The Soul of a Mummy

I

CARRUTHERS arose from the table at Shepherd's, that far famed caravansary at Cairo where all the world is akin, and following the advice of a party of enthusiastic young Americans, hailed a dragoman and started for the Citadel to view the sunset.

      Carruthers had felt that his trip to the Orient would be incomplete without a few days stop at Cairo on his return home, although he was heartily weary of sight-seeing with its attendant discomforts, sick of the Eastern squalor and smells, and annoyed by the constant mask of mystery behind which the Orientals retired when dealing with a foreigner. But then he had a commission in Cairola commission of such a unique nature that it bade fair to give a spice of novelty to his trip, which up to this time had been of rather a perfunctory character.

      Mrs. Raymond Lovejoy had asked him to bring to her from Cairo a very unusual curio, and the only antique which she felt she lacked to complete her magnificently appointed home with its wealth of Oriental treasures; failing which she had threatened him with banishment from her very exclusive drawing-room, and had sentenced him to the forfeiture of her special favor. These friendly threats, however, did not affect the peace of mind of Dr. Ramsey Carruthers, the handsome, spoiled darling of fortune, the social lion of many seasons, and the target and despair of myriad matchmakers. Having won his medical degree early in life, a princely inheritance from an only relative had later placed him beyond the necessity for further professional effort, and now at the age of thirty-eight, having exhausted all the pleasures that money could buy, he looked life in the face with a queer sinking of the heart that it seemed to have nothing more to offer.

      "You are growing old, Ramsey. Why do you not marry?" Mrs. Raymond Lovejoy had asked with the frank freedom of privileged friendship.

      "Bah!" Carruthers replied with disgust. "If I could find a girl without having one flung at my head, why I might consider marriage. As it is —"

      "Ah, I see; they come too easy," laughed Mrs. Lovejoy. "Well, since you will not get married, you might go in for —"

      Carruthers paused in the study of a rare rug hanging on the wall, to interrupt with a slight show of interest.

      "For what, pray?"

      "Why — let me see — I think I shall call it the Philosophy of Realization!" There was a serious note in her voice that Carruthers had never heard before.

      "You are laughing at me, Marian!"

      "No, not by any means, Ramsey. Fix your mind upon an ideal attainment, and then set about its realization. You need an absorbing interest — a fad, if you will — and in the illusive, fascinating pursuit of some ideal, you will find the surest, if not the only path to earthly happiness."

      "That all sounds very well," said Carruthers with a smile. "But womanlike, you cast me adrift with a suggestion and leave me to flounder without any tangible means of attainment. Suppose you indicate the particular interest-or ideal-you wish me to cultivate, and having full faith in your discrimination, I shall undertake to pursue it, even though it lead me to the ends of the earth!"

      "I see you are not inclined to take me seriously, Ramsey, and perhaps it is better so. And yet you may find, in the far East where you are going, some interest or line of thought, as I have done in my collection of Oriental art, which will give you a new outlook on life and make you understand more clearly what I mean.

      "And speaking of my collection reminds me that you have it in your power to do me an invaluable favor. There is in Cairo an old vendor of antiques, one Abd-er-Hasoul, at present a little in disrepute with the government, who has at some personal risk already obtained several of my very rarest things for me, and to whom I shall give you a letter of introduction. He is a most learned man, speaking several languages, and indefatigably zealous in searching out the most exclusive treasures of the Orient. When I visited him some years ago, I extracted a promise from him to secure for me a mummy —"

      "A mummy!" ejaculated Carruthers, surprised out of his habitual indifference.

      "Yes, a beautiful Egyptian mummy, a princess of the royal line —"

      "But who ever heard of a beautiful mummy?" interrupted Carruthers.

      "Oh, well, this one is to be as beautiful as possible, of course from an artistic standpoint, and of such priceless value that she will have to be brought to me under the personal supervision of some trustworthy agent. Your visit to Cairo affords me the first opportunity I have had to bring her over without the risk attendant upon shipping, and I know you will care for her as tenderly as I would myself."

