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diff --git a/old/69398-0.txt b/old/69398-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index cde52db..0000000 --- a/old/69398-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6206 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Don Sturdy in the Tombs of Gold, by -Victor Appleton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Don Sturdy in the Tombs of Gold - or The old Egyptian's great secret - -Author: Victor Appleton - -Illustrator: Walter S. Rogers - -Release Date: November 20, 2022 [eBook #69398] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David Edwards, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DON STURDY IN THE TOMBS OF -GOLD *** - - -[Illustration: “GET YOUR RIFLES READY,” COMMANDED THE CAPTAIN. - - _Don Sturdy in the Tombs of Gold._ _Page 132_] - - - - - DON STURDY IN THE - TOMBS OF GOLD - - OR - - The Old Egyptian’s Great Secret - - BY - VICTOR APPLETON - - AUTHOR OF “DON STURDY ON THE DESERT OF MYSTERY,” - “DON STURDY ACROSS THE NORTH POLE,” “TOM - SWIFT AND HIS SKY RACER,” “TOM SWIFT - AND HIS PHOTO TELEPHONE,” ETC. - - _ILLUSTRATED BY_ - WALTER S. ROGERS - - NEW YORK - GROSSET & DUNLAP - PUBLISHERS - - Made in the United States of America - - - - -BOOKS FOR BOYS - -By VICTOR APPLETON - -12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. - -THE DON STURDY SERIES - - DON STURDY ON THE DESERT OF MYSTERY - DON STURDY WITH THE BIG SNAKE HUNTERS - DON STURDY IN THE TOMBS OF GOLD - DON STURDY ACROSS THE NORTH POLE - DON STURDY IN THE LAND OF VOLCANOES - -THE TOM SWIFT SERIES - - TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR CYCLE - TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR BOAT - TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIRSHIP - TOM SWIFT AND HIS SUBMARINE BOAT - TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RUNABOUT - TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIRELESS MESSAGE - TOM SWIFT AMONG THE DIAMOND MAKERS - TOM SWIFT IN THE CAVES OF ICE - TOM SWIFT AND HIS SKY RACER - TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RIFLE - TOM SWIFT IN THE CITY OF GOLD - TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR GLIDER - TOM SWIFT IN CAPTIVITY - TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIZARD CAMERA - TOM SWIFT AND HIS GREAT SEARCHLIGHT - TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON - TOM SWIFT AND HIS PHOTO TELEPHONE - TOM SWIFT AND HIS AERIAL WARSHIP - TOM SWIFT AND HIS BIG TUNNEL - TOM SWIFT IN THE LAND OF WONDERS - TOM SWIFT AND HIS WAR TANK - TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR SCOUT - TOM SWIFT AND HIS UNDERSEA SEARCH - TOM SWIFT AMONG THE FIRE FIGHTERS - TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE - TOM SWIFT AND HIS FLYING BOAT - TOM SWIFT AND HIS GREAT OIL GUSHER - TOM SWIFT AND HIS CHEST OF SECRETS - - - GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK - - Copyright, 1925, by - GROSSET & DUNLAP - - Don Sturdy in the Tombs of Gold - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I A CALL FOR HELP 1 - - II LIKE A VOICE FROM THE GRAVE 10 - - III OFF FOR EGYPT 18 - - IV A PAIR OF SCOUNDRELS 27 - - V A VILLAINOUS PLOT 36 - - VI THE FIGHT IN THE DARK 46 - - VII ON THE TRAIL 63 - - VIII A LAND OF WONDERS 77 - - IX STARTLING NEWS 86 - - X IN GREAT DANGER 95 - - XI A DASH FOR LIBERTY 103 - - XII THE NIGHT PROWLER 115 - - XIII A DEADLY MENACE 127 - - XIV IN UTTER DARKNESS 138 - - XV A FRIGHTFUL APPARITION 144 - - XVI IN THE GRIP OF DOOM 149 - - XVII TRAPPED 155 - - XVIII A NIGHT OF HORROR 162 - - XIX THE MAN BY THE STREAM 168 - - XX A JOYFUL REUNION 177 - - XXI IN THE LABYRINTH 182 - - XXII A BEWILDERING EXPERIENCE 188 - - XXIII RICHES BEYOND PRICE 193 - - XXIV THE SLEEPWALKER 198 - - XXV VICTORY AGAINST ODDS 207 - - - - - DON STURDY IN THE - TOMBS OF GOLD - - - - -CHAPTER I - -A CALL FOR HELP - - -“Then, you think Dad really went to Egypt?” asked Don Sturdy, with -deep anxiety in his tone, as he stood beside the desk where his uncle, -Professor Bruce, was carefully looking over a mass of papers. - -“I’m inclined to think so, my boy,” replied the professor, as he sat -back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. “Everything -seems to point that way, though we haven’t a bit of positive proof. But -we know, at least, that the idea of going there was in his mind when -he rushed out of Clifton’s house in Brazil shouting that he must go to -Egypt.” - -“Still, that may have been the mere whim of a deranged mind, forgotten -almost as soon as the words were spoken,” put in Captain Frank Sturdy, -another of Don’s uncles, as he turned from the window through which he -had been looking. - -“True enough,” assented the professor. “But we know from what Ruth told -us that for weeks he had been talking about the Valley of the Kings -in Egypt. It was, I believe, a fixed idea that had taken possession -of him. And these papers I’ve been looking over explain why he was so -deeply interested in that country.” - -He picked up the heap of manuscript as he spoke, and selected some -papers from the mass. - -“There’s no collected story here,” he remarked; “simply a lot of -memoranda scribbled on whatever he had at hand, old telegraph blanks, -backs of envelopes, and the like. They bear upon a trip that Richard -took to Egypt several years ago. The magic of the country seems to have -captivated him. But there’s something more than the awakened interest -of a tourist in them. They’re aflame with the ardor of a discoverer. -He seems to have been right on the brink of some remarkable find--so -remarkable, in fact, that he feared to commit it to paper lest it -should get into hands for which it was not intended.” - -“I remember now,” broke in Captain Sturdy, “that when he got back from -that trip he seemed strangely excited. But I could never get much out -of him about it. He’d talk about it in a general way, but whenever it -came to details he’d change the subject. I gathered that he meant to -go back the next year, but the war came and that put an end to his -plans for the time.” - -“He seemed to have spent most of his time among the tombs,” resumed -the professor. “There is one he mentions that was fifty-two feet long, -thirty-one feet wide, the sides of which were entirely covered with -paintings, while the roof, twenty-four feet high, was adorned with a -hundred squares of over a dozen different designs. There’s a diagram of -it here.” - -“What do you gather from that?” asked the captain. - -“Nothing much in itself,” was the reply. “But at the end of the -description are the words: ‘This is not the one. Must look further.’ -And there are several other descriptions of tombs scattered through the -papers, each with this little note of disappointment at the end. It -seems clear to me that Richard was hunting eagerly for one particular -tomb and desperately anxious to find it.” - -“What for, do you suppose?” asked Don. - -“What he wanted to find it for or what he expected to find in it I -don’t know. It may have been gold or scarabs or alabaster vases or -amulets or any of the thousand things that make some of those tombs -veritable treasure houses. But whatever it was, his mind was centered -on it. It may have become a sort of obsession. Then, when his head -was hurt in that accident at the time of the shipwreck, that one -overpowering desire to get back to Egypt may have come to the front and -been too strong to be resisted.” - -“Even if he did go there,” said Don, in perplexity, “it’s strange that -nothing has been heard of him. He had to live somewhere, must have -registered at some hotel. Yet all the consuls in the various cities -have investigated and can find no traces of any one named Sturdy.” - -“He may have used some other name,” suggested the professor. “It’s -quite possible that he’d forgotten his own. Cases of amnesia are common -enough, when a man forgets all his past history, even his name.” - -“But if mother had been with him, she’d have set that all right,” -objected Don. - -“True enough,” replied the professor. “But how do we know that she was -with him? All we know is that she ran out after him into the night. We -cannot be sure that he didn’t elude her.” - -“Oh, shall we ever be able to solve the mystery?” cried Don, in -desperation. - -“Yes, we will,” declared the captain heartily, as he placed his hand -encouragingly on his nephew’s shoulder. “Keep up your heart, my boy. -Remember that we found your sister Ruth when we had almost given up -hope. And with heaven’s help we’ll find your father and mother too.” - -“To be sure we shall, even if we go to Egypt to do it,” chimed in the -professor. “We’ll rake that country with a fine-toothed comb before -we’ll give up and admit that we’re beaten.” - -The sound of the dinner bell broke up the conference, and Don hastened -to his room to wash and to brush his hair. - -They were served at table by Jennie Jenks, the maid of all work, who -in her flittings to and fro that afternoon had caught snatches of the -conversation and was bursting with the desire to impart it to Mrs. -Roscoe, the housekeeper of the Sturdy home. - -“I guess we kin say good-bye to Mister Don an’ his uncles,” she -remarked, in one of her migrations to the kitchen. “They’re all a goin’ -to the tomb.” - -Mrs. Roscoe was so startled that she nearly dropped the dish she was -carrying from the oven. - -“What do you mean?” she gasped. “Are they sick?” - -“You wouldn’t think so if you seen the way they was eatin’,” replied -Jennie, shifting her wad of chewing gum. “I mean they’re goin’ to them -Egypt tombs, where they’s alligaster vases an’ omelets an’ things like -that.” - -“Oh, you mean the tombs of the Pharaohs,” said the motherly -housekeeper, in great relief. “They’ve been dead a long time.” - -“Mebbe,” admitted Jennie. “Though I hadn’t even heard they was sick. -But it just beats all the way them men go trampin’ all over the earth -when they got a good home like this. Here they jest got back from -Brazil, an’ lucky they was not to be et up by golcondas or cannonballs, -an’ instead of settlin’ down, thankful like, they must be goin’ off -lickety-switch to another of them heathen places. Who knows what’ll -happen to ’em? Like as not Mister Don may fall down into one of them -Egypt tombs an’ be squashed.” - -“Oh, I guess not,” replied the housekeeper soothingly. “He’s been in a -good many tight places and has come through all right.” - -“Yes,” admitted Jennie. “But the picture that goes to the well too -often is broke at last. An’ it jest makes my blood creep to think of -them goin’ to that Egypt place, where all them plagues used to be.” - -“That was a long time ago,” remarked the housekeeper. “I guess it’s all -right now.” - -“I don’t know,” said Jennie, renewing her attack on her chewing gum -more vigorously and shaking her head. “From all I’ve heard, them -Egyptians ain’t any better than they ort to be.” - -“Who is?” asked Mrs. Roscoe mildly. - -“A feller took me to a movie once that showed all ’bout Egypt,” went -on Jennie, ignoring the question. “The big buildings was so dark an’ -gloomy they give me the shivers. I ast the feller why they didn’t have -electric lights, an’ he tole me that they didn’t need electric lights -coz they had so many Israelites. I ast him what they had to do with it, -an’ he only laughed an’ said he loved every bone in my head.” - -“He had a lot to love, then,” put in Mrs. Roscoe dryly. - -“An’ they was a picture of the ocean,” Jennie continued, oblivious of -the sarcasm, “an’ the feller that was with me tole me that was Pharaoh -an’ his chariots an’ the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea. I -said, ‘Where’s the children of Israel, I don’t see any,’ an’ he said, -‘Oh, they’ve gone over’; an’ I said, ‘Well, then, where’s Pharaoh and -his chariots?’ an’ he said, ‘Oh, they’ve gone under.’ I s’pose that was -the way of it since he said so, but it didn’t seem just right somehow.” - -Just then Jennie was interrupted by a call from the dining room and -scurried away, saving the housekeeper the necessity of listening to any -further details for the moment. - -Don finished his dinner and then went out and sat down in a chair on -the porch. It was a beautiful summer evening, and in the great old -trees about the house the birds were singing their vesper songs. - -Ordinarily the charm of the hour would have appealed to Don, but now -the outer peace only helped to emphasize by contrast the ferment of -anxiety in his mind. Where was his father? Where was his mother? Were -they still alive? What fate was keeping him without tidings of his -parents, dearer to him than life? - -A boy on a motorcycle came at a rapid gait up the road. Don looked -at him listlessly as he neared, but with quickened interest when he -stopped at the gate. - -The messenger opened the gate and wheeled his machine up the path. - -“Cap’n Sturdy in?” asked the boy. - -“Yes,” replied Don. “Want to see him?” - -“Got a cablegram for him,” was the answer. - -“Uncle Frank!” called Don. “Will you step here a minute? Something for -you.” - -The captain came to the door, carrying in his hand the evening -newspaper he had been reading. - -“What is it?” he asked. - -The messenger handed him the envelope he drew from his pocket. The -captain signed for it and tore it open. - -He ran his eyes over the message, and gave a shout that brought Don to -his feet in a twinkling. - -“What is it?” he asked in surprise and some alarm. “What’s the matter?” - -“Read it! Read it!” cried the captain, shoving the message toward his -nephew with a hand that trembled. - -Don looked at it, and started as though he had received an electric -shock. - -“It’s from mother!” he cried. “It’s from mother!” - -This was the way the message ran: - - “Strange disappearance of Richard. Must have assistance. Cable - immediately. - - “ALICE STURDY.” - - - - - -CHAPTER II - -LIKE A VOICE FROM THE GRAVE - - -“From mother!” shouted Don. “She’s alive! A cablegram from mother!” - -He kissed the precious message and pressed it to his heart. Happy tears -were in his eyes. The captain was scarcely less stirred. - -The commotion brought the professor hurrying to the porch, as well as -Don’s sister Ruth, who, not yet fully recovered from her long illness, -stood like a frail lily, framed in the doorway. - -“What is it, Don?” she asked, clasping her hands beseechingly. “I heard -you say something about mother? What has happened?” - -Don sprang to her side and led her to a chair, where he seated her -tenderly. - -“Good news, Ruth, glorious news!” he cried. “We have a message from -mother. She’s alive! Think of it, Ruth! Mother’s alive and we’re going -to see her soon!” - -Ruth’s head drooped on his breast and she fell into a passion of -weeping. They let her cry to her heart’s content, knowing they were -tears that could bring balm and blessing. The captain turned away, and -the professor, to conceal his emotion, blew his nose vigorously. - -The paroxysm passed, and Ruth, her eyes shining through her tears, -looked at Don. - -“What about Dad?” she asked. - -Don’s face clouded. - -“That news isn’t so good,” he answered. “Mother says that he has -mysteriously disappeared. But we’ll find him, never fear. And, anyway, -we know that he is still alive--or was up to within a very short time. -When is that cablegram dated, Uncle Frank?” - -“This morning,” answered the captain, “and it comes from Alexandria. -That shows that they both reached Egypt from Brazil. It’s probable that -Richard has been missing for a day or two only, or Alice would have -cabled sooner. I wish she had gone more into details. But those will -come later,” he added. - -“She has probably been short of money, and cable tolls are expensive,” -suggested the professor. - -“We’ll soon settle the money question!” exclaimed the captain. “Dan,” -he called to the man of all work, who, together with Mrs. Roscoe and -Jenny, had been called out by the excitement and stood near by, “get -out the car at once and drive me down to the village. I’ll cable her -a thousand dollars to-night, and tell her we’re coming to her by the -first steamer we can get.” - -Dan hurried away to the garage, while the captain went into the house -to get his hat. - -“Come into the house, my blessed lamb,” said Mrs. Roscoe, her own face -wet with happy tears, as she folded Ruth in her motherly embrace and -led her inside. - -“My poor dear Missus!” blubbered Jenny, as she followed them. “All -alone out there in the land of the Pigamids and the Spinach!” - -“I’m going with you, Uncle Frank!” cried Don, as Dan brought the car up -to the door. - -“Jump in,” said the captain, as he set the example. Dan threw in the -clutch and the car whirled out of the gate. - -While uncle and nephew are speeding to respond to that call for help -from faraway Egypt, it may be well, for the benefit of those who have -not read the preceding volumes of this series, to tell who Don Sturdy -was and what had been his adventures up to the time this story opens. - -Don was a lad of fourteen, unusually tall and muscular for his age, -with brown hair and eyes and a fair complexion. He had been born and -brought up in Hillville, a thriving town in an Eastern state, about -fifty miles from New York. The Sturdy house was of stone, as were the -barn, garage and other outbuildings, surrounded by several acres of -ground set out with large trees. - -Some time before the beginning of the events here narrated, Don’s -father, Richard Sturdy, a great traveler, had set out on an exploring -expedition, accompanied by his wife, Alice, and by his daughter, Ruth, -who was about two years younger than Don. No word came from them, nor -did the ship _Mercury_ on which they had embarked reach port, and -with the passage of time it began to be feared that the _Mercury_ had -gone down with all on board while rounding Cape Horn. The blow was a -terrible one to Don, who dearly loved his parents and younger sister, -and drove him nearly frantic with grief. - -During his parents’ absence, Don had been left in the care of his uncle -on his father’s side, Captain Frank Sturdy, his official guardian, a -big game hunter of great repute, whose business of gathering animals -dead and alive for museums and menageries had taken him at times all -over the world. He was a big man of iron nerve, sinewy, with black hair -and eyes. He was a dead shot, and his instructions had made Don also a -marksman only second to himself. - -Don was also under the general oversight of Professor Amos Regor Bruce, -his uncle on his mother’s side, and an eminent scientist and member -of many learned societies. He also had traveled extensively in the -interest of museums, for whom he gathered rare archæological specimens. - -To divert Don’s mind from dwelling on his supposed loss, his uncles, -both of whom were bachelors, took him with them on a trip to the -Sahara Desert. There one adventure trod quickly on the heels of -another. Don rescued a boy of about his own size, Teddy Allison, from -the attack of thievish Arabs. It developed that Teddy’s father had -been captured and carried into slavery. The sympathies of Don and his -uncles were enlisted by the boy’s plight, and they organized an auto -expedition into the desert to find Mr. Allison and incidentally to -discover, if they could, the City of Brass and the Cave of Emeralds. -What difficulties they had to surmount; the encounters they had with -bandits; the thrilling circumstances attending the rescue of Mr. -Allison and their finding of the emeralds are told in the first volume -of this series, entitled: “Don Sturdy on the Desert of Mystery; or, -Autoing in the Land of the Caravans.” - -Don’s astonishment and delight may be imagined when he learned from -Mr. Allison that, though the _Mercury_ had indeed been shipwrecked, -a number of passengers on the ill-fated ship had been picked up by a -sailing vessel and carried to Brazil. Teddy’s father had heard the -story from others of the rescued party, a scientist and a sailor, who -were presumably somewhere in Brazil, though he did not know their exact -whereabouts. Don’s hopes that his parents and sister might have been -among the survivors were revived, and he and his uncles determined to -go to that great South American country, a project rendered the easier -by the fact that the captain had a contract to capture big snakes and -the professor wished to go to the same region to search for rare drugs. - -Before long their expedition was organized and they had plunged into -the wilds of Brazil. Here they had the most exciting adventures with -anacondas, boa constrictors, alligators and jaguars, and were many -times in peril of their lives. - -How they captured the hideous monsters of the jungle; how they followed -up traces of Don’s parents and sister and finally found Ruth in a -hospital and brought her back to America; how they were baffled by the -perplexing mystery that still clung about the movements of Don’s father -and mother, are fully narrated in the second volume of this series, -entitled: “Don Sturdy with the Big Snake Hunters; or, Lost in the -Jungles of the Amazon.” - -Now to return to Don, as, with his heart thumping against his ribs with -joy and excitement, he accompanied his uncle to Hillville in order to -send the message that would bring relief and assurance to his mother’s -heart. - -Cable tolls were a matter of no consequence to the captain, and he -sent a long message to his sister-in-law, full of love and sympathy -and encouragement, accompanied by a telegraphic order for a thousand -dollars and directions to draw on him for all she needed to any amount. -He told her also that Ruth was safe at home, and that he and the -professor and Don would be on their way to her by the first steamer on -which they could secure passage. - -“Well, that’s that!” exclaimed the captain, when he had finished and -again climbed into the car. “Now to be up at daybreak and on my way to -New York to make arrangements for our passage. You’ve got to hustle -now, my boy, to get ready.” - -“Ready?” cried Don. “I’m ready now. I’d like to start off this minute.” - -“So should I,” replied his uncle. “But a trip half-way around the world -can’t be taken at the drop of a hat. We’ll make things hum though, you -can be sure of that.” - -“How long will the voyage take?” - -“Three weeks, probably. Possibly a little less if we make good -connections. We’ll have to go to England first, and book passage on a -liner from there. But they run frequently, and we won’t have long to -wait.” - -It was getting dark as they drew near the Sturdy home. In the dusk Don -saw two figures walking by the side of the road whom he recognized at -once. He called to Dan to stop, and the car halted abreast of them. - -“Hello, Emily! Hello, Fred!” Don called out. “Jump in. Where are you -going?” - -“Just coming over to make you a little call,” replied Fred Turner, a -boy of about Don’s own age. - -“Better and better!” exclaimed Don. “Get in. I have some glorious news, -and if I don’t tell it to some one I’ll burst!” - - - - -CHAPTER III - -OFF FOR EGYPT - - -“It would be too bad to have anything like that happen, Don,” was -the laughing reply of Fred, as he helped his sister into the car and -followed her. “So fire away and let’s have it.” - -“Oh, you don’t mean, Don, that you’ve heard from your parents?” asked -Emily eagerly. “I can’t imagine anything else that would make you so -happy.” - -“It’s just that!” declared Don jubilantly. “Got a cablegram from my -mother. She’s in Egypt, and we’re going right over there to get her and -bring her home.” - -Emily gave a little squeal of delight and Fred grabbed Don’s hand with -a fervor that made him wince. - -“Glory hallelujah!” cried Fred. “Isn’t that splendid!” - -“Oh, Don, I’m so glad and thankful!” exclaimed Emily. “Now Ruth will -get well in a hurry. It’s just that awful worry that’s made her so weak -and ill. How did she take it?” - -“Too happy for words,” replied Don. “It will do her more good than all -the tonics and medicines in the world.” - -“Your father is with your mother, I suppose,” remarked Fred. - -“No,” replied Don slowly, his tone tinctured with soberness. “That’s -the one bad thing in the news. He’s disappeared, and mother doesn’t -know where he is. We’re going over to hunt him up. But at least we know -that he was alive nearly up to the time she cabled, and that’s a whole -lot in itself.” - -By this time the car had reached the house. Captain Sturdy went inside -to discuss the coming trip with Professor Bruce. Don and Fred sat down -on the porch, while Emily rushed inside to rejoice with Ruth over her -new-found happiness. - -Fred and Emily Turner were orphans, who lived at a little distance -from the Sturdy home. Their first acquaintance with Don dated from the -time just before his journey to Brazil when Don had saved Emily from a -raging torrent into which she had fallen. Fred at that time was badly -crippled, so badly, in fact, that his recovery seemed hopeless. The -orphans were also in bad financial circumstances, and the small estate -in stocks and bonds that had been left them by their father had been -taken from them by a heartless swindler. - -A warm friendship sprang up between Don and the young folks, and the -former enlisted the help of his uncles in their behalf. The story of -what was done for the Turners by Professor Bruce and Captain Sturdy and -how Fred was cured of his lameness and made as strong and well as other -lads of his age has been narrated in the preceding volume. - -Don and Fred had been chatting for a few minutes on the porch when the -telephone bell rang. Don excused himself and went inside to answer it. - -“Hello!” came the call. “Is that you, Don? This is Brick.” - -“Bully!” cried Don, as he realized that his caller was Teddy Allison, -nicknamed Brick because of his mop of fiery red hair. “I’ve been -wondering why I hadn’t heard from you.” - -“Been plugging away at my books,” growled Brick. “But vacation will be -here in a few days now, and I’m going to make tracks to Hillville just -as soon as I can get away. I’m crazy to hear all about your trip to -Brazil.” - -“You haven’t been any crazier than I’ve been to have you come,” replied -Don. “But, Brick, old boy, I’m afraid I won’t be here when your -vacation begins. I’m going to Egypt.” - -There was an exclamation at the other end of the wire as though Brick -had been stunned. Don went on to explain the good news he had received -and Teddy was overjoyed. - -“It’s glorious, Don!” he said. “It’s the best news I’ve heard in -months. But, say, Don, if you’re going to Egypt, why can’t I go along?” - -“That would be great,” responded Don enthusiastically. “I’d be tickled -to death. And I’m sure my uncles would have no objection. You know what -they think of you. They think you’re about the finest boy that ever -wore shoes. But how about your father? Would he be willing to have you -go?” - -“He isn’t in New York, worse luck,” replied Brick. “He’s gone out West -on a business matter. But I’ll try to get him by telegraph or long -distance ’phone. Oh, Don, I’ve just got to go with you! I’ll go if I -have to swim!” - -“Pretty long swim,” laughed Don. “But do your best, old boy, and I’ll -talk to my uncles; though I’m sure they’ll be willing.” - -The boys talked for a few minutes longer, and then Don hung up the -receiver and rejoined Fred on the porch. - -“From Brick Allison,” he explained. “He’s wild to go with us to Egypt.” - -“I don’t wonder,” commented Fred. “But now, Don,” he went on, rising as -Emily came out on the porch, “I guess we’d better go, for I know you’ll -have a thousand things to do in getting ready for your trip on such -short notice.” - -The next few days were busy ones. Clothes suitable for the hot climate -of Egypt had to be bought, arrangements made for letters of credit, -passages booked on the steamer, and a host of other details attended to -that had to be crowded into their hurried preparations. - -The captain and professor kept the wires hot in their calls on the -various shipping offices, and were delighted to find that they could -get passage on a steamer going directly to Alexandria in Egypt, thus -obviating the necessity of going to England first, an arrangement that -would save them several days. At a time when every day counted, this -was an item of prime importance. - -No answering cable had come from Mrs. Sturdy, a fact that increased -their uneasiness and gave an added intensity to their longing to be off. - -Nor had Teddy ’phoned again, except once to tell Don that he was trying -frantically to get in touch with his father but had not yet succeeded. -But no other message followed, and Don was forced reluctantly to give -up hope of his boy friend taking the trip with him. - -The day came at last when they were to go to New York, there to board -the _Cleopatra_, the vessel on which their passage was booked. There -were tender partings from Ruth, in whose cheeks the roses were again -coming from the knowledge that her mother was alive. They promised to -keep in frequent touch with her by cable. - -There were warm good wishes also from Dan and Mrs. Roscoe and Jenny. -The hired girl’s agitated feelings were revealed by the unusual vigor -with which she chewed her gum. - -“Good-bye, Mister Don,” she whimpered. “Don’t get trompled by no -cambles an’ don’t get et by no crockumdiles an’ don’t fall down in none -of them Egypt tombs.” - -Don promised that he would be careful, and the party stepped into the -car and were driven down by Dan to the station, where they took the -train to New York. - -The _Cleopatra_ was to sail the next morning at eleven, and two hours -earlier Don and his uncles went on board. The ship was new and well -equipped, their staterooms were favorably located and satisfactorily -furnished, and to all appearance they would have a comfortable and, -they hoped, a speedy voyage. - -Don quickly arranged his belongings in his cabin and then went out -on deck, which was humming with the activity always prevailing on a -steamer on the point of sailing. He hung over the rail looking eagerly -for one particular face among the many that thronged the pier. In his -last talk with Teddy he had told him of the steamer he would take and -the day and hour of sailing, and he confidently expected that his chum -would be on hand to see him off. - -But Teddy did not appear, and when at last the gangplank was drawn in -and the great vessel edged her way out into the river, Don turned away -with a feeling of disappointment. What on earth had kept his friend -from being on hand? It was not like Teddy to fail him in anything. - -But though a sore spot remained in his heart, the first days of the -voyage were full of interesting things to engross his attention. The -weather was fine, and he spent most of the time on deck, enjoying the -cool breezes, the never ending fascination of the ocean, and studying -his fellow passengers. - -These last embraced more varied types than usual, because many of them -were natives of countries that bordered on the Mediterranean and were -clad in the picturesque garb of their various lands. There were many -Greeks, Algerians, Tunisians and Egyptians, the latter of whom were of -special interest because of the preëminent place that Egypt held in his -thoughts. - -Three whose dress proclaimed that they belonged to the land of the Nile -particularly attracted his notice. - -One was an elderly man of benevolent expression, with deep piercing -eyes peering out from beneath shaggy eyebrows. He seemed a sage and a -scholar, rich in wisdom and