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April 2-7-A boat to Aden via Mecca. On this boat, the party meets Dale Wensley, a pinsetter from Chicago. Much reading and reflection.
Tuesday, April 7-Arrival in Aden; check into the Yemeni hotel. A check with the harbormaster indicates that no boat for Shanghai is due til April 22. That night at dinner, Lazlo overhears a German conversation about Der Pharaoh Schwartzen.Upon further investigation, he meets Professor Max Dusseldorf, an astronomer from the University of Stuttgart. Dusseldorf reveals that he is in Arabia to look for a mysterious stele containing a crude star chart. The chart indicates the configuration of the stars at the time of the ascention of Nephren-Ka in Egypt, a time known for strange cosmological events. Dusseldorf plans to go to the mountains for 2 weeks, to look for the stele before hopping a boat to Bombay. Lazlo offers his services and those of the party, as does Dale Wensley.
April 8-Shopping for supplies in Aden.
April 9-Depart Aden into the desert of Yemen.
April 9-14-Party forges into the interior on horseback, passing through small villages of sullen-eyed arabs polishing long rifles. At last they reach the mountains where the fabled ruined city of Ubar supposedly lies.
Thursday, April 15-Late in the day the stele is found! Indeed the carvings show a mysterious event. But as Dusseldorf strives to translate the writing beneath the carving, he is shot dead by arab horsemen. The party engages in a frantic gun battle, escaping when the arabs retreat to regroup.
April 15-21-Hurry back to Aden to make the boat, after rifling the professors body for notes and posessions.
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