The Missing Mummy (3 page)

“Wait in here?” Josh squeaked.

“It won't be for long,” Dink said. “Any second now, that door will slide open again.”

“Yeah, well, let's wait in the treasure chamber,” Josh muttered. “Those mummies are creeping me out.”

“They're just dust,” Ruth Rose said.

“But they're
dead
dust!” Josh said, heading into the chamber.

The kids sat on the floor and leaned against a wall. The room was silent. The ceiling lights cast a soft glow onto the gold inside the cases.

“I've always dreamed of being locked in a room full of gold,” Josh said. “But now that I am, I'd rather be home.”

Minutes passed, then more minutes. No one came to rescue them. The stone door in the tomb remained solidly shut.

“No one knows we're in here,” Josh muttered. “We could be trapped forever. We'll die and become mummies!”

“Our parents all know we're at the museum,” Ruth Rose said. “If I'm not home for supper, my dad will call.”

“But by then the museum will be closed,” Josh insisted. “No one will answer the phone!”

“Then my folks will drive here,” Ruth Rose said.

“Or they'll call the police,” Dink said. “All we have to do is sit here and chill out.”

“I'm
already
chilled,” Josh mumbled. “This place feels like the inside of a refrigerator.”

Dink grinned. “Gee, Joshua, I
thought you'd be happy inside a refrigerator.”

“Very funny, Donald!” Josh muttered. “Plus, I'm sitting on gravel. Why can't they have carpets like normal people?”

Ruth Rose stood up and wiped gravel and sand off her shorts. “Josh is right. Let's see if we can find someplace more comfortable to sit,” she said.

“Like home,” Josh said.

“Or like this!” Ruth Rose said. She had opened a small door cut into the stone wall.

“It's some kind of closet,” Dink said, peering inside.

“Egyptians didn't have closets,” Josh said. The kids saw folding chairs, cleaning supplies, and a stack of carpet pieces.

“The carpet squares must be for kids to sit on,” Ruth Rose said. “Let's spread them out.”

The kids covered the closet floor with carpet squares, then lay down.

“This is more like it,” Josh said, making himself comfortable. “Now if someone would just bring me some pizza and a soda, I'd be happy.”

“Would you share it with the mummies?” Ruth Rose asked Josh.

“Nope.”

More time passed. Dink yawned, and his eyes grew heavy. He pulled the closet door shut, darkening the small room. Then he lay down, and they all drifted off to sleep.

Suddenly, a huge blast shook the room. The folding chairs fell over with a crash, and a box of cleaning stuff flew off a shelf.

Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose bolted up out of a sound sleep.

“What the heck was that?” Josh said. “It sounded like a bomb!”

“I smell smoke!” Ruth Rose said in the dark.

Dink opened the closet door a crack, then pulled it shut again. “The place is filled with dust,” he said, wiping his eyes.

“What happened?” Ruth Rose asked.

Just then Dink heard voices.

“Someone's out there,” Josh said. “We're rescued!”

“Quiet!” Dink whispered. “They wouldn't bomb the place to rescue us.”

Dink nudged the door open a crack. He peered through the floating dust, then suddenly scooted back.

Two shapes in dark clothing slipped past the closet, inches from the kids' noses. Both carried black gym bags.

As the kids watched, the two figures separated, stopping in front of two of the glass cases. Dink heard glass breaking, and then a piercing alarm bell sounded.

“Grab as much as you can. Then we're outta here!” one of the intruders said.

“They're not here to rescue us,” Dink whispered. “They're here to steal the mummies' gold!”

The thieves worked fast. Through the door crack, Dink watched the two dark forms fill their satchels with the gold.

“Jeez, this stuff is heavy,” one of them grunted. The crooks dragged the heavy satchels across the floor.

Dink tried to memorize the black clothing, the thieves' ski masks, and the satchels. As the crooks passed the closet, he noticed that one of them seemed to have a white stripe between his waist and knees.

Then both were gone, and the treasure chamber was quiet.

Dink waited several seconds, then pushed the closet door all the way open.

The gold was gone. Two large hunks of stone lay on top of broken glass. Dust covered everything.

As Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose stepped out of the closet, the alarm bell stopped as suddenly as it had started.

“Where did they go?” Josh whispered in the now silent room.

Before Dink could answer, they heard the tomb door slide open. A second later, Officers Peters and Washington stormed into the treasure chamber.

