“Gee!” groaned Teddy, “if we only had some of those ducks and haunches of venison that Tut-ankh-Amen never touched! I wouldn’t do a thing to them!”
“I don’t suppose they’d be much good after three thousand years,” remarked Don, with a lugubrious smile. “Still, if there were any here and I were starving, I’d take a hack at them. We’ll look around to-morrow morning and see if we can find any.”
The shadows gradually deepened until they were in blackness so deep it could be felt. In those sepulchral surroundings, the situation was enough to daunt the stoutest heart.
Suddenly a blood-curdling shriek rang through the vaulted chamber.
The boys sprang to their feet in horror.
Again the shriek rang out, dying away in groans and moanings. Then their eyes almost burst from their head as they saw a great white-sheeted figure, revealed in an unearthly light. It seemed to advance upon them, waving its arms menacingly!
CHAPTER XVI
In the Grip of Doom
The first impulse of the boys was to flee. But their limbs refused to obey them. They were as though paralyzed, rooted to the spot. Their hearts seemed to stop beating and their blood turn to ice.
Then, when it seemed to be almost upon them, the dreadful figure faded away as suddenly as it had appeared and they were again shrouded in darkness.
They were shaking as if with an ague, and neither felt ashamed of it. Coming on top of what they had already endured that day, the shock was almost beyond bearing.