The Mummy Case (13 page)

Londy sounded defensive. “Like I say, they had this tear gas gun. How was I supposed to know that? Anyway, me and the others, we ain't seen ‘em around here. I guess they got lost in the desert.”

“Let's hope so,” Ali barked, “because we want to go ahead with our plan. This is what we'll do—”

Ali stopped as Frank, leaning forward to hear better, stubbed his toe against the base of the column.

“What was that?” the Egyptian demanded, listening intently for a repetition of the noise.

The Hardys froze, Frank holding his foot where it was and flattening his palm against the column to keep from falling on his face.

At last Londy broke the silence. “It wasn't nothin‘. Lots of stones around here. One must've fallen from that crossbeam up there. I'd just as soon get out. And I will, once we diwy up the proceeds.”

Ali nodded. “To get back to what I was saying, this is what we'll do. Our meeting is scheduled for tonight. We'll get together in this temple at twelve o‘clock sharp, when I'll have the final orders.”

“Okay,” Londy said. “I'll be here.” He went off and Ali returned to the tourists who were milling around the bus. A short while later the vehicle departed with the group.

“Joe, we'll also go to the midnight meeting,” Frank declared.

“Of course! But first I have to get out of these clothes. They're still damp.”

“Let's find a place to stay in Luxor,” Frank said.

They took a public bus to a hotel and paid for a room. Frank flopped onto the bed and closed his eyes. Joe followed suit and both boys slept until early evening. Then Joe went to the laundry room where he washed and dried his ordinary clothing.

Frank, meanwhile, had also changed into his regular pants and shirt and turned on the television. A newscaster was describing the state of tourism in Egypt and the film showed an air view of the monuments of Luxor where the boys had just been.

Just then there was a knock on the door. “Joe must have forgotten his key,” Frank thought and got up to let his brother in. But when he opened the door, the face of a mummy glared at him!

Frank stood transfixed for a moment, staring at the black shiny eyes set deep in the bandages that wound around the head. Then he noticed the Egyptian clothes the mummy was wearing and the truth dawned on him. With a quick grasp, he pulled the mask off its face. Joe grinned at him.

“I really needed you to scare me like that!” Frank exploded, but then had to laugh at the prank. “Where'd you get the mask?”

“I met a boy from Oklahoma in the laundry room,” Joe said. “It's his.” He motioned to someone who stood next to the wall, out of sight. “Come on, Lee, meet my brother Frank. Frank, this is Lee Mason.”

A pleasant-looking blond youth a few years older than the Hardys stepped into view. He smiled apologetically. “When Joe saw my mask, he couldn't resist,” he explained.

“Come on in,” Frank said. “Or even better, how about we all go and have some dinner?”

“Good idea,” Joe chimed in. “Just let me change my clothes.”

A short time later the three boys sat in a small, native restaurant and talked amiably during their meal. Lee told them about his travels in Egypt. “I'm an archeology student,” he explained. “I saved all the money I made working as a waiter at night so I could come here. It's a great place if you're interested in old ruins.”

“I know,” Joe said. “Ruins and mummies!”

When they had finished dinner, Lee said, “I've rented a sailboat for a moonlight ride up the Nile. Why don't you come along? It would be fun.”

Frank shook his head regretfully. “Sorry, but we have an appointment tonight.”

The trio parted, and the Hardys went back to their room. Donning their Egyptian clothes, they left the hotel by the freight elevator at half-past eleven. They covered the mile to the area around the Temple of Karnak at a rapid pace, then moved slowly amid the ruins and looked around cautiously to avoid being caught off guard.

They sneaked through the darkness into the temple. Total silence reigned over the mighty monument as moonlight slanted along the rows of columns, making them appear even taller than they were.

“This place gives me the creeps,” Joe whispered.

“Sh!” Frank said and pointed to a crevice in the stone. “Let's hide in there. We'll have a good view of the corner from that spot.”

Soon, stealthy figures converged from different directions. When everyone was present, Ahmed Ali motined for silence.

“We won't complete the deal here,” he began, causing the gang members to mutter angrily.

“Why not?” Butch Londy demanded. “We got a right to the money!”

“Of course,” Ali responded diplomatically. “But our client didn't want to bring the money to Luxor. We will have to accompany him to Cairo, where he'll pay us after safe delivery of the goods. It'll take a little extra time, that's all.”

“What do we do now?” Londy demanded.

“We're going to meet our client in the Valley of the Kings, right now!”

“The graveyard across the river?”

“The tombs of the pharaohs,” Ali corrected Londy. “Let's go.”

“Too bad we don't have the Hardys,” Londy snarled.

Ali chuckled. “We have something better. The mummy!”

The gang nodded in agreement. Then Ali spoke up again. “Is the boat ready? If so, I'll meet you there and bring the mummy.”

“It's ready,” Londy said. “We'll be waiting to ferry your pickup across the river.”

The meeting broke up. Londy and the others walked toward the Nile, while Ali went in another direction.

Joe nudged Frank. “We'd better follow him.”

Frank nodded. “But we'll have to keep far enough back or he'll spot us.”

Ali was only a dim outline in the darkness when the Hardys took up their pursuit. He never realized he was being shadowed. Quickly he strode out of the temple and continued on into the desert. Finally he came to a pickup truck, which was parked in a gully, and climbed into the driver's seat.

Frank and Joe ran forward and reached the vehicle just as Ali started the engine. Nimbly they pulled themselves up into the back and hid under the tarpaulin that covered the rear. Underneath they found an oblong case about five feet in length. The mummy's coffin!