      "Ugh! — What a gruesome compagnon de voyage," shuddered Carruthers. "And what if I refuse the honor of the lady's company?"

      "That is for you to decide, of course. But I have so set my heart on this mummy, that a refusal on your part, Ramsey, would mean that henceforth when you come, I shall be out."

      "A cruel alternative, but an effective one. I shall bring your lady if I have to drag her by the hair. And I say, Marian, what if she should prove to be my absorbing interest, my — ye gods — my ideal!"

      "Perhaps she may. You never can tell what is going to happen in the Orient," said Mrs. Raymond Lovejoy, as she smiled good-bye.

II

      Cairo at sunset, and viewed from the terrace of the Citadel, is a picture of such surpassing beauty that it lingers always with one as an ideal remembrance. The long rows of flat-roofed houses interspersed with palms; the stretching fields of green; the blue of the Nile; the grey of the desert; the yellow sands where the pyramids slumber; the gleaming marble of the Sultan's tombs; the purple glory of the mountains; the golden brilliance of the dying sun; all present a panorama of colors which no artist has ever been able to transfer to canvas, nor poet to immortalize, for there is said to be nothing else so artistically beautiful in the universe. And the heavens, as if not satisfied to have bestowed so much, just after the sun has entirely disappeared, and when the ashy grey of twilight has settled like a shroud upon the exquisitely dying day, send back for a brief space a still more splendid glory of light and color, suffusing with an almost transcendent radiance the darkened earth, and again transforming it with a magical touch into a gorgeous dream of pink and gold splendor. This is the "after-glow" of the Egyptian sunset, the astral reanimation of material darkness and the masterpiece of nature.

      Carruthers stood transfixed by the incredible beauty of the scene, feeling the delicate rose tints of the glorified air to settle about him and interpenetrate him like some tangible thing. and touch him with an illuminating fire. Then once again the pall of blackness fell, and nothing remained of the wonderful picture but the exquisite memory.

      Blinded by the sudden darkness, Carruthers put out his hand instinctively, when he touched the soft drapery of a woman's dress.

      "Pardon!" he said.

      "It is mine to crave that boon of you, Sir," said the most musical voice he had ever heard, in fairly good English, and with the deliberate enunciation of one to whom the language is not altogether familiar.

      "I pray you pardon my intrusion, Sir," the voice continued, "but my father has sent me to personally conduct you to his most unworthy abode. He, this afternoon by a messenger, has received your gracious announcement of introduction from the American lady, the Madame Ra-a-y-mond Lovejoy, and he begs me to say to you that he shall be most honored to receive your distinguished self this night under his extremely humble roof."

      Carruthers would have followed that melodious voice to the confines of Hades itself, still he was curious to find out how she knew that he was the right man.

      "Among so many strangers, how is it that you have located me so unmistakably?" he questioned.

      "Ah, it is not difficult. We know all things here, and especially does my father keep the vigilant eye over the possible petitioner of his valuable antiques. The messenger who brought your note to my father, conducted me and my slave back to your hotel and pointed you out to me. Then we watched you and waited for the darkness in order to take you to my father's house, if such is your desire."

      "Then you have waited long and must be very weary," exclaimed Carruthers solicitously. "Therefore, let us move on at once. But wait, let me speak to my guide."

      "I have sent him away," said the sweet, girlish voice. My father permits not the possibility of spies about his most insignificant dwelling. You have but to follow me and put your trust in Allah, exalted be his beatific name."

      By the flickering lights that now began to relieve the shadows of the evening, Carruthers followed his mysterious companion, noting her grace and suppleness and evident youth, even under the disguising folds of her mask and flowing robe. The streets resounded with noise and palpitated with vivid, intrusive existence. Carruthers felt the intensity of color in everything; the joyousness breathing through these kaleidoscopic groups of human beings; the mingling of silks and rags, and the apparent equality of prince and pauper.