experience. Don instinctively liked him -without exactly knowing why. His name, as the boy ascertained from one -of the deck stewards, was Zata Phalos. - -Two other Egyptians, who, as Don learned from the same source, bore -the names of Tezra and Nepahak, aroused in Don a feeling of suspicion -and distrust. They were always together, and usually conversing in -low tones, as though fearing to be overheard. From glances they cast -frequently at Phalos, accompanied by a vindictive glitter, Don judged -that the latter was the subject of their conversation. - -Tezra was tall and stoop-shouldered, while Nepahak was fat, short and -oily. Don noticed that Tezra did most of the talking, while Nepahak -assented by nods or objected in monosyllables. Tezra was apparently the -dominant character of the two. To Don, the faces of both bore the stamp -of evil. - -“Those birds will bear watching,” Don muttered to himself. “I’d hate to -be at their mercy if they had an object in injuring me.” - -On the third afternoon out Don noticed a certain confusion about one of -the hatchways. A number of the crew seemed to be hauling about rather -roughly a figure that was obscured by the crowd. - -“What’s the matter?” asked Don of a steward who came hurrying past him. - -“They’ve nabbed a stowaway,” was the reply. - -“Poor fellow,” thought Don. He knew that a stowaway was about as -popular with a ship’s officers and crew as a rattlesnake at a picnic -party. “I suppose they’ll make him work out his passage in the -stokehole for the rest of the voyage.” - -Just then a petty officer came up to where Don was seated in his deck -chair between those occupied by the captain and the professor. - -“Beg pardon, sir,” he said, addressing the captain, “but we have a -stowaway there who insists on seeing the Sturdys and Professor Bruce. -Just sheer impudence, I suppose, but I thought I’d tell you, sir.” - -Don and his uncles looked at each other in astonishment. - -“What on earth can that mean?” cried the captain, jumping to his feet -and striding toward the hatchway, closely followed by Don and the -professor. - -The crowd opened as they approached, and their astounded eyes fell -on--Teddy Allison! - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -A PAIR OF SCOUNDRELS - - -“Brick!” cried Don, scarcely daring to believe his eyes. - -“Teddy Allison!” ejaculated Captain Sturdy, in a tone that conveyed -sternness as well as astonishment. - -“Bless my soul!” exclaimed Professor Bruce, staring hard at the -stowaway, as though wondering whether it was Teddy in the flesh or his -ghost. - -But it was a very substantial Teddy that stood before them, held in the -grip of two of the sailors, his clothes rumpled and disheveled, smears -of dirt across his face, his uncombed red hair flaming above his pale -features. - -His eyes had lighted with joy as they looked at Don, but fell -sheepishly before the gravity that had replaced astonishment in the -eyes of the captain and the professor. - -Don leaped forward impulsively and threw his arm over Brick’s shoulder. - -“You sure had me going for a minute, Brick,” he said. “You could have -knocked me down with a feather. But I can’t tell you how glad I am to -see you here.” - -The evident acquaintance of the Sturdys and Professor Bruce with the -stowaway caused the sailors to relinquish their hold of Teddy’s collar, -and just at that moment one of the officers of the ship came along to -look into the matter. - -Captain Sturdy addressed him. - -“You needn’t worry about this boy, officer,” he said. “His father is -a friend of mine. I’ll take all responsibility for him and pay his -passage.” - -“Certainly, sir, certainly,” replied the officer. “That will be all -right. Hardly know where we’ll find accommodation for him though. All -our staterooms are taken.” - -“He can share the cabin of my nephew,” replied the captain. “Come, -Teddy,” he went on, addressing the culprit. “Don will take you to his -room and fit you out with some of his clothes after you’ve had a bath. -Then I’ll have something to say to you, young man.” - -There was something in Captain Sturdy’s tone and glance that was not at -all reassuring to the aforesaid young man, who hurried away with Don, -glad to get away from the half-wondering, half-amused glances of the -passengers who had been summoned by the hubbub. - -“Gee, Don, I suppose I’m in for an awful scolding,” Teddy whispered to -his chum, as he watched the uncompromising back of the captain. - -“Shouldn’t wonder, old boy,” laughed Don. “You’ll probably get an -earful. But, after all, Uncle Frank won’t eat you. And, at any rate, -you’re here, and nothing else matters much. You won’t get any scolding -from me, that’s a cinch. You look mighty good to me, Brick. I’m crazy -to hear what’s happened to you since the ship sailed.” - -“It’s a long story, mates,” replied the grinning Teddy, whose mercurial -spirits began to rise, despite the lecture in store for him. “But first -let me get rid of some of this grime and slip into some decent clothes. -Then I’ll feel like a civilized human being again. Gee, there’s no hobo -has anything on me.” - -So Don forbore to question his friend further, and busied himself in -getting out some of his clothes, while Teddy splashed about in the -bathtub. - -Teddy had scarcely finished dressing when there came a knock on the -door. Don opened it, and the captain and the professor entered. - -“Now, young man,” said the captain, as they seated themselves, “perhaps -you can explain your action in running away from home and stowing -yourself away on this ship. It goes without saying that your father -knew nothing about it.” - -The tone was cold and the look that went with it seemed to bore Teddy -through and through and demand the truth. Not that Teddy thought of -telling anything else. Falsehood was not one of his vices. - -His face flushed almost as red as his hair as he fidgeted about, -nervously clasping and unclasping his fingers. - -“I--I--meant to tell my father,” he stammered. “I tried to find out -where he was. I wrote and telegraphed and telephoned. But he was going -from one place to another, and, somehow, I couldn’t get in touch with -him.” - -“Well?” said the captain, as Teddy paused. - -“Then,” confessed Teddy. “I got desperate to think of Don going to -Egypt without me, and I made up my mind to go anyway and tell my father -about it afterward.” - -“Afterward!” repeated the captain, with a sarcasm that was not lost on -its object. “So you think it’s all right to do things like this and ask -your father’s permission when it’s too late for him to say no?” - -“I don’t suppose it was just right,” admitted Teddy. “But I was sure he -would let me go if he knew about it. When I wanted to go with Don to -Brazil and he wouldn’t let me, he half promised that I could go along -if Don made another trip. And it isn’t as though I hadn’t tried to get -his permission,” he added, in the hope of softening Captain Sturdy’s -heart. - -“That would have made it worse,” conceded the captain. “All the same, -that is no excuse for doing as you did. Undoubtedly your father will be -greatly worried when he comes home and finds you gone.” - -“Oh, I took care of that!” exclaimed Teddy, snatching eagerly at any -redeeming feature. “I left a letter for my father with one of the -servants, telling him all about it. He’ll know I am with you and that -you will take good care of me.” - -The calm assurance of this almost took the captain’s breath away, and a -smile came to the professor’s lips that he repressed instantly. - -“And of course father will pay you for any expense I am to you,” said -Teddy, who had caught the professor’s smile and took heart of hope from -it. - -The captain pondered for a moment. - -“You did very wrong, Teddy,” he said gravely. “No boy has a right to -take such a step as that without his father’s consent. If I could, -I would send you back at once. But that is impossible. At the first -stopping place, I will cable to your father and get his directions in -the matter. In the meantime, of course, you are one of our party. I am -very much displeased with you.” - -With this Parthian shot, the captain left the cabin, followed by the -professor. - -Teddy wiped the perspiration from his face and looked at Don. - -“Gee, he did give it to me good and plenty,” he said, as he sank down -on the bed. “I feel as though I’d been drawn through a knothole. And at -that, I know that everything he said was right.” - -“Everything that Uncle Frank says is right,” declared Don loyally. -“But tell me now, Brick, just how you managed to get on board and stow -yourself away. Here I was, sore as a pup because you didn’t come down -to see me off, and you’ve been right on the ship with us all the time.” - -“I came down to the ship the night before she sailed,” explained Teddy. -“It was dark, and I slipped on board when no one was looking and hid -away in one of the lifeboats. I didn’t mean then--anyway, I didn’t more -than half mean--to be a stowaway. I told myself that I’d see you and -your uncles when you came on in the morning and beg them to take me -with them. I knew I wouldn’t have to beg you,” he added, with a grin. - -“You bet you wouldn’t,” laughed Don. “I couldn’t have said yes quick -enough.” - -“But while I was hiding in the lifeboat I had plenty of time for -thinking,” went on Teddy; “and the more I thought, the surer I got that -your uncles wouldn’t do it without my father’s knowledge.” - -“You were dead right there!” - -“But I was crazy to go,” resumed Teddy, “and I decided that the only -way I could go was to stow myself away so that I couldn’t be found -until after the vessel sailed. The lifeboat didn’t seem safe enough, -for all that any one walking around would have to do would be to lift -the tarpaulin covering and spy me. - -“So I waited till after midnight and watched my chance and slipped down -one of the open hatchways into the hold. There were hundreds of bales -and barrels there, and it was easy to find a place where nobody would -have a chance of finding me.” - -“Why didn’t you come out sooner?” asked Don, in wonderment. “This is -the third day that we’ve been sailing.” - -“Couldn’t,” was the reply. “I found it was easier to get in than it -was to get out. I’d have come out after the first day if I could. But -it was only this afternoon that a sailor came down in the hold for -something, and I yelled to him. You ought to have heard the howl he let -out. Guess he thought it was a ghost at first. Then he came for me. -Oh, I got out on deck quick enough then--pulled up by the scruff of my -neck.” - -“Were you hurt?” asked Don quickly. - -“He didn’t actually hit me,” replied Teddy; “but he twisted his -knuckles in my neck till I thought I’d choke. I guess sailors feel -toward stowaways something as brakemen feel about hoboes stealing -rides on railroad trains. As soon as I could get my breath, I asked for -the Sturdy party; and you know the rest.” - -“How did you get along for grub?” asked Don. “Did you have any with -you?” - -“Not a bit,” was the answer. “You see, when I first came on board I -counted on seeing you the next morning, really, so I didn’t bring -anything along with me. After I’d been down in the hold awhile I began -to feel hungry. Then I got scared for fear I’d starve to death. But I -rustled around among the boxes and barrels and found some boxes where -the covers had been cracked or loosened and got hold of some canned -goods, beef and preserved cherries. I broke the cans open on the sharp -edge of a box. But, oh, boy, what I’m going to do to the grub when I -once get at a regular table!” - -“There goes the gong now,” said Don, rising. “Come right along and fill -up.” - -“Lead me to it!” cried Teddy, jumping up. - -What he did to the fare of the liner’s table amply fulfilled his -prediction. Even the silent disapproval that still persisted on the -faces of the captain and the professor had no effect on his appetite. - -“Does it beat canned beef and cherries?” whispered the grinning Don, -who was sitting beside him. - -“By a thousand miles,” replied Teddy, as clearly as he could with his -mouth full. “I’ve already let out my belt twice.” - -They had reached the dessert when Teddy gave a start. His eyes had -fallen on the faces of two of his fellow passengers, seated at a table -a few feet away. - -“Who are those fellows?” he asked, in an agitated whisper. - -Don followed the direction of his glance. - -“They’re Egyptians,” he answered. “Their names are Tezra and Nepahak. -Why do you ask?” - -“They’re rascals!” declared Teddy emphatically. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -A VILLAINOUS PLOT - - -Don looked at Teddy in surprise. - -“How do you know those men are rascals?” he asked. “I don’t like the -looks of them myself, but I hadn’t heard anything against them.” - -“I’ve heard plenty,” rejoined Teddy. “And from their own lips, though -they didn’t know I heard them.” - -“Spill it,” urged Don impatiently. - -“Wait till I finish this pie,” replied Teddy. “That’s the most -important thing I have to do just now.” - -He kept on imperturbably, while Don waited in a fever of curiosity. - -“Come across now,” said Don, when Teddy had finished the last crumb. - -“That pie’s mighty good,” remarked Teddy, as he signaled the waiter to -bring him another piece. - -“I’ve seen anacondas eat,” said Don disgustedly. “But you have it all -over them.” - -“That’s because they never tasted pie as good as this,” remarked Teddy -complacently. - -He finished his second helping, and then looked around for the waiter. - -“No you don’t!” exclaimed Don, jumping up and grabbing Teddy by the -arm. “Come along now, or there’ll be a famine on board this ship.” - -“I never thought you had such a mean disposition,” remarked the -grinning Teddy, resigning himself, nevertheless, and followed his -friend out on the deck. - -“Now, if you want to live another minute,” said Don, when they had -ensconced themselves comfortably in deck chairs, “tell me what you mean -about those fellows.” - -“They came along the night I was hiding in the lifeboat,” replied -Teddy. “There was nobody else around that part of the deck, and they -sat down within a few feet of me and began to talk. They kept their -voices low and they talked in their own language, so that they felt -pretty safe. But you know I picked up a good deal of Arabic while I -was living in Algiers; so, though there was some difference, I could -understand almost all they said. - -“I didn’t pay much attention at first. They were talking about some -fellow named Fellus or something like that--” - -“Phalos,” interrupted Don. “That’s another Egyptian that’s on the ship. -Kind of an old man, a pretty good kind of a scout, it seems to me.” - -“I guess that’s the one, then,” said Teddy. “I hadn’t listened long -before I knew that they were trying to put something over on this -Phalos, as you call him. Then I lifted up the edge of the tarpaulin a -bit, and took a peep at them. The moon was up, so I had a good look, -and I knew them again the minute I saw them at the table.” - -“What were they trying to put over on him?” - -“Seems he’s got some papers they want to get. I couldn’t get just the -rights of it, but it seemed mighty important to them. Heard one of them -say it would make them rich if they could cop them. And I don’t think -they’d stop at anything to get them. I heard one of them say something -that means about the same thing as our ‘dead men tell no tales.’” - -Just at this moment the two men they were talking about passed them. -They were not sauntering, in the manner of most of the passengers, but -moved as though they were bent on a purpose, like hounds on a trail. - -“Look like a pair of pirates,” snorted Teddy. - -“They wouldn’t take any prizes at a beauty show,” agreed Don. “Wonder -what they’re up to now.” - -“Something they wouldn’t want any one to know about, I bet,” Teddy -conjectured. - -Suddenly a thought struck Don, and he started up. - -“I didn’t see Phalos at the table to-night!” he exclaimed. “He sits -near us, and is usually there.” - -“Well, what of it?” asked Teddy carelessly. “Perhaps he’s off his feed. -And that’s where he’s different from me.” - -“I suppose it was something like that,” agreed Don, sinking back again -into his chair. - -They chatted of other things, but Don’s mind was haunted by a feeling -of uneasiness. He could not shake off a conviction that something was -wrong with the benevolent old Egyptian, whom he had learned to like. -He told himself that he was foolish. Still an uncomfortable feeling -persisted. At last he rose with decision. - -“Come along, Brick,” he said. “Let’s stretch our legs a bit.” - -“Don’t feel as though I could move,” complained Teddy. “I was a trifle -hearty at the table to-night.” - -“A trifle!” jeered Don. “That certainly is putting it mildly! All the -more reason why you should walk it off. Up you come.” - -As he reinforced his urging by a vigorous tug at his friend’s sleeve, -Brick yielded with a groan. - -“Where are you going?” he asked, extricating himself with difficulty -from the depths of his chair. - -“Oh, just going to take a turn or two about the deck,” answered Don. -“And if by chance we should happen to run across those two Egyptians, -so much the better.” - -“What have you got on your chest?” asked Teddy, with quickened interest. - -“Just a little hunch of mine that they may be up to some mischief,” -answered Don. “What you’ve told me about them and Phalos has made me -feel uneasy, especially as the old fellow didn’t turn up at meal time.” - -Teddy’s previous experiences with Don in the Sahara had given him -considerable respect for his friend’s “hunches,” and he went along with -alacrity. - -Twice they made the circuit of the deck without seeing the people of -whom they were in search. Then, in the growing dusk, Don caught a -glimpse of Tezra and Nepahak emerging hurriedly from a cabin a little -way ahead. - -He clutched Teddy’s arm and drew him into a corridor leading from the -deck, where they stood until the men had passed. - -“Come along,” he said, relinquishing his hold on his friend’s arm and -hastening out on deck. - -“But I thought you were going to follow them!” exclaimed Teddy, as he -saw that Don was going in the opposite direction. - -“Not now,” replied Don. “That was Phalos’ cabin they came from, and I’m -going to take a look at that first.” - -In a moment the two boys were standing before the cabin in question, -and Don knocked on the door. - -There was no answer and no sound of any one stirring inside. Don waited -a moment and then knocked again. Still no answer. Then he tried the -knob. The door refused to give. It was locked. - -Don looked hurriedly about and saw that the door of the room -immediately adjoining was standing a little ajar. He pushed it open and -found that it contained no bed but a miscellaneous collection of boxes, -and was evidently a storeroom. - -His eyes roved over the place and detected a transom at the side nearer -the cabin of Phalos. Instantly he beckoned to Teddy and they went in, -closing the door softly. - -Making no noise, Don piled up some of the boxes and stood on them. This -brought his head to a level with the transom. - -For a moment he could make out nothing definite in the cabin. Then, -as his eyes grew accustomed to the shadows, he saw the form of Phalos -sitting in a chair. Looking closer, he saw that the old man was tightly -bound and that a gag had been thrust into his mouth. - -Teddy also had mounted the boxes and stood at Don’s side. - -“Do you see that?” asked Don, in a whisper. “There isn’t a minute to -lose.” - -“What should we do?” exclaimed Teddy. - -Don tried the transom and found that it swung toward him. He pulled it -still further forward and fastened it to a hook above his head. - -The aperture was none too large, but sufficient to permit the passage -of his body. - -“Come after me as soon as you can,” directed Don, as he swung himself -up and through the opening. - -He dropped lightly on the other side and a moment later Teddy had -followed him. - -They rushed to the chair in which the old Egyptian was fastened. His -eyes, which had been closed, opened with a look of terror, to be -quickly replaced by one of hope as he recognized Don. - -In a trice the boys had pulled out their jack-knives and were sawing -away at the cords that bound the captive. In a few minutes they -succeeded in freeing him from bonds and gag. - -The old Egyptian tried to speak, but his tongue at first refused to -obey him. - -“How can I thank you?” he said, at last, to the boys, who were rubbing -his wrists and hands to restore the circulation. “How can I reward -you? You’ve saved my property, and perhaps you’ve saved my life.” - -“That’s all right,” replied Don. “We’re glad we came in time.” - -“But how did you know what had happened to me?” asked Phalos. - -“We saw those countrymen of yours coming from the cabin,” explained -Don. “We knew that they were enemies of yours, and as you hadn’t turned -up at meal time, we thought there was something wrong. What have those -men got against you that they should treat you this way?” - -“They are robbers,” replied Phalos. “They knew that I had a great -secret--” Here he checked himself and darted a quick glance at his -deliverers. “That is, they know I have some valuable property which -they want to take from me.” - -“Where are they now?” asked Don. - -“They’ve gone to their own cabin to get implements to torture me with,” -was the startling reply. “I refused to tell them what they wanted, and -they said they would find a way to cure my stubbornness. They may be -back at any minute. We must get out of here at once.” - -“Right you are!” exclaimed Don. “We’ll report the matter to the captain -and have the rascals arrested. Come right along. You take one arm, -Brick, and I’ll steady him on the other side.” - -They helped the old Egyptian to his feet. Just then they heard the -grating of a key in the lock. - -“It’s Tezra and Nepahak!” exclaimed the Egyptian, in an agitated -whisper. “They’re coming back.” - -Don’s eyes darted about the room and fell on the curtains shielding the -bed. - -“Sit there,” he commanded, thrusting Phalos back in his chair. “Come, -Brick.” - -In a flash the two boys were behind the curtains. - -The stateroom door opened, and Tezra and Nepahak entered, the latter -carrying several objects that by their faint clinking seemed to be -steel tools or implements of some kind. - -Phalos had settled back in his chair, and in the gathering darkness -seemed to be in the same condition as the rascals had left him. - -Nepahak stepped over to the electric switch, but his accomplice halted -him sharply. - -“Don’t turn on that light, you fool,” he snarled. “This flashlight of -mine will give us all the light we need.” - -He stepped over to the silent figure in the chair. - -“Now, Phalos, we’re going to make you listen to reason,” he said in a -tone of deadly determination. “We haven’t followed you half-way around -the world to be balked at last. We know that you have the secret of the -Tombs of Gold, and we’re going to get it from you. If you tell it to -us, we will release you and you won’t be hurt. If you refuse, we have -something here that will make you tell. And if we have to torture you, -you will wish you had never been born. Now I’m going to take that gag -from your mouth, so that you can tell me your decision.” - -He turned to his companion. - -“Come here, Nepahak,” he commanded. “Stand on that side of him while I -remove the gag. Clap your hand over his mouth if he should try to shout -an alarm. But first hand me the flashlight.” - -He took the light his confederate handed to him and flashed it on the -face of his intended victim. - -A wild exclamation escaped from him as he noticed the absence of the -gag and saw also that the cords had been cut. - -“Who has been here?” he cried, in alarm. “What does this mean? Come -back here, you,” he called to Nepahak, who was already making toward -the door, intent upon escape. - -“Now!” whispered Don, touching Teddy’s arm. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE FIGHT IN THE DARK - - -The next instant the boys rushed from their hiding place and launched -themselves upon the rascals. - -They were both tall and muscular, and had the advantage of the -surprise. Don knocked the flashlight from Tezra’s hand, and lashed -out at him with both fists. The blows staggered the Egyptian, and his -confusion was increased by tripping over the leg of Phalos, who was -rising from his seat to take part in the fracas. - -Tezra went down full length on the floor, with Don on top of him. Teddy -had grappled with Nepahak and dragged him from the door. - -The sound of voices and of hurrying feet outside indicated that the -uproar had been heard. The imminence of capture made the rascals -frantic, and with a desperate effort they freed themselves from their -opponents, tore open the door, and vanished. - -A moment later several of the crew with one of the officers came into -the room. One of the men turned on the electric light, and the party -looked with exclamations of astonishment at the disordered room and the -panting and disheveled boys. - -“What’s going on here?” asked the officer sharply. - -Phalos stepped forward. - -“Two men tried to rob me,” he explained. “They had bound and gagged me. -These boys learned of my plight and came to my help.” - -“Who were the men that tried to rob you and where are they?” asked the -officer. - -“They pulled away and ran out of the door just before you got here,” -was the reply. “Their names are Tezra and Nepahak. You will find their -names on the passenger list of the boat.” - -The officer gave some hurried commands to his men and they went out. -Then he turned to Phalos. - -“Are you hurt?” he asked solicitously. - -“Not seriously,” answered the old Egyptian. “Somewhat bruised by the -rough handling they gave me and shaken up by the experience. Nothing -more than that.” - -“I am glad to hear that,” was the reply. “This has been a most -deplorable occurrence. I assure you that we will make every effort to -arrest the rascals and hand them over to the authorities as soon as -we reach port. In the meantime, I would deem it a favor if you and -these boys--who, by the way, showed mighty good pluck in tackling the -thieves--would kindly keep this matter to yourselves. It doesn’t do the -ship or the line any good to have a thing of this kind noised about. -Then, too, it’s apt to make the other passengers nervous and spoil the -pleasure of their journey. Would you mind promising me that?” - -“Not the least in the world,” answered Phalos promptly, and Don and -Teddy nodded in agreement. - -“With the exception of my uncles,” qualified Don. “They’re my guardians -and have a right to know anything that happens to me while I’m -traveling in their charge. But I can promise that they won’t mention it -to any one else.” - -“That’s all right,” replied the officer. “Now, Mr. Phalos, is there -anything I can do for you? Perhaps you would like to have me send the -ship’s doctor in to look you over.” - -“Don’t take that trouble, thanks,” replied Phalos. “I was not injured. -A good night’s sleep will probably set me up again.” - -“Did the thieves get anything?” asked the officer, casting a look -around as he prepared to leave. - -“Nothing at all, thanks to the courage of those two brave boys.” - -“I’ll have a guard set over this room, so that if those fellows should -come back he can nab them,” promised the officer. “But I guess they’ll -steer clear of it. Probably we’ll have them in custody before morning.” - -He bade Phalos and the boys good-night and went out, closing the door -behind him. - -“I guess we’d better be going too, Mr. Phalos,” said Don. “That is, if -there’s nothing more we can do for you.” - -“I think you’ve done quite enough for me for one night,” replied -Phalos, with a grateful smile. “I can never thank you enough. You may -have saved my life. At any rate you’ve preserved me from physical pain -and permitted me to retain in my own keeping something that is very -precious to me. I shall see you again in the morning and will express -my thanks, I hope, a little more adequately.” - -“We’re only too glad to have been of service,” answered Don. -“Good-night,” and with a last word of thanks echoing in their ears, he -and Teddy went out on the deck. - -“Gee!” said Teddy, as he drew a long breath, “I feel like something -that the cat dragged in, and I guess I look it too.” - -“Same here,” laughed Don, as he took in the torn collars and rumpled -clothes of himself and his friend. “It was some little fight those -rascals put up. I only hope they’re nabbed by this time. But say, -Brick, how about that little hunch of mine?” and he gave his comrade a -playful poke in the ribs. - -“You win,” agreed Teddy. “Your hunches are there with the goods, all -right. But let’s get to our cabin and wash up and slip into some other -clothes.” - -As they were opening the door of their stateroom, they met captain -Sturdy and Professor Bruce. - -“Oh, there you are,” said the captain. “We were wondering what had -become of you. But what has happened?” he asked quickly, as he noticed -the state of the boys’ garments. - -“Oh, we’ve had a little scrimmage,” replied Don, and went on to narrate -the exciting happenings of the last half hour. - -His uncle listened with interest, not unmixed with some alarm, -interrupting him at times with questions. - -“You did well, both of you,” Captain Sturdy said approvingly when Don -had finished. “Though it would perhaps, have been more prudent if you -had summoned help as soon as you had discovered the state of things -before you climbed through the transom. You ran a big chance of having -one or both of those rascals stick a knife into you.” - -“I suppose so,” answered Don. “But I didn’t think of that. All I saw -was that helpless old man in the power of those villains. If they’d -only been a minute or two later in getting back, we’d have had the old -man out on the deck, and they wouldn’t have dared to attack him there.” - -“It’s curious that the thieves should have attempted so bold a thing -right here on the ship,” remarked the professor. “They must have been -desperately anxious to get what he had. Had they searched his baggage?” - -“No,” replied Don. “And that’s the funny thing about it. They hadn’t -broken into his bags or trunk, and it didn’t seem that they intended to -do so.” - -“But you say that they were there to rob him?” said the professor, in -some perplexity. - -“Yes,” replied Don. “But the thing they wanted to get wasn’t in his -baggage. It was in his mind.” - -“You mean they wanted to extort a secret from him?” put in the captain. - -“That was it,” Don affirmed. “The old Egyptian told us that himself. -They were going to torture him to get it out of him.” - -“It must have been very valuable if they were prepared to go to such -lengths as that,” remarked the professor. “Did he tell you what it was?” - -“He didn’t,” replied Don. “But Tezra let it out when he told Mr. Phalos -that he was going to make him tell the secret of the Tombs of Gold.” - -“The Tombs of Gold!” exclaimed Professor Bruce, with a start. - -“Ever hear of them, Amos?” asked his brother-in-law, casting a keen -glance at him. - -“Many times,” replied the professor. “But I never knew how much faith -to put in their existence. There have been persistent rumors that there -are such tombs in the Egyptian desert, and more than one expedition -has been organized to search for them. But they’ve always had their -troubles for