The Missing Mummy (2 page)

Off to one side were three stone coffins.

One of the coffins was lying on a stone table. The other two were leaning upright against the walls to either side. Dink noticed that the coffin on the table was smaller than the other two.

“You are standing in an actual Egyptian tomb,” Dr. Tweed said in a hushed voice. “It was brought here in pieces and then reconstructed.”

He pointed at the coffins. “An ancient Egyptian coffin is called a
sarcophagus
. Each sarcophagus holds a
mummy. In a moment, I will open the lids. But first, take a moment to appreciate the fine artwork.”

On each lid, jewels and gold had been used to create a mask.
The faces look peaceful, almost happy
, thought Dink.

“The Egyptians believed that people who died would need their money in the next life,” Dr. Tweed said. “So rich people were often buried near their wealth.”

He pointed through an arch into another room. “That is the treasure chamber,” he said. “You'll get a chance to look in there after we view the mummies.”

Ruth Rose raised her hand. “How come one of the coffins is so small?” she asked.

Dr. Tweed walked over to the sarcophagus on the table. “This
sarcophagus contains a child mummy,” he explained. “The little boy died with his parents, who now stand beside him for eternity.”

Dr. Tweed placed his hand on a standing sarcophagus. “This is the boy's mother,” he said. Using both hands, he swung the lid open.

“And the father.” Dr. Tweed opened the other standing sarcophagus.

Without saying another word, he removed the lid of the smallest sarcophagus and leaned it against the wall.

The kids stared at the three mummies. Each was covered with some kind of cloth, yellowed with age. Dink realized that Dr. Tweed was right—there was no smell at all.

“Each mummy is wrapped in strips of linen,” Dr. Tweed said. “Beneath the cloth—”

Suddenly, a woman with long blond hair who was wearing a baggy dress darted forward. She snatched the child and raced out of the tomb.

“Stop!” Dr. Tweed shouted, bolting after the woman.

Everyone in the room began talking at once. Before the kids could figure out what to do, Dr. Tweed hurried back into the tomb. “Quiet, please,” he said. “Um, it seems Mummy Monday will have to be postponed. We'll have it tomorrow.”

“But tomorrow is Tyrannosaurus Tuesday!” someone said.

Dr. Tweed looked flustered. His tanned face had turned pale, and one of his eyelids was twitching. “Yes, of course, you're right,” he said. “I'll schedule another mummy day for next week. Now you'll have to leave the tomb. I'm very sorry.”

Kids mumbled, “No fair” as they
filed out. Dr. Tweed stepped aside to let them pass.

“Why would anyone steal a mummy?” Josh asked as he, Dink, and Ruth Rose followed the other kids.

“I read somewhere that gold and jewels were wrapped up with the bodies,” Ruth Rose said. “Maybe that mummy has valuable stuff inside the cloth.”

“You mean that woman is gonna unwrap the mummy?” Josh asked. “Gross!”

Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were the last kids out of the tomb. A moment later, Dr. Tweed hurried past. Behind them, the tomb door closed with a rumble.

“This is so bogus,” Josh said. “Should we just go home?”

“I have to use the rest room first,” Ruth Rose said.

The kids found the rest rooms
around the corner from the tomb. The door to the ladies' room opened, and a smartly dressed woman with short dark hair stepped out. She was carrying a briefcase and talking on a cell phone.

“We'll wait for you here,” Dink said as Ruth Rose slipped into the rest room.

“I wonder what the thief did with the mummy,” Josh said. “I mean, she couldn't exactly carry it down Main Street!”

Suddenly, the rest room door crashed open. Ruth Rose stood there looking as if she'd seen a ghost.

“Ruth Rose, what's the matter?” Dink said.

“G-get Dr. Tweed,” she answered. “It's in the rest room!”

“What's in the rest room?” Josh asked.

Ruth Rose took a deep breath. “The missing mummy!” she said.

Dr. Tweed was standing by the front doors talking with two police officers. Dink dashed over to them. “Excuse me,” he said, his mouth suddenly dry.