      They walked on rapidly through the shabby little streets, with their low-hanging, dusty balconies, now bumping into camels and donkeys with their burdens, ignoring the squalidness of the ill-smelling surroundings, and again evading, with difficulty, the insistence of the beggars as numerous as the flies that fed upon the doubtful viands exposed to view. And now they traversed a straighter street, and broader than before, roofed with a light cane covering, over which carriages were heard passing, while underneath flowed noiselessly the waters of a canal. This was the Mooskee, the well-known street which leads into that marvel of barter and exchange, the Bazaars.

      Carruthers viewed them swiftly in passing, those winding little lanes with their queer, tiny shops hung with rare embroideries, Damascus silks and Oriental rugs, and lighted here and there by the glitter of the gold and silver of the jewelry bazaars. Until suddenly, the street seemed to turn and end abruptly in a pretentiously quaint house built in Moorish style, whose barred windows and half hidden balconies suggested a shadowy and elusive air of mystery in the subdued light.

      The girl paused at the door and gave a peculiar signal of warning, then waiting an instant for Carruthers to approach, she placed a detaining touch upon his hand and whispered entreatingly yet withal imperatively.

      "See to it, Sir, that you buy the mummy. It is most vital that you should!" Then stepping back that her guest might precede her, they passed within.

      A dimly lighted hall, odorous with the perfumes of Arabia, and having the curious air of private elegance combined with the bizarre character of a shop, revealed a dark-skinned man clothed in silken robes, sitting cross-legged on a rare Anatolian mat, sipping his black coffee, while his chibouk was poised in the other hand in readiness for his smoke. When Carruthers entered, the man arose and bowing solemnly, motioned him to be seated on another mat beside him, and handing him a cup of the black mixture, extended to him the true Oriental welcome, introducing himself as Abd-er-Hasoul, the Merchant.

      "Most doubly welcome, Sir," he said, in measured English, "are you within my most meager abode, both for the sake of yourself, and because of the letter you conveyed from my most esteemed and invaluable patroness, the excellent Madame Raymond Lovejoy."

      "Thank you, Mr. Abd-er-Hasoul, for your hospitality, and I assure you it will be a pleasure for me to carry out the wishes of my friend in the matter of this — this mummy business. Mrs. Lovejoy has doubtless explained everything to you in her letter," Carruthers said, pretending to sip his coffee but careful not to swallow it, as he did not like the sinister gleam in the man's piercing eyes. He also noticed that the girl had disappeared through the draperies, and that he was alone with the merchant and the villainous looking slave who had brought up the rear in their walk from the Citadel.

      "I shall be abjectly happy to gratify Madame in the transaction if the conditions can be brought to an agreement," said the merchant, now lighting his chibouk and contemplating Carruthers with an air of assumed indifference.

      "Well, what are the conditions? If they are reasonable, of course they will be met; otherwise, the mummy deal is off," said the American promptly.

      "Ah, be not so hastily abrupt, most esteemed Sir — the conditions will not be impossible of adjustment. But the risk attendant upon the selling of the mummy, which I have kept guarded in a secret chamber this long while especially for the honored American lady, and the getting it out of my little shop without discovery by the authorities, will make the price of the mummy perhaps a trifle high for Madame's consideration."

      "That of course can be decided when you have stated your price. Are you ready to do so now, or shall I go?" Carruthers was not to be trifled with that was evident to the merchant. So in his most insinuating manner he leaned forward and endeavoring to conceal the cupidity in his eyes, he almost entreated:

      "Would Madame consider the mummy at — say, two thousand pounds?"

      Carruthers sprang up in amazement, upsetting the coffee-tray and causing the merchant to recoil precipitately.

      "Preposterous!" he exclaimed. "Ten thousand dollars for a parcel of dried skin and bones? Well, not if I know it!"

