“Later, in the light of the fire round which the men sat or lay, I saw him exhibit to his fellows something white which they seemed to regard with special awe and reverence.  So I drew near silently, and saw that it was none other than the white hand of the mummy which had lain protecting the Jewel in the great sarcophagus.  I heard the Bedouin tell how he had found it on the body of him who had fallen from the cliff.  There was no mistaking it, for there were the seven fingers which I had noted before.  This man must have wrenched it off the dead body whilst his chief and I were otherwise engaged; and from the awe of the others I doubted not that he had hoped to use it as an Amulet, or charm.  Whereas if powers it had, they were not for him who had taken it from the dead; since his death followed hard upon his theft.  Already his Amulet had had an awesome baptism; for the wrist of the dead hand was stained with red as though it had been dipped in recent blood.

“That night I was in certain fear lest there should be some violence done to me; for if the poor dead hand was so valued as a charm, what must be the worth in such wise of the rare Jewel which it had guarded.  Though only the chief knew of it, my doubt was perhaps even greater; for he could so order matters as to have me at his mercy when he would.  I guarded myself, therefore, with wakefulness so well as I could, determined that at my earliest opportunity I should leave this party, and complete my journeying home, first to the Nile bank, and then down its course to Alexandria; with other guides who knew not what strange matters I had with me.

“At last there came over me a disposition of sleep, so potent that I felt it would be resistless.  Fearing attack, or that being searched in my sleep the Bedouin might find the Star Jewel which he had seen me place with others in my dress, I took it out unobserved and held it in my hand.  It seemed to give back the light of the flickering fire and the light of the stars—­for there was no moon—­with equal fidelity; and I could note that on its reverse it was graven deeply with certain signs such as I had seen in the tomb.  As I sank into the unconsciousness of sleep, the graven Star Jewel was hidden in the hollow of my clenched hand.

“I waked out of sleep with the light of the morning sun on my face.  I sat up and looked around me.  The fire was out, and the camp was desolate; save for one figure which lay prone close to me.  It was that of the Arab chief, who lay on his back, dead.  His face was almost black; and his eyes were open, and staring horribly up at the sky, as though he saw there some dreadful vision.  He had evidently been strangled; for on looking, I found on his throat the red marks where fingers had pressed.  There seemed so many of these marks that I counted them.  There were seven; and all parallel, except the thumb mark, as though made with one hand.  This thrilled me as I thought of the mummy hand with the seven fingers.