their pains.” - -“Then you think they’re myths?” asked the captain. - -“I wouldn’t say that,” was the reply. “There are so many wonderful -things in that mysterious country that I’d hesitate to say offhand that -anything was impossible. And our own experience in connection with the -city of Brass and Cave of Emeralds in the Sahara have taught us how -much truth there may often be concealed in tradition.” - -“True enough,” agreed the captain. “I’m beginning to think we may find -this old Egyptian a very interesting person.” - -“He promised to look us up to-morrow morning,” said Don. “If he does, -I’ll introduce him to you.” - -The boys were eager the next morning to learn whether the rascals had -been apprehended. Don sought out the officer whom he had seen the night -before, a Mr. Maitland. - -“Anything doing, Mr. Maitland?” he inquired. - -“Not a thing,” was the disappointed reply. “We haven’t found hide or -hair of them. They seem to have vanished into thin air. But I’m having -a quiet hunt going on for them, and sooner or later we’ll get our hands -on them. They must be somewhere on the ship.” - -“Unless they jumped overboard,” suggested Don. - -The officer laughed. - -“Not a chance,” he replied. “Rascals like that think too much of their -precious skins. We’ll catch them some time skulking around the ship. -For the present, they’ve probably slipped down a hatchway into a hold. -There are plenty of hiding places there, and for a time they may elude -us. But not for long.” - -Phalos had not appeared at the breakfast table, but had been served -in his room. About the middle of the forenoon, however, he made his -appearance, and, catching sight of Don and his party, came up to them -with a smile. - -“I was too agitated last night to thank you properly,” he said, -addressing himself to Don and Teddy. “But I want to do it now. In my -confusion, I didn’t even learn your names.” - -“This is my friend, Teddy Allison,” said Don, indicating his comrade. -“These are my uncles, Professor Bruce and Captain Sturdy. My own name -is Don Sturdy.” - -“Sturdy!” exclaimed the Egyptian, as he acknowledged the introductions. -“I had a very dear friend of that name once, a Mr. Richard Sturdy. Is -he, by any chance, related to you?” - -“Related!” cried Don, as an electric shock seemed to pass through him. -“He’s my father! Oh, tell me, what do you know about him?” - -Phalos looked at him, a little surprised at his vehemence. - -“It’s some years since I saw or heard of him,” he replied. “But why do -you ask? Surely you must know more about his whereabouts than I do.” - -Don’s new-found hope died almost as soon as it was born, and his face -was clouded with disappointment. - -“Mr. Richard Sturdy is my brother,” explained the captain. “He went -away some time ago on an exploring expedition. The ship he sailed on -was wrecked, and my brother received an injury to his head that we fear -has affected his mind. We are now going to Egypt to look for him.” - -Then, while the old Egyptian listened with the keenest interest and -sympathy, Don’s uncle told briefly of the happenings that had brought -the party on the present voyage. - -“I am very sorry to hear this,” Phalos observed, when the story was -finished. “I sincerely hope your search will be crowned with success. -It may be that I can help you, for I know my native country as no -foreigner can. And, if I can, you may command my services. I may be -able to repay in some small measure the debt I owe to this brave nephew -of yours and his friend.” - -“We appreciate your offer, and we shall certainly avail ourselves of -it,” said the professor warmly. “Perhaps you can help us even now by -telling us something about your acquaintance with my brother-in-law.” - -“Mr. Sturdy and I were drawn together by many common interests while -he was in my country,” explained Zeta Phalos. “He was an enthusiast -about the monuments and wonders of old Egypt, and that, of course, was -pleasing to me. He was especially interested in the tombs of former -Egyptian rulers, and spent weeks and months in studying those that had -been opened and in looking for others that still remained untouched. -I was able to help him in this, for all my life has been practically -devoted to the same thing. So we grew to be very close friends.” - -“Was there any particular tomb or tombs that he was searching for?” -asked Don eagerly. - -The old Egyptian shot a quick look at his questioner. - -“Perhaps he was,” he answered evasively. “But he was rather a reticent -man and kept his plans pretty closely to himself.” - -“We thought perhaps he was looking for the Tombs of Gold,” remarked the -professor casually, polishing his glasses. - -Phalos gave a perceptible start. - -“You’ve heard of the Tombs of Gold?” he asked, in a tone that he -evidently tried to make careless. - -“Oh, I know there’s a tradition that such tombs exist somewhere in -Egypt,” replied Professor Bruce. “I don’t know whether there’s any -truth in it or not.” - -“Egypt is rich in treasure,” observed Phalos noncommittally. “In -ancient days it stretched from the Euphrates to the headwaters of -the Nile. Gold was brought in tribute to her kings from all parts of -Africa and Asia. In the time of the Pharaohs her wealth was almost -incalculable. Centuries have elapsed since then, but who shall say that -some of that wealth does not remain either above or below her soil?” - -“Then you believe that the Tombs of Gold really exist?” asked Don, his -eyes shining. - -“I did not say so,” replied Phalos. “It is possible that Mr. Sturdy -thought so. He was certainly intent upon some definite object he had in -mind. He was not going about at random. Especially was he interested -in the Valley of the Kings. There he spent most of his time, working -sometimes till far into the night.” - -“It is reasonable to conclude, then, that he has now gone to the Valley -of the Kings, do you think?” asked the captain. - -“That is certainly where I would look for him first,” replied Phalos. -“You will have to pass through Cairo to get there. My home is in that -city, and I hope you will make it your headquarters during your stay.” - -The friendship between Zeta Phalos and the members of the Sturdy party -grew deeper as the voyage progressed. It soon became evident that the -old Egyptian would prove invaluable to them when once they had landed -and started on their search. - -One night as the vessel was nearing the Mediterranean, Don found it -impossible to sleep. His mind was full of thoughts of his parents, -joyous when he thought of the coming reunion with his dear mother, sad -when he dwelt on the plight of his equally dear father. - -What had become of the latter? Was he wandering about aimlessly in the -foreign land, exposed perhaps to hunger and thirst, to poverty and -hardship? Perhaps at that moment he was dead! At the thought Don’s -heart was wrung with anguish. Or perhaps--and the thought was equally -terrible--his mind, that splendid scientific mind, was gone forever. - -Tortured by these possibilities, Don at last rose, slipped on some -clothes, and went out on the deck. - -It was about two o’clock in the morning, and there was no one in sight -except occasional members of the crew intent on some duty and shadowy -figures of officers making their round of the ship. - -The vessel was passing through the Straits of Gibraltar, and Don sat -down in a chair near the stern, trying to divert his somber thoughts -by gazing at the formidable frowning Rock that stood as the symbol of -Great Britain’s power in the Mediterranean. - -A slight splash in the water attracted his attention. He turned his -eyes in the direction of the sound, but could see nothing. - -Then came a second splash, and with his eyes somewhat adjusted to the -darkness, he could faintly detect a human head above the surface of the -water. Almost instantly the head was lost in the gloom, but a faint -trail of foam traced the course of a man swimming toward the shore. - -At first Don jumped to the conclusion that a man had fallen overboard. -But with the second splash he came to the conclusion that two were -hardly likely to have fallen over so nearly at the same time. Besides, -there was no call for help. And instead of swimming toward the ship, -one, at least, was certainly making for the shore, which at that place -was not more than a quarter of a mile distant, and probably the other -man was following his example. - -Just as Don was wondering what he ought to do, Mr. Maitland, who -happened to be on watch, came along. He peered at Don and recognized -him. - -“Keeping pretty late hours, aren’t you?” he asked, with a smile. -“What’s the matter? Too hot to sleep?” - -“Not that exactly,” replied Don. “I was restless, and thought that a -change might make me drowsy enough to make it worth while to go back to -bed. I’m glad you came along, Mr. Maitland. Did you hear those splashes -in the water?” - -“Splashes!” exclaimed the officer, alert on the instant. “No. Where -were they?” - -“Rather close to the stern,” replied Don. “One followed close upon -another. I know that one was made by a man, for I saw him, and I -suppose the other one was too.” - -The officer unslung his night glasses and looked in the direction of -the shore, but could make out nothing. - -“What do you suppose they were?” inquired Don. “Could they have been -deserters, do you think?” - -“That’s possible, I suppose,” replied Mr. Maitland, with a perplexed -air, as he put up his glasses. “Though I don’t know of any -dissatisfaction among the crew. And, anyway, sailors usually wait until -they reach some port before they take French leave. By Jove! I have -it,” he cried. “It’s those scoundrels that tried to rob the Egyptian.” - -Don jumped to his feet. - -“Do you think so?” he cried. - -“That’s it, for a thousand dollars!” declared the officer emphatically. -“They’ve managed somehow to find a hiding place in a hold, though I -don’t see for the life of me how they did it. They probably knew that -we’d pass close to the shore when we got to the Straits, and they -decided to make a swim for it.” - -“Couldn’t you get out a boat and capture them?” asked Don, chagrined at -the thought of the rascals’ escape. - -Mr. Maitland shook his head. - -“No use,” he replied. “By the time we rounded to and lowered a boat -they’d have reached the shore. Probably they’re there now. Oh, they’ve -put one over on us, all right. It’s a rotten shame, too, for they -richly deserved to be put behind the bars.” - -There was no use, however, of crying over spilt milk, and after a few -minutes more of conversation Don went again to his room. - -His story of the night’s events to the members of his party and the -old Egyptian the next morning created a stir. Phalos especially looked -grave. - -“Of course,” said Don, to cheer him up, “we’re not dead sure it was -those fellows at all. Though Mr. Maitland told me this morning that the -crew had been checked up and none was missing.” - -“I’m afraid it’s only too true that Tezra and Nepahak have made their -escape,” mourned Phalos. “And if they have, I shall hear from them -again.” - -“Perhaps they’ve had such a scare thrown into them that they’ll let you -alone for the future,” ventured Teddy. - -Phalos shook his head. - -“I know them too well,” he asserted. “Tezra is persistent and -relentless. Nepahak is only his tool. They may bide their time, but -soon or late they will renew their attempt to get possession of--” - -“Of what?” asked the captain, as Phalos hesitated. - -“Oh, well,” returned Phalos, evading a reply. “I am not going to worry -about what may happen. Let us talk of something pleasanter,” and he -launched into a description of the Temple of Philae that he had been -discussing with the professor the night before. - -They were now in the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean, almost -every foot of whose coast and islands was rich in historic associations -of the “glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome.” - -Under other circumstances, Don would have found an endless fascination -in this storied sea and its surroundings, but now his mind was so taken -up with thoughts of his parents that he could pay little attention to -anything else. All that he wanted was Egypt, the Egypt where he would -find his mother, the Egypt where he hoped to find his father. This -filled his whole horizon. Nothing else mattered. When, oh, when would -Egypt loom up on the horizon? - -And his heart gave such a leap that it almost seemed as though it would -leave his body when one morning a faint blur in the distance, rapidly -growing larger, revealed itself as the port of Alexandria, where he -would first step on Egyptian soil. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -ON THE TRAIL - - -Only hours now separated Don from his mother, provided that she was -still in Alexandria. But he had been thwarted so many times in the -search for his dear ones, the cup of happy expectation had been so -often dashed to the ground just as he was lifting it to his lips, that -he scarcely dared to hope that this time his longing would be realized. - -What might have happened since he had embarked at New York? Perhaps she -was ill. Possibly she had been called away from the city by some clew -as to the whereabouts of her husband. As to the possibility that he -might find both of his parents reunited--Don scarcely dared hope for -that. - -He packed up all his belongings so that everything would be in -readiness, and then paced the deck in a fever of impatience. - -The steamer seemed to be only creeping along. Yet it was plowing -through the water at a rapid speed that only slowed down when they -neared the older of the two harbors of the famous Mediterranean city. - -Captain Sturdy and Professor Bruce were almost as agitated as Don -himself, though they managed to maintain more of a curb on their -emotions. Teddy, too, was wrought up because of his keen sympathy with -his friend. - -Phalos bade them all a cordial good-bye just before they landed. - -“Though it is really _au revoir_ instead of good-bye,” he said, with a -genial smile, “for I am going to hold you strictly to your promise to -come to see me in Cairo as soon as you reach there, and, if possible, -make my house your headquarters. I shall never forget,” he added, -turning to Don and Teddy, “what you did for me in saving my--property -and quite probably my life. You may count upon me for all I can do in -helping you to find Mr. Sturdy.” - -They thanked him, and promised that they would surely see him in Cairo. - -They landed amid clamor and hubbub, the cries of porters and pleadings -of beggars that are inseparable from all the seaports of the East. To -these they paid no attention, but hailed a taxicab and drove through -the large handsome streets of the European quarter to the hotel from -which Mrs. Sturdy had dispatched her cablegram. - -“Is a Mrs. Richard Sturdy among your guests?” asked the captain, as the -party went up to the desk. - -Don’s heart was in his throat as he listened for the answer. - -“Yes,” was the reply. “Do you wish to see her?” and he reached for the -desk telephone. - -“No need of announcing us,” broke in Don. “These gentlemen are her -brothers and I am her son. We will go right up, if you please.” - -The clerk summoned a bellboy, who rose languidly and came toward them. - -“Hurry, hurry!” urged Don, slipping a coin into his hand. “See how -quickly you can lead us there.” - -There was a noticeable quickening of step on the part of the attendant -as he moved toward the elevator. - -“I guess I’ll stay down here till you send for me,” said Teddy -hesitatingly. - -“No, you won’t!” exclaimed Don, reaching out and pulling him in with -him. - -They ascended to the second floor, and hurried down the hall to a door -at which their guide pointed. - -Don was in the van, and with a trembling hand knocked on the door. It -opened almost instantly, and a sweet-faced, slender woman, still young, -though there were lines of care on her forehead, stood before them. - -“Mother! Mother!” cried Don, and threw himself in her arms. - -“Don! My precious boy! Oh, my dear boy!” cried Mrs. Sturdy, sobbing -with happiness as she folded Don close to her heart. - -She hugged and kissed him and patted his hair, standing him off at -times to look into his face and then drawing him again to her as though -she would never let him go. - -Don’s arms were about her. Tears of joy ran down his cheeks as he tried -incoherently to tell how much he loved her and had missed her and how -delighted he was that at last he had found her. - -Now it was the turn of the captain and the professor, who had stood -aside for a moment while mother and son were tasting the first bliss -of reunion. Their eyes too were moist, as they embraced the sister and -sister-in-law who was unspeakably dear to them and for whom they had -searched over so large a part of the world. - -It was a long time before the members of the happy excited group had -gained some measure of control over themselves. Then Don seated his -mother in a chair, on the arm of which he sat, holding her hand as -though he felt he must keep close grip on her, lest she should vanish -and he awake to find it all a dream. - -The others drew up their chairs, and it was then for the first time -that Don noticed that Teddy was not with them. - -“Where’s Teddy?” he asked, as he looked around the room. - -“Outside in the hall, I imagine,” replied the professor. “He probably -feels shy about coming into what is so strictly a family party.” - -“Who’s Teddy?” asked Mrs. Sturdy, with a smile. - -“A friend of mine who came along with us,” explained Don. “We met him -when we were in the Sahara, and it was his father who first gave us -news of the sinking of the _Mercury_. He hasn’t any mother. He’s a -splendid fellow, Mother. You’ll love him.” - -“Of course, I shall, if he’s a friend of yours,” said Mrs. Sturdy. “And -I’ll be a mother to him, as far as I can, if he will let me.” - -“May I bring him in?” asked Don eagerly. - -“Surely.” - -Don dashed out of the door, found Teddy leaning against the wall of the -corridor, grabbed him and dragged him in. - -“Here he is, Mother,” he sang out, releasing his captive. “This is -Teddy Allison, the best pal a fellow ever had.” - -Whatever shyness Teddy might have felt was banished at once by the -warmth with which Mrs. Sturdy drew him to her and gave him a hug, -putting him at ease at once. - -There was a host of questions from Mrs. Sturdy regarding Ruth, who, the -captain in his cablegram had assured her, was safe with them at home. -When these queries had been satisfactorily answered, she in turn told -them of the adventures of herself and her husband after they had been -rescued from the _Mercury_. - -Tears came into her eyes as, in response to their first eager -queries, she told them that nothing had developed as to her husband’s -whereabouts since she had sent her cablegram. - -“I’ve searched everywhere,” she said. “I’ve written and telegraphed -to all parts of Egypt. At first I was crippled for lack of funds, -but after I received the money you sent I employed private detective -agencies as well. But all of it has resulted in nothing. It is as -though he has vanished off the face of the earth.” - -At this point she broke down. - -“Oh, if you knew how I have suffered!” she said. “If you only knew!” - -Don hugged her and tried to comfort her, and the professor patted her -hand consolingly. - -“Never mind, Alice,” he said. “We’re with you now, and we’ll search the -whole length and breadth of Egypt.” - -“We’ll find him,” asserted the captain, the very bigness of him adding -power to the conviction in his tone. “You’ve had an awful burden to -bear, you poor girl, but now, as far as you can, you must shift it to -our shoulders.” - -She looked at them gratefully through her tears. - -“It would not be so bad,” she resumed, “if he went by his right name -or if he even knew his name. Then it might be easy to trace him. But -all we have to go by is a description of him, and that might so easily -apply to many others that you can’t place much reliance on it. - -“It’s all been like a hideous nightmare since the _Mercury_ went down,” -she resumed. “Richard’s head was hurt by a block that struck him in the -confusion of getting off into the boat. The wound healed, however, and -for the first few days he seemed to be all right. It was only after we -had been landed at Bahia in Brazil and had started on our trip overland -to Martin Clifton’s house, from which we expected to sail for the -United States in the private yacht he offered to place at our disposal, -that I began to notice something queer about him. His mind seemed to be -dwelling more and more on Egypt. You know he spent a good deal of time -exploring there before the war.” - -“Yes, I know,” said the professor, and the captain nodded in assent. - -“He kept talking about the Valley of the Kings in Egypt,” went on Mrs. -Sturdy. “At first I’d try to change the subject and get him to talk of -other things. But he always came back to the one thing that engrossed -his mind. Then he would talk half to himself about figures and -measurements. He had a tape measure and would go about the rooms in Mr. -Clifton’s house and get their length and breadth and height. Then he -would put them down on a piece of paper and after studying them would -mutter. ‘That isn’t it. Must try further.’” - -“Just the very thing you found scribbled on those bits of paper among -his memoranda, Uncle Amos!” ejaculated Don. “He was looking for some -special thing, something of which he already had the measurements.” - -“I’m sure it was a tomb of some kind he had in mind,” said Don’s -mother. “Again and again he would break out with something about the -Tombs of Gold--” - -“The Tombs of Gold!” exclaimed Don, with a start. “Why, that is what -those fellows were trying to get information about from that old -Egyptian!” - -“The old Egyptian?” repeated Mrs. Sturdy inquiringly. - -“A man we met on the boat coming here,” explained Don. “A man named -Phalos. I’ll tell you all about him later. But go on, mother.” - -“All I could think of was of getting back home as soon as possible, so -that Richard could get the medical care that he needed,” his mother -continued. “But we were delayed in starting, and all the time he kept -getting worse. Oh, it was terrible to see such a splendid intellect -losing itself in delusion,” she sobbed. “Again and again I felt that I -would go crazy myself.” - -“Poor, dear mother!” said Don, putting his arms around her neck. - -“One night,” resumed Mrs. Sturdy, when she could speak coherently, -“there was a terrific storm. The thunder and lightning seemed to affect -him strongly and bring things to a climax. He and Ruth and I were -seated in our room when he suddenly started up, shouting, ‘I must go -to Egypt,’ and rushed out into the darkness. I rushed out after him -calling to him to stop and come back. The thunder may have drowned my -voice, but at any rate he didn’t heed me and kept on.” - -Tears came into Don’s eyes as he pictured his gently nurtured mother -running in a frenzy of anxiety and grief after his distraught father in -the rain and darkness. - -“No one was abroad in that terrible storm,” went on Mrs. Sturdy. “There -was nobody I could get to help me. Richard kept on till he got to the -river side. There was a vessel moored to the wharf and he jumped on -board. I saw him stumble and disappear. I leaped after him and stumbled -into an open hatchway. That was all I knew for a long time afterward.” - -Don hugged her convulsively, too overcome to trust himself to speak, -while the professor and the captain were not ashamed of the tears that -came into their eyes. - -“When I came to myself,” resumed Don’s mother, “I was in total -darkness. My head was dizzy, and it was some time before I realized -what had happened. Then it all came back to me. I could tell from the -pitching and the swaying that the vessel was in motion. I felt about -me and found your father near by. He was unconscious. After a while he -came to himself in part, though he was still dazed. - -“Then I found a pole and hammered at the hatch until they heard me and -the cover was taken off. They brought us up on deck. I found that we -were on a vessel bound for the Mediterranean. There was no wireless on -board, so that I could not communicate with any one on shore. But the -captain and everybody on board were very kind to us when I had told -my story. There was enough money in Richard’s pockets to pay for our -passage and leave a modest amount when we should reach shore. It was a -long voyage and a most trying one. The worst of it was that Richard no -longer recognized me. He declared that he had never seen me before. He -had the delusion that he was King Ingot of the Bars of Gold.” - -“Poor father! Poor mother!” murmured Don, his heart wrung by the -narration. - -“But why didn’t you cable us the instant you got to shore?” asked the -captain. - -“I should have done so, of course,” was the reply. “But I kept hoping -that Richard would recover, and for his sake I wanted to keep the -matter secret from everybody who knew him, even from you. I knew it -would be a mortifying memory for him all through his life to have it -known that he had been insane. Any man would feel that way, and Richard -is very sensitive. If he had recovered, I would never have divulged the -secret, and I would have put Ruth, too, under a pledge of silence.” - -“I understand, and it does you credit,” said the captain. - -“Finally,” went on Mrs. Sturdy, “we reached this city, and I got -Richard on shore and under the care of a physician. But nothing could -be done, the doctor said, except to keep him as quiet and composed as -possible and depend upon the healing hand of Time to set his poor mind -aright. Physically, he was in good condition, for the sea voyage had -been beneficial. - -“But instead of getting better mentally, he steadily grew more -irrational. The very fact that he was now in Egypt, the atmosphere, the -language, the heat, the sights, the sounds, emphasized his delusion. -Night and day he kept dwelling on the Valley of the Kings. He would -declare that he was the king of the Valley of the Kings, and that -he must go and look after his kingdom. And one day he eluded me and -disappeared. No one had seen him go. No one knew where he had gone. -It was then that I cabled to you. And now you are here, and, oh, how -thankful I am!” - -Once more she broke into a storm of weeping, for the strain of the -narration and the picture it had brought up before her were too much -for her overtaxed strength. - -The others soothed and comforted her to the extent of their power. - -“You’ve been just wonderful,” declared Don, as he hugged her to him. - -“A perfect heroine,” asserted her brother. “Not one woman in a thousand -could have stood up under such a strain.” - -“I’m mighty proud of you, Alice,” said the captain, his voice husky -with emotion. “But now all the work and responsibility are going to -be taken off your overburdened shoulders. It’s up to us now. You must -just rest and relax, or you, too, will break down completely. And, -please God, we’ll bring Richard back to you, and with care and the -greatest skill that we can command, it won’t be long before he’s his -old splendid self again. Then this terrible thing will be nothing more -to you than a dreadful dream.” - -Under their thoughtful ministrations and the delight and reassurance -that their presence gave her, Mrs. Sturdy gradually recovered her -composure. They refused to let her talk any longer just then about her -husband’s disappearance, and chatted with her about Hillville and Ruth -and the other members of the household, Don bringing a smile from her -at Jennie’s remark about her mistress being all alone in “the land of -the Pigamids and the Spinach.” - -After a while the captain and the professor, taking Teddy along with -them, went out to attend to the pressing matters in hand. Don stayed -with his mother to tell her of his adventures in the Sahara and Brazil -and the thousand other things that she was eager to know about. - -The experience that Don’s uncles had acquired in their travels about -the world stood them in good stead in the present situation. Professor -Bruce knew the language almost as well as he did his own, and both were -tactful and at the same time masterful in dealing with the native races -of the East. - -Before night fell they had learned by inquiries in the native quarters -that a man corresponding to Richard Sturdy’s description had secured -a small party to go with him on an exploring expedition. There had -been no explicit mention of the Valley of the Kings, but the party had -started south in that direction. - -Had they noticed anything peculiar about the man? the professor asked. - -“Well, Allah seems to have set a mark on him,” his informant replied. -“His eyes were bright and he said that he was a king. But, after all, -many kings visit Egypt. And then, all foreigners are queer. He promised -to pay his men well and to double or treble their pay if he was -successful in finding what he was going for. So there were plenty that -were willing to go.” - -This was much, but it was not enough, and the two American men, still -accompanied by Teddy, prosecuted their researches untiringly until they -found the wife of one of the party who had accompanied the bright-eyed -man, and she had heard her husband say that he was going to the Valley -of the Kings. - -“So far, so good!” exclaimed Captain Sturdy, as, tired but exultant, -they made their way to the European quarter. - -“We at least have a goal to aim for,” declared the professor. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -A LAND OF WONDERS - - -“And now, Teddy,” said the captain, “we’ll send a cablegram to that -father of yours and tell him all about his prodigal son and ask him -whether you can go with us or whether we’ll have to bundle you back -home.” - -“Oh, please ask him to let me stay with you, now that I’m here,” begged -Teddy. - -He noted with pleasure that the captain no longer addressed him as -“young man.” As a matter of fact, the captain, who was extremely fond -of the boy, had long ago forgiven him, and the way Teddy had borne -himself in the encounter with the rascals aboard the steamer had fully -reinstated him in the good graces of his temporary guardian. - -The cablegram was dispatched, and then, after some inquiries at a -shipping office, the party made their way back to the hotel. - -Don and his mother were delighted at the news they had secured. - -“I might have known that things would be all right as soon as you got -here,” said Mrs. Sturdy gratefully. - -“Oh, we old hounds are still some good when it comes to picking up a -trail,” replied her husband’s brother, with a grin. - -“And now we must get busy and start at once,” said the professor. -“Every hour is precious.” - -“I can start at almost a minute’s notice,” declared Mrs. Sturdy. - -The captain hesitated. - -“I know just how you feel, Alice,” he said slowly. “But, really, I -think it would be better for you not to go with us. The desert is -no place for a woman, and it’s going to be a very hard and trying -expedition.” - -“Oh, but I want to go!” exclaimed Mrs. Sturdy, disappointment coming -into her face. - -“Of course, you naturally would,” rejoined her brother-in-law. “But all -the same I don’t think it would be wise. You agree with me, don’t you, -Amos?” he asked, turning to Mrs. Sturdy’s brother. - -“I certainly do,” rejoined the latter. “You see, Alice, with all -you’ve gone through, you’ve nearly reached the breaking point. Even -if you were perfectly well and strong, it would be inadvisable; and -as things stand, it would be almost suicidal. We’ve made inquiries at -the shipping office, and a liner is sailing to-morrow. You need to -recuperate in the rest and quiet of home. And then, too, Ruth needs -you.” - -The last proved the strongest argument in breaking down Mrs. Sturdy’s -reluctance, and she finally consented. - -The few hours she still had left with Don were golden ones for both -mother and son, and they spent every moment they could together before -the vessel sailed. - -Her family saw her provided with every possible comfort on the vessel -that was to bear her to the waiting arms of Ruth, and after loving -leave-takings, stood on the shore and waved to her until her dear form -at the steamer’s rail could no longer be distinguished. - -Don’s eyes were wet as he turned to go back to the hotel after the -parting from his mother, but there was a measure of peace and happiness -in his heart to which it had been a stranger for years. At least, he -had found his mother and held her in his embrace. - -God had been good and restored to him his mother and sister. Surely -he could depend on Him to help him find his father. The boy took new -courage and mentally girded up his loins for the coming struggle. - -Those left behind stopped at the telegraph office on their way back to -the hotel and found a cablegram awaiting them from Mr. Allison. Captain -Sturdy tore it open while Don and Teddy waited with bated breath. - -The captain read the message aloud: - - “Young rascal ought to be spanked. Give him my love. Would have let - him go if I had known. He can make the trip with you. Thanks for your - kindness. Know he is in good hands. Will make matters right with you - when you get back. - - “ALLISON.” - -Don clasped Teddy in his arms after the reading of the telegram, and -the two boys executed a wild dance on the floor of the office, much to -the scandal of the native clerks, who looked on open-eyed. - -“Glory hallelujah!” cried Don. “You’re going with us, Brick! Old scout, -you’re going with us! Do you hear?” - -“It’s the reward of virtue,” said Brick, with a shameless grin. - -“Virtue!” snorted the captain, trying to look stern, but not succeeding -very well. “It simply shows that a young scapegrace can sometimes get -by. Come along now. There’s much to do, and we have to hustle.” - -They “hustled” to such good purpose that they were able to take the -train for Cairo that afternoon. They were agreeably surprised, or at -least the boys were, to find that they were in a smart clean train that -would compare favorably with anything in Europe, and that the express -would cover the hundred and fifty mile trip to Cairo in less than four -hours. The lads had expected the ramshackle affair, common in the -East, that would simply drag along under all condition of discomfort. - -“It’s due to the English occupation,” explained the professor. “They -see that everything is good and up-to-date and in accord with Western -standards.” - -Through the windows of the train, as it sped along, the boys saw a -fascinating panorama unfolded. They were in a land that was literally -flowing with milk and honey. As far as the eye could see, the soil -was unbelievably rich. There were great groves of palm trees, their -feathery fronds waving gracefully in the air; fields of dark loam that -needed only to be tickled with the hoe to make them laugh; extensive -fields of cotton, looking like heaps of drifted snow; and plantations -of sugar cane, the stalks crowded so thickly together as to form what -seemed almost an impenetrable forest. - -The coloring of the landscape was also a dream of beauty. The bright -green of the fields, the reddish brown of the Nile, along whose banks -they often wound, the mellow tints of yellow rocks under a sky of -cerulean blue, formed a picture to delight the eye of an artist. - -“A wonderful country,” remarked the professor. “Rich beyond -imagination, even after centuries of Turkish misrule. We can imagine -what it must have been in the days of the Pharaohs, when every inch -of ground was carefully cultivated and when this valley of the Nile -supported an immense population.” - -“What makes it so rich?” asked Teddy. - -“The River Nile,” was the answer. “The annual overflow of the river -leaves a rich deposit of mud that has gradually grown deeper with the -passage of centuries. Dry up the Nile, and Egypt would no longer exist. -It would be just like the Sahara. The old Egyptians used to worship the -Nile as a god and pay sacrifices to it, because they knew their very -lives depended upon it. The priests had pillars, on which they marked -each year the rising of the waters. If the waters were high there would -be an abundant harvest. If they were low the crops would be very poor. -If unusually low, the country would be threatened with famine. In a -very real sense the Nile is Egypt. Even now, beyond the limits of the -spread of the water the country is practically a desert.” - -The old and the new were in perpetual contact all through the -train journey. The railroad stations were neat and well-kept, with -well-uniformed attendants and English clerks in spotless white. Around -them clustered scores of beggars extending their skinny hands toward -the car windows and clamoring for baksheesh. The train passed handsome -villas surrounded by beautiful gardens. These were within a stone’s -throw of squalid mud huts, with ragged dirty children playing about -the doors. Donkeys, so heavily laden with sugar cane that the very -heads of the patient animals were hidden, were prodded along with -sticks in the hands of their drivers. These ancient burden-bearers -disputed the road with modern motor cars, whose honking horns seemed -strangely out of place in that Oriental setting. - -It was a fascinating study of contrasts, and it so engrossed the -attention of the boys that it was with a sensation of regret they found -that they were approaching Cairo, the capital of the kingdom and the -greatest city of Africa. - -They had telegraphed to Zeta Phalos that they were coming, and they -found him waiting for them with a handsome touring car and a uniformed -chauffeur. He waved aside all their suggestions that they might be -taxing his hospitality too much, and insisted on conveying them to his -home, to be his guests until they set out on their search. - -There was no denying such friendliness, and they stepped into the car -and were rapidly whirled to the home of Phalos, which proved to be a -palatial one in the suburbs of the city, not far from the banks of the -Nile. - -It was a beautiful structure, built in harmony with the climate -and surroundings. There were many rooms opening on balconies that -overlooked a courtyard in which were plashing fountains, and everything -indicated that their host was a man of wealth, as well as of breeding -and culture. - -After a dinner so good that Don and Teddy ate till for very shame’s -sake they had to stop, the party adjourned to a balcony which fronted -on the river. - -“Gee! pinch me somebody,” exclaimed Teddy, as he sank into a chair and -took in the full glory of the sunset. “I feel as if I were living in -the days of the Arabian Nights.” - -Don promptly obliged him with a vigorous pinch. - -“Ouch!” cried Teddy, rubbing the stinging flesh. “You needn’t be so -mighty literal.” - -“A friend will always do what another friend asks him to,” replied Don -virtuously. - -From the Nile came the sound of native music, as a felucca glided down -the stream with a wide ripple spreading from her bows, the oars of her -crew swaying to the faint sounds of a chantey, such perhaps as may have -been sung in the days of the Pharaohs. The white sails of a dahabiyeh -gleamed with a rosy tint in the last rays of the sinking sun. It was -a scene of measureless peace and enchantment, as far apart from the -hubbub and bustle of the modern world as though it were on another -planet. - -The Americans roused themselves at last from the trance into which they -had fallen. Phalos was speaking. - -“I cannot tell you how glad I am to have you with me,” he was assuring -Don’s uncles. “The more glad because it is in some sort a compensation -for some bad news that I received from Alexandria just a few minutes -before you came.” - -“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Professor Bruce, straightening up in his -chair. “May I ask what it is? That is, if it’s nothing personal and -private.” - -“In a sense I suppose it concerns all of us,” Phalos answered slowly, -toying with his glasses. “Tezra and Nepahak have landed in Alexandria!” - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -STARTLING NEWS - - -“Tezra and Nepahak!” exclaimed Don, the faces of the sinister pair -coming up before his memory. - -“Those precious rascals!” ejaculated Captain Sturdy, a frown passing -over his brow. - -“How do you know that they have landed?” asked the professor, settling -back uneasily into his seat. - -“From a sure source,” replied Phalos. “A friend of mine in Alexandria, -whom I took into my confidence regarding my experience on shipboard and -who agreed to have a watch kept on debarking passengers, brought me -word. He knows the men, and assures me there is no mistake.” - -“I had thought that by this time they were below with Davy Jones,” -grumbled Teddy. - -“No such luck,” remarked Phalos, with a smile that did not conceal the -deep anxiety he felt. “They must have made land all right the night -they slipped overboard.” - -“But how could they have got here so soon?” asked Don, in some -perplexity. - -“Had the luck to get an English liner that stopped at Gibraltar the day -after they had swum to shore,” was the reply. “My friend tells me that -it is one of the fastest boats on the line.” - -“They say that the Evil One looks after his own,” growled the captain. - -“And this is one of the things that seems to prove it,” added Don. - -“Well,” said the professor, crossing his legs, “now that they are here, -what do you apprehend?” - -“That they’ll be up to mischief right away,” replied Phalos. “The -experience they’ve been through won’t change the intentions of such -calloused scoundrels. They’ll simply attribute that to bad luck and try -again.” - -“It’s too bad that they have such a grudge against you,” remarked Don. - -“It isn’t a grudge,” explained the old Egyptian. “I’ve never done them -any harm, and their feeling toward me isn’t prompted by revenge. They -simply know that I have a valuable secret, and they are trying to -extort it from me.” - -There was a dead silence in the group that was in itself a question -that all were too polite to ask. - -Phalos pondered long before he spoke. - -“I have never revealed the secret to a living soul,” he said at last. -“But there is something about you that invites my confidence and -assures me that it will not be betrayed. Besides I owe you something on -the score of gratitude.” - -They waved that aside with a gesture of their hands. - -“It concerns the tombs of a certain royal family of an old dynasty of -the Pharaohs,” Zeta Phalos began, while all listened intently. “I have -reason to believe that they exist in the vicinity of the Valley of the -Kings and have never been discovered or uncovered.” - -“The Valley of the Kings!” exclaimed Don. “Why, that’s where we’re -going in search of my father.” - -“Exactly,” replied Phalos. “And where I’m going, too, if you are good -enough to let me form one of your party.” - -“With the greatest of pleasure,” assented Professor Bruce, while the -captain nodded his head in vigorous agreement. “Your knowledge of the -place will be invaluable to us, to say nothing of the pleasure we will -have from your company.” - -Phalos inclined his head in courteous acknowledgment. - -“But I thought,” said the captain, “that practically all of the tombs -of the great rulers of Egypt had been discovered and explored.” - -The Egyptian shook his head. - -“Not all,” he said. “A great many have been opened by scientists and -their treasures lie now in the great museums and libraries of the old -world. Others have been broken into by thieves and the tombs despoiled -of gold and gems which were sold secretly to whoever would buy. But -great treasures still await the excavators, as is proved by the recent -discovery of the tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen.” - -“Ah, yes,” broke in the professor, “that is the greatest of them all. I -am counting on examining that when we get to Luxor.” - -“The greatest of them all so far,” qualified Phalos. “But if I am not -mistaken, a still greater remains to be discovered. Great heaps of gold -and jewels that have dazzled the eyes and the imaginations of the world -have been found in Tut-ankh-Amen’s tomb. But they will be surpassed, I -think, if we ever discover the Tombs of Gold.” - -“The Tombs of Gold!” ejaculated the professor, while Don and Teddy -looked at each other significantly. “Isn’t that rather an extravagant -description? Do you really mean of gold?” - -“Just that,” replied Phalos soberly. “Not the tombs themselves, -perhaps, but the coffins and pillars and implements placed there for -the use of the dead.” - -“Just what monarch was buried there?” asked the professor, with just -the faintest tinge of skepticism in his tone. - -“You have heard, of course, of Ras-Ameses,” replied Phalos. - -“Surely,” replied the professor, with quickened interest. “The richest -and most powerful ruler of one of the oldest dynasties who extended his -reign over all of Libya and Ethiopia. The one who is supposed first to -have worked the mines of Ophir.” - -“Yes,” assented Phalos, “the one whose palace was filled with gold -and silver ornaments, whose bed was of solid gold and whose barbaric -splendor has never had a parallel among the rulers of the East.” - -“Gee,” murmured Don, while Teddy’s lips puckered for a whistle which he -did not emit. - -“And you will remember, too, that his tomb has never been discovered,” -continued Zeta Phalos. - -“That is so,” agreed the professor. “It has been the dream of -archæologists to find it, but all of them have been forced to give it -up in despair.” - -“That,” pronounced Phalos, with a tincture of pride in the solemnity of -his tone, “is the tomb that I expect to find.” - -The Americans looked at him, startled, and, despite themselves, were a -little incredulous. - -“It will be one of the greatest triumphs of modern discovery if you -do,” replied the professor, after a moment. - -“What makes you think you have a clue to its whereabouts?” asked Don, -in deep interest. - -“It is a curious story,” replied Phalos, smiling at the boy. “One of -the romances of archæology. - -“Many years ago, when I was still strong and vigorous, I was riding -in a remote part of the Valley of the Kings. Above me towered a great -overhanging cliff that cast a grateful shadow over the road and -prompted me to get off my horse and rest there while I had my midday -meal. - -“The place was off from the beaten road of travel, and there was -nothing to distract my attention. I lay there after my meal for a -while, stretched out on my back, looking up idly at the great face of -the cliff. At a height of perhaps three hundred feet, I could make out -what seemed to be carvings or symbols of some sort. - -“While I was looking, a piece of stone fell off the surface and dropped -almost at my feet. I picked it up and saw curious hieroglyphics on it. -I was an ardent student of the ancient writings, and had no trouble in -making out the name of Ras-Ameses.” - -Professor Bruce gave vent to an exclamation. - -“That made the blood thrill in my veins,” resumed Phalos. “I knew, of -course, the mystery that had always veiled the last resting place of -that monarch, and it seemed as though chance had placed the key to the -puzzle in my hands. - -“Right then and there, I resolved to follow the matter up. I made my -way up the almost perpendicular side of the cliff, with only my hands -and feet to aid me, until I reached a narrow ledge, where the old stone -masons must have stood when they first made the inscription. It was -risky work, for a slip would have meant certain death. - -“I could copy part of the inscription from there, but a time soon came -when I had to have a ladder to climb further. I had to drag the ladder -up with a rope and place it in position almost upright on the ledge -perpendicularly against the face of the rock. The least little movement -on my part would have overbalanced and plunged me outward and down to -the foot of the cliff.” - -“Risky work!” exclaimed the captain, looking at the old Egyptian with -the look in his eyes that one brave man has for another. - -“I was young, and perhaps foolhardy, then,” replied Phalos. “I remember -one day when I escaped death almost by a miracle. I was on the ladder -which I had thrown, equipped with hooks, over a rocky ledge above me. -Suddenly the lower part of the ladder broke and I was left clutching -the upper part and swinging over the precipice. I had to pull myself -up hand over hand on the upper rungs until I reached to the top and -safety.” - -“A mighty close call!” ejaculated Don, who was following the narration -with breathless interest. - -“Somewhat,” agreed Phalos, with a smile. “But I finally copied the -inscription and brought it home to study it. It proved to be one of -the boastful inscriptions of his power and glory that Ras-Ameses had -probably composed before his death, leaving orders that it should be -inscribed where it would probably endure for ages. The fact that it was -in a place where it might never be read made no difference. What he was -concerned with was its eternity. The gods at least would have a record -of his exploits. - -“He enumerates his vast wealth and gives a description of the treasures -he had ordered to be placed in his tomb, where other members of the -royal family also were buried or to be buried. There were golden -chariots, which he expected to drive in the future world. There were -golden beds, on which he expected to recline. There were gem-studded -vases of alabaster containing precious perfumes and ointments. There -was a golden boat that would be used in ferrying him over the dark -waters of the underworld. And all of these are described with a -definiteness and particularity that carry conviction.” - -He paused and looked about him. - -“But where are the tombs containing all these treasures?” asked Don -breathlessly, before the others, equally excited, could speak. - -“As to that I have only indications,” was the reply. “The references to -them are vague and mysterious in the inscription. But there is enough -to make me feel sure that with patience and the proper assistants I can -eventually find them.” - -The professor cleared his throat. - -“Are you sure that you are the only man alive who possesses these -clews?” he asked. - -Zeta Phalos was silent for a moment. - -“As far as I know, I am,” he replied. “And yet,” he went on, with some -slight hesitation, “I have sometimes suspected that one other man might -have the key to the secret.” - -“Who is that?” asked the captain quickly. - -“Richard Sturdy,” was the answer. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -IN GREAT DANGER - - -There was a gasp from the members of the party at Zeta Phalos’ words, -and Don bounded to his feet. - -“My father!” he cried. - -“What makes you think my brother knew anything about this?” asked the -captain, with as much agitation as he ever permitted himself to show. - -“Mr. Sturdy and I were firm friends when he was here on his first -exploring expedition,” replied Phalos. “I admired him because of his -fine intellect; and then, too, his passion for research along the same -lines as my own drew us together. Many a time he has been a guest in -my home, and, seated right on this balcony, we have discussed the -things we had in common. More than once we had spoken of Ras-Ameses -and the mystery concerning his burial place. I had at that time made -my discovery of the inscription, but was keeping it a safely guarded -secret. - -“It happened that we were once both at the Valley of the Kings at the -same time, though with different parties. One day, while riding along -at the foot of the cliff on which I had discovered the inscription, -a piece of paper fluttered down from the rock. I wondered where it -could have come from. I picked it up and found that it bore creases in -it that resembled hieroglyphics. I knew that they formed part of the -inscription. You can imagine something of my surprise and consternation -at the thought that perhaps some one else was the sharer of my secret. - -“I had a pair of powerful glasses with me and unslung them and focused -them upon the rock. I could distinctly see other bits of paper on -various portions of the inscription. Then I understood, and, although I -was chagrined, I was filled with admiration for some one’s ingenuity. - -“The man, whoever it was, had approached the matter from the top of -the cliff. He had wet broad sheets of paper and lowered them from the -top with a flat board behind them so as to press them against the -inscription. The letters made creases in the wet paper. As soon as the -paper was dry, he had drawn it up and probably filled in the creases -with ink or pencil. Thus he would eventually have a complete copy of -the inscription, and could decipher it at his leisure.” - -“An extremely ingenious method,” commented the professor, “and one -that makes me proud of my brother-in-law, if he were the author.” - -“What makes you think that my father was the one who did it?” asked Don. - -“My thought would have leaped to him at once because of his -brilliancy,” replied Phalos. “But I had something a little more -definite than that. I turned over the bit of paper I had in my hand and -saw that a name had been scribbled on it. Only a few of the letters -remained, but I could make out ‘urdy.’” - -“Fairly conclusive,” agreed the captain. - -“Later on, when I met Mr. Sturdy,” resumed Phalos, “I could see that -he was intensely excited over something. I tried to sound him out -casually, but he evaded me. I was sure that he had made what he thought -was a great discovery.” - -“That’s what he must have had in mind when he kept talking to mother -about the Tombs of Gold!” exclaimed Don. - -“Did he really speak of them?” asked Phalos, much interested. “That -goes still further toward confirming my suspicion. The thought that had -been with him on and off for years must have taken full possession of -him when his mind became deranged, to the exclusion of everything else.” - -“That makes it all the more likely,” observed the captain, “that we’ll -find him somewhere in the vicinity of the Valley of the Kings, where -the inscription was discovered.” - -“Precisely so,” agreed the old Egyptian. “However, the search may lead -him far afield, for I have reason to believe that the tombs themselves -are at some distance from the place where the inscription was found. -That inscription was placed there because the towering cliff offered -the spot where it was most likely to endure for ages.” - -“It was certainly a lucky day for us when we met you on the steamer,” -declared Don enthusiastically. - -“A luckier day for me,” returned Phalos, with a smile. “Is it -understood then?” he asked, turning to Don’s uncles, “that we join -hands and prosecute our search together?” - -“Most gladly on our part,” replied the captain and the professor in one -breath. - -“Then we’ll consider it settled,” said the old Egyptian. “I have a -steam dahabiyeh moored in the river, and if you are agreeable, we will -sail on that up the river to Luxor. I think you will find it the most -pleasant mode of traveling, and there will be plenty of room for the -baggage and supplies we shall need to take along.” - -“That will be fine,” replied the captain. “And who knows but that the -wishes of all our hearts may be fulfilled in the finding of my brother -and also of the Tombs of Gold.” - -“All things are in the hands of Allah,” replied Phalos, who, although -a cosmopolite, clung to the formula of his Mohammedan faith. - -The next two days were busy ones for the adults of the party, as much -had to be purchased in the way of implements and supplies for what -might prove a long sojourn in the desert. - -Don and Teddy had a good deal of time on their hands, and the professor -suggested that they go out to Gizeh to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx. -They needed no urging, for these mighty wonders of the world had long -made a strong appeal to their imaginations. The boys had seen them -pictured many times, but that was nothing compared to seeing the -marvelous constructions that were old when Rome was young, and under -whose shadows Cæsar and Napoleon had paced and been reminded of their -own littleness. - -Their elders were too busy to go with them, and besides had seen them -before. So Don and Teddy secured a native guide and rode on donkeys -toward the massive creations, the greatest built by human hands, that -loomed up in the brightness of the Egyptian sunshine. - -They were prepared to be impressed, but that word was too weak to -express their feeling of awe when they stood before the largest pyramid -of the three and gazed aloft at its towering top. Overpowered would -have come nearer to their actual state of mind. - -There the greatest of the three pyramids, that of King Cheops, reared -itself toward the skies, originally nearly five hundred feet in height -and with a base so broad that the boys had to trudge through the -sands for half a mile before they had compassed it. It stood there, -apparently as immutable as time itself, a tremendous monument of the -great civilization that had once flourished on the banks of the Nile. - -“How on earth could they build anything like that?” asked Teddy, under -his breath. - -“Uncle Amos says that nobody knows,” replied Don. “He says that it’s -doubtful whether modern engineers could do it at all, even with the -tools they have to-day and that they didn’t have when these were built -six thousand years ago. Probably it was done almost altogether by man -power. - -“Uncle Amos says that it took a hundred thousand men ten years just to -build the sloping road that led up to it. And it took that many men -thirty years to build this one Pyramid. They must have had ropes with -thousands of men hauling the stones along on rollers and then pulling -them up and piling them on each other.” - -“If one of the ropes broke, the stones tumbling down must have crushed -hundreds at a time,” remarked Teddy. “I guess it wasn’t peaches and -cream to be a laborer in those days.” - -“I guess not,” agreed Don. “Little old America is good enough for me.” - -Five hundred yards away from the Great Pyramid was the head of the -Sphinx, that lion-bodied, human-headed mystery of the ages, carved -out of the mother rock that forms the floor of the desert. Nearly two -hundred feet from the tip of its paws to the end of its back, it rose -sixty-five feet in the air, gazing out over the desert in immutable -stony silence. - -“What that could tell if it could speak,” murmured Don. - -After some further explorations the two boys turned toward the city, -which lay white-walled and glittering in the afternoon sun. - -That evening the captain, looking over one of his suitcases, noted the -absence of one of his revolvers. - -“I was cleaning and oiling some of my weapons down in the dahabiyeh,” -he said, after looking about fruitlessly for a time. “I thought I’d -brought them all back here but I must have left that 38-caliber there. -Would you mind running down there, Don, and taking a look for it? -You’ll find one of the men in charge.” - -“Sure, I will,” responded Don, and went off at once. - -The dahabiyeh of Zeta Phalos was perhaps a quarter of a mile away -moored to a wharf. Don had already visited it that morning, and had no -trouble in reaching it. The native watchman, Ismillah, greeted him with -a smile that showed all his gleaming teeth and helped Don look for the -revolver, that had slipped behind one of the cushions. - -With a word of thanks, Don turned to go back. As in most ports, the -district along the waterfront was low and disreputable. The streets -were narrow and ill-lighted. - -As Don was passing along one of the darkest of the streets, two men -stepped out from an alley and confronted him. - -Don’s heart gave a sudden bound as he recognized them. - -They were Tezra and Nepahak! - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -A DASH FOR LIBERTY - - -That the rascals had been waiting for Don was evident from the fact -that they showed no surprise at the meeting. On the contrary, there was -a look of evil determination on their faces that betrayed a deliberate -plan. It was evident that they had been lurking about the Phalos villa, -had seen the boy depart, noted his route and planned to waylay him on -his return. - -“So here you are,” snarled Tezra, thrusting his face close to Don’s. - -“Don’t seem to be anywhere else, do I?” answered Don, with an airiness -that he was far from feeling. - -“You will wish you were, before we get through with you,” growled -Nepahak, at the same time putting his hand to his belt. - -Don had been thinking rapidly. Had the revolver he was carrying in -his pocket been loaded, it would have put him more on a par with his -enemies. But it contained no cartridges. He had seen that when he -picked it up. - -Revolvers, however, have more uses than one. Don, who was as quick as -lightning, plucked it from his pocket and threw it with all his force -at Tezra’s head. It struck that worthy full between the eyes, and he -went down with a crash. - -Scarcely waiting to see the result of the blow, Don lashed out with -both fists at Nepahak. The latter had been staggered at the sudden -downfall of his more dominant companion, to whom he played the role of -jackal. He had no stomach for punishment, and, bewildered by the storm -of blows that Don rained on him, made scarcely more than a pretext at -resistance. In a moment he had turned and made off with as much speed -as his short legs could master. - -Tezra was trying to stagger to his feet. Had he been unconscious, -Don would have stayed and done what he could for him, even though he -was his enemy. As it was, Don picked up the revolver, with a mental -blessing for the service it had rendered him, and hurried away until he -had reached a broad and brightly lighted thoroughfare. Then he abated -his speed, though still walking rapidly, until he reached the villa of -Phalos. - -“What’s up?” asked his Uncle Frank quickly, as he noted Don’s panting -breath and his flushed face. - -“Had a run in with those two beauties, Tezra and Nepahak,” explained -Don, sinking into a chair and tossing the revolver on the table. - -“Tezra and Nepahak!” exclaimed the professor. “Have those birds of evil -omen turned up again?” - -“Very much so,” answered Don. - -“Are you hurt?” asked the captain anxiously. - -“Not a bit,” was the answer. “Only winded. I beat it out of the -neighborhood while the going was good.” - -“What became of the skunks?” asked Brick. - -“The last I saw of them, Nepahak was legging it down the street and -Tezra was just getting up from the sidewalk.” - -“I’m afraid you’ve been fighting again,” said Brick, in mock reproof -but with vast delight. - -“Tell us just what happened,” urged Professor Bruce. - -“Those fellows stepped out of a dark