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They rode for the entire day.
他们一整天都在赶路。
Toward the end of the afternoon, they came upon a Coptic monastery.
夜幕将至，他们来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.
炼金术士将卫队遣回后，便翻身下了马。
"From here on, you will be alone," the alchemist said. "You are only three hours from the Pyramids."
“从此以后，你要独自一人赶路了。”炼金术士说，“从这里到金字塔只剩三个小时路程了。”
"Thank you," said the boy. "You taught me the Language of the World."
“谢谢！”男孩说，“您教会了我世界的语言。”
"I only invoked what you already knew."
“我只不过使你回忆起早已知道的事情。”
The alchemist knocked on the gate of the monastery. A monk dressed in black came to the gates.
炼金术士敲了敲修道院的大门。一位身着黑衣的修士前来开门。
They spoke for a few minutes in the Coptic tongue, and the alchemist bade the boy enter.
他们用科普特语交谈了几句，炼金术士便请男孩进入修道院。
"I asked him to let me use the kitchen for a while," the alchemist smiled.
“我请求他把厨房借给我们用一下。”炼金术士说。
They went to the kitchen at the back of the monastery.
他们一径来到修道院的厨房。
The alchemist lighted the fire, and the monk brought him some lead, which the alchemist placed in an iron pan.
炼金术士点上火，那修士拿来了少许铅块，炼金术士将铅块放入一只铁罐中熔化。
When the lead had become liquid, the alchemist took from his pouch the strange yellow egg.
当铅变成液体时，他从他的袋子里取出那个奇怪的黄色玻璃蛋。
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.
他从上面刮下来一条，细如发丝，然后，他用蜡把它包裹起来，和铅一起放入锅中。
The mixture took on a reddish color, almost the color of blood.
两种东西混合后变成了血红色。
The alchemist removed the pan from the fire, and set it aside to cool.
炼金术士将锅从火上挪开，放在一旁冷却。
As he did so, he talked with the monk about the tribal wars.
与此同时，他与修士谈起了有关部落战争的事。
"I think they're going to last for a long time," he said to the monk.
“大槪会持续很久。”他对修士说。
The monk was irritated. The caravans had been stopped at Giza for some time, waiting for the wars to end.
修士对此早已厌烦。许多商队在吉萨停留了很长时间，都等着战争结束呢。
"But God's will be done," the monk said.
“但愿上帝的意志能够实现。”修士说。
"Exactly," answered the alchemist.
“但愿如此。”炼金术士回答。