      The face of the Oriental resumed its sinister, calculating expression. "That is the one price — it is fixed and nothing can alter it."

      Carruthers sensed the finality of the man's decision, and scorning to have any further dealings with him, moved toward the door. The slave sprang forward to open it, when in turning to say good-night to the merchant who had also risen, Carruthers saw at the curtained doorway leading to an inner room, a pair of dark, magnificent eyes gleaming over their mask, appealing they seemed in their intensity, and he remembered suddenly the whispered words of the girl as they had entered. And then, too, Mrs. Lovejoy did so want the mummy, and perhaps after all he could treat with this conscienceless dealer — at least he would not spoil everything with his impatience and beastly temper.

      The merchant saw his hesitation with satisfaction and offered him another cup of coffee.

      "Perhaps, Sir, you would listen a little to the reason why this mummy is so exceedingly valuable then you will more readily see why I must be cautious and reimburse myself for the great chances I take in disposing of it at all." Carruthers nodded acquiescence and again seating themselves, the man continued.

      "I come of a family of Theban Arabs, who are known to be the most tireless seekers of antique treasures in Egypt. People have called us opprobrious names such as tomb-wreckers and ghouls, and sometimes even thieves, but this is not true; for the treasure we seek has no lawful owners, and if we can locate it to our advantage, it seems that we ought to be permitted to pursue our trade in peace — but unfortunately the government has other views on the subject.

      "Some years ago my brothers and myself discovered a secret tomb hidden not far from the temple Hatshepu on the west bank of the Nile. After incredible labor and danger, we penetrated to the vault. Here were we indeed most exquisitely rewarded for our stupendous effort. Ah, Sir, if you could but have seen that array of treasure, it would have dazzled you with its prodigality. With joy we beheld ourselves rich and beyond any need of future work. The sepulcher was fairly lined with precious objects numbering about six thousand. There were vases in alabaster and bronze, and statuettes and treasures in acacia wood, together with a quantity of valuable papyri. And then too, Sir, there were many splendid mummies unearthed by our unflagging zeal, a royal assortment of kings and queens from the 17th to the 21st Dynasties, not to speak of princes and princesses and holy high priests — ah Sir, the sight would have made you delirious with envy for our achievement. We then began making valuable private shipments to all parts of Europe, and many were the rare articles which found their way to the home of the gracious Madame Raymond Lovejoy. But it so happened that the reading of some of the papyri, it being of great value, caused an investigation to be made, and its possession being traced to us, we were about to be prosecuted, when my eldest brother, through fear, confessed the hiding-place, and our remaining beautiful treasures were confiscated by the government and placed in the Boulak Museum.

      "And so you see, Sir, how I have been robbed of my just possessions. And this one remaining mummy which I succeeded in smuggling here to my shop, is a princess of the royal line, and one of the finest specimens of preservation the world has ever seen. If it were discovered that she is here, I would be imprisoned, and her sacred bones perhaps be desecrated by improper ownership. Therefore I value her most highly, and would see her settled amid surroundings suited to her exalted position."

      "Of course, Mr. Abd-er-Hasoul, I appreciate your grievances and would help you out by purchasing the princess if it were possible, but you must understand that I could not think of paying the fabulous sum you demand. At least, I should necessarily have to consult Mrs. Raymond Lovejoy in the matter, and I should also have to claim the privilege of examining the mummy in order to determine if it is all it is represented to be."

      "O, most assuredly, Sir! You may examine it, aye, even touch it, although to do so is an injury to its immortal soul, if you will swear not to betray me to the government, and will generously give an unprejudiced report to my most liberal patroness, Madame Raymond Lovejoy."

      "Most certainly, Mr. Abd-er-Hasoul, I will do the square thing by you, but I must above all things, be consistent with my idea of commercial honesty. And shall I now have the honor of an interview with her Highness, the mummy Princess?"