alley and held me up,” replied -Don. “Told me they were going to make me wish I was somewhere else. -As a matter of fact, that’s just what I was wishing. I might have -parleyed with them, but Nepahak was reaching for a knife. I remembered -what you’ve told me about getting in the first blow, Uncle Frank, so -I soaked Tezra with the revolver. Then I lammed into Nepahak, and he -started running. I thought that was a good thing, so I started running -too--in the opposite direction. That’s all.” - -“That’s all!” mimicked Brick. “Knocked the daylights out of both of -them. That’s all!” - -“It seems to be quite enough,” said the professor, with a smile. - -“You’re all there, my boy, and I’m proud of you. Trust the Sturdys to -give a good account of themselves and live up to their name,” observed -the captain. “But it makes me uneasy to learn that Tezra and Nepahak -have turned up again. I’m afraid it bodes no good for our friend Phalos -or the purpose of our expedition.” - -Their host came in at that moment and caught the names of his enemies. - -“What is it I hear about them?” he asked, with a worried face. “Are -they in Cairo?” - -“They were, up to a few minutes ago,” replied Don, and repeated the -essential parts of his adventure. Phalos listened intently. - -“I’m glad you came so well out of it,” he remarked, when Don had -finished. “But it simply shows that my foreboding was correct when I -told you they would not easily relinquish their purpose. It is possible -that they meant to extort from you all that you knew about our proposed -trip and then do away with you. The river was close at hand, and it has -served as a cover for many tragedies.” - -“Could you not set the police on their tracks and put the villains in -jail?” queried the professor. - -“I suppose I could,” replied Phalos. “But I hesitate to do that, -because of the publicity that would attend to it. The reason for their -attempts on me and this last attack on Don might come to light, and -it would thus become known that I have this secret about the Tombs of -Gold, or that Tezra and Nepahak suspect I have. And I want to keep that -from the public at all hazards.” - -“How did those fellows learn that you had such a secret?” asked Don, -voicing a question that had been more than once in the mind of each -member of the party. - -“I lay it to a thievish servant I once had,” returned their host. “I -made two copies of the inscription. One of these I kept always locked -in the safe, of which I alone know the combination. The other was also -usually deposited in the safe, but I took it out frequently to study it. - -“One day, when I was looking it over, I was summoned suddenly out of -the room on urgent business. Shortly after I returned I found that one -of the sheets was missing. I searched for it everywhere, but could find -no trace of it. I examined all the servants. All denied any knowledge -of it. But one of them was so evasive and flustered that I felt sure he -was the guilty one. I caught him later directly in the act of stealing -household articles and discharged him.” - -“And your theory about the missing sheet is what?” asked the professor. - -“That the man, knowing the store I set by the manuscript, stole it with -the idea of selling it,” replied Phalos. “He did not dare to take it -all, but thought that one sheet would not be missed. Some time later I -saw him on the street in close consultation with Tezra and Nepahak, who -have an evil reputation in this city.” - -“What was on the missing sheet?” asked the captain. - -“Just enough to tell that the inscription bore on the tombs of -Ras-Ameses,” replied Phalos. “Everybody in Egypt knows that his tomb -has never been discovered and that it is supposed to contain fabulous -riches. Luckily there was nothing on the stolen paper giving the -slightest clue as to where the tomb was to be found.” - -“That was a bit of luck, but a precious one,” observed Professor Bruce. - -“Yes,” answered Phalos, nodding his head. “But it was easy to jump to -the conclusion that the rest of the manuscript told the story that -the thieves were so anxious to know. They felt sure that I was in -possession of the secret. Hence their persistent attempts to wrest it -from me.” - -“I see,” said the captain. “Tezra and Nepahak believed that if they -could find that tomb they would be rich for life.” - -“And I have no doubt they would,” returned their host. “Rich beyond the -dreams of avarice.” - -“Well, they’ll have a sweet time getting the best of us,” boasted Don. - -The captain laughed, then, the look coming into his eyes that more than -once had made his enemies quail, he observed: - -“You are right, Don. They certainly will.” - -“I believe it,” said Phalos, with a courteous inclination of his head. -“And my mind is more at rest than it has been for months, now that I -have such valuable reinforcements. All we can do now is to keep our -eyes open and deal with those rascals as opportunity offers.” - -By the next afternoon, the preparations of the party were completed, -and they embarked on the dahabiyeh, which was manned by a crew in which -the owner had complete confidence. - -Their voyage up the storied river was replete with beauty and romance. -All the glory of ancient Egypt seemed embodied in that wonderful -stream, that is in some respects the most remarkable river in the -world. The senses of the Americans were fairly steeped in its glamour -and mystery as they sat under the awnings in the day, with the sunlight -falling on the rippling surface and reflected in a thousand diamond -glints, or at night, when the full moon flooded it with solemn splendor. - -But the witchery of the mighty river could not divert Don’s thoughts -from his father. - -Was he still alive? Had he succumbed to hardships? Was he wandering -bewildered and dazed under the scorching suns of that foreign country? -What had befallen him? Where would they find him, if they found him at -all? And even if he were discovered and taken home, would all the skill -in the world be able to restore the splendid mind he had been dowered -with at birth? - -All these questions kept tormenting Don without ceasing, and he had a -furious impatience for the end of the journey. His heart leaped with -joy when they finally reached Luxor, on the site of the former city -of Thebes, the magnificent capital in ancient times of the kingdom of -Egypt. - -Dusk was still lingering in the sky when the dahabiyeh drew up to the -city, but it was still light enough to see across the river the massive -cliffs that hemmed in the Valley of the Kings, that royal mausoleum -of scores of great rulers who had had to bow to a stronger hand than -theirs, and yet even in death clung to the relics of their pomp and -power. - -Don thrilled as he looked at those towering cliffs. At their base was -the far-famed Valley of the Kings. The words that had been so often -on his father’s lips! The valley where even now his father might be -laboring feverishly, following what? A genuine light or a mere will o’ -the wisp? - -The boy could scarcely wait till daylight, and almost as soon as the -dawn had reddened the sky he and the rest of his party, only less eager -than himself, were afoot and getting ready for their trip. - -They breakfasted well at the excellent hotel kept for the accommodation -of tourists from all over the world who yearly visit the far-famed -spot and who just then were in greater force than usual, drawn by the -wonderful discoveries recently made at the tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen. - -There was still a certain freshness in the morning air when, after -breakfast, the party set out; but by the time they had crossed the -river the sun was beginning to make itself felt, and by the time they -had reached the celebrated valley it was beating down on them with a -fierceness that reminded them of the Sahara. - -At last the huge piles of rubble and débris that testified to the work -of the diggers apprized them of the approach to the most wonderful -cemetery on earth. - -A more desolate spot it would be hard to imagine. There was not the -slightest trace of vegetation, not a tree, not a flower, not a blade -of grass. The birds avoided it, and the only trace of animal life was -found in the bats that haunted the tombs in myriads. - -But there was plenty of human life in evidence, men guarding the tombs -and scores of others digging in the foothills that rose until they were -lost in the mountainous cliffs that rimmed the valley. - -The searching party passed the wonderful temple of Queen Hatshepsut, -with its rows of pillars standing like sentinels against the dark -mountain masses beyond. Soon they were at the tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen, -the most remarkable discovery of its kind in modern times. - -Don had already heard of the romantic history of that discovery, how -the hidden site had been passed over again and again, how for over -sixteen years Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter had toiled among those -dreary wastes, and how at last, when hope had almost been abandoned, -the stubbing of a toe had revealed a step that led down into the -tomb that proved a veritable treasure trove which threw all previous -discoveries in the shade. - -Now, with his companions, he gazed with fascinated interest on the many -treasures that still remained, though most of them had been packed and -sent to Cairo for safe keeping. They penetrated into the inner shrine -and had a mere glimpse of the sarcophagus, at that time still unopened, -that was believed to contain the mummy of the monarch who once reigned -supreme over Upper and Lower Egypt. - -“Think what it must have meant,” said the professor, who of all the -party, with the possible exception of Phalos, most fully grasped the -stupendous importance of the discovery, “when after all those years of -strenuous toil and bitter disappointment, the discoverers penetrated -into the outer chamber of the tomb. - -“Their eyes were fairly dazzled by the wealth revealed to them. Its -money value could be counted in millions, but it was not of this they -were chiefly thinking. There were beautifully carved beds inlaid with -ivory and semi-precious stones, golden sandals, chariots encrusted with -gold and jewels, statues holding golden maces, chairs of ebony and -ivory vases of alabaster and scores of other treasures so rich as to be -almost unbelievable. - -“Then there was a multitude of other things, which, while not so -intrinsically valuable, were of immense importance in showing the -life and customs of ancient Egypt--musical instruments, toys, clothes -and robes for all occasions. There were rolls of papyri, which are -expected, when deciphered, to add enormously to our knowledge of the -times of the Pharaohs. And there were provisions for the dead on -the last journey, trussed ducks, haunches of venison, all packed in -the boxes where they were laid away by the royal chef, thirty-three -centuries ago.” - -Teddy nudged Don. - -“The Egyptians had some good ideas,” he ventured in a whisper. “That -last idea about the ducks and venison hits me hard.” - -“What did you say?” asked the professor, stopping short. - -“I--I said the Egyptians had some good ideas,” stammered Teddy, a flush -suffusing his face. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -THE NIGHT PROWLER - - -“I’m glad you are so interested,” said Professor Bruce innocently. -“Many of the people who come here have no real appreciation of what -they see or hear. Their souls don’t rise above material things.” - -Don gave Teddy a vigorous poke in the ribs that luckily passed -unnoticed. - -There were other tombs in the vicinity, that of Seti I and Amenophis -II, the latter lying extended on his sarcophagus in the full glare of -an electric light that seemed altogether too modern to be in harmony -with a dwelling of the dead. - -It was singular that the scene should have left no sense of depression -on the spectators, such as they would have felt had they been in a -modern cemetery. But so many centuries had elapsed that the tombs and -their contents seemed to them merely historical relics. The haze of -ages enveloped them. It was hard for them to think that the dried-up -mummies had once been breathing living figures, that before these -kings, whom the superstitious people regarded as gods, thousands had -bowed in adoration, that upon their word hung the issues of life and -death. - -So it was with the feeling of being in a great museum that they passed -from one to the other of the great monuments of antiquity adding -momentarily to their knowledge of the mighty civilization that had -flourished there in the dawn of recorded history, thousands of years -before America had been discovered. - -“Seems to me that the Egyptians thought more about dying than they did -about living,” commented Don. - -“It would seem so at first sight,” conceded the professor. “As a matter -of fact, they got a good deal of enjoyment out of life. That is, the -wealthier classes did. It must be admitted that the life of the poorer -people was hard, much like that of the coolies of China to-day. But -those with more money seemed to have indulged in all the pleasures that -money could buy. The paintings on the walls of the palaces and temples -show them at banquets, at races, engaged in hunting, and in all manner -of sports.” - -“Why did they pay so much attention to their tombs, then?” asked Don. - -“That was a result of their religion,” replied his Uncle Amos. “It was -of the greatest importance that the body should be preserved after -death. The Egyptians believed that every human being possessed a double -that was a perfect duplicate of himself, and that the life of the -double depended upon having a body to return to after its journey to -the other world. If the double came back and found the body gone, it -would perish. And the loss of immortality was too dreadful a thing to -contemplate. That’s why they took so much pains to embalm the body.” - -“Why did they have statues of the dead man in the tomb?” asked Don. - -“That was to ‘play safe,’ as you would call it,” answered the -professor, with a smile. “There was always a chance that the body might -be destroyed. In that case, the next best thing would be to have a -likeness of the dead man for the double to come back into. And in order -that the double shouldn’t make a mistake, they painted the likeness of -the man on the statue.” - -“So that the double wouldn’t get in the wrong pew,” murmured Teddy, but -taking care this time that he should not be heard by his elders. - -“In the case of kings,” continued the professor, “there were usually -several statues, so that if one were broken or stolen he would still -have a chance for a future life.” - -“What was the idea of putting the provisions in the tomb?” asked Don, -giving Teddy a surreptitious poke. - -“Because the Egyptians believed that the needs of the future would be -very similar to those of the present,” was the reply. “The soul, or -double, would need food and drink just the same as the person did here. -So jars of water and plenty of bread and meat were placed beside the -mummy. - -“Then, too, the rich man would need servants to wait on him. So they -made little statuettes that were supposed to go with the double and do -his work. The double would need a barge or other kind of boat to ferry -him over the holy waters to the Fields of the Blessed. That was the -reason for the boat that you saw in the tomb of Tut-ankh-Amen.” - -“How about the people who were too poor to do that kind of thing?” -asked Don. - -“They got around it by having pictures of those things, the food and -boats and other necessaries painted on the walls of the tomb,” answered -his uncle. - -“Not much nourishment in that,” Teddy whispered to Don. - -“Those manuscripts you saw,” continued the professor, “were what is -called the ‘Book of the Dead.’ They told the dead man what answers to -give when he stood before Osiris, the supreme judge who weighed his -character and decided whether he was worthy to enter Paradise. Among -other things, he was instructed to say: ‘I have not stolen’; ‘I have -not lied’; ‘I have not killed.’ You see the general idea of what was -right and what was wrong was very much the same then as it is now.” - -The time passed quickly, and when the party emerged from the latest of -the tombs they had visited, the sun was high in the heavens and the -valley was like an oven. - -As they passed the different gangs of diggers they made inquiries -of the overseers regarding Mr. Sturdy. The officials listened with -courtesy, and in some cases with interest, but none of them could give -any information. None could be found who had seen such a man as Phalos -or Professor Bruce described. Nor had they heard the name. The latter -of course was not surprising, for, as Don bitterly reflected, his -father did not even know his own name. - -“No help to be gained from these sources,” the captain summed up after -a series of disheartening experiences. “It’s strictly up to us to do -the finding ourselves. Now let’s get back to Luxor and make our final -preparations.” - -There were many other wonders in the vicinity that under other -circumstances the lads, especially, would have liked to visit, such as -the Colossi of Memnon, the Temple of Karnak, but everything else must -be abandoned or deferred in their overwhelming desire to find Don’s -father. - -There had been much debate among the members of the party as to the -motive power of the expedition. The captain, remembering the value -of the automobiles in their Sahara trip, would have preferred them. -But inquiry both at Cairo and at Luxor had shown them that there was -none to be had of the type wanted, and the ordinary kind without the -caterpillar tread, would have been of no use in the desert. - -Had they expected their search to be confined entirely to the Valley -of the Kings, they would have used donkeys, the common mode of travel -in that vicinity. But this idea also was abandoned, because of the -supplies that would be needed for the animals. - -So they finally decided on camels, the “ships of the desert,” whose -padded hoofs seemed especially made to travel the sandy wastes and who -could go for days without water in case of necessity. - -The captain and the professor, in their frequent journeys in Oriental -countries, had learned to ride the beasts without difficulty. Teddy, -too, during the time he was in charge of the Algerian, Alam Bokaru, -master of camels, had become fairly expert. - -To Don, however, though he had occasionally mounted one of the brutes, -it was something to be mastered. But as they had to remain at Luxor -for a couple of days, owing to the delay in receiving the permit -for excavations, for which Zeta Phalos had applied to the Egyptian -Government, he had plenty of time to learn and had soon conquered the -swaying, sickening sensations that beset the novice. - -Who should accompany the party had been a subject of much thought on -the part of Phalos. - -“I do not think that we shall have to do much digging,” he said, as -he was discussing the matter with the captain and the professor. “If -my indications are correct, it will be a matter of finding a certain -entrance rather among the rocks than the sands. And the main thing, -anyway, is to find that entrance. If we find that much excavation is -needed, we can retrace our steps and get a force of laborers. In the -meantime, the fewer we have with us, the better our chances of not -having our secret betrayed.” - -“Right you are,” agreed the captain. - -“But we shall need some one to take care of the animals, shan’t we?” -asked Don, who was standing near. - -“Yes,” replied Phalos, smiling on the eager, level-headed boy. “And -for that purpose I have fixed on Ismillah and Abdul. They have been -in my household for years. Their fathers served my father. They are -absolutely trustworthy and devoted to me. Ismillah is an excellent cook -and handy man, and Abdul knows all there is to be known about camels.” - -So it was settled, and after the permits had arrived and all the -supplies secured that would be needed for the trip, the searchers set -out on their double quest--to seek for Mr. Sturdy and for the Tombs of -Gold. - -The first was by far the most important, to the Americans of the party -at least, and it was to this they gave their chief attention. - -They traversed the Valley of the Kings, stopping at every place where -excavations were going on to make inquiries of the foremen in charge. -But always the answer was in the negative, until a doubt began to creep -into Don’s mind whether his father had ever reached the spot that had -possessed so strong a fascination for his deranged mind. When two days -had thus been passed fruitlessly, this doubt became almost a conviction. - -In the course of their journeying, they passed the cliff from which -Phalos had copied the inscription. It was at a dizzy height, and -increased their respect for the man who had dared its perils. - -The captain unslung his field glasses and passed them around, so that -all could have a look at the curious writing that had withstood the -centuries. They studied it with interest, Don far more acutely than -that of any other member of the party, because of his belief that his -father had also risked his life in securing a copy of those queer -hieroglyphics. - -“How on earth could any one read such writings?” asked Teddy. - -“They couldn’t up to a little more than a hundred years ago,” replied -Zeta Phalos, with a smile. “The knowledge of it had passed utterly out -of the mind of man for nearly two thousand years. - -“Then, at the time Napoleon was in Egypt, one of his engineers in -digging a fort uncovered a stone, not much bigger than you could carry -in your hands, that had on it three different kinds of writing. One -was Greek, another was in the writing of the common people of old -Egypt, and the third was in the writing used by the Egyptian priesthood -similar to what you see up there. The stone was called the Rosetta -stone, and is now in the British Museum. - -“Of course, the Greek could be read, and scholars were struck by the -idea that the other inscriptions referred to the same thing. So they -compared the Greek with the other characters and so learned what the -symbols meant. That was the beginning, and before long they had an old -Egyptian grammar and dictionary. That little stone proved to be the key -that unlocked the whole vast storehouse of Egyptian history.” - -As they moved on the surroundings gradually assumed a desert character. -The cliffs grew lower and were in many places replaced by sand dunes. - -Don’s attention was attracted by the countless little heaps of stones -they passed, each consisting of a little upright slab of rock, held in -place by others on each side. - -“What are those, Uncle Amos?” he asked. - -“Prayer stones,” answered the professor, after a casual glance. “They -are the prayers of travelers to the gods of their city that they might -have a prosperous journey. Those fragments of pottery indicate that a -bowl, probably containing water, was set beside each pile.” - -“A prosperous journey,” mused Don, as he thought of the object of his -own search, and though he did not erect a similar pile, there was a -prayer in his heart. - -On the night of the second day they made their preparations to pitch -camp. A tent was soon erected, and while Abdul fed, watered and -tethered the camels, Ismillah prepared a meal that fully justified his -master’s opinion of him as a cook. - -After supper, the travelers stretched themselves out on the sands, -enjoying the faint breeze that had sprung up after sunset and studying -the splendor of the Egyptian sky, studded with stars that glowed like -so many jewels. Above them spread the Milky Way, like a spray of silver -dust. - -“The Nile of the heavens,” murmured the professor. - -“What do you mean?” asked Don. - -“The old Egyptians considered the Milky Way the Nile of the future -life,” was the answer. “They used to fancy that the departed ones were -sailing up and down that, just as they used to sail the Nile when they -were alive.” - -“Quite a poetical fancy,” remarked the captain. - -“How nice and homelike,” said the irreverent Teddy. “You could just -look up and say, ‘There goes Aunt Jemima.’” - -The professor looked rather shocked, but the captain laughed. - -“I’m afraid you’re a hopeless case, Teddy,” he said. “But now I guess -we’d better turn in. We want to get an early start to-morrow before the -sun becomes too hot.” - -His suggestion was followed and all except Don were soon sound asleep. - -But the boy tossed about restlessly on his blanket. It was not the heat -that prevented him from sleeping, for he had become inured to that in -the Sahara. - -It was the tormenting uncertainty as to his father’s fate. He had felt -hopeful of finding him in the Valley of the Kings. With each new gang -of workmen discovered, his heart had thrilled with the thought that -perhaps these were the ones his father had employed, and every time -his hopes had been dashed to the ground. Would he ever find him? - -A sound came to him from without. He propped himself up on his elbow -and listened. Again he heard it, faint but unmistakable. It seemed to -come from the direction of the camels. - -Silently he crept out from the shelter of the tent and looked toward -the tethered camels. - -As his eyes accustomed themselves to the darkness, he could make out -the gaunt figures of the beasts. Then gradually he saw something -else--the figure of a man moving about stealthily. - -With a shout Don rushed toward him. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -A DEADLY MENACE - - -The figure seemed to melt away on the further side of the camels, which -had been roused by Don’s shout and stood upright swaying their shaggy -heads. They formed a screen that served perfectly the purpose of the -marauder, and by the time Don had circled about the animals the man was -not to be seen. - -Don strained his eyes in every direction, but could see nothing. The -night had swallowed up the man as though he had never been. - -The shout had roused the other members of the party, and they came -rushing out, the captain in the van with his rifle in his hand. - -“What is it?” he asked, as they all crowded around Don. - -“There was a man here busy among the camels,” explained Don. “I rushed -at him and he disappeared.” - -The professor had his flashlight, and they turned it upon the group of -camels, which, they were glad to see, were all there. - -An exclamation came from the captain. - -“Here’s what he was doing,” he cried, as he pointed to one of the ropes -that was almost cut through. - -“A thief!” ejaculated the professor. - -“Perhaps,” said Phalos, with a worried look on his face. “But then -again, it may have been more than a case of common theft.” - -“What do you mean?” asked Don. “Do you think,” he went on, as a thought -struck him, “that Tezra and Nepahak had a hand in this?” - -Phalos nodded assent. - -“That is what I fear; though of course I do not know,” he said. “The -design may have been to cripple the expedition and make it move more -slowly by the theft of one or more of the camels. That would make it -easier for them to keep us in sight.” - -“But if they keep us in sight, that will mean that we will also have -sight of them,” remarked Don. - -“I do not mean literally ‘in sight,’” explained Phalos. “But they can -keep on our trail while staying just beyond reach of our vision. I have -a presentiment that they are following us. They are men who will stop -at nothing.” - -“We should have set a guard,” said the captain. “We will after this. -I’ll take my turn to-night. And if any of those fellows try the same -trick again,” he added, as he handled his rifle significantly, “it will -go hard with them.” - -He took his position at the door of his tent, and the rest resumed -their attempts at slumber, although there was little sleep for the -remainder of the night. - -Nothing further developed, and they roused at dawn, made a hasty -breakfast and started on. - -“I have been thinking,” said Phalos, “that it would be well to use a -little strategy to throw possible pursuers off our track. They probably -think that we are going to the water hole of El Ira, since we are -headed in that direction. But Abdul, I find, knows of another water -hole off to the right that will require quite a wide circle to reach -it. I would suggest that we take that route, and after replenishing our -water supplies, strike out for the place where I believe we will find -the Tombs of Gold. I think that plan may balk our enemies.” - -This was decided on, and the party moved ahead under Abdul’s direction, -turning many a look behind as they rode with a view to detecting -possible pursuers. - -Suddenly, the camel on which Don was riding stopped with a jerk that -nearly unseated the boy. Teddy was riding beside him and his mount -stopped at the same moment with similar suddenness. - -“What on earth’s the matter with him?” exclaimed Don, as he urged the -camel forward. - -But the beasts refused to move a step, and now Don discovered that the -animal was trembling. - -He looked about to see the reason. Suddenly, he discovered in the sand -a few feet ahead a horrid swaying head with what seemed to be horns and -a pair of fierce, wicked eyes that glowed like fire. - -At first he could see no body. The creature seemed to be all head. But -as Don looked more closely, he could see a shape of light brownish -color with yellow spots, partly hidden in the sand. The eyes were -glowing like those of a basilisk, and the body began to coil as though -for a spring. - -Quick as thought, Don reached for his rifle, took swift aim and fired. -The bullet smashed the head of the creature, and the sand went up in -clouds, as the body thrashed about furiously. - -“Good shooting!” cried Teddy admiringly, as they dismounted to examine -the reptile. - -“What’s the shooting about?” asked the captain, as he came riding up -with the rest of the party. - -“This,” answered Don, as he prodded the snake with the muzzle of his -rifle. - -“A cerastes!” exclaimed the captain, who recognized it at once. “It’s -one of the deadliest snakes in the world. If you were bitten by that, -you’d be dead in half an hour.” - -“Cleopatra’s asp,” pronounced the professor. “It was one of those with -which the Egyptian Queen committed suicide.” - -“Ugh!” exclaimed Teddy. “It isn’t the thing I’d choose for a bosom -friend. I’m more particular about my company.” - -“It’s lucky your camel saw it when he did,” remarked the professor. -“The snake would surely have bitten him as he passed. They’re the more -dangerous because they can scarcely be detected in the sand. A great -many horses and camels are killed by them in Egypt every year.” - -The suggestion by Abdul that the snakes usually traveled in pairs was -sufficient to make the travelers mount in a hurry. But the mate of the -dead snake, if it were in the vicinity, failed to make itself seen or -felt, and they went on unmolested, though keeping a sharp lookout on -the sands ahead. - -“I suppose, Don, a snake more or less is nothing in your young life, -after all you killed or captured in Brazil,” remarked Teddy, with a -laugh. - -“That’s one case where familiarity hasn’t bred contempt,” answered Don. -“It was in Brazil that I learned to respect them, sometimes to run from -them, as in the case of the cooanaradi.” - -“Call it coon and let it go at that,” laughed