Return of the Mummy Read Online Free PDF Page B

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 hieroglyphs 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 three thousand years,” he announced.
    Nila steadied her camera over her eyes, 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