      "Ah, not tonight, most considerate Sir, for there must be preparations and the burning of the sacred incense in the little temple where I have concealed her, that we may beseech her soul to hover near its mortal remains, and follow and protect it on its journey to a foreign clime."

      "You appear to attach some especial significance to mummified bodies. May I be allowed to ask what it is?" Carruthers felt himself becoming strangely importunate about the whole heathenish business.

      "Nothing would I do more readily, Sir, and if you would care to hear it, my daughter shall improvise for you the Mummy's Chant of Immortality."

      Carruthers felt a sudden uplift of the heart, and at a sign from her father, the graceful little form with the masked face stood once more before him, and with a peculiarly musical intonation began to chant with funereal solemnity:

"The body of the dead, the dead, —  Must be preserved inviolate.  It is essential, it insures  The resurrection of the dead,  And corporeal awakening  To all the justified in death.  The living man consists of these,  A body, soul, intelligence  And an appearance, astral soul.  Death disassociates these parts,  But these must ultimately be  United for Eternity.  Twixt death on earth and life above,  There intervenes ten thousand years  In which the pure intelligence  Must wander on thro' boundless space —  The while its pilgrimage, the soul  Must execute in loneliness,  Its long probation, comfortless,  Thro' mystic ways and shadowy  Of the gloomy under-world.  The body must await intact,  The soul's return, whose home it was,  And guarded be from every harm  That no corruption shall defile,  Or mar the soul's receptacle —  Inviolate be it preserved —  Inviolate — inviolate.

      The chant died away amid the perfumes that arose from the burning censer which the slave swung rhythmically to and fro. Carruthers was intoxicatad by the cadence of the girl's voice and charmed with the beauty of the thought. It was to him a new phase of the mummy question, and henceforth he felt that he would be an ardent champion of mummification and the sworn disciple of the high-priestess whose improvisation had converted him. The girl made a deep reverence and retired, but not until she had sent another speechless appeal from her eyes straight to the depths of Carruthers' heart. He and his host arose at the same time.

      "Would it perhaps please you, Sir, to see the mummy of the princess tomorrow night?" Abd-er-Hasoul asked.

      "Well, yes, I think I have no engagement that will prevent. At what time shall I come?"

      "Not until after the midnight-hour, if that be satisfactory to you, when my slave will be waiting at the entrance of your hotel to conduct you here, unharmed."

      "Thank you, but I am pretty sure I can find the way alone," demurred Carruthers.

      "That is not the point, Sir. No one enters my most inconsiderable abode after midnight without the secret word, and, the American gentleman has it not, I think —"

      "Ah, I see!" and Carruthers hesitated a moment while the man's piercing eyes searched his face scrutinizingly, almost hypnotically.

      "Very well, then, send your slave. I shall come. Good-night."

      And passing out, he stepped behind the waiting Arab who led the way rapidly back to the door of his hotel.

III

      Carruthers wondered, during the hours that followed, if he were not laboring under some temporary aberration of his mental faculties. He called himself a fool, and resolved to drop the whole absurd affair. Evidently the merchant was an extortionate rascal, and would resort to any fraudulent means for mercenary gain. Yet, the girl, whose face he had not seen, but the rhythm of whose voice had touched his soul and the glory of whose eyes had pierced his heart — ah, he must see her again; for, in some indefinable manner, he felt that she had a message for him. Yes, he would keep the appointment, and if there should be conspiracy to harm him in any way, why even death itself might be endurable if it came through her bewitching instrumentality. So the midnight hour found him well armed and ready for any fate, and again following the familiar form of the Arabian slave, he presented himself once more at the home of Abd-er-Hasoul. There was no preliminary hospitality, but with business-like promptitude the old vendor of antiques handed Carruthers a small lamp of perfumed oil, and, taking one himself, motioned the slave to precede them. Pausing a moment at the door of the inner room to address an aged woman standing there, he asked:

      "Where lingers Het-ta, your mistress, at this present moment?"

