"This mummy," and now Mr. Forbes had joined in Dolly's laughter.
"You're a cute one!" he said. "Not one person in a dozen catches on to that. Tell 'em, my dear. Oh, you are a smart one!"
Mr. Forbes shook with glee, and Dolly held up the image to the mystified girls.
"Don't you see, you blindies, the date 537 B. C. couldn't have been put on in the year 537 B. C.?"
"Why not?" asked Alicia, looking blank.
"Why, at that time they didn't know how many years it would be before
Christ's birth. Nobody dated anything B. C. until after the Christian
Era had begun."
"But why didn't they?" and Bernice also looked bewildered.
"Think a minute, you sillies. Nobody knew the exact date of the year one until after the year one was here. In fact, I don't think they began to count right away, anyhow. But certainly they didn't know five hundred and thirty-seven years before!"
"Oh, I see!" cried Bernice. "All the B. C. years have been computed or dated since the A. D. years began."
"Of course they have, and Mr. Forbes had the date carved on this mummy on purpose to fool people. Didn't you?"