“Toward evening we came to the entrance of a narrow, deep valley, running east and west.  I wished to proceed through this; for the sun, now nearly down on the horizon, showed a wide opening beyond the narrowing of the cliffs.  But the fellaheen absolutely refused to enter the valley at such a time, alleging that they might be caught by the night before they could emerge from the other end.  At first they would give no reason for their fear.  They had hitherto gone anywhere I wished, and at any time, without demur.  On being pressed, however, they said that the place was the Valley of the Sorcerer, where none might come in the night.  On being asked to tell of the Sorcerer, they refused, saying that there was no name, and that they knew nothing.  On the next morning, however, when the sun was up and shining down the valley, their fears had somewhat passed away.  Then they told me that a great Sorcerer in ancient days—­’millions of millions of years’ was the term they used—­a King or a Queen, they could not say which, was buried there.  They could not give the name, persisting to the last that there was no name; and that anyone who should name it would waste away in life so that at death nothing of him would remain to be raised again in the Other World.  In passing through the valley they kept together in a cluster, hurrying on in front of me.  None dared to remain behind.  They gave, as their reason for so proceeding, that the arms of the Sorcerer were long, and that it was dangerous to be the last.  The which was of little comfort to me who of this necessity took that honourable post.  In the narrowest part of the valley, on the south side, was a great cliff of rock, rising sheer, of smooth and even surface.  Hereon were graven certain cabalistic signs, and many figures of men and animals, fishes, reptiles and birds; suns and stars; and many quaint symbols.  Some of these latter were disjointed limbs and features, such as arms and legs, fingers, eyes, noses, ears, and lips.  Mysterious symbols which will puzzle the Recording Angel to interpret at the Judgment Day.  The cliff faced exactly north.  There was something about it so strange, and so different from the other carved rocks which I had visited, that I called a halt and spent the day in examining the rock front as well as I could with my telescope.  The Egyptians of my company were terribly afraid, and used every kind of persuasion to induce me to pass on.  I stayed till late in the afternoon, by which time I had failed to make out aright the entry of any tomb, for I suspected that such was the purpose of the sculpture of the rock.  By this time the men were rebellious; and I had to leave the valley if I did not wish my whole retinue to desert.  But I secretly made up my mind to discover the tomb, and explore it.  To this end I went further into the mountains, where I met with an Arab Sheik who was willing to take service with me.  The Arabs were not bound by the same superstitious fears as the Egyptians; Sheik Abu Some and his following were willing to take a part in the explorations.