      "She has the aching head and is couched some hours since, most reverend Master," the old servant replied with a profound obeisance.

      "Then see that you guard her slumber effectively, but, at the same time, also attend to it that no one enters the shop there," commanded Abd-er-Hasoul, and they passed on through several rooms, and stood at length before an arched door opening into a subterranean pit.

      But, somehow, Carruthers' interest in the quest had suddenly subsided. After all, then, he was not to see the only object in the house worth seeing, the mysteriously beautiful maiden who had come to haunt his every hour. Het-ta, her father had called her — Het-ta, the Egyptian word for dawn. Was the name suggestive, he wondered? Dawn, the rising of a new day! Could there ever be for him the dawn of a morning on which he could tear aside her masking veil, and see reflected in her glowing face — yes it must be a face glowing with youth and exhuberant beauty —

      "Well, the very good and distinguished gentleman hesitates very long. Is it that he desires to go no further?" There was a note of impatience in Abd-er-Hasoul's voice. Carruthers' American tenacity reasserted itself. Evidently the merchant thought he was afraid.

      "Lead on!" he answered testily. "I shall surely see this thing through now."

      They descended several steps into an under-ground corridor, and, passing through a labyrinth of small passages, descended another group of steps, and entered a circular tomb containing an oratory, on which stood a large image of Isis, and above which swung the sacred lamp of perpetual fire. At the left of the altar, upon a granite slab, reposed a sarcophagus, of the earliest Theban period, probably of the Amenide Dynasty, fashioned of black basalt, and covered with countless hieroglyphic symbols. Carruthers approached it, and, looking within, saw a rectangular coffin of some rare wood, covered with a flat lid on which was painted a life-like mask of the mummy enclosed there, having on the breast a representation of the goddess, Isis, overshadowing and protecting the body sleeping so peacefully within.

      At a sign from his Master, the slave approached and removing the lid of the box, Carruthers approached nearer to view the mummy, arrayed in all the pomp of her royal grave-clothes. The body was swathed and bound in linen of the finest quality as befitted its regal estate, while adorning it in considerable profusion, were rings, collars and bracelets of carnelian, lapis-lazuli, green felspar and other precious stones. Carruthers wondered if these ornaments were to be thrown in with the mummy without extra charge, and so voiced his thought. The merchant answered in a wounded voice:

      "Most assuredly, honored Sir, they will not be separated from their royal owner. We would not dare to rob the sacred body of the dead."

      "Well, the jewels would help some," said Carruthers sarcastically, "still, I do not think the lady is worth so much money, notwithstanding her princely lineage. However, I will say that the body seems excellently preserved, while the hands are extremely good," and true to his medical training, Carruthers pinched one of the fingers curiously. He recoiled with a gasp of surprise.

      "Why, man," he exclaimed, "that hand feels like live flesh!"

      "Ah, no doubt it does, Sir, and that is a certain indication of its value. You see, mummies of the Theban epoch, when embalming had reached its perfection, were preserved by the most expensive chemical liquids known to science. The flesh of these mummies is so flexible and elastic that it yields to the human touch, and the limbs are not brittle, but can be bent without breaking."

      Carruthers gave an involuntary shudder. "I shall certainly be an authority on mummies, if ever I get out of this heathenish place alive," he thought.

      "But," he continued aloud, "the face is veiled; will I be permitted to see it, also, that I may further judge as to the advisability of the purchase?"

      "It will be a desecration of the justified dead in which I can take no part, but to you, who have no scruples, the privilege of course is accorded." Abd-er-Hasoul retired a few steps and knelt with bowed head before the shrine of Isis, while the slave held the lamp aloft and turned away his eyes. Carruthers hesitated a moment before lifting the veil, but, conquering his repugnance, he drew it aside, then started back with a stifled cry of amazement. Such a perfectly preserved face he had never before beheld — a brown, classic face, carved and chiseled by the trance of death, the long, curling eyelashes caressing the dark, rounded cheek, the lips curved as if for speech, while the great high brow met the straight, black hair with the perfection of art itself.

