Acoustics, for instance, an
exact science with the builders of the temples of Karnak, of Luxor, of
the Pyramids, is today a mystery to Bell, and Kelvin, and Edison, and
Marconi. Again, these old miracle-workers probably understood some
practical way of using other forces, and amongst them the forces of
light that at present we do not dream of. But of this matter I shall
speak later. That Magic Coffer of Queen Tera is probably a magic box
in more ways than one. It may—possibly it does—contain forces that
we wot not of. We cannot open it; it must be closed from within. How
then was it closed? It is a coffer of solid stone, of amazing
hardness, more like a jewel than an ordinary marble, with a lid equally
solid; and yet all is so finely wrought that the finest tool made today
cannot be inserted under the flange. How was it wrought to such
perfection? How was the stone so chosen that those translucent patches
match the relations of the seven stars of the constellation? How is
it, or from what cause, that when the starlight shines on it, it glows
from within—that when I fix the lamps in similar form the glow grows
greater still; and yet the box is irresponsive to ordinary light
however great? I tell you that that box hides some great mystery of
science. We shall find that the light will open it in some way:
either by striking on some substance, sensitive in a peculiar way to
its effect, or in releasing some greater power. I only trust that in
our ignorance we may not so bungle things as to do harm to its
mechanism; and so deprive the knowledge of our time of a lesson handed
down, as by a miracle, through nearly five thousand years. “In another way, too, there may be hidden in that box secrets which,
for good or ill, may enlighten the world. We know from their records,
and inferentially also, that the Egyptians studied the properties of
herbs and minerals for magic purposes—white magic as well as black. We know that some of the wizards of old could induce from sleep dreams
of any given kind. That this purpose was mainly effected by hypnotism,
which was another art or science of Old Nile, I have little doubt. But
still, they must have had a mastery of drugs that is far beyond
anything we know. With our own pharmacopoeia we can, to a certain
extent, induce dreams. We may even differentiate between good and
bad—dreams of pleasure, or disturbing and harrowing dreams. But these
old practitioners seemed to have been able to command at will any form
or colour of dreaming; could work round any given subject or thought in
almost any was required. In that coffer, which you have seen, may rest
a very armoury of dreams. Indeed, some of the forces that lie within
it may have been already used in my household.”  Again there was an
interruption from Doctor Winchester. “But if in your case some of these imprisoned forces were used, what
set them free at the opportune time, or how? Besides, you and Mr.
Corbeck were once before put into a trance for three whole days, when
you were in the Queen’s tomb for the second time. And then, as I
gathered from Mr. Corbeck’s story, the coffer was not back in the tomb,
though the mummy was. Surely in both these cases there must have been
some active intelligence awake, and with some other power to wield.”
Mr. Trelawny’s answer was equally to the point:

“There was some active intelligence awake. I am convinced of it. And
it wielded a power which it never lacks. I believe that on both those
occasions hypnotism was the power wielded.”

“And wherein is that power contained? What view do you hold on the
subject?” Doctor Winchester’s voice vibrated with the intensity of his
excitement as he leaned forward, breathing hard, and with eyes staring. Mr. Trelawny said solemnly:

“In the mummy of the Queen Tera! I was coming to that presently. Perhaps we had better wait till I clear the ground a little. What I
hold is, that the preparation of that box was made for a special
occasion; as indeed were all the preparations of the tomb and all
belonging to it. Queen Tera did not trouble herself to guard against
snakes and scorpions, in that rocky tomb cut in the sheer cliff face a
hundred feet above the level of the valley, and fifty down from the
summit. Her precautions were against the disturbances of human hands;
against the jealousy and hatred of the priests, who, had they known of
her real aims, would have tried to baffle them. From her point of
view, she made all ready for the time of resurrection, whenever that
might be. I gather from the symbolic pictures in the tomb that she so
far differed from the belief of her time that she looked for a
resurrection in the flesh. It was doubtless this that intensified the
hatred of the priesthood, and gave them an acceptable cause for
obliterating the very existence, present and future, of one who had
outraged their theories and blasphemed their gods. All that she might
require, either in the accomplishment of the resurrection or after it,
were contained in that almost hermetically sealed suite of chambers in
the rock. In the great sarcophagus, which as you know is of a size
quite unusual even for kings, was the mummy of her Familiar, the cat,
which from its great size I take to be a sort of tiger-cat. In the
tomb, also in a strong receptacle, were the canopic jars usually
containing those internal organs which are separately embalmed, but
which in this case had no such contents. So that, I take it, there was
in her case a departure in embalming; and that the organs were restored
to the body, each in its proper place—if, indeed, they had ever been
removed. If this surmise be true, we shall find that the brain of the
Queen either was never extracted in the usual way, or, if so taken out,
that it was duly replaced, instead of being enclosed within the mummy
wrappings. Finally, in the sarcophagus there was the Magic Coffer on
which her feet rested. Mark you also, the care taken in the
preservance of her power to control the elements. According to her
belief, the open hand outside the wrappings controlled the Air, and the
strange Jewel Stone with the shining stars controlled Fire. The
symbolism inscribed on the soles of her feet gave sway over Land and
Water. About the Star Stone I shall tell you later; but whilst we are
speaking of the sarcophagus, mark how she guarded her secret in case of
grave-wrecking or intrusion. None could open her Magic Coffer without
the lamps, for we know now that ordinary light will not be effective. The great lid of the sarcophagus was not sealed down as usual, because
she wished to control the air. But she hid the lamps, which in
structure belong to the Magic Coffer, in a place where none could find
them, except by following the secret guidance which she had prepared
for only the eyes of wisdom. And even here she had guarded against
chance discovery, by preparing a bolt of death for the unwary
discoverer.