The Trail of the Disturber, Part Fifty.

Ms. Madison was woken by her alarm clock at three AM. The trip up Mount Sinai was not until four, but she rather wanted to make herself pretty before climbling the mountain. However, what had seemed a good idea after a hearty meal and dancing the night before seemed rather less attractive in the dark. The alarm clock was hurled across the room, bouncing off a wall and leaving a dent.

Accordingly, it was a rather flushed and untidy Ms. Madison who arrived at the departure point only just in time to be helped onto a camel. She was, the lovely blonde reflected, getting far too used to the life of luxury the Green Man had arranged for her. Still, once she had left, she'd probably have no trouble getting a job as a model or something...

The camel stood up, and Ms. Madison winced as she was thrust backwards onto one of the pommels of the saddle. All around her were tourists and a few pilgrims. Although most of the pilgrims would be taking the older, harder route, 'the steps of penance' that led down to St. Catherine, the fortress-monastery built by Justinian (or at least on his orders). She allowed her mind to wander, as the camel was led up the mountain. In the pitch dark, she had to trust it, and the Bedouin who led it.

Half-way, the little party saw what seemed to be a river of fire, flowing up the mountain, in definace of gravity. These were the pilgrims, headed to the summit, the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments. As she stepped off the camel and fended off the hawkers, Ms. Madison wondered just what Monty Bristow was up to. And where the Green Man might be.