Teddy. “Why did it chase -you?” - -“Because it loved me and couldn’t bear to part with me,” answered Don -dryly. “It was a big twelve-footer and fairly soaking with poison. The -only thing I had with me was a machete. I swung just as it overtook and -sprang for me, and by good luck sliced its head from its body. More -than once since then I’ve dreamed that it was chasing me.” - -They were preparing to pitch their tents for the midday rest when a -cloud of dust appeared on the horizon ahead of them. - -In the desert every man is an enemy until he is found to be a friend, -and the camping was deferred, the party remaining on their camels while -they awaited the figures that soon detached themselves from the dust -and rapidly became larger. - -“Get your rifles ready,” commanded the captain. “We’ll have to see who -these fellows are. They may be Bedouins out on a raid, or they may be -peaceful traders. We’ll soon know.” - -As the approaching party came more distinctly into view, apprehension -vanished, for the laden camels showed that it was an ordinary trading -caravan of small size. - -The caravan halted and all looked curiously at the captain’s party. -Phalos and the captain rode toward them with shouted salutations and -signs of friendliness, which were returned in the same spirit. - -Phalos interrogated the leader as to whether he had seen any man who -resembled Mr. Sturdy, describing him as a tall man with black hair. - -No, the leader had seen no such man. He had, however, seen a tall man -with white hair or nearly white. He had seen him with a party digging -near a mound, some thirty miles further on. - -Had he talked with him? - -No, there was something about the man’s eyes that had made him feel -queer. But he had talked with some of the workmen. They had told him -that they were going to quit, that their employer had told them he -would soon have no more money to pay them. Besides, they thought that -the man had been marked by Allah. They had grown afraid. So they were -going away. - -This was the sum of the information they got from the leader of the -caravan, and they returned and reported to the rest of the party, while -the traders moved on. - -It was not very definite, certainly not conclusive, but it brought to -all of them an immense accession of hope. Don was elated beyond measure. - -“Of course, father’s hair was black when I saw him last!” he exclaimed. -“But what he has been through may have changed it.” - -“The news is certainly encouraging,” said the captain. “Though don’t -build too much upon it, Don.” - -“It is significant to me,” remarked Phalos, “that the locality the man -indicated is very close to that where I believe the Tombs of Gold to be -situated.” - -“Don’t you think the time has come to take us fully into your secret?” -asked the captain. “Suppose anything happened to you! You might be -sunstruck, become disabled in some way. In that case, our expedition -will have come to nothing.” - -“You are right,” agreed Zeta Phalos. “You shall know now all that I -know myself,” and during the midday rest period he went into a careful -calculation of facts and figures with the captain and the professor, -while Don and Teddy listened with the greatest interest and attention. - -The boys did not grasp all the calculation, but one outstanding thing -that impressed them was that the place would be indicated by a rock -shaped something like a pyramid, balanced upon another rock, flat in -shape but larger than the first. - -They journeyed hard and fast that afternoon and till well into the -evening in the direction indicated by the leader of the caravan. And -when they camped for the night, they were confident that, barring -accidents, they would be within striking distance of their goal before -the following night closed in on them. - -The next day was the hottest that they had yet encountered. The sun -beat down on them with terrific fury. They were tortured with sunburn -and by innumerable swarms of sand-flies, the plague of Egypt. - -They allowed themselves only a short rest period and pushed on. - -Before long they came to a place where a rocky wilderness stretched -away to the right of the road they were traversing. Here, after a -consultation of his map and a discussion with Don’s uncles, Zeta Phalos -determined to leave the camels in the care of Ismillah and Abdul and -push into the wilderness on foot. The camels would have been of little -use to them on those rocky slopes, and in addition Phalos was quite -as well satisfied to dispense with the servants for the last stage of -the trip. He believed them trustworthy, but preferred to have only the -Americans with him if his goal were actually discovered. - -A cave that offered a secure hiding place for the servants and the -camels was found, and it was not long before the searchers had occasion -to be thankful that they had taken the precaution. - -As they clambered up the slope, amid the huge rocks with which it was -strewn, Don’s keen eyes detected a body of riders in the distance -coming fast toward them. - -Instantly he communicated his discovery to the others and they sank -down behind the rocks that shielded them from view. - -“They’re coming fast,” muttered the captain, “and they are coming in -the direction we came. If it’s that Tezra bunch, they’re tired of -pussyfooting.” - -“They may think that the time has come to attempt to capture us and -make us lead them to the place we’re seeking,” murmured Phalos. - -As the cavalcade drew nearer it could be seen that it comprised more -than a dozen heavily-armed riders of fierce appearance. - -“Bedouins whom Tezra has enlisted by promise of loot,” conjectured -Phalos. - -The captain slipped his glasses to Don, who was lying close beside him. - -“You know the rascals better than I do,” he said. “See if you can -recognize them.” - -Don focused the glasses on the leaders. - -“There they are!” he whispered excitedly. “Tezra and Nepahak! Those two -in front.” - -“As I suspected,” muttered the captain. - -The party swept on and was soon lost to view. - -“Fooled for the time being, anyway,” said Captain Sturdy, as he rose. -“Now it’s up to us to act quickly.” - -The Americans and Phalos worked their way along among the boulders, -gazing eagerly in all directions for their landmark. - -Suddenly Don gave a shout. - -“There it is,” he cried, pointing straight ahead of him. “I see it. The -rock!” - -The other members of the party looked in the direction of Don’s -pointing finger. - -There, sure enough, loomed up a curious combination of two rocks, both -of large size, the upper one shaped something like a pyramid, and the -lower one, on which it rested, flat and a rough square in shape. - -Don had been in the rear of the party with Teddy, but it was his sharp -sight that marked the goal. - -There was a shout of jubilation from all the members of the group, and -they hastened as fast as the difficult ground would let them in the -direction of the rock. - -Don was behind, but was hurrying after the others and rapidly -overtaking them when suddenly the ground seemed to give way beneath -him. He had a sensation of falling--down--down. - -Then came a sharp shock and he knew no more. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -IN UTTER DARKNESS - - -How long it was before he returned to consciousness, Don could not -tell. It might have been minutes or it might have been hours. - -Slowly, very slowly, he was able to recall what had happened to him. He -had seen the cavalcade riding past. Then he had been clambering among -the rocks. It had been a long climb, he remembered. There were many of -the rocks and the slope had been steep. He must have barked his shins -against some of them. They were very sore. Yes, he must have barked his -shins. Careless of him, to be sure, but a little arnica would fix them -up all right. - -Was there anything else? He tried to think. Oh, yes, he had called out -something. What was it he had been shouting about? Oh, it was the rock! -Of course, it was the rock. Why had he not thought of that before? -Well, he had thought of it now. That was something. He felt rather -proud about that rock. He had been the first to see it. Good boy, Don. -You are not so bad! - -He lay for a moment, pleased with the recollection. - -What else was there? He and Teddy had started running for it. Good old -Brick! They had been running pretty fast. Why had they not got to it -then? Where was the rock? Where was he? - -Then suddenly the truth burst on him, and he sat up with a start, a -cold perspiration breaking out all over his body. - -He remembered the ground seemingly melting under his feet, the -sickening descent, the crash. - -He looked wildly about him, but he might as well have been blind for -all that he could see. Even his hand was not visible, as he held it up -before his face. - -He felt of his arms and his legs, with an awful fear that one or more -of them might have been broken. But they were whole, as far as he could -tell, and when he tried to move them they responded. - -But he was torn and scratched in innumerable places and blood was -trickling from his wounds. - -He dragged himself up to a standing position and propped himself -against an earth wall that he could feel but not see. But his head swam -so that he had to sit down again, for fear he should fall. - -It was strange, he thought, that there was no light in the place. If -there had been a hole for him to fall through, there should be a hole -for light to come through. But absolute blackness met him as he turned -his eyes upward. - -He steadied himself and tried to think. What should he do? How could -his uncles find him? What would Brick-- - -Brick! He had been right beside him. Had he also--Could he-- - -“Brick!” he called. - -There was no answer. - -“Brick!” he repeated. - -There was a faint rustling, and a weak voice answered: - -“That you, Don?” - -The next instant Don was making his way in the direction of the -voice. He caught an outstretched groping hand and his own tightened -convulsively over it. - -For a moment both were too deeply moved to speak. Don was the first to -break the silence. - -“Are you hurt, old boy?” he asked anxiously. - -“Somewhat disfigured, but still in the ring,” answered Teddy, with a -touch of his old levity, though his voice was far from steady. “You -see you can’t shake me. I came along with you. I’m sore as a boil, but -no bones broken, as far as I know. How in the mischief did we get down -here?” - -“How in the mischief are we going to get out?” responded Don. - -“I’d give a good deal to know,” complained Teddy. - -“Let’s feel our way around these walls and see if they suggest -anything,” said Don. - -Still badly shaken, but with their strength coming back and their heads -momentarily growing clearer, the two boys groped about the walls of -their prison. They discovered an almost cylindrical passage extending -upward that seemed to be the one through which they had made their -unexpected descent. - -“Give me a back, Brick.” - -Teddy bent over, and Don mounted on his back. But with hands extended -to the uttermost he could touch nothing above. - -Climbing was out of the question, for the walls, though of earth, were -as hard and smooth as though they had been shaped by machinery and -offered no crevices to which hands or feet could cling. - -“Do you know, Brick, I don’t believe we fell through any natural -opening. If we had, there’d be some light coming from up there. The -hole wouldn’t have closed up so suddenly.” - -“What’s your idea then?” asked Teddy wonderingly. - -“I think there was a hinged door there, concealed by earth, that sprang -back again when it dumped us here. A trap laid, perhaps, by the old -Pharaoh to catch anybody who should come prying about his tomb.” - -“The old gink!” exclaimed Teddy. “Who’d ever thought he had such a sour -disposition?” - -“That would explain why the walls are so smooth,” continued Don. “If -any one wasn’t killed by the fall he couldn’t climb up again. Well, -we’re in for it now, and we’re up against it for fair.” - -“They must be looking for us outside,” said Teddy, sobered by their -plight. “Suppose we shout to them. They may hear us.” - -It was a good suggestion, and they shouted till their throats were so -hoarse they could do little else but whisper. - -But there were no answers except the echoes. - -For some time after the boys had realized that their efforts were -fruitless, they remained without speaking. Each was busy with his own -thoughts. And they were not pleasant ones. Their situation dawned on -them in all its horrors. - -They were trapped, shut out, perhaps forever, from the sight of men, -doomed possibly to die amid the lingering agonies of hunger and thirst -in this subterranean enclosure, to which greater terrors were added by -the darkness. - -Life was sweet to them. They had barely tasted its delights, were -merely standing on its threshold. The blood ran strongly through their -veins. Were they to be cheated of their birthright? - -From these gloomy meditations, Don roused himself with a determined -shake of his shoulders. - -“Brace up, Brick,” he counseled. “We’re worth a dozen dead men yet. -Let’s see if we can’t find some way out of this hole.” - -They felt around the walls until they found a passage, so narrow that -it permitted them to walk abreast only by crowding against each other. - -“Let’s go,” said Don. “Whatever it leads to can’t be any worse than -this.” - -They had gone along for perhaps a hundred feet when suddenly their feet -slipped out from under them and they sat down with a thud on a pavement -as smooth as glass and shot down a steep slope as swiftly as though -they were on a toboggan! - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -A FRIGHTFUL APPARITION - - -Startled, confused, bewildered beyond measure, Don and Teddy were -whirled down the steep incline at a dizzy speed, until at last they -were thrown out on the stone floor at its foot in a medley of tossing -arms and legs. - -But the one predominant feeling in their minds as they scrambled to -their feet and looked at each other, in a consternation that would have -been ludicrous under any other circumstances, was that now they could -really see each other! - -They were in the light, the blessed light; not brilliant, but mellowed -and full of shadows. There was no visible source to which it could be -traced, but it was light, and as they looked into each other’s eyes -half the horror of their situation seemed to have vanished. It brought -to each a reinforcement of hope and courage. - -“Gee!” exclaimed Teddy, as he shook himself. “Talk about shooting the -chutes! That has the big one at Coney Island beaten to a frazzle.” - -“It sure does,” agreed Don, as he looked at the slope down which they -had sped and marveled at its mirrorlike smoothness. - -The boys looked about them to see what kind of a place it was into -which they had been so abruptly ushered. They found themselves in a -great spacious room, from which a series of doorways at intervals led -into smaller ones. The roof was high and slightly arched. On the walls -was an almost endless series of paintings that represented almost every -possible scene and custom of ancient Egyptian life. - -They recognized at once the similarity to the paintings they had seen -on their first memorable visit to the tombs of Tut-ankh-Amen and the -other monarchs in the Valley of the Kings. - -“This must be a tomb,” said Don. “Or perhaps one of the antechambers to -a tomb. But it’s on a vastly bigger scale than anything we’ve ever seen -before.” - -“I should say it was!” agreed Teddy, as his eyes took in its -proportions. “The others are only also-rans as compared with this. The -fellow this was built for must have been some big bug in his day.” - -The lads wandered about the room, studying with interest the scenes -depicted on the walls. They had all the stiffness that marks the work -of the Egyptian artists, but apart from that, were surprisingly good -and accurate. - -“I’ve always thought the Egyptians were sad fellows,” remarked Teddy. -“But if these paintings tell the truth, they were pretty gay old boys -if you ask me.” - -There were pictures of royal banquets with wine and flowers in -profusion, minstrels playing, men and women dancing, and buffoons and -clowns adding their part to the merriment. One dancer was bearing the -body of another on his head as he whirled about. Everything in these -pictures indicated abandonment to the material pleasures of life. - -But there were more stately scenes, troops of soldiers marching through -the streets crowded with spectators on both sides, solemn religious -ceremonies in the temples with the priests in full regalia. Other -pictures represented hunting scenes, fights with lions, chariot races, -wrestling, and various athletic sports. - -Still others, more in keeping with a mortuary chamber, showed the -progress of the soul after it had left the body and embarked on its -stormy voyage amid the perils of the underworld and beset by demons -that sought to check its progress before it could reach the presence of -Osiris and the realms of bliss. - -“Look at these cartoons!” exclaimed Teddy, as he came to lighter -specimens of the painter’s art. “I’ve seen worse in some of the evening -papers.” - -He pointed to a hippopotamus seated among the leaves of a tree at a -table while a crow was climbing a ladder to wait on him. A cat, walking -on its hind legs, drove a flock of geese, while a wolf, carrying a -staff and knapsack, led a herd of goats. A battle between mice and cats -was shown, with the king of the mice, in a chariot drawn by two dogs, -attacking the fortress of the cats. - -“The fellow that drew those was throwing himself away,” declared Teddy. -“He could have got a good salary in New York.” - -But while these novel things served a good purpose for a time in -diverting the boys’ minds from their troubles, the latter soon returned -with redoubled force, especially when the lads saw that the light was -waning. They dreaded the coming of the dark in those surroundings. - -“It’s a good thing in one way, though,” said Don, in answer to Teddy’s -comment on the growing shadows. “It shows that it’s natural light. -It must come in from somewhere; and that somewhere must lead to the -outside world. We’ll see if we can’t find out where that is when -morning comes.” - -They sat down touching each other, for the comfort of companionship, -and took stock of their store of provisions. The result was anything -but satisfactory. - -Don had a few crackers in his pocket and a couple of cakes of -chocolate. Besides these, his canteen was two-thirds full of water. -The sum total of Teddy’s possessions was comprised in a sandwich and a -couple of seed cakes that Ismillah had given him. And his canteen was -less than half full. - -“Gee!” groaned Teddy, “if we only had some of those ducks and haunches -of venison that Tut-ankh-Amen never touched! I wouldn’t do a thing to -them!” - -“I don’t suppose they’d be much good after three thousand years,” -remarked Don, with a lugubrious smile. “Still, if there were any -here and I were starving, I’d take a hack at them. We’ll look around -to-morrow morning and see if we can find any.” - -The shadows gradually deepened until they were in blackness so deep -it could be felt. In those sepulchral surroundings, the situation was -enough to daunt the stoutest heart. - -Suddenly a blood-curdling shriek rang through the vaulted chamber. - -The boys sprang to their feet in horror. - -Again the shriek rang out, dying away in groans and moanings. -Then their eyes almost burst from their head as they saw a great -white-sheeted figure, revealed in an unearthly light. It seemed to -advance upon them, waving its arms menacingly! - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -IN THE GRIP OF DOOM - - -The first impulse of the boys was to flee. But their limbs refused to -obey them. They were as though paralyzed, rooted to the spot. Their -hearts seemed to stop beating and their blood turn to ice. - -Then, when it seemed to be almost upon them, the dreadful figure faded -away as suddenly as it had appeared and they were again shrouded in -darkness. - -They were shaking as if with an ague, and neither felt ashamed of it. -Coming on top of what they had already endured that day, the shock was -almost beyond bearing. - -They fell rather than sat down on the stone floor, their hands closely -interlocked. - -“Oh, Don, what was it?” quavered Teddy. “A ghost?” - -“Ghost, nothing!” declared Don, trying to infuse stoutness into his -denial. “You know as well as I do that there’s no such thing as a -ghost.” - -“I never did believe it till now,” said Teddy. “But what was that, if -it wasn’t a ghost? Lots of people believe in them. Perhaps it’s the -old king this tomb belongs to, and he’s come to warn us against coming -here.” - -“Nonsense!” replied Don. - -“What was it then if it wasn’t a ghost?” challenged Don’s companion. - -“How do I know?” countered Don, who by this time was getting back some -of his usual self-possession. “It may have been some crazy person. -Heaven knows, it’s enough to make any one crazy to be in here. It may -have been a trick of some kind. Perhaps this is a robbers’ cave, and -that’s a way they have to scare out intruders. I don’t know what it -was, but I’m dead sure that it isn’t a ghost. And you know it isn’t, -either.” - -“I suppose it isn’t,” admitted Teddy, as common sense once more took -the helm. “But it sure had me going for a minute.” - -“Me, too,” confessed Don. “I never had such a scare thrown into me in -my life.” - -“If only it doesn’t come back!” sighed Teddy. - -“If I had my rifle with’ me, I’d put a bullet in it,” declared Don, -bitterly regretting the absence of his weapon, which had flown from his -hand when he fell. - -“One thing is certain, that I won’t get a wink of sleep to-night,” -affirmed Teddy, staring fearfully through the dark in the direction -from which the ghostly visitor had come. - -“I guess I’m with you there,” replied Don. - -But nature was stronger than all their beliefs and resolutions, and -before long they were sleeping the sleep of absolute exhaustion, from -which they did not wake until a pale suffusion of light through the -cavern told them it was morning. - -The light, faint as it was, brought them new courage. And if they ever -needed courage, it was then. - -They were ravenously hungry, but they took only a nibble at their -scanty store, far more precious to them at the moment than its weight -in gold. They washed it down with a mere swallow of water, and then set -about discovering a way of escape from what was now their prison, but -threatened to become their tomb. - -“Do you know, Brick,” said Don thoughtfully, “I’ve changed my opinion -about that place we fell down? I don’t believe it was a trap.” - -“What was it then?” asked Teddy. - -“I think it was an entrance for those who were supposed to have a right -to come here,” replied Don. “In the first place, if they’d wanted to -kill intruders, they’d probably have made a better job of it--put a few -spikes at the bottom for them to be caught on, or some playful thing -like that.” - -“Don’t!” urged Brick, with a shudder. - -“You see it didn’t kill us,” pursued Don. - -“Born to be hung, perhaps,” conjectured Teddy. - -“And then too they wouldn’t have left that passage open to the tomb,” -continued Don. “They’d have walled that hole all the way around. But -they didn’t. They left it open for their own purposes.” - -“Well, suppose they did, what does all this lead to?” - -“Just this,” replied Don. “That those who came in that way didn’t -expect to go back that way. No one could climb up that toboggan. It’s -too steep and it’s too slippery, and there’s absolutely nothing to hold -on to. You might as well try to climb up a looking glass. - -“Now if they didn’t expect to go back that way, they must have meant to -get out some other way. Get me?” - -“Oh!” exclaimed Teddy, as a light broke in on him. “You mean there’s -some other entrance to this place?” - -“Yes,” replied Don. “Though in our case, as it was in theirs, it will -be an exit. There must be some such place, and it’s up to us to find -it.” - -The boys drew new hope from the conclusion and set out at once to look -for their one hope of safety. They tried to find the source from which -the light filtered in, thinking, naturally, that this would be the key -to the enigma. - -But search as they would, the secret evaded them. The marvelously -cunning architects and engineers of ancient times had done their work -well, if their intention was to confuse and bewilder any unwarranted -visitor. - -Another proof of ingenuity soon warned them of the necessity of keeping -together. They found that the many rooms that surrounded the central -hall were arranged on the principle of a maze or labyrinth, with so -many and such unexpected openings, one into the other, that it was -almost impossible to meet at any agreed spot. And there were so many -of these rooms and passages that the vast underground construction -suggested the Catacombs of Rome. - -In the middle of the day they took another morsel of food and a swallow -of water. Soon even this would be denied them. Again they set out on -their desperate quest, tightening their belts to still the gnawings of -hunger. Their tongues became swollen and their lips cracked from the -thirst that tortured them. - -The coming of the night found them again at their rendezvous in the -central hall, baffled and defeated, no nearer the solution of their -terrible problem than when they had started in the morning. - -A tiny morsel of food and a sip of water were all they dared allow -themselves. Then, haggard and hollow-eyed, they crouched as near as -they could get to each other and--waited. - -For what? - -The same unspoken thought was in the mind of each. - -Would that terrible figure appear again? - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -TRAPPED - - -When Don had raised his shout of discovery Captain Sturdy, Professor -Bruce and Phalos had rushed in the direction of the rock that reared -itself near the top of the rugged slope. - -At times it was obscured by other boulders, and they had difficulty in -getting their bearings, but they kept steadily getting nearer, and at -last they stood before it. - -With a trembling hand Zeta Phalos drew from his pocket the precious -copy of the inscription. He and the professor bent over it, eagerly -comparing point to point the indications on it, while the captain -waited impatiently. - -At last the two straightened up with delight in their eyes. - -“No doubt about it!” exclaimed the professor. “It answers every -requirement. Now to find a way in.” - -A feverish search was made, and finally a crevice was discovered into -which a man might worm himself behind the towering rock. - -The captain turned about and shouted: - -“Come along, Don! Come along, Teddy!” - -He thought he heard them respond, although it was only an echo. Then, -dropping on hands and knees, he worked his way through the opening. - -The others, who were smaller and slenderer, followed the captain’s -example, and all three were presently on the other side of the rock and -in a narrow passage. - -They straightened up and brushed off their clothes, expecting every -instant to see the boys following them. - -But no other form darkened the opening, and the captain grew impatient. - -“Hurry up, boys!” he shouted. - -The words had scarcely left his lips when there was a tremendous crash, -and the delicately balanced upper rock came down, filling the entire -opening and leaving them in utter darkness. - -The roar was deafening in that confined space, and beat upon their -eardrums until it seemed as though they would burst. And a cloud of -dust arose that was suffocating. - -The captain, inured to dangers and to quick thinking, was the first to -realize what had happened. - -“Trapped!” he roared. “Trapped! Penned in like so many rats!” - -He rushed against the heavy stone and heaved against it with all the -strength of his powerful shoulders. But strain as he would, he could -not make it budge. And as he remembered its giant size, he realized -that it must weigh scores of tons. He might as well have tried to move -a mountain. - -As this conviction came to him, he desisted from his efforts and came -slowly towards his companions. - -“Lucky that the boys are not in here with us,” he remarked, his -habitual calmness returning to him. “They, at least, have their chance. -It is singular, too,” he mused. “Don, especially, is usually right up -to the front at a time like this. Didn’t you think they were following -us?” - -“I thought I heard them answer you when you called to them,” replied -the professor. “But, after all, that may have been only the echo of -your voice.” - -“Possibly,” rejoined the captain. “But, at any rate, they must be -right outside now. We must communicate with them and get them to go to -Ismillah and Abdul for help. With our united efforts, we may be able to -make an exit.” - -He approached the rock, called out as loudly as he could and hammered -on the rock with the butt of his rifle. But no response came, and, at -last, sorely puzzled, he abandoned the attempt. - -“Well,” Professor Bruce said grimly, “the old Pharaoh has sprung the -trap. His dead hand has reached out through forty centuries and tricked -us.” - -“What do you mean?” asked the captain. - -“What I say,” was the reply. “You don’t suppose that it was mere -accident that caused that stone to fall just at this minute, do you?” - -“The long arm of coincidence--” - -“Nothing of the kind,” interrupted the professor. “That rock was -balanced so perfectly that it would fall when a hidden spring was -pressed. And we pressed that spring when we stepped on one of the -blocks in this paved passage. Those old fellows were marvels when it -came to bits of infernal ingenuity like that.” - -“It is probable,” observed Phalos. - -“The very fact that there was an opening there should have warned us,” -admitted the captain. “Why should entrance have been so easy? Simply to -lure us in, so that we could be punished for our presumption. ‘Will you -walk into my parlor, said the spider to the fly.’ Well, we’ve walked in -all right, and if the spider knows anything where he is, I’ll bet he is -grinning at us this moment.” - -He communed with himself a moment in bitter self-reproach, while Phalos -and Professor Bruce, both silently, tried to work out some plan of -procedure. - -“Well,” the captain resumed at last, with a return of his old -nonchalant manner, “there’s no use crying over spilt milk. We’re here, -and that’s all there is about it. We’re all grown men, and we’re all -of us able to face the truth. I believe I’m betraying no confidence,” -he added with grim humor, “when I say that we’re in a very serious -situation. But we’ve all been in others quite as serious and emerged -with a whole skin, and perhaps history will repeat itself.” - -“I’m thankful, at least, that the boys are not with us,” remarked the -professor. - -“Amen to that,” said Phalos. “To a large extent, we at least have lived -our lives. They have theirs before them.” - -“And there are other bits of silver linings to our clouds,” resumed -the captain. “In the first place, we have pretty good proof that no -one else has preceded us. So if we find the tomb at all, we’ll find it -unrifled. - -“Then, again, I had the luck to shove our bag of provisions through -the hole before I crawled in myself,” he continued. “There are several -extra canteens of water there too, besides those we have strapped to -us. So we have enough with care to last us for a week or so, if we have -to stay here that long.” - -“That’s good,” observed the professor. “And, as we can’t go back, we’d -better go forward at once.” - -“Yes, let’s be getting along,” the captain said, picking up the bag of -provisions and slinging it over his shoulder, while in the other hand -he carried his rifle. “As Amos says, we can’t go back, and so we’ll -make a virtue of necessity and go forward. That, after all, is what we -came for.” - -They went on carefully, picking their steps along a paved passage, so -narrow that they had to go single file. - -The path sloped steadily downward, so that they knew they were going -into the bowels of the earth. The air was heavy and dank, and yet there -was at times the faintest perceptible stirring of the air that showed -there must be some communication with the outer world. The reflection -gave them new courage, and they quickened their steps, the captain -using his flashlight as a guide. - -After they had gone perhaps a quarter of a mile and were beginning to -wonder whether the passage was interminable, they suddenly came into -a large room walled in on all sides with stone, on which were painted -scenes of Egyptian life. - -The captain flashed his light around the room and a cry of -consternation came from the lips of all. - -The scene revealed was one of the wildest confusion. Lids had been torn -from coffins and lay splintered upon the floor. Mummy wrappings were -tossed here and there, helter skelter. On the floor over in one corner, -lay a mummy, with the head torn from the shoulders and lying several -feet away from the body. - -The old Egyptian threw up his hands. - -“Too late! Too late!” he moaned, and tore his hair. “The tomb has been -rifled!” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -A NIGHT OF HORROR - - -Zeta Phalos’ companions fully shared his feelings, though they -repressed them more than their emotional Oriental comrade. - -“All for nothing! All for nothing!” moaned Phalos. “After all these -years and all this effort, to find the tomb of Ras-Ameses too late!” - -A sense of futility and depression, too great for words, gripped the -hearts of all the men. - -But from this first despondency a thought came to the professor that -made him start up with renewed animation. - -“Let me have that flashlight, will you, Frank, for a minute?” he asked. - -The captain relinquished it, and the professor picked up a piece of the -broken coffin lid and examined it with care. Then he gathered up the -other pieces and laid them together as they had been originally. - -A moment of critical study and he straightened up with a laugh. His -companions looked at him with amazement. - -“Glad you can see something to laugh about,” said the captain grimly. - -“Why shouldn’t I laugh?” was the reply. “Here we’ve had all our -grief for nothing. This isn’t the coffin and that isn’t the mummy of -Ras-Ameses.” - -“Are you sure?” asked the captain, while Phalos ceased his moaning and -hurried to his side. - -“Certain!” was the reply. “Look at the symbols on this cover. Do you -see the vulture? Do you see the sacred cobra? Do you see the crowns of -Upper and Lower Egypt? Of course you don’t. None of them is there. Yet -they would be there if this were the coffin of the royal Ras-Ameses. -This is the coffin of one of his relatives--see, here is his name, -Horum-Aleb. Perhaps a nephew or a son-in-law.” - -A cry of vast relief broke from the lips of Phalos when he perceived -that the professor was right in his conclusions. - -“You are right,” he said. “I jumped too soon at conclusions. I should -have remembered that large numbers of the royal family were buried in -close proximity to the Pharaoh himself.” - -His relief, however, though great, was not of long duration, and his -brow clouded as another thought occurred to him. - -“But if men have broken in here and despoiled this tomb, is it likely -that they would stop here?” he asked. “Would they not persist until -they found the vastly more valuable one of the king himself?” - -“That, of course, is possible,” conceded the professor. “But we’ll not -assume that until we know it. Besides, everything here shows that they -acted with the wildest haste. They may have been alarmed and made off -with their booty without going any farther.” - -“There’s one other angle to this matter,” put in the captain. “Whoever -rifled this tomb had some other way of getting into it and getting out -of it than by the way we came in. We know that they didn’t use that, -or the stone would have been down when we got to it. And if there is -another entrance or exit, we have our chance of finding it.” - -“Is there anything in the inscription bearing on this tomb of -Horum-Aleb?” asked the professor. - -“Not by name,” replied Phalos. “I have pored over the manuscript so -often that I know it by heart, and that name does not occur in it. But -the diagram that I have worked out from the veiled descriptions of the -whole group of tombs gives an estimate of their length and width that -may be of help to us in this instance.” - -“Will you lend us your flashlight again, Frank, while we look it up?” -asked the professor. - -Somewhat to his surprise, the captain hesitated. - -“We’ve got to be exceedingly careful of this flashlight,” he observed. -“I have only one extra battery with me, and if we have to stay here -long our lives may depend upon our having light enough to see our way -about. But I have plenty of matches, and we’ll use torches and small -fires as far as possible.” - -“You always think of everything, Frank,” was the tribute the professor -paid him. “Very well, then, we’ll use one of these splintered pieces of -coffin lid as a torch.” - -He lighted one end of the resinous wood, which burned with a bright -though flickering light. - -“While we’re looking this over, Frank,” the professor suggested, -“suppose you take the measurements of this room with your tape.” - -The captain complied, and found that the mortuary chamber was -thirty-three feet long by twenty-two wide. - -He announced the result, and an expression of gratification came from -the lips of the savants. - -“Those figures apply to a tomb only the third removed from that of -Ras-Ameses, as far as we can make out,” said Phalos. “We can’t be very -far from the royal tomb itself.” - -“Do you remember, Frank,” asked the professor, “how many such -measurements were found in the memoranda of Richard’s that we examined -at Hillville? That shows that he wasn’t following a blind trail, but -had something definite to go upon. It’s another proof that it was he -who secured the other copy of the inscription.” - -“I guess you’re right,” agreed the captain. - -They went forward, and found themselves before long in a bewildering -maze of passages that branched off from one another in all directions. -Some led up to walls that might or might not have rooms on the other -side. Others terminated in what were veritable points, and had -evidently been designed to mislead and weary any intruder into the -tombs. - -“You have to hand it to those old engineers and architects,” grumbled -the captain, in unwilling admiration. “In cunning and foxiness they’d -make some of our modern ones look like thirty cents.” - -The demands of hunger now began to make themselves felt, and the -professor suggested that they snatch a hasty meal. The others willingly -acquiesced. - -“Napoleon used to say that an army, like a snake, traveled on its -stomach,” remarked the professor. “Which is one way of saying that a -hungry man is no good for fighting. And we have a fight on our hands, -if any one ever had.” - -They made their way back to the mortuary chamber of Horum-Aleb. -Once there, they took from the bag of provisions a limited amount of -their precious stores. They ate sparingly, but the meal was made more -palatable by coffee that Ismillah had brewed that morning and placed in -a thermos bottle. - -Never before had any of them partaken of a meal in such weird and -uncanny surroundings. To save the light, they sat in utter darkness. -This had the additional advantage of hiding from them the funereal -trappings and the dried-up figure of the headless mummy lying over in -the corner. - -But they knew it was there. That thing that had once been a man like -themselves was there. They could visualize him in the darkness. He was -a guest at their meal--a very quiet guest to be sure--but he was there. - -Suddenly there rose a wail as of a soul in torment, a dreadful hideous -shriek that filled them with horror. - -The old Egyptian fell over on his face and groveled on the floor. - -“The vengeance of the ancient gods,” he cried wildly, “for daring to -search for the Tombs of Gold!” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE MAN BY THE STREAM - - -Crouching down in the central hall, baffled and defeated in their -efforts to find a way out into the world beyond the great cave, Don -and Teddy sat for a long time in an attitude of strained expectation. -No word was spoken, but each knew what the other was waiting for. They -were hungry and thirsty, but if that had been all they would have -resigned themselves and tried to forget their misery in sleep. - -But there was more than that--the dread of the supernatural! - -Very frequently the bravest of men does not care to go through a -cemetery at night. He may laugh and make light of his fears. He may -summon his common sense to his aid. He may tell himself that only -fools fear the dead. Yet, however he may fortify himself, some obscure -survival of the fear inherited from generations of superstitious -ancestors makes him heartily glad when he leaves the dead behind and -finds himself once more in the haunts of the living. - -Teddy at last broke the silence. - -“Do you think it will come to-night?” he asked, looking around him -fearfully, as though his eyes could pierce the darkness. - -“I guess not, Brick,” answered Don encouragingly. “I don’t think--” - -Just then it came! - -Again a weird, blood-chilling shriek rang down the passage, repeating -itself in a thousand echoes, and again before the terrified gaze of the -boys that frightful figure upreared itself and seemed to advance toward -them with waving arms and threatening gestures. - -Another long-drawn shriek and the apparition disappeared, seeming to -melt at once into nothingness. - -The boys clung close together, their hearts beating like triphammers, -their minds dazed. Only gradually did they relax, and for a long time -they trembled like leaves. - -“I--I tell you it _is_ a ghost,” said Teddy, at last, tried beyond -endurance. - -“And I tell you it isn’t,” retorted Don, who, however, was shaken -almost as much as his comrade. - -“It is, it is!” reiterated Teddy, covering his face with his hands, as -though thus he could shut out the memory of the hideous apparition. - -“Oh, if I only had my rifle,” groaned Don, to whom the mere feel of -that trusty weapon would have brought strength and comfort. - -“It wouldn’t have done you any good if you had had it,” replied Teddy. -“You’d have to have a silver bullet in it to kill a ghost.” - -Don could not help laughing, and it was amazing how that laugh helped -to break the tension. - -“Well, you do,” repeated Teddy defensively. “And it has to be blessed -by a bishop, too.” - -“There isn’t any silver bullet handy or a bishop either,” said Don. -“Anyway, lead and steel are good enough for me. - -“Now look here, Brick,” he went on. “We’ve got to pull ourselves -together and put all that nonsense about ghosts out of mind. We know -when we think it over that there isn’t any such thing.” - -“But we’ve got to believe our eyes,” insisted Teddy. “We saw it, didn’t -we?” - -“We saw something. But what it was, we don’t know. But I’m going to try -to find out,” and Don rose to his feet with an air of decision. - -“Where are you going?” asked Teddy. - -“Down that passage,” answered Don, pointing in the direction of the -apparition. - -“Oh, don’t!” urged Teddy, laying his hand on his arm. - -“I’m going,” reiterated Don. “Come along.” - -Teddy had the alternative of accompanying his comrade or staying -behind, and he chose the former. He had never yet deserted Don in a -crisis, and he was not going to do it now. - -The boys advanced slowly in the pitch darkness, feeling their way inch -by inch. And that caution was justified when Don, putting out his foot -tentatively, felt nothing beneath it and hurriedly drew back. - -“Back, Teddy!” he warned. “There’s a break here.” - -He knelt down and reached his hand over into the opening as far down as -he could, without coming in contact with anything. - -“I wonder how deep it is,” he pondered. “Oh, if we only had a light of -some kind.” - -He took a bunch of keys from his pocket and found an old one belonging -to the house at Hillville which he could dispense with. - -“I’ll throw this in,” he said, “and we can tell from the sound when it -strikes how deep the hole is.” - -He dropped the key and they listened. The seconds passed. Then far, far -down, they heard a faint tinkling, as the key struck a rock. - -They recoiled from the brink in consternation. - -“Why, it’s almost bottomless!” exclaimed Teddy. “It must be hundreds -and hundreds of feet deep!” - -“Right you are, Brick,” agreed Don soberly. “If we’d fallen in there, -there wouldn’t have been anything left but a grease spot. We can’t go -any further, and we might as well go back.” - -“That must be where the g--the creature lives,” observed Teddy, as they -again reached the large room. - -“I’m glad you didn’t say ‘ghost’ that time,” laughed Don. “Yes, that’s -the spot it seemed to come from.” - -The mere fact that they had tried to “take the bull by the horns,” -as Teddy put it, was in itself a bracing element, and they had less -trouble in getting to sleep than they had had the night before. - -But the morning brought with it the grim fact that they were face to -face with actual starvation. Their last morsel of food and last drop -of water, miserably insufficient as they were, disappeared. They were -suffering intensely, and each was shocked as he looked at the sunken -cheeks and hollow eyes of the other. - -Their thirst, especially, was overpowering. The tightening of their -belts helped in some degree to make them forget their hunger, but no -such resource could abate their thirst. - -They were tormented with visions of sparkling springs and flowing -rivers. Their thoughts went back to that night on the balcony of -Phalos’s villa when they heard the tinkling of the fountains in the -courtyard and watched the ripples on the surface of the Nile. There, -was water in plenty. What would they not have given now for a single -drop to moisten their cracked lips and swollen tongues! - -“We’ve just got to find our way out to-day, old boy,” said Don in -desperation. “Another day or two and we’ll be too weak to do anything -but lie here and die.” - -They started out, summoning all their energy and examining every room -and every passage that seemed to offer the slightest chance of an exit. -But the morning dragged away without result, and with every hour they -grew more feverish and weak. - -About noon, as nearly as they could guess from the light, Don’s eyes -lighted on a stone that seemed to have fallen slightly away from its -fellows in the corner of a passage. He grasped it, and it gave slightly -under his hand. - -He shouted to Teddy, and together they pulled and hauled sufficiently -to make an opening through which they could pull themselves. They were -panting and exhausted when they drew themselves up and looked about -them. - -They found themselves in what seemed to have been a receiving vault of -the long ago. There were three broad shelves, on which were resting -sarcophagi that seemed to have been placed there temporarily, awaiting -perhaps a more ceremonious burial later. - -Don gave a shout, as his eyes rested on them. - -“Gold!” he exclaimed, looking from the lids of the coffins to the -slender pillars that adorned the structure. “Gold! Look at them, Brick! -As bright and untarnished as the day they were placed here. Brick, old -boy, we’ve come across a treasure!” - -For a time the lads were filled with a wild elation, and they moved -rapidly from one object to another, handling, examining, tracing the -curious inscriptions. - -Then the stark reality of their situation came back to them. What good -was their wonderful discovery, after all? What could it do for them? - -Here they had happened on wealth that would buy them the most sumptuous -banquets that the world could provide. It gave them everything--and -nothing. - -“Starving to death with all this gold about us!” muttered Teddy -bitterly. “I’d give it all for a cup of water.” - -“The poorest beggar with his crust on the steps of a mosque is better -off than we are,” agreed Don moodily. - -He bowed his head in his hands. Then suddenly he raised it again. What -was that he heard? - -He listened intently, and hope shot into his eyes. But he had heard of -the fancies of the victims of thirst and he was afraid. Was he growing -delirious? - -“Brick,” he said huskily to his friend, who sat hunched up in a corner. -“Listen, and tell me if you hear anything.” - -Inspired by the new tone in Don’s voice, Brick sat up. - -“It--it sounds like falling water!” he exclaimed, in an awed voice. -“Oh, Don, are we going crazy?” - -“Come,” cried Don, staggering with weakness, but hurrying as fast as he -could in the direction of the sound. - -At a sudden turn in a passage the sound grew louder, and an instant -later their eyes fell on a small stream of water, dashing over a rocky -bed. - -With a wild cry of delight, the boys threw themselves on the brink of -the stream and plunged their heads into the cooling water. Then they -drank avidly until Don, remembering caution, pulled Teddy back with -main force. - -“Easy, old boy,” he laughed happily. “Take your time. You’ll get into -trouble if you drink too much after being without it so long. The -stream isn’t going to run away.” - -The soundness of this appealed to Teddy, and he refrained for a time. -But again and again they plunged their heads into the water, each time -feeling new life thrill through every vein. - -At last Don sprang up and threw off his coat. - -“I’m going in all over,” he cried. “And, oh, what a bath this is going -to be! Come along, Brick, and see who’ll be in--” - -He stopped as though transfixed. - -On the other side of the stream sat a man, looking at him curiously. - -A wild cry burst from Don’s lips. - -“Father!” he cried. “Father!” - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -A JOYFUL REUNION - - -Don plunged into the stream, which was only a couple of feet deep, -and waded over to the other side, uttering incoherent exclamations of -wonder and delight. - -The man watched his coming with a dawning look of recognition in his -eyes. He brushed his hand over his face, as though to clear his mind of -some bewilderment. He was standing when Don got to him. - -Don threw his arms about him and hugged him convulsively. - -“Father! Father!” he reiterated again and again, holding the man -tightly as though he feared he would vanish. “I’ve found you at last! -Oh, I’ve found you at last!” - -Mr. Sturdy returned his son’s embrace, at first in a perfunctory way. -Then, suddenly, as though the floodgates of memory had been opened, his -clasp tightened. All the hunger of his heart, long separated from his -boy, found expression in his voice. - -“Don, my dear boy! Don, how glad I am to see you again!” - -They remained a long time embraced, uttering words of endearment, -and then Don, his face wet with happy tears, released his hold and -stepped back, in order that he might see the dear face for which he had -searched over a large part of the world. - -It was a fine face, cleanly chiseled, with splendid forehead and dark, -piercing, but kindly, eyes. The form was like that of his brother -Frank’s, tall, sinewy and powerful. His complexion was as bronzed as -that of an Indian from his work as an explorer under many suns. But the -black hair that Don remembered was now heavily streaked with silver. - -“But how comes it that you are in Brazil, my dear boy?” asked his -father. “I thought you were at home in Hillville. I was counting on -seeing you again as soon as Mr. Clifton had his yacht ready to sail.” - -From the first mention of Brazil, Don had been thinking rapidly. It was -evident that the happy shock of seeing Don had in some way swept away -the knowledge of this present Egyptian adventure and carried his father -back again to Mr. Clifton’s plantation. - -Don knew little of mental science, but he knew instinctively that any -revelation he might make to his father of the real condition of things -must be made gradually and tactfully. - -“Oh, I got impatient to see you,” he said, with perfect truth. “And -as Uncle Frank and Uncle Amos were coming to Brazil on a hunting -expedition, I got them to bring me along.” - -“Fine!” declared his father. “Your mother will be as delighted as I -am to see you sooner than she expected. But perhaps you have seen her -already?” - -“Oh, yes, I’ve seen her,” replied Don, who found himself getting into -deep waters. - -He looked up and saw Teddy near by, and welcomed him as a diversion. - -“This is my friend, Teddy Allison, Father,” Don introduced him. - -“Any friend of Don’s is a friend of mine,” said Mr. Sturdy genially, as -he took Teddy’s extended hand. “What do you think of Brazil, as far as -you’ve seen it?” - -Poor Teddy, who had never laid eyes on Brazil, was nonplused. Don came -quickly to his relief. - -“He thinks it’s a mighty fine country; don’t you, Teddy?” he said -brightly. - -“Yes, indeed,” answered Teddy, clutching gratefully at the cue thrown -to him. “A very wonderful country.” - -“You’ll enjoy looking over Mr. Clifton’s plantation,” went on Mr. -Sturdy. “I’ll show you around it if you like. It’s a remarkable place.” - -To ease the situation, Don urged his father to tell them about the -wreck of the _Mercury_, and Mr. Sturdy did so. But there were certain -breaks and pauses in the narration, as though the story teller were -trying to reconcile certain things that bewildered him. - -Don’s mind was in a storm of conflicting emotions. The dominant feeling -was one of intense delight. His father at last was restored to him. But -his heart was torn with grief at his father’s distraught condition and -with perplexity as to how, if at all, he could bring him to a clear -conception of things as they were. - -“Guess perhaps we’d better go in and get dinner,” said Mr. Sturdy -genially. “Are you hungry?” - -Don and Teddy looked at each other. Were they hungry? - -“Though now I think of it I have some provisions here,” went on Mr. -Sturdy, and their hearts leaped. “The servants must have put up a -lunch for me when I came out into this grotto, though I don’t remember -bringing it. Why they wanted to put up so much I can’t imagine,” he -continued, as he went to a little distance and returned with a big bag -of food of various kinds. “But here it is. Help yourselves.” - -The boys dived into the bag, and brought out bread and meat and canned -supplies, which Don rightly conjectured were part of the equipment -with which his father had started on this strange expedition. - -It was like manna from the skies, and the poor starved boys had all -they could do to refrain from gorging it like wolves. But they knew -that in their condition this might prove fatal, and besides they had to -conserve the contents of the bag. - -So with a mighty effort they restrained themselves and ate but -sparingly, with new life flowing through their veins and new hope -springing in their hearts. - -What marvelous changes an hour had wrought! Many problems remained yet -to be solved, but they faced them with high hearts and renewed courage. -They felt equal to any fate. - -While they ate, Mr. Sturdy had been watching Don with deep affection in -his eyes. But his bewilderment persisted. Again and again he rubbed his -forehead in perplexity. - -“Do you know,” he said, when they had finished, “there’s something -queer about this grotto? It looks more like Egypt than Brazil.” - -Don thought the time had come to hazard a bold stroke. - -“It is Egypt,” he said quietly. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -IN THE LABYRINTH - - -All the culture and self-restraint acquired in years was stripped -from Zeta Phalos for the moment, even his religion dropped away, and -the superstition of his ancestors took possession of him, as he lay -moaning and beating his head on the floor of the cave in the hope of -propitiating the angry gods of his remote forebears who were making -those weird, ghost-like noises. - -It would have been idle for the captain and Professor Bruce to have -denied that they were terribly frightened. They were brave men who had -often faced death unflinchingly. But just now cold, stark terror had a -grip on their souls. - -Again that awful scream rang through the vaulted halls, and this time -after one mighty paroxysm of fear, the Egyptian lay still. He had -fainted. - -The necessity of doing something to help him broke the spell that had -fastened on his companions, and they sprang to his relief. They chafed -his hands and wrists. After a long time he opened his eyes, only to -close them again with a cry, as he remembered his experience. - -“The gods! The gods of my forebears!” he moaned. “They would not be -defied. They are punishing us for our presumption.” - -“Come, now! Come!” urged the captain, not unkindly, his own -self-possession having been restored to him by the necessity of action. -“Pull yourself together. After all, a sound doesn’t kill anybody.” - -It was a long time, however, before the old Egyptian regained his -composure. He maintained a listening attitude, and at intervals kept -casting uneasy glances toward the unseen body with the severed head -that lay there so quietly, but, as he thought, so menacingly, in the -darkness. - -The professor rightly interpreted his thought. - -“It won’t do any harm to remove the mummy to some other place, Frank,” -he suggested quietly to his brother. “They used to pass them around at -Egyptian banquets to remind the diners of the brevity of life. But to -my mind they’re not very cheerful adjuncts of a feast.” - -The captain agreed, and together he and Professor Bruce took the -mummy into a distant passage and laid the poor relic of humanity down -reverently. - -The act itself and the fearlessness with which his companions went -about their distasteful work helped Phalos markedly to resume his usual -philosophical attitude. - -“Old traditions were too strong for me,” he murmured apologetically. -“Then, too, my years are telling on me and we’ve been under an unusual -strain to-day.” - -“I can well understand how you feel,” replied the professor with a -genial smile. “And I don’t mind admitting that I too was unnerved. What -do you think it was, Frank?” he asked, turning to his brother. - -“Can’t say,” replied the captain. “Of course, we’ll cut out right now -any suggestion of the supernatural. That yell had either a human or a -mechanical origin. It may have been some freak due to natural causes -and the configuration of these catacombs. Or it may have been a trick -to frighten us away on the part of some one who doesn’t dare meet us in -the open. As it stands, one guess is as good as another.” - -“If only it doesn’t come again!” ejaculated Phalos fervently. - -“Let’s hope it won’t,” returned the captain. He smiled grimly and -added: “I know when I’ve had enough. But if it does, it won’t be so -startling as the first time, for now we’re prepared for it. But now -that we’ve had our supper, what do you say to starting on again?” - -All agreed to this, but when Phalos tried to walk he found that his -trembling limbs would hardly support him. - -There was no help for it, and they had to defer their attempt until the -morning. They composed themselves to sleep as best they could, though -the captain, who always slept with one eye open, kept his rifle close -at hand so that he could clutch it instantly in case of need. - -Nothing occurred through the night to disturb them, however; and as -the old Egyptian woke refreshed and much stronger, they resumed their -search after they had partaken of a scanty meal and finished the rest -of Ismillah’s coffee. - -They wandered about, examining every passage that seemed to promise -results, only to have their souls made sick by hope deferred. As far -as they could, they endeavored to keep within a small radius of the -despoiled tomb, for the diagram of Phalos had made it probable that the -royal tomb of Ras-Ameses was somewhere in its vicinity. - -The entire day passed without success, and it was a disgruntled trio -that, when night came, sought once more the room in which they had -passed the night before. - -Their provisions were dwindling, and their forced abstinence was -already compelling them to feel the pangs of hunger and thirst. - -“Glad the boys are not in here with us,” remarked the captain. “With -their young healthy appetites they’d feel this a mighty sight worse -than we do. At least they’ll have plenty of provisions in the camp with -Ismillah and Abdul.” - -“I’ve been worrying about them all day,” said the professor, his brow -creased with anxiety. “There hasn’t been a moment when they were absent -from my thoughts.” - -“Same here,” admitted the captain. “Though both the boys are better -able to take care of themselves than any other I’ve ever seen.” - -That night the awful shriek came again, rising in hideous crescendo and -dying away in moans that chilled the blood. Fear once more laid its -icy hand on their hearts, but this time they were prepared for it and -inwardly defied it, even Phalos controlling, outwardly at least, his -terror. - -About noon the next day an exclamation from Professor Bruce brought the -other two hurrying to his side. - -They found him standing before a perfectly square stone construction -measuring exactly thirty-six feet on every side. It was of polished -granite, with the blocks fitted into each other so perfectly that the -seams were scarcely visible. - -With trembling fingers, the professor and Phalos consulted the -manuscript and compared it with the symbols that were carved on the -nearer side. A shout of triumph burst simultaneously from their lips. - -“Eureka!” shouted the professor. “We have found it! The tomb of -Ras-Ameses!” - -“The greatest of the Tombs of Gold!” cried Phalos exultantly. