The Tigers can’t believe their eyes when they saw mummified animals
Luke gingerly picked up the boxes, taking care not to disturb the mummified animals. ‘What on earth are they?’ Patrick asked. ‘I’ve no idea,’ said Luke, carefully unwrap- ping the bandages. Underneath, he found a complicated-looking piece of electronic equipment with a little light glowing to show that it was switched on. ‘Do you think your uncle put these here?’
Lizzie asked. ‘No, I’m quite sure it wasn’t him.’ Luke didn’t know what the two pieces of equipment were, but when he picked them up to take a closer look, he happened to glance at his watch. To his astonishment, the hands were whizzing around at an extraordinary speed. They must have some kind of powerful magnets inside that are making our watches go faster,’ he said. ‘One thing’s for certain, it wasn’t Pharaoh Amamun that put these things here,’ Lizzie remarked drily.
Come on, now that we’re here, let’s go and have a look at the sarcophagus,’ said Luke. Nervously, the Tigers crept into the burial chamber next door. The lid of the stone sarcophagus was still pushed aside.
‘No way am I going to look inside,’ whispered Lizzie. ‘Me neither,’ said Patrick.
‘Well, I thought I was brave, but I don’t fancy getting any closer either,’ Luke muttered.
As they wondered what to do next, Lizzie noticed something odd. ‘Hey, it doesn’t smell funny in here anymore.’ She took her handkerchief off, and the two boys removed theirs too.
‘Come on, let’s look inside the sarcophagus,’ Luke suggested bravely. ‘It’ll be easier if we all do it together. OK?’
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Lizzie and Patrick nodded. They held hands and cautiously approached the sarcophagus. Then Luke gave the signal, and they all pointed their torches inside it at the same time.
‘I don’t believe it!’ Lizzie cried in amazement. The mummy had disappeared, and all that was a portable cassette lay in the sarcophagus
recorder and a black object that looked like a milk churn with lots of holes in it.
That’s what beekeepers use to smoke bees out,’ Luke explained. ‘It’s probably what was making the yellow cloud that we saw coming out of the sarcophagus this afternoon. The funny noise must have been coming from the tape recorder.’
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‘Well, that clears that up then,’ Lizzie said. ‘Someone dressed up as a mummy and hid in the sarcophagus. When it was opened, they switched on the music and started the smoke going.’
They probably burned some kind of substance that had a paralyzing effect,’ Luke added. ‘It didn’t affect us so badly because we had handkerchiefs over our mouths.’
Lizzie shook her head. ‘No, that can’t be right. Otherwise, the person dressed up as the mummy would have been overcome by the fumes.’
Patrick closed his eyes and tried to remember the mummy. He recalled that it had a very strangely shaped head, and now he knew why.