It was in connection with the name of Bolton that the first mention was made of the green mummy.  Sidney was a clever young man, although very lowly born, and having been taken up by Professor Braddock as an assistant, could hope some day to make a position.  Braddock was educating him, although he paid him very little in the way of wages.  Sidney fell in love with Mrs. Jasher, and in some way—­she did not mention how—­gained her confidence.  Perhaps the lonely woman was glad to have a sympathetic friend.  At all events she told her past history to Sidney, and mentioned that she desired to marry Braddock.  But Sidney insisted that she should marry him, and promised to make enough money to satisfy her that he was a good match, setting aside his humble birth, for which Mrs. Jasher cared nothing.

It was then that Sidney related what he had discovered.  Braddock, when in Peru many years before, had tried to get mummies for some scientific reason.  When Hervey—­then known as Vasa—­promised to procure him the mummy of the last Inca, Braddock was extremely pleased.  Hervey stole the mummy and also the copy of the manuscript which was written in Latin.  He sent this latter to Braddock—­who was then at Cuzco—­as an earnest of his success in procuring the mummy, and when the Professor returned to Lima the mummy was to be handed to him.  Unfortunately, Braddock was carried into captivity for one year, and when he escaped Vasa had disappeared with the mummy.  As the Professor had deciphered the Latin manuscript, he knew of the emeralds, and for years had been hunting for the mummy—­sure to be recognized from its peculiar green color—­in order to get the jewels, and thus secure money for his Egyptian expedition.  All through, it seems, the Professor was actuated by purely scientific enthusiasm, as in the abstract he cared very little for hard cash.  Bolton told Mrs. Jasher that Braddock explained how much he desired to get the mummy, but he did not mention about the jewels.  For a long time Sidney was under the impression that his master merely wanted the mummy to see the difference between the Egyptian and Peruvian modes of embalming.

Then one day Sidney chanced on the Latin manuscript, and learned that Braddock’s real reason for getting the mummy was to procure the emeralds which were held in the grip of the dead.  Sidney kept this knowledge to himself, and Braddock never guessed that his assistant knew the truth.  Then unexpectedly Braddock stumbled across the advertisement describing the green mummy for sale in Malta.  From the color he made sure that it was that of Inca Caxas, and so moved heaven and earth to get money to buy it.  At length he did, from Archie Hope, on condition that he consented to the marriage of his step-daughter with the young man.  Thinking that Sidney was ignorant of the jewels, he sent him to bring the mummy home.