“Freeze!” Officer Peters shouted. Then he took a second look. “What … it's the kids!”

Dr. Tweed appeared behind the two
officers. “Please explain why you're in here,” he said. One of Dr. Tweed's eyes was twitching.

“We were trying to find the woman who took the mummy,” Ruth Rose said. “Then the door closed all by itself.”

“We fell asleep in the closet,” Josh said. “A few minutes ago, we heard a loud bang. Then two guys came in and stole the gold!”

Dr. Tweed stepped over broken glass and examined the shattered cases. “Nothing is left,” he said. “A priceless treasure has been stolen.”

“Let's check out the wall,” Officer Peters said.

Everyone followed him into the tomb. A large, jagged hole had been blown through one of the walls. Through it, Dink could see the tall, thick shrubbery behind the museum.

The floor around the hole was littered with chunks of stone, but the two standing mummies didn't look damaged. On the table, the child mummy's coffin was closed. The mask on its lid stared peacefully up at the ceiling.

“Well, thank goodness!” someone shouted. Dink turned around. His parents ran into the tomb.

Ruth Rose's parents came in next, quickly followed by Josh's folks.

“What happened to you kids?”
Dink's mom asked, giving him a hug. “We've been calling practically the whole city of Hartford for hours!”

“We got locked in,” Josh said. “We were trying to find the mummy snatcher!”

“What mummy?” Ruth Rose's mom asked.

“Let's save the story till we get home,” Dink's dad suggested. “You kids must be starving.”

“I am!” Josh said.

At ten the next morning, Officers Peters and Washington stopped by Dink's house. Dink called Josh and Ruth Rose, and they all sat in the backyard.

“I hope you got a good night's sleep,” Officer Peters said, smiling. “We just talked to your parents, and they said it would be okay if we asked you some questions.”

“If that's okay with you,” Officer Washington said.

The kids nodded.

Officer Peters glanced at his notes. “We think the woman who stole the mummy wanted to get everyone to leave the tomb,” he explained. “In all the confusion, someone hid a small bomb near the wall.”

“We've had a chat with Dr. Tweed,” Officer Washington added. “Now we'd like to hear your part of the story.”

The kids explained everything that had happened up until they had been awakened by the bomb blast.

“Sometimes,” Officer Washington said, “in the excitement of the moment, we forget small things. I'd like you to think back to the point when you saw the two thieves enter the treasure chamber. Tell me everything you remember, even the smallest detail.”

Dink went first. “Well, they were both wearing dark clothes. I think they had ski masks over their faces.”

“One of them talked,” Ruth Rose said. “He said—”

“It was a man's voice?” interrupted Officer Peters.

Ruth Rose closed her eyes for a minute. “I think so. It was a low voice,” she said. “He said, ‘Let's grab as much as we can and get out of here.' ”

“Did the other one say anything?” asked Officer Washington.

Ruth Rose thought for a minute. “I think one of them said whatever they were carrying was heavy,” she added.

Officer Peters nodded and made a note.

“I remember smelling something,” Josh said.

Both officers looked at him.

“I don't know what it was, but …”
Josh stopped, looking embarrassed.

“We're listening,” said Officer Washington. “You smelled …”

“It was something to eat, I think.”

Officer Peters smiled at Josh.

“What, hamburgers, pizza …?”

Josh shook his head. “Sorry, I can't remember.”

“I remember something else!” Dink said suddenly. “One of the guys had a white stripe on his clothes.”

“A white stripe?” Officer Peters repeated. “I thought they were dressed in dark clothes.”

Dink nodded. “They were, but I saw a white stripe right here.”

He stood up and drew an imaginary line just above his knees.

“Did you see him from the front or back?” Officer Washington asked.

“Both,” Dink said. “But the stripe was just in front.”

The officers took notes, then closed their pads.

“You've been very helpful, kids,” Officer Washington said. She looked at Josh. “If you remember that smell, give me a call.” She handed him a card.

Josh took the card. “Um, can we go back to the museum?” he asked. “Today is Tyrannosaurus Tuesday!”

“Sure,” Officer Washington said. “Just be careful of those big teeth!”

At one-thirty that afternoon, the bus dropped the kids off in front of the museum. The digital sign over the bank said
90 DEGREES
.

“We've still got a half hour,” Josh said. “I could use a snack.”

“Josh, we just ate!” Ruth Rose said. “I think you're part wolf.”