بازگشت مومیایی فصل 11

Return of the Mummy - Chapter 11

Two days later, Uncle Ben’s workers reached the doorway to the burial chamber.

Sari and I had spent the two days hanging around in the tent or exploring the area outside the pyramid. Since it was mostly sand, there wasn’t much to explore.

We spent one long afternoon playing game after game of Scrabble. Playing Scrabble with Sari wasn’t much fun at all. She was a very defensive player and spent hours figuring out ways to clog the board and block me from getting any good words.

Whenever I put down a really good word, Sari claimed it wasn’t a real word and couldn’t be allowed. And since we didn’t have a dictionary in the tent, she won most of the arguments.

Uncle Ben, meanwhile, seemed really stressed out. I thought maybe he was nervous about finally opening the tomb.

He barely spoke to Sari and me. Instead, he spent a lot of time meeting with people I didn’t recognize. He seemed very serious and businesslike. None of his usual backslapping and joking.

Uncle Ben also spent a lot of time talking with Nila. At first, she’d said she wanted to write about his discovery in the pyramid. But now she’d decided to write an article about him. She wrote down nearly every word he said in a little pad she carried with her.

Then, at breakfast, he finally smiled for the first time in two days. “Today’s the day,” he announced.

Sari and I couldn’t hide our excitement. “Are you taking us with you?” I asked.

Uncle Ben nodded. “I want you to be there,” he replied. “Perhaps we will make history today. Perhaps it will be a day you will want to remember for the rest of your lives.” He shrugged and added thoughtfully: “Perhaps.” A few minutes later, the three of us followed several workers across the sand toward the pyramid. It was a gray day. Heavy clouds hovered low in the sky, threatening rain. The pyramid rose up darkly to meet the clouds.

As we approached the small opening in the back wall, Nila came running up, her camera bobbing in front of her. She wore a long-sleeved, blue denim work shirt over loose-fitting, faded jeans.

Uncle Ben greeted her warmly. “But still no photographs,” he told her firmly. “Promise?”

Nila smiled back at him. Her green eyes lit up excitedly. She raised a hand to her heart. “Promise.”

We all took yellow hard hats from the equipment dump. Uncle Ben was carrying a large stone mallet. He lowered himself into the entrance, and we followed.

My heart was racing as I hurried to keep up with Sari. The lights from our helmets darted over the narrow tunnel. Far up ahead, I could hear the voices of workers and the steady scrape of their digging tools.

“This is really awesome!” I exclaimed breathlessly to Sari.

“Maybe the tomb is filled with jewels,” Sari whispered as we made our way around a curve. “Sapphires and rubies and emeralds. Maybe I’ll get to try on a jeweled crown worn by an Egyptian princess.” “Do you think there’s a mummy in the tomb?” I asked. I wasn’t too interested in jewels. “Do you think the mummified body of Prince Khor-Ru is lying there, waiting to be discovered?” Sari made a disgusted face. “Is that all you can think about—mummies?”

“Well, we are in an ancient Egyptian pyramid!” I shot back.

“There could be millions of dollars’ worth of jewels and relics in that tomb,” Sari scolded. “And all you can think about is some moldy old body wrapped up in tar and gauze.” She shook her head. “You know, most kids get over their fascination with mummies by the time they’re eight or nine.” “Uncle Ben didn’t!” I replied.

That shut her up.

We followed Nila and Uncle Ben in silence. After a while, the narrow tunnel curved up sharply. The air grew warmer as we followed it up.

I could see lights ahead. Two battery-powered spotlights were trained on the far wall. As we drew closer, I realized it wasn’t a wall. It was a door.

Four workers—two men and two women—were on their knees, working with small shovels and picks. They were scraping the last chunks of dirt away from the door.

“It looks beautiful!” Uncle Ben cried, running up to the workers. They turned to greet him. “It’s awesome in the true sense of the word!” he declared.

Nila, Sari, and I stepped up behind him. Uncle Ben was right. The ancient door really was awesome!

It wasn’t very tall. I could see that Uncle Ben would have to stoop to step into it. But it looked like a door fit for a prince.

The dark mahogany wood—now petrified—must have been brought from far away. I knew that kind of wood didn’t come from any trees that grew in Egypt.

Strange hieroglyphics covered the door from top to bottom. I recognized birds, and cats, and other animals etched deeply into the dark wood.

The most startling sight of all was the seal that locked the door—a snarling lion’s head, sculpted in gold. The light from the spotlights made the lion glow like the sun.

“The gold is soft,” I heard one of the workers tell my uncle. “The seal will break away easily.”

Uncle Ben lowered his heavy mallet to the ground. He stared for a long moment at the glowing lion’s head, then turned back to us. “They thought this lion would scare any intruders away from the tomb,” he explained. “I guess it worked. Till now.” “Dr. Hassad, I have to photograph the actual breaking of the seal,” Nila said, stepping up beside him. “You really must let me. We can’t let the moment go unrecorded.” He gazed at her thoughtfully. “Well… okay,” he agreed.

A pleased smile crossed her face as she raised her camera. “Thanks, Ben.”

The workers stepped back. One of them handed Uncle Ben a hammer and a delicate tool that looked like a doctor’s scalpel. “It’s all yours, Dr. Hassad,” she said.

Uncle Ben raised the tools and stepped up to the seal. “Once I break this seal, we will open the door and step into a room that hasn’t been seen in four thousand years,” he announced.

Nila steadied her camera over her eye, carefully adjusting the lens.

Sari and I moved up beside the workers.

The gold lion appeared to glow brighter as Uncle Ben raised the tool. A hush fell over the tunnel. I could feel the excitement, feel the tension in the air.

Such suspense!

I realized I had been holding my breath. I let it out in a long, silent whoosh and took another.

I glanced at Sari. She was nervously chewing her lower lip. Her hands were pressed tightly at her sides.

“Anyone hungry? Maybe we should forget about this and send out for a pizza!” Uncle Ben joked.

We all laughed loudly.

That was Uncle Ben for you—cracking a dumb joke at what might be the most exciting moment of his life.

The tense silence returned. Uncle Ben’s expression turned serious. He turned back to the ancient seal. He raised the small chisel to the back of the seal. Then he started to lift the hammer.

And a booming voice rang out, “PLEASE—LET ME REST IN PEACE!”