“Can we help you?” one of the officers asked. The name tag on her shirt read
S. WASHINGTON
.

“My friend found the mummy in the ladies' room!” Dink said.

“Show us,” said the other officer. His name tag read
P. PETERS
.

Everyone rushed over to where Josh and Ruth Rose were standing outside the rest rooms.

“Will you come inside with me?” Officer Washington asked Ruth Rose.

Ruth Rose and the officer walked into the rest room. A few seconds later, they both came out again.

“Dr. Tweed, will you step in with me, please?” Officer Washington said.

Dr. Tweed followed the officer back inside the rest room.

“So where was it?” Josh asked Ruth Rose.

“You know those tables they have so parents can change a baby's diaper?” she said. “It was right there on the table!”

“In plain sight?” Dink asked.

Ruth Rose nodded. “At first I thought it was a big doll, so I took a closer look.…”

“Yuck!” Josh said.

The rest room door opened again. Officer Washington walked out, with Dr. Tweed behind her. He was carrying the child mummy in his arms.

“The mummy seems to be undamaged,” Dr. Tweed said. “But I'll have to examine it in my office.”

Dr. Tweed and the two police officers crossed the lobby and disappeared through the door behind the counter.

“I guess we might as well go home,” Dink said.

“Some Mummy Monday,” Ruth Rose grumbled.

“Look, there's a cafeteria,” Josh said. “Let's get something to drink.”

The kids entered the large room, paid for cold drinks, and sat at a round table.

“I wonder where the thief went after she left the mummy in the rest
room,” Ruth Rose said as she sipped her lemonade.

“What do you mean?” Dink asked.

“There weren't any windows in there, so she couldn't have gotten out that way,” Ruth Rose said. “And if she'd come through the door, she would have bumped right into us.”

“But a woman did come out,” Josh said. “Remember, she was talking on a cell phone?”

“Yeah, but she looked totally different,” Ruth Rose said.

“Maybe she was in disguise,” Dink said. “Maybe the mummy snatcher changed clothes in the rest room!”

“She might've hidden her dress in the briefcase,” Josh said. “And the blond hair could've been a wig.”

“Guys, I just realized something,” Ruth Rose said. “When that woman came out of the rest room, she walked
toward the tomb. Maybe she went back to steal something else!”

The kids left their drinks on the table and ran to the tomb.

“Open, sez me!” Josh said. He pressed the stone and the door rumbled open.

Tiny lights shone from the tomb ceiling, casting shadows on the floor.

The child mummy's sarcophagus lay empty. Its lid still leaned against the wall. The other two mummies stood guard over the room.

Ruth Rose grabbed Dink and Josh and pointed them toward the treasure chamber. Without speaking, the three tiptoed under the arch.

The treasure chamber, like the tomb, had a stone floor partly covered with sand and gravel. The walls were also stone, with no windows.

“She's not here,” Dink whispered,
glancing into the chamber's dim corners. His arms suddenly bristled with goose bumps.

“Yeah, but look at all the gold!” Josh said, pressing his nose up against a glass display case.

There were six cases in the chamber. Four were filled with pottery and farming equipment. The other two held gold carvings and jewelry.

“You'd think if someone wanted to steal something,” Dink said, “it'd be this treasure, not a mummy.”

“These cases are locked, and they have alarms,” Ruth Rose said. She pointed to thin gray wires running along the edges of each case.

Suddenly, Dink heard a low rumbling noise. “What's that?” he asked.

“It sounds like the tomb door!” Ruth Rose said.

The kids ran back into the tomb. They were just in time to see the wall slide shut.

Josh ran to the wall and tried to force it open with his fingers. When he turned around, his face was white.

“We're locked in!” he said.

“There must be a way to open the door from in here,” Ruth Rose said. “Let's look for a switch or something.”

The kids searched the walls near the door but found nothing that would open it.

“But why did the door close in the first place?” Josh asked.

“You might have set off an alarm when you touched the case,” Ruth Rose said.

“If she's right,” Dink said, “someone will hear the alarm and come to see who's in here. All we have to do is wait.”