Ali picked up speed. Circling around Luxor and the ruins, he drove to a secluded spot on the Nile. A scow, a long flat-bottomed boat, lay in the water tied to stakes driven into the riverbank. Two cars were already aboard the vessel.

Londy and his men were waiting when Ali pulled up. The Hardys, peering out from under the tarpaulin, took in the scene as the Egyptian came to a halt near the scow.

“Clear the way so I can drive aboard! he called out, then carefully guided the truck onto the boat. Members of the gang untied the ropes, and with long poles pushed the scow away from the riverbank. Londy started the motor and headed toward the opposite side of the Nile.

To the Hardys, who were still hiding under the tarpaulin in the back of the pickup, the voyage seemed endless. At last, two gang members leaped ashore with the ropes and tied the scow in place.

The cars drove off, then the truck. Londy, who was in one of the cars, waited for Ali to pass him, then tailed the pickup.

“They don't trust Ali,” Frank whispered. “They're keeping him in between so he can't get away.”

“Good idea, too,” Joe muttered. “I don't trust him either.”

Lifting up the edges of the tarpaulin on both sides of the mummy case, they strained their eyes to see in the moonlight.

The caravan was driving through a barren landscape. A narrow, dusty road led between the cliffs and steep hills. The rubble of archeological digs lay everywhere—mounds of sand and rock, and boulders of enormous size. The pickup jounced up and down, swaying from side to side as the wheels careened over rocks or slipped off piles of loose sand.

“This is a pretty jolting ride,” Frank whispered. “Let's look in the crate to see how the mummy is bearing up.” Together they managed to tilt the lid up.

Two black artificial eyes stared at them through the bandages of the ancient pharaoh's wrapped body. But there was only a slight resemblance between this mummy and the one Frank and Joe had seen at the museum in New York!

Both boys realized instantly that this was not the mummy they had been asked to escort to Egypt!

Replacing the lid gingerly, they stared at each other in total disbelief.

When the group came to a stop, clouds momentarily covered the moon, enabling Frank and Joe to slip out of the pickup. Hitting the ground face downward, they slithered away in a panther crawl and stopped behind a small hill near enough to let them see and hear what was happening.

They heard Ali get out of the truck, and as their eyes became more accustomed to the dark, saw a car arrive with Londy at the wheel. Moments later all the men crowded around Ali.

“A partner of mine is hiding in one of the excavated tombs,” he announced. “I must give the signal. ”

He took a flashlight out of the glove compartment of the pickup, then pointed it toward a cliff, at the foot of which lay mountains of rubble from the dig. Ali snapped the light on and off three times in quick succession, then twice, then three times again.

The same signal was returned from the mouth of the excavation, then a figure emerged and walked toward the group.

Joe gasped. “It's Norma Jones!” he whispered to his brother. “So this is where she came after escaping from us on Rubassa!”

“She's here to get money for a fresh supply of weapons,” Frank whispered back.

When Norma was told that the Hardys had gotten away, she was furious. “They ruined my plans on Rubassa! They can do it again!” she hissed.

“Don't worry,” Ali said. “They're lost somewhere in the desert. Besides, we'll be through with this deal in no time flat.”

“I hope so,” Norma grumbled. “Well, let's see the pharaoh. He's worth a lot of money to us.”

Londy and another man lifted the tarpaulin from the pickup and tossed it aside. Then they eased the mummy case out and placed it on the ground. All the gang members gathered around as Ali and Londy removed the lid.

Norma Jones gloated. “That's just what we need,” she said. “It's in wonderful condition. A little while longer and we'll make the deal!”

Ali smiled. “Let's put the lid back on,” he said to Butch Londy.

“Okay,” the sailor replied. “But where's our client? What's taking him so long?”

“He's driving up from Cairo,” Norma replied. “He wants this for his private collection, and he doesn't care where it came from or how we got it. I've sold him other art objects before. It's perfectly safe because he keeps them hidden in his house.”

“I wonder whether he bought the stolen pharaoh figures from the New York museum,” Joe whispered to his brother.

“Probably,” Frank replied.

At this moment a pair of headlights became visible in the desert behind the boys. Norma Jones blinked the signal with her flashlight, and the car turned in her direction. The boys were right in the middle of its path!

“We'll be killed!” Frank hissed. “Let's run over to the tombs!”

They were about to rise to their feet and take off when the driver swerved to avoid a large boulder at the end of the hillock behind which they were hiding. His headlights shifted to the left,

Joe grabbed Frank's arm. “There's no point in running now. The driver didn't notice us.”

“Right. We're safe where we are. Let's see who he is.”

The car made a half circle and came to a halt beside the gang in a cloud of dust. The driver, a man wearing a fez, got out and turned around.

Frank and Joe stared. He was Professor Fuad Kemal of the Cairo Museum!

While the Hardys gaped in utter disbelief, Kemal greeted the gang. He asked to see the mummy, and after inspecting it, he rubbed his hands in delight.

“It is in excellent condition,” he said. “It will be a choice addition to my private collection. I intend to have two mummies standing beside the window where they will show to their best advantage.”

“Two mummies?” Butch Londy asked. “You must really go for these critters.”

Kemal nodded. “Norma made it possible for me to buy another one, the one Frank and Joe Hardy were supposed to deliver to our museum. Which reminds me, you do have the Hardys, don't you?”