He had with
him the great rolls of paper with the measured plans and the signs and
drawings which he had had made from his own and Corbeck’s rough notes. As he had told us, these contained the whole of the hieroglyphics on
walls and ceilings and floor of the tomb in the Valley of the Sorcerer. Even had not the measurements, made to scale, recorded the position of
each piece of furniture, we could have eventually placed them by a
study of the cryptic writings and symbols. Mr. Trelawny explained to us certain other things, not laid down on the
chart. Such as, for instance, that the hollowed part of the table was
exactly fitted to the bottom of the Magic Coffer, which was therefore
intended to be placed on it. The respective legs of this table were
indicated by differently shaped uraei outlined on the floor, the head
of each being extended in the direction of the similar uraeus twined
round the leg. Also that the mummy, when laid on the raised portion in
the bottom of the sarcophagus, seemingly made to fit the form, would
lie head to the West and feet to the East, thus receiving the natural
earth currents. “If this be intended,” he said, “as I presume it is, I
gather that the force to be used has something to do with magnetism or
electricity, or both. It may be, of course, that some other force,
such, for instance, as that emanating from radium, is to be employed. I have experimented with the latter, but only in such small quantity as
I could obtain; but so far as I can ascertain the stone of the Coffer
is absolutely impervious to its influence. There must be some such
unsusceptible substances in nature. Radium does not seemingly manifest
itself when distributed through pitchblende; and there are doubtless
other such substances in which it can be imprisoned. Possibly these
may belong to that class of “inert” elements discovered or isolated by
Sir William Ramsay. It is therefore possible that in this Coffer, made
from an aerolite and therefore perhaps containing some element unknown
in our world, may be imprisoned some mighty power which is to be
released on its opening.”

This appeared to be an end of this branch of the subject; but as he
still kept the fixed look of one who is engaged in a theme we all
waited in silence. After a pause he went on:

“There is one thing which has up to now, I confess, puzzled me. It may
not be of prime importance; but in a matter like this, where all is
unknown, we must take it that everything is important. I cannot think
that in a matter worked out with such extraordinary scrupulosity such a
thing should be overlooked. As you may see by the ground-plan of the
tomb the sarcophagus stands near the north wall, with the Magic Coffer
to the south of it. The space covered by the former is left quite bare
of symbol or ornamentation of any kind. At the first glance this would
seem to imply that the drawings had been made after the sarcophagus had
been put into its place. But a more minute examination will show that
the symbolisation on the floor is so arranged that a definite effect is
produced. See, here the writings run in correct order as though they
had jumped across the gap. It is only from certain effects that it
becomes clear that there is a meaning of some kind. What that meaning
may be is what we want to know. Look at the top and bottom of the
vacant space, which lies West and East corresponding to the head and
foot of the sarcophagus. In both are duplications of the same
symbolisation, but so arranged that the parts of each one of them are
integral portions of some other writing running crosswise. It is only
when we get a coup d’oeil from either the head or the foot that you
recognise that there are symbolisations. See! they are in triplicate
at the corners and the centre of both top and bottom. In every case
there is a sun cut in half by the line of the sarcophagus, as by the
horizon. Close behind each of these and faced away from it, as though
in some way dependent on it, is the vase which in hieroglyphic writing
symbolises the heart—‘Ab’ the Egyptians called it. Beyond each of
these again is the figure of a pair of widespread arms turned upwards
from the elbow; this is the determinative of the ‘Ka’ or ‘Double’. But
its relative position is different at top and bottom. At the head of
the sarcophagus the top of the ‘Ka’ is turned towards the mouth of the
vase, but at the foot the extended arms point away from it. “The symbolisation seems to mean that during the passing of the Sun
from West to East—from sunset to sunrise, or through the Under World,
otherwise night—the Heart, which is material even in the tomb and
cannot leave it, simply revolves, so that it can always rest on ‘Ra’
the Sun-God, the origin of all good; but that the Double, which
represents the active principle, goes whither it will, the same by
night as by day. If this be correct it is a warning—a caution—a
reminder that the consciousness of the mummy does not rest but is to be
reckoned with. “Or it may be intended to convey that after the particular night of the
resurrection, the ‘Ka’ would leave the heart altogether, thus typifying
that in her resurrection the Queen would be restored to a lower and
purely physical existence. In such case what would become of her
memory and the experiences of her wide-wandering soul? The chiefest
value of her resurrection would be lost to the world! This, however,
does not alarm me. It is only guess-work after all, and is
contradictory to the intellectual belief of the Egyptian theology, that
the ‘Ka’ is an essential portion of humanity.”  He paused and we all
waited. The silence was broken by Doctor Winchester:

“But would not all this imply that the Queen feared intrusion of her
tomb?”  Mr. Trelawny smiled as he answered:

“My dear sir, she was prepared for it. The grave-robber is no modern
application of endeavour; he was probably known in the Queen’s own
dynasty. Not only was she prepared for intrusion, but, as shown in
several ways, she expected it. The hiding of the lamps in the serdab,
and the institution of the avenging ‘treasurer’ shows that there was
defence, positive as well as negative. Indeed, from the many
indications afforded in the clues laid out with the most consummated
thought, we may almost gather that she entertained it as a possibility
that others—like ourselves, for instance—might in all seriousness
undertake the work which she had made ready for her own hands when the
time should have come. This very matter that I have been speaking of
is an instance. The clue is intended for seeing eyes!”

Again we were silent. It was Margaret who spoke:

“Father, may I have that chart? I should like to study it during the
day!”

“Certainly, my dear!” answered Mr. Trelawny heartily, as he handed it
to her.