      "A mummy with a soul! Perfectly exquisite! Absolutely a masterpiece of womanhood!" he averred aloud as he continued to gaze upon the placid face.

      "Ah, hark you how you rhapsodize, most excellent Sir! I knew you could not withstand such a rare work of art, if but once you were brought to a realization of its wonderful worth. And now, if you have satisfied yourself fully upon the merits of the mummy princess, may we not come to terms and settle the sale at once?" Abd-er-Hasoul approached expectantly.

      Carruthers replaced the veil reluctantly. He knew, now, that no mere money consideration would be able to keep him from the possession of that inconceivable work of art. And yet, he must not appear too eager.

      "Why, yes, we may come to terms, I think" he answered somewhat indifferently. "The mummy seems to be in good shape, and will certainly be a valuable acquisition to Madame Raymond Lovejoy's collection. But, if I should buy it for her, as I am to sail early in the morning, and as she desires me to personally superintend its removal, it would be necessary to take it immediately to my hotel, and in my presence."

      "Ah, certainly, certainly, most generous of American gentlemen. There will be no difficulty, no delay. Some of my trusty slaves shall carry it before you to your room and deposit it safely there for you, and I will wait here for the gracious check which you will send back to me by them. Sir, am I not trustful of you? Am I not sincere in all my dealings?"

      Carruthers evaded the outstretched hand of the fawning merchant. He could not quite forgive himself for handing over so much money to this daylight robber.

      "Then consider the matter ended, and let me see the mummy removed at once," he commanded.

      A peculiar signal from Abd-er-Hasoul brought forth waiting slaves into instant service, and lifting the box carefully from the sarcophagus, they covered it with Oriental stuffs, completely disguising its character, and bore it out into the starless night.

      It was not until Carruthers stood alone in his room, the coffin lying awesomely at his feet, that the peculiarity of his position was forced upon him in all its fullness. His passage was taken and his vessel was to sail at day-break. There, at his feet, lay his precious freight, and the impossibility of boxing up that beautiful body now flashed upon him with over-whelming suddenness, as, stooping beside the box, he lifted the lid, with the certain feeling that the form encased so securely there, must have a chance for air. Then hastily he removed the covering, and, as he looked once more upon that perfect face of dreamless death, a low sigh, long-drawn and irregular, fluttered through the filmy folds of the veil. Carruthers' hand fell to his side, limp and inert.

      But again the sigh — this time unmistakable, and, recovering himself, Carruthers tore aside the bandages and, placing his ear over the heart, was rewarded by a faint pulsation, very weak and uncertain, but a heart-beat nevertheless. He was on his feet in an instant, professionally alert.

      "By Jove!" he exclaimed, with a determination born of some strange thought. "I seem to be fated to restore this glorious mummy to the possession of her wandering soul, and I'll do it, too, or know the reason why."

      And, lifting the body out, he laid it on a couch and quickly applied the most effectual restoratives, for suspended animation, known to medical skill. Then, kneeling there beside that mysteriously beautiful form, he waited. It was not for long, however, and when slowly the slumberous lids lifted, revealing the great, appealing eyes, he cried out exultantly:

      "Het-ta! I knew it! Het-ta, you live — you are saved!"

      With a frightened look about the room, the girl, now fully restored, half arose.

      "It has succeeded, then, and we have indeed escaped from the tomb!"

      "Something has succeeded, most fair lady, although I have not the slightest intimation what it is. But, for the present, you are safe with me and I shall protect you with my life!"