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -A BEWILDERING EXPERIENCE - - -When Don declared that they were in Egypt, Mr. Sturdy looked at his son -as if he doubted his sanity. - -“What do you mean?” he asked. “Are you fooling?” - -“Listen, Father dear,” said Don, with an inward prayer for guidance. -“You’ve been ill for a while, very ill, and during that illness you -were brought to Egypt. Mother came with you, so that it was all right. -And before I say anything else, let me tell you that mother and Ruth -are well and happy--that is, they will be perfectly happy when you are -with them once again. Won’t that be great, Father, all of us together -again in the dear old home at Hillville?” - -“But--what--but--” stammered Don’s father, trying to assimilate the new -and to some extent terrifying ideas that came crowding in upon him. “Do -you mean to say that I have been unconscious all this time?” - -“Not unconscious, Father,” replied Don. “But--but in a kind of daze, -as it were. And when you got to Egypt you wanted to go on with the work -you had been doing before the war--you know, excavating in the Valley -of the Kings.” - -“The Valley of the Kings!” exclaimed Mr. Sturdy. “Yes, I remember that -I did a good deal of work there in the old days. I was looking, I -remember, for a special tomb--that of Ras-Ameses. Of course,” he added -hurriedly, “I want you to keep that a secret between you and me. Don’t -mention that name to anybody. Some day I hope to go looking for it -again.” - -“You have been looking for it, Father,” said Don gently. “While your -mind was in a daze, you know. And I believe you’ve found it. I believe -you’re in it now.” - -There was such a look of utter bewilderment on his father’s face that -Don’s heart ached. - -“But don’t try to get the rights of it just now,” went on Don, rising. -“There’ll be plenty of time for that. The only thing that counts is -that I’ve got you again. Come and look at what Teddy and I found this -morning,” he said. “Come along, Teddy,” he added. “And suppose you -bring that bag of provisions along with you.” - -“Will I?” returned Teddy. “Just watch me! I’ll cling to it like the ivy -to the oak.” - -As Don, with his heart beating high, walked along beside his father, he -was delighted to note the springiness of step and vigor of movement -that testified to his parent’s superb physical condition. That, he -knew, would be one of the most important factors in restoring him to -mental health. - -There was the enthusiasm of the skilled Egyptologist in the -exclamations with which Mr. Sturdy viewed the wonders that the boys had -discovered that morning. His delight was unbounded, and he confirmed -without question the boys’ estimate of the wealth of their discovery. - -But all the time the battle was going on between the dual -personality--the Sturdy of Brazil and the Sturdy of Egypt. It was -pitiful, and yet at the same time encouraging, to note the way that -trained intelligence of his was trying to reconcile the two and bring -order out of chaos. - -“Now, Father,” said Don, after a while, “suppose you come to the place -where Teddy and I have been roosting while we’ve been here, and lie -down and rest. That will give you a chance to think this thing out and -get your bearings. Oh, how happy I am to have you with me again!” he -added, giving him an affectionate hug. - -Mr. Sturdy welcomed the suggestion. What he wanted more than anything -else was an uninterrupted opportunity to think. Already he was piecing -things together, and under the severe stimulus his mental condition -was mending. - -All that long afternoon Don’s father lay awake, stretched out on his -back, trying to adjust himself to actual conditions. And it was not -until the dusk was gathering that Don called him to the simple supper -that he and Teddy had quietly prepared. - -“I ought to tell you, Father,” said Don, dwelling lovingly on the name -that he had so often longed to speak, “that we’ve had an unusual and -rather shivery experience each night since we’ve been here,” and he -went on to tell of the apparition. - -Mr. Sturdy listened with interest. - -“I don’t wonder you were frightened,” he said. “It was enough to -terrify any one. I’m glad you told me about it. Forewarned is -forearmed. It won’t be pleasant to see or listen to, but it’s very -different from having it take you unawares.” - -But even though prepared, they were all chilled to the marrow when, an -hour later, that frightful shriek was heard and they saw the sheeted -figure advancing toward them. - -Even as they shrank back before the menacing monster, a shot rang out, -and the apparition wavered for a moment and disappeared. - -The three of them sprang to their feet in wild amazement. - -“Who fired that shot?” cried Don. “Did you, Father?” - -“No,” replied his father. “I have no rifle. I thought it was you.” - -“I haven’t any either,” replied Don. “Uncle Frank! Uncle Frank!” he -shouted, in uncontrollable excitement. - -There was a shout of surprise from a passage near at hand, and the next -moment the captain, with a flashlight in his hand, followed by the -professor and Phalos, came rushing up and threw his arms about Don. - -“My dear, dear boy!” he exclaimed, with his voice husky with emotion. - -“But see, Uncle Frank! Uncle Amos!” cried Don. “Here’s father! Don’t -you recognize him? I’ve found my father!” - -The scene that took place for the next few minutes beggared -description. There were sounds of delight, grasps of the hand, slaps -on the back, incoherent questions tumbling over one another. Hardly -any one knew what he was doing or saying, but all knew that they were -supremely, overwhelmingly happy. - -“We’ve found you, Dick, old man; we’ve found you!” jubilated the -captain. “And, oh, the luck of it! We’ve found you in the Tombs of -Gold!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -RICHES BEYOND PRICE - - -It was a long time before the members of the party could settle down to -a narration of their respective adventures. A torch was secured from -the débris in the room of Horum-Aleb, and by its light they sat in a -group, so that they could see each other’s features as they talked. - -“How lucky it was that you decided to take a shot at the ghost--or -whatever it is,” remarked Don. “If it hadn’t been for that, we might -never have got together.” - -“I suppose the chief reason I shot at it, was to relieve my feelings,” -answered the captain, with a grin. “If it were anything human, it -deserved to be shot. If it were anything mechanical, I thought I might -disable the mechanism. We hadn’t seen the thing before to-night, but -we’d heard it, and I had judged just about where we’d find it, and my -guess was good. I’ll take a look around in the morning.” - -Don had snatched an opportunity to reveal to his uncles what he had -already told his father, and they acted with great tact and judgment -in evading risky subjects and yet including him in their expedition, as -if he knew all about it. - -The elders listened avidly, too, to the boys’ narration of what had -happened since they had been separated, and also to their story of the -gold objects they had found that morning. - -“Those alone would richly repay us for our trip,” observed the -professor exultantly, while the face of Phalos flushed with pleasure. -“If now we can add to them the things undoubtedly in the tomb of -Ras-Ameses--” - -“Ras-Ameses!” exclaimed Don. “Do you mean to say that you have found -it?” - -“Practically sure of it,” asserted the captain. “That’s all the good it -does us though, for the present,” he added, his face falling. “It’s so -solidly built it would take a charge of dynamite to blow it open.” - -“No door or opening of any kind?” queried Don. - -“Nothing that we’ve been able to discover so far,” was the reply. “But -we’re going at it again in the morning.” - -In the jubilation in which they all shared, they put aside for the -moment the fact that they were prisoners, doomed to perish inevitably -of hunger unless they could find an exit, for which all had hitherto -searched in vain. But every little while that grim terror slipped into -their thoughts, like a specter at a feast. - -They talked until late into the night, and they were delighted to note -the rapidity with which Don’s father was beginning to adjust himself to -conditions. Yet, every so often, there would be moments of confusion -that were baffling and saddening. - -The next morning after a hasty breakfast, in which Mr. Sturdy’s -stores played the greater part, all went to the supposed mausoleum of -Ras-Ameses. They examined every inch of it with the greatest care, but -found not the slightest clue to an entrance. - -“Suppose you hoist me up to the top,” suggested Don. - -They made a back for him, and he swung himself up. The top was flat, -and made of the same massive blocks as the sides. Nothing rewarded his -search. - -His announcement to that effect was received with glum silence. -It removed their last hope. They were thoroughly dispirited and -disheartened. - -As Don rested on the edge, he noticed a fretwork running along the -top, the only ornament that relieved the severity of the tomb. He ran -his hand along the edge, slowly, carefully, pressing in turn every -projection. - -Then a thrill ran through his veins. One of them had yielded, ever so -slightly, but it had yielded! - -He pressed upon it with all his might. And there, before the gazing -spectators, who stood spellbound with amazement, one of the great -blocks about four feet from the ground swung silently inward, revealing -an aperture about three feet in width and height. - -With an excited shout, the professor went through the opening, followed -one by one by the others, and they found themselves in the tomb of one -of the mightiest of the Pharaohs, on which no eyes had looked since it -had been sealed thousands of years before. - -Untold riches dazzled their eyes, as they looked about them. Gold, -gold, gold everywhere, in columns and tablets and coffin lids and -statues, in beds and chariots and boats and amulets, in chairs and -maces and scepters and symbols, gold in a profusion that stunned them -and took away their breath. And besides this immeasurable wealth, there -were other things quite as priceless, rings, robes, cups, whips, vases, -inlaid and encrusted with precious stones. And on a great golden slab -lay the sarcophagus of the mighty monarch who once possessed all these -treasures and had ordered them to be brought to his tomb as emblems of -his boundless wealth. - -Hours passed like minutes while the excited group passed from one -object to another, hardly daring to believe their good fortune, and -half fearing that they would wake and find it all a dream. They had -expected much, but this surpassed all their expectations. - -It was only weariness that reminded them that they had spent the whole -day in rejoicing over their wonderful discovery and suggested the need -of food and rest. - -“We owe it all to you, Don,” said the professor, as the excited and -happy group made their way back to the rendezvous. “If you hadn’t found -that spring--” - -“Just a bit of luck,” disclaimed Don modestly. - -“Was it just luck?” asked the captain pointedly. - -“Well, not exactly,” admitted Don. “The fact is, I remembered the way -King Cheops concealed the opening into his tomb in the Great Pyramid. I -thought the same thing might have been worked here, so I tried to feel -for it. But it was just luck I thought of it.” - -“Luck!” snorted the captain. “I call it brain. And about the finest -specimen of brain I know of is in the headpiece of a certain young -fellow named Don Sturdy!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE SLEEPWALKER - - -Naturally, there was one subject above all others discussed that night -as the explorers ate their meal and later, when they lay about and -relaxed from the strain of the day. - -But even more important than that was one that the captain had with -Don’s father, as he drew the latter a little apart from the group later -in the evening. - -“How are things shaping, Richard?” asked the captain, laying his hand -on his brother’s arm with an affectionate gesture. - -“I think I’m beginning to get matters in their true relations,” replied -Mr. Sturdy. “The discovery to-day has done a lot toward clearing things -up. I don’t recall a thing as yet about my voyage from Brazil to Egypt. -But I am beginning to remember some of the things that have occurred -since my reaching here. I can dimly recall the faces of some of the -workmen I employed. It’s still rather dreamlike, but it’s coming.” - -“That’s great!” exclaimed the captain. “It won’t be long at this rate -before the last haziness will have vanished. But there is one thing -especially that I wish you would try to remember. It’s a thing on which -the lives of all of us may depend. How did you get in here?” - -Richard Sturdy closed his eyes and tried to remember. But after a -prolonged effort, he opened his eyes and shook his head wearily. - -“I can’t do it, Frank,” he said. “The sudden blending of the -recollections of Brazil with those of Egypt has left me confused on -some points. I don’t yet remember anything of what passed just before I -found myself on the bank of the stream.” - -“Let me see if I can help you,” said his brother. “You heard Don -describe the way he got in, or rather fell into, this place. Did you -come in that way?” - -Richard Sturdy shook his head. - -“I’m sure I didn’t,” he answered. “I’d probably have some scratches and -bruises to show for it just as the boys have.” - -“Don’t you recall the one rock balanced on the other where we came in?” -persisted the captain. - -“All Greek to me,” was the reply. - -“I see,” said the captain. “Now, Richard,” he went on solemnly, “the -lives of all of us are in your hands. Somewhere, somehow, you found an -entrance into this place. We’ve searched for it in vain. Our provisions -will last for only a short time longer. When they are gone we shall -starve. Try, Richard, try to remember. Concentrate your mind on it. -Make a supreme effort.” - -“I will,” promised Richard Sturdy, deeply moved. “Oh, if my mind were -what it used to be! But I will make a desperate effort.” - -“Good!” encouraged the captain. “In the meantime we’ll call it a day -and settle down to sleep, so that you can think undisturbed.” - -A quiet word to the others and the talk subsided, and they stretched -out in slumber. - -But Richard Sturdy lay awake far into the night cudgeling his brain in -vain, and it was only toward morning that he fell exhausted into a deep -sleep. - -Just as the first faint streaks of dawn stole into the chamber Don was -awakened by the captain’s hand on his arm and the captain’s other hand -on his lips. - -“S--sh!” whispered his uncle, as Don sat up in surprise. - -Don followed the direction of his uncle’s eyes, and saw that his father -had risen, and was standing in a somewhat strained and unnatural -attitude. - -Richard Sturdy stood for a moment and turned his face first to the -right and then to the left. Don caught a glimpse of his eyes, and saw -that they had an expressionless appearance, almost as though they were -made of glass. - -Then his father started off with the stiff step of a soldier on parade, -down one of the passages that led off to the right. In an instant the -captain and Don were on their feet and following him on tiptoe. - -On Richard Sturdy went, until Don could hear the faint falling of the -water that had been such a blessed boon to him the morning before. - -His father followed the bank of the stream until he came to a place -where the little river seemed to lose itself through a narrow passage -into a small mound of earth. - -Without a moment’s hesitation, Mr. Sturdy stepped into the stream, -bent down until his back was in almost a horizontal position, and -disappeared under the mound. - -Don and the captain followed his example. Their faces almost touched -the water as they bent down, but there was still room for them to -breathe. - -A moment later, they emerged into an apartment of about twenty feet in -length and width. At one side it sloped gently upward. - -Richard Sturdy climbed the slope, bent over and pushed away a heavy -growth of bushes, and a rush of light and fresh morning air swept in -from the outside world. - -Don leaped into the air and was about to give utterance to a delighted -whoop, but the captain clapped his hand over his mouth. - -“Not a sound,” he whispered. “We mustn’t wake him.” - -So Don, though in his glee he fairly ached to shout and dance, was -forced to restrain himself. - -Richard Sturdy stood for a moment looking outside. Then, with the same -stiff, soldierly stride, he passed the silent watchers, retraced his -steps, and sank down in his former place with a deep drawn sigh. - -Then and only then did the captain and Don dare to give vent to their -delight. They shook hands vigorously, their faces beaming. Then they -wakened the others, and after cautioning them about disturbing Mr. -Sturdy, imparted the joyous news that threw them all into a delirium of -rapture. - -It was late when Don’s father awoke. - -“No use, Frank,” he said sadly, as his eyes encountered those of the -captain. “I’ve tried and tried, but I can’t think of the way I got in -here.” - -The captain took his hand. - -“You’ve already shown us, Richard,” he said gently. “You thought about -it so intently last night that it came to you in your sleep and you led -us to it. We are saved, Richard, and you are our savior.” - -Then he narrated briefly and simply the events of the night. Mr. -Sturdy was overwhelmed, though in his joy there was a tincture of -embarrassment. - -Apart altogether from the value of his service, unconscious as it -was, the fact that he had saved the party was of immense benefit in -helping Don’s father to recover his mental balance. Knowing dimly -his infirmity, he had had a sense of dependence, of uselessness, of -inferiority, and had felt that he was more or less of a burden on the -others. He feared to look into the future. But the service he had -done them removed this feeling altogether, and from that time on his -progress was rapid. - -They could now eat freely, not only of Mr. Sturdy’s provisions, but Don -and Teddy served for communication with Ismillah and Abdul, bringing in -supplies daily, though taking the utmost precautions to see that they -were not followed. - -They were uneasy at learning, however, that though the servants had not -been molested in their hidden retreat, they had frequently seen a band -of Bedouins ranging the vicinity, headed by Tezra and Nepahak, both of -whom were known to Ismillah. - -Don had recovered his own rifle, and on reporting the facts gained -from Ismillah, had been directed by the captain to bring plenty of -ammunition from their store and enough rifles to equip every member of -the party. - -Nearly a week was required for the professor and Zeta Phalos, with -the assistance of the others, to catalogue the treasures of the tomb -for submission to the Egyptian Government. A great many of the most -portable of these were packed to carry along with them, as proofs of -their discovery. - -On the night before they planned to leave, they were engaged in an -earnest conversation about their future movements when once again -the horrible shriek brought them to their feet and the dreadful -figure, more frightful, it seemed to them, than ever, seemed to move -threateningly toward them, its banshee wail arousing a thousand echoes. - -The captain reached for his gun and fired, and the figure vanished. - -“Come along!” called the captain, as he seized a torch and rushed in -that direction. “We’ll settle this thing right here and now!” - -The others, all except Phalos, followed with torches and flashlights, -and found the captain standing on the brink of a chasm. - -They looked over fearfully, and then the captain broke into a gale of -laughter. - -“There’s your ghost!” he cried. “Look at him!” and he pointed to a -large platform made of reeds and covered with a white sheet on which -some phosphorescent substance had been daubed, hanging a little below -the brink of the chasm. - -“And I winged him too with that shot,” the captain chuckled, as he -pointed to a broken hinge, the brightly gleaming shattered edge of -which showed that the break had been recent. “Come here, Phalos,” he -shouted, “and look at your ghost.” - -The old Egyptian, reassured by the laughter, came forward and looked -rather sheepishly at the discredited “ghost.” - -“Simplicity itself,” declared the professor, “and yet ingenious too. -There’s no doubt the thing was designed to frighten off intruders. You -see the thing is made of reeds, through which the wind plays, something -on the principle of an Æolian harp, only in this case they were so -arranged as to produce discords instead of harmonies. When the night -wind springs up, there’s a tremendous draught comes up this funnel-like -chasm, as you can tell by putting your hand over the edge. When an -unusually heavy gust comes, it sends this thing up into the air with -its phosphorescent sheet and other fixings.” - -“But it will never fly up again,” cried the captain. “I’ve broken one -of its wings. Here goes the other.” - -His rifle cracked and the remaining hinge snapped. There was a moment’s -fluttering, and then the whole hideous contraption sank out of sight -forever to the bottom of the abyss. - -The next morning the explorers bade farewell to the Tombs of Golds, -and passed out into the open. It took them several hours to get out -their precious burdens, and several more to get them packed on the -extra camels they had brought along for pack purposes. - -They were making their way down the rocks with the last consignment -when a squad of rough-looking riders, about a score in number, came in -sight from around a stony slope a quarter of a mile away. - -“Down!” cried the captain, setting the example. - -The others sought to obey, but, encumbered as they were by their -burdens, could not do it so quickly as to avoid detection. - -That they had been seen was plain from the actions of the riders, who -pulled their mounts to a sudden halt, and two or three of whom, who -appeared to be the leaders, gathered in excited discussion. - -Then, the conference at an end, the newcomers rode on slowly and came -to a pause at the foot of the slope where the explorers had chosen -their position behind the rocks, not more than two hundred feet away. - -In the front, like birds of ill omen, rode Tezra and Nepahak. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -VICTORY AGAINST ODDS - - -Don was sheltered by a rock immediately adjoining the one behind which -his Uncle Frank was lying, and he could hear the latter grit his teeth -as he caught sight of the two rascals. - -“The spawn!” the captain muttered. “I’ll have a crack at each of them -before the day is over.” - -Tezra detached himself from the fierce-eyed, hawk-nosed tribesmen that -formed his lawless following, and, waving a white cloth, advanced -toward the foot of the slope. - -“I’d like to shoot it out of his hand,” growled the captain. - -But an envoy’s flag, even when held by a scoundrel, is sacred, and the -captain reluctantly rose to his feet. - -“Keep him covered,” he commanded, and turned toward Tezra. - -“What do you want?” he demanded curtly. - -“A share of the treasure you have found,” replied Tezra. - -“I like your impudence,” returned the captain. “On what ground?” - -“Because we are the stronger,” was the cynical avowal. “We are many and -you are few.” - -“And if I refuse?” - -“We will come and take it and wipe you out.” - -“And if I surrender it to you?” - -“We will let you go with your lives.” - -“Now listen to me, you scoundrel,” blazed forth the captain. “My answer -is ‘no’. A thousand times, no! You can’t have anything except over our -dead bodies.” - -“You are going to your death,” snarled Tezra. “We are twenty to six. -You have no chance.” - -“You and Nepahak will go with us then,” retorted the captain. “You have -my answer. Come and take us.” - -The discomfited envoy, with a scowl, returned to his companions, and an -animated debate ensued. - -Tezra and Nepahak, their red fezzes shining brightly in the sun, could -be seen moving here and there, evidently urging a course of action to -which some of the others objected. - -“I’m going to throw a scare into those fellows,” declared the captain. -“Don, do you see that tassel at the side of Tezra’s fez?” - -“Yes,” replied Don, getting his rifle ready. - -“Clip it,” the captain commanded. “I’ll take the button on the fez of -Nepahak. Fire when I give the word.” - -They took careful aim. - -“Fire!” - -The shots rang out simultaneously. The button was shorn neatly from -Nepahak’s fez, and the tassel fell from the side of the fez of Tezra as -though it had been clipped with shears. - -A chorus of shouts went up from the tribesmen and they threw themselves -from their mounts, crouching on the further side of the animals for -shelter. Tezra and Nepahak, their faces blanched, quickly did the same. - -“We could have sent those through your heads just as easily,” shouted -the captain, “but we do not want your blood on our hands.” - -That the marvelous shooting had had its effect was evident from -the long pause that ensued. Don began to hope that the “bluff” had -succeeded. - -But the hope of loot had been too long nourished and the disparity -in numbers was too great for the robbers to abandon their project so -easily. It was unlikely that all of the little forlorn hope of six were -equally good marksmen. - -Gradually the camels, under the prodding of their hidden masters, began -to move slowly toward the base of the slope so as to diminish the -distance when the time came to charge. It would have been easy to bring -some of the camels down, but the explorers stayed their hands. - -“They’re coming now!” exclaimed the captain, as his practiced eye -saw that they were gathering for a rush. “Don’t show an inch more of -yourselves that you can help. Fire to wound but not to kill, on this -first rush. A man put out of action counts for as much as a dead one. -Fire when I give the order, and then keep on firing.” - -A score of rifles suddenly appeared above the camels’ backs, and a -volley of bullets came pattering against the rocks. Then, with a loud -shout, the Bedouins abandoned their shelters and rushed forward, firing -as they came. - -“Fire!” cried the captain. - -Six rifles cracked and each missile found a mark. Don had picked out -Nepahak, and caught him in the leg. The captain sent a bullet through -Tezra’s shoulder. Mr. Sturdy brought down the Bedouin chief. The -others, at such close range, could hardly miss, and they did not. - -The tribesmen wavered as they saw their leaders go down. Another volley -wrought havoc in their ranks, and they broke and ran to the shelter of -their camels. No bullets pursued them, as the explorers wanted to limit -the casualties as much as possible. - -“Do you think they will rush us again, Uncle Frank?” asked Don, as he -reloaded. - -“Not likely; though they may,” was the reply. “And they may have -reinforcements in the vicinity who will be attracted by the sound of -the shooting. Hark! What’s that?” - -There was the sound of a bugle in the distance, and a few minutes later -a squad of Egyptian cavalry galloped up, a smart looking officer riding -at their head. - -At the first bugle note, the unwounded tribesmen mounted their camels -and scurried away as fast as their beasts could carry them. - -The young officer swung himself from the saddle and looked about at the -wounded men, who gave ample evidence that a skirmish had occurred. - -The Americans, accompanied by Phalos, advanced to meet him. A short -colloquy followed, and the situation was cleared up satisfactorily. The -squad was a Government patrol sent out to subdue lawless bands that had -of late been giving much trouble. - -“You’ve done some of our work for us,” the officer declared, as he -supervised the work of gathering up the bandits. None had been killed, -though some of the wounds were painful. - -If looks could have killed, the party would certainly have perished -beneath the baleful glances cast at them by Tezra and Nepahak, who, -shortly afterward, were sentenced to ten years at hard labor. - -The offer of the young officer to escort the exploring party to Luxor -was accepted, and they reached the city with their precious freight in -safety. The dahabiyeh of Phalos conveyed them to Cairo, and there they -made their report to the Egyptian Government, which immediately set a -guard about the tomb of Ras-Ameses. - -The announcement of the discovery to the world created a tremendous -sensation, and honors were showered without stint on the discoverers. -The usual arrangement was made, whereby a certain share of the -treasures went to the Government and the rest was equally divided among -the members of the party, making every one of them rich beyond their -dreams. - -But richer far to Don was his finding of his father, a fact that he -cabled at the first possible moment to the wife and daughter waiting -in America. The delirious joy that the news brought into the Hillville -home was beyond expression. Answering cables came, brimming with -happiness and affection, and urging the voyagers to hasten home. - -Teddy, too, had got in instant communication with his father, and the -answer received removed all apprehension he might have had as to his -escapade. - -“Guess that spanking has gone into the discard,” he grinned, as he read -his message. “Dad seems to think that his wandering boy is the goods, -after all.” - -As Don reviewed the events of those stirring weeks, he felt that he -never again would meet with such exciting adventures. But that he was -mistaken will be seen in the next book of this series, entitled: “Don -Sturdy Across the North Pole; or, Cast Away in the Land of Ice.” - -Their parting with Phalos was a cause of keen regret to all of them, -for they had learned to regard the old Egyptian with the deepest -affection. The feeling was reciprocated, and he bade them farewell with -the greatest reluctance, after making them promise that they would make -his villa their home on any future visit to Egypt. - -The voyage home was a swift and prosperous one, and the reception they -had when they reached Hillville was one never to be forgotten. It was -a red letter day in that household when Mr. Sturdy, almost wholly -recovered, gathered his wife and daughter in his arms. Happiness had -proved a wonderful tonic, and Mrs. Sturdy was herself again while the -roses were once more blooming in Ruth’s cheeks. - -A skillful surgeon found a way to cure Mr. Sturdy utterly by removing a -splinter of skull that had been pressing on the brain, and then indeed -the Sturdy home became an earthly paradise. - -Don’s exploits made him a hero with the other members of the -household, Dan and Mrs. Roscoe and Jennie, whose delight at the return -of the adventurers was only less keen than that of Ruth and Mrs. -Sturdy. Jennie, especially, threatened to create a scarcity in the -gum market, as she vigorously worked her jaws while listening with -delicious shivers to the story of his wanderings in the tomb of the -monarch, whom she persisted in calling “Ras-Paresis.” - -Don shone with an added luster also in the eyes of Fred and Emily -Turner. But he laughingly evaded the pedestal on which they sought to -place him. - -“It’s dad who deserves all the credit,” he said. “I only fell into the -Tombs of Gold. It was dad who led us out.” - - -THE END - - - - -_This Isn’t All!_ - - -Would you like to know what became of the good friends you have made in -this book? - -Would you like to read other stories continuing their adventures and -experiences, or other books quite as entertaining by the same author? - -On the _reverse side_ of the wrapper which comes with this book, you -will find a wonderful list of stories which you can buy at the same -store where you got this book. - - -_Don’t throw away the Wrapper_ - -_Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want some day to have. -But in case you do mislay it, write to the Publishers for a complete -catalog._ - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - Archaic or variant spelling has been retained. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DON STURDY IN THE TOMBS OF -GOLD *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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