I suggested to Mina that she might wish to visit the Impressionist exhibition at the Blatchford Gallery.
    As she concurred with my suggestion I extended the invitation to our host. He declined with a shake of his head.
    ‘The paintings are rather too modern for my taste,’ he said. ‘Although I’m sure that Mina will appreciate their subtleties. However, I’m tempted to invest in one or two canvases. I’ve a feeling they may be worth a great deal in years to come.’
    ‘By which time you will be unable to enjoy your profits,’ I said with a smile. Then a thought suddenly occurred to me in that unaccountable way that ideas have of appearing when the mind is least occupied in the conscious deliberation of a problem.
    ‘I’ve been a fool,’ I said with some annoyance, causing Mina to look up sharply. ‘Your talk of money has made me realise. As Mrs Flinzer has been uncooperative, it may be some time before we can ascertain exactly what items have been sold. However, unless Flinzer was paid in cash – which seems unlikely considering the transactions were legitimate – there may well be a record kept at his bank .’
    ‘Surely Inspector Delland will already have checked that possibility?’ Mina interjected.
    ‘Perhaps, but I think it unlikely,’ I said. ‘He was notably