      "No, we are not safe!" she answered intensely. "We must leave this place at once — it is a death-trap. If my father discovers my absence from my room, his vengeance will know no bounds. But I have sworn never to return to him alive. For years he has used me as a decoy for his ill-gotten gains — he has made me a prisoner, never allowing me for an instant out of the sight of his contemptible slaves. But I have had raised up to me one advocate, one faithful friend — the aged woman-slave, my life-long nurse, has served me well in this extremity. She it was who smuggled me into the tomb, and, after taking the mummy from the box and concealing it under the altar, adjusted the linen bandages about my body, and administered the harmless drug which gave me the semblance of that trance-like sleep which men call death."

      "But did you not fear detection there in the tomb, when your father should see and recognize you — the awful certainty of your punishment? Egad! but you were brave," exclaimed Carruthers.

      "No, most kind Sir, there was naught to fear from my father in the tomb, for well we knew his superstitious heart would not permit him to desecrate the royal dead by gazing on her face, especially in the presence of the holy Isis, who is his patron goddess. The only thing we had to fear was the effect of your surprise; but when we reflected that you are an American, that nation so unemotional and practical when it comes to a matter of business, we felt safe to try the experiment which, although so dangerous, could not be worse for me than the existing conditions."

      Carruthers bit his lips. Unemotional, indeed! If she had but known it, the potency of the burning adoration of his glance would have been sufficient to reanimate death itself. "But there must be something done at once," he said. "You have escaped thus far, Het-ta, and now we must act quickly. Have you made any plans, and can you tell me what I am to do with you?"

      "Alas, Sir, I know not! I acted only under the impulse of self-preservation. Any fate will be kind that delivers me from the man who calls himself my father. Take me to your beautiful lady — the Madame Raymond Lovejoy — give me to her — I will be her abject slave, I will always veil my face in her presence, and she may walk upon my worthless body; I will do anything the most menial. Sir, I have no pride, I ask only to be taken far away, and perhaps some day, soon, Allah will mercifully bestow upon me the boon of dreamless sleep. The girl was now on her knees sobbing, pleading, her hands uplifted in supplication.

      "We will not speak of that now, Het-ta; be quiet or some one will hear us and all be lost indeed," cautioned Carruthers, gently lifting her up and hurriedly beginning to make preparations for their flight. "You must show how brave you can be. You have nothing to fear, for I have sworn to protect you. See, here is my traveling cloak. I shall wrap it about you, and it will be a complete disguise. My luggage is on board the ship, but we dare not go there, for naturally that is the first place your father will search for us. But I shall secure a Moslem guide who will take us to some point up the river from which we can travel overland in safety. Come, Het-ta, let us hasten, for even now the darkness lifts, and I can sense the glory of the Dawn!"

      Were the words prophetic, and did Carruthers catch their beautiful import, as, in the faint radiance of the breaking day, the boatman rowed them swiftly out over the trackless waters of the Nile?

      There was a frown of annoyance on Mrs. Lovejoy's pretty face as she lingered over her luncheon.

      "I declare I do not know what to think of Ramsey Carruthers. His ship has arrived and all his baggage, but I can find no trace of him any place, and I am so very anxious to set my mummy in its niche before my Diplomatic reception. At least he might write!"

      Mr. Raymond Lovejoy, absorbed in his paper, did not reply, when, as if in answer to her thought, a servant entered with a cablegram.

      "Talk of an angel," she exclaimed. "Ramsey must have cabled me that he is at last on his way, and, that my —" But the words died away in a horrified whisper as she skimmed past the preliminary greeting to the words:

      "I say, Marian, I have married your mummy. And as it will take my wife an indefinite period to exchange her musty linen wrappings for Parisian gowns, I fear it will yet be some time before we can present ourselves for your parental forgiveness. In the meantime, however, accept our most filial salaam, and kindly keep a place for us among your curiosities."

      Mrs. Raymond Lovejoy threw the cablegram vehemently across the table to her amazed husband.

      "I don't know in the least what it means," she exclaimed, and her voice was tearfully tragic. "But, whatever it is, Ramsey Carruthers has evidently found his absorbing interest, and at my expense!"