“But why shall we go there?’  His answer
seemed to thrill through me as though it had struck some chord ready
tuned within:

“‘We shall find the mummy there! I am sure of it!’  Then anticipating
doubt or argument he added:

“‘Wait, and you shall see!’ and he sank back into his blanket again. “The Arabs were surprised when we retraced our steps; and some of them
were not satisfied. There was a good deal of friction, and there were
several desertions; so that it was with a diminished following that we
took our way eastward again. At first the Sheik did not manifest any
curiosity as to our definite destination; but when it became apparent
that we were again making for the Valley of the Sorcerer, he too showed
concern. This grew as we drew near; till finally at the entrance of
the valley he halted and refused to go further. He said he would await
our return if we chose to go on alone. That he would wait three days;
but if by that time we had not returned he would leave. No offer of
money would tempt him to depart from this resolution. The only
concession he would make was that he would find the ladders and bring
them near the cliff. This he did; and then, with the rest of the
troop, he went back to wait at the entrance of the valley. “Mr. Trelawny and I took ropes and torches, and again ascended to the
tomb. It was evident that someone had been there in our absence, for
the stone slab which protected the entrance to the tomb was lying flat
inside, and a rope was dangling from the cliff summit. Within, there
was another rope hanging into the shaft of the Mummy Pit. We looked at
each other; but neither said a word. We fixed our own rope, and as
arranged Trelawny descended first, I following at once. It was not
till we stood together at the foot of the shaft that the thought
flashed across me that we might be in some sort of a trap; that someone
might descend the rope from the cliff, and by cutting the rope by which
we had lowered ourselves into the Pit, bury us there alive. The
thought was horrifying; but it was too late to do anything. I remained
silent. We both had torches, so that there was ample light as we
passed through the passage and entered the Chamber where the
sarcophagus had stood. The first thing noticeable was the emptiness of
the place. Despite all its magnificent adornment, the tomb was made a
desolation by the absence of the great sarcophagus, to hold which it
was hewn in the rock; of the chest with the alabaster jars; of the
tables which had held the implements and food for the use of the dead,
and the ushaptiu figures. “It was made more infinitely desolate still by the shrouded figure of
the mummy of Queen Tera which lay on the floor where the great
sarcophagus had stood! Beside it lay, in the strange contorted
attitudes of violent death, three of the Arabs who had deserted from
our party. Their faces were black, and their hands and necks were
smeared with blood which had burst from mouth and nose and eyes. “On the throat of each were the marks, now blackening, of a hand of
seven fingers. “Trelawny and I drew close, and clutched each other in awe and fear as
we looked. “For, most wonderful of all, across the breast of the mummied Queen lay
a hand of seven fingers, ivory white, the wrist only showing a scar
like a jagged red line, from which seemed to depend drops of blood.”




Chapter XII

The Magic Coffer


“When we recovered our amazement, which seemed to last unduly long, we
did not lose any time carrying the mummy through the passage, and
hoisting it up the Pit shaft. I went first, to receive it at the top. As I looked down, I saw Mr. Trelawny lift the severed hand and put it
in his breast, manifestly to save it from being injured or lost. We
left the dead Arabs where they lay. With our ropes we lowered our
precious burden to the ground; and then took it to the entrance of the
valley where our escort was to wait. To our astonishment we found them
on the move. When we remonstrated with the Sheik, he answered that he
had fulfilled his contract to the letter; he had waited the three days
as arranged. I thought that he was lying to cover up his base
intention of deserting us; and I found when we compared notes that
Trelawny had the same suspicion. It was not till we arrived at Cairo
that we found he was correct. It was the 3rd of November 1884 when we
entered the Mummy Pit for the second time; we had reason to remember
the date. “We had lost three whole days of our reckoning—out of our
lives—whilst we had stood wondering in that chamber of the dead. Was
it strange, then, that we had a superstitious feeling with regard to
the dead Queen Tera and all belonging to her? Is it any wonder that it
rests with us now, with a bewildering sense of some power outside
ourselves or our comprehension? Will it be any wonder if it go down to
the grave with us at the appointed time? If, indeed, there be any
graves for us who have robbed the dead!”  He was silent for quite a
minute before he went on:

“We got to Cairo all right, and from there to Alexandria, where we were
to take ship by the Messagerie service to Marseilles, and go thence by
express to London. But

     ‘The best-laid schemes o’ mice and men Gang aft agley.’

At Alexandria, Trelawny found waiting a cable stating that Mrs.
Trelawny had died in giving birth to a daughter. “Her stricken husband hurried off at once by the Orient Express; and I
had to bring the treasure alone to the desolate house. I got to London
all safe; there seemed to be some special good fortune to our journey. When I got to this house, the funeral had long been over. The child
had been put out to nurse, and Mr. Trelawny had so far recovered from
the shock of his loss that he had set himself to take up again the
broken threads of his life and his work. That he had had a shock, and
a bad one, was apparent. The sudden grey in his black hair was proof
enough in itself; but in addition, the strong cast of his features had
become set and stern. Since he received that cable in the shipping
office at Alexandria I have never seen a happy smile on his face. “Work is the best thing in such a case; and to his work he devoted
himself heart and soul. The strange tragedy of his loss and gain—for
the child was born after the mother’s death—took place during the time
that we stood in that trance in the Mummy Pit of Queen Tera. It seemed
to have become in some way associated with his Egyptian studies, and
more especially with the mysteries connected with the Queen. He told
me very little about his daughter; but that two forces struggled in his
mind regarding her was apparent. I could see that he loved, almost
idolised her. Yet he could never forget that her birth had cost her
mother’s life. Also, there was something whose existence seemed to
wring his father’s heart, though he would never tell me what it was.