“Eureka!” shouted the professor. “We have found it! The tomb of Ras-Ameses!”
“The greatest of the Tombs of Gold!” cried Phalos exultantly.
CHAPTER XXII
A Bewildering Experience
When Don declared that they were in Egypt, Mr. Sturdy looked at his son as if he doubted his sanity.
“What do you mean?” he asked. “Are you fooling?”
“Listen, Father dear,” said Don, with an inward prayer for guidance. “You’ve been ill for a while, very ill, and during that illness you were brought to Egypt. Mother came with you, so that it was all right. And before I say anything else, let me tell you that mother and Ruth are well and happy—that is, they will be perfectly happy when you are with them once again. Won’t that be great, Father, all of us together again in the dear old home at Hillville?”
“But—what—but—” stammered Don’s father, trying to assimilate the new and to some extent terrifying ideas that came crowding in upon him. “Do you mean to say that I have been unconscious all this time?”
“Not unconscious, Father,” replied Don. “But—but in a kind of daze, as it were. And when you got to Egypt you wanted to go on with the work you had been doing before the war—you know, excavating in the Valley of the Kings.”
“The Valley of the Kings!” exclaimed Mr. Sturdy. “Yes, I remember that I did a good deal of work there in the old days. I was looking, I remember, for a special tomb—that of Ras-Ameses. Of course,” he added hurriedly, “I want you to keep that a secret between you and me. Don’t mention that name to anybody. Some day I hope to go looking for it again.”
“You have been looking for it, Father,” said Don gently. “While your mind was in a daze, you know. And I believe you’ve found it. I believe you’re in it now.”