Part 2 (1/2)

Oppressed with the closeness of the atmosphere, he sat down upon a little bench or table cut in the rock that evidently had been s to the dead Indeed, on it still lay the scorched remains of some votive flowers Here, his la at those calcined bones See, yonder was the lower jaw, and in it soular and but little worn Yes, she had died young Then he turned to go, for disappointment and the holiness of the place overcaht

Leaving the burial hall, he walked along the painted passage, the la and his eyes fixed upon the floor He was disheartened, and the paintings could wait till the morrow He descended the steps and came to the foot of thefrom some sand that had drifted down over the mud, what seemed to be the corner of a reed box or basket To clear away the sand was easy, and--yes, it was a basket, a foot or so in length, such a basket as the old Egyptians used to contain the funeral figures which are called _ushaptis_, or other objects connected with the dead It looked as though it had been dropped, for it lay upon its side S of value would have been abandoned thus

The first thing that met his eyes was a mummied hand, broken off at the wrist, a woman's little hand, most delicately shaped It ithered and paper-white, but the contours still reers were perfect, and the almond-shaped nails had been stained with henna, as was the es, and for those rings it had been stolen S while, and his heart swelled within him, for here was the hand of that royal lady of his dreams

Indeed, he did more than look; he kissed it, and as his lips touched the holy relic it seeh a wind, cold but scented, blew upon his brow Then, growing fearful of the thoughts that arose within him, he hurried his mind back to the world, or rather to the exahly wrapped in fragments of mummy-cloth that had been torn from the body of the queen These it is needless to describe, for are they not to be seen in the gold room of the Museum, labelled ”Bijouterie de la Reine Ma-Me, XVIIIeme Dynastie Thebes (Smith's Tomb)”? It may be mentioned, however, that the set was incoold cereranate blooms, and the most beautiful of the necklaces had been torn in two--half of it was

It was clear to Smith that only a portion of the precious objects which were buried with the mummy had been placed in this basket Why had these been left where he found the had prompted the thief to destroy the desecrated body and its coffin with fire, probably in the hope of hiding his evil handiwork

Then he fled with his spoil But he had forgotten how fiercelywas an accident He must have had a lamp, and if its flame chanced to touch this bituminous tinder!

At any rate, the san to climb the slippery slope of clay In his haste he dropped the basket, and dared not return to search for it It could wait till the morrohen the fire would be out and the air pure Only for this desecrator of the royal dead that morrow never cath S before the dawn An hour later, after the sky ell up, Mahomet (recovered from his sickness) and his myrmidons arrived

”I have been busy while you slept,” said Ss which he had reers), and the broken bronze, but not the priceless jewellery which was hidden in his pockets

For the next ten days they dug till the tomb and its approach were quite clear In the sand, at the head of a flight of steps which led down to the doorway, they found the skeleton of a man, who evidently had been buried there in a hurried fashi+on His skull was shattered by the blow of an axe, and the shaven scalp that still clung to it suggested that he reed with him, that this was the person who had violated the touards of the holy place surprised him after he had covered up the hole by which he had entered and purposed to return There they executed hi that no more was to be found Or perhaps his confederates killed him

Such at least were the theories advanced by Maho none will ever know For instance, the skeleton h probability appears to point the other way

Nothing more was found in the tomb, not even a scarab or a mumraphing the pictures and copying the inscriptions, which for various reasons proved to be of extraordinary interest Then, having reverently buried the charred bones of the queen in a secret place of the sepulchre, he handed it over to the care of the local Guardian of Antiquities, paid off Mahomet and the fellaheen, and departed for Cairo With him went the wonderful jewels of which he had breathed no word, and another relic to him yet more precious--the hand of her Majesty Ma-Mee, Pale sequel of this story of Smith and the queen Ma-Mee

II

Suished Director-General of Antiquities at the new Cairo Museu room

Books piled upon the floor; objects fro here and there; a hoard of Ptole on a table in the pot that had hidden them for two thousand years; in the corner the o discovered, with soht here to be deciphered by the Master), and the withered lotus-bloo, thrust beneath one of the pink retaining bands

”A touching object,” thought Sht have left the dear little girl in peace”

Smith had a tender heart, but even as he reflected he became aware that some of the jewellery hidden in an inner pocket of his waistcoat (designed for bank-notes) was fretting his skin He had a tender conscience also

Just then the Director, a French savant, bustled in, alert, vigorous, full of interest

”Ah, lish ”I aain, especially as I understand that you are co your sheaves with you They tell me you have been extraordinarily successful What do you say is the name of this queen whose toet the extra vowel? Is it for euphony, eh? Did I not kno good a scholar you are, I should be tempted to believe that you had misread it Me-Mee, Ma-Mee! That would be pretty in French, would it not? _Ma ! Well, I dare say she was somebody's _mie_ in her time

But tell me the story”

Sraphs and copies of inscriptions

”This is interesting--interesting truly,” said the Director, when he had glanced through them ”You must leave them with me to study Also you will publish them, is it not so? Perhaps one of the Societies would help you with the cost, for it should be done in facsinette! Most unusual Oh, what a pity that scoundrelly priest got off with the jewellery and burnt her Majesty's body!”