“On the second night there came on a violent storm, one of those terrible simooms of the desert which makes one feel his helplessness.  We were overwhelmed with drifting sand.  Some of our Bedouins had fled before the storm, hoping to find shelter; the rest of us, wrapped in our bournous, endured with what patience we could.  In the morning, when the storm had passed, we recovered from under the piles of sand what we could of our impedimenta.  We found the case in which the mummy had been packed all broken, but the mummy itself could nowhere be found.  We searched everywhere around, and dug up the sand which had piled around us; but in vain.  We did not know what to do, for Trelawny had his heart set on taking home that mummy.  We waited a whole day in hopes that the Bedouins, who had fled, would return; we had a blind hope that they might have in some way removed the mummy from the cart, and would restore it.  That night, just before dawn, Mr. Trelawny woke me up and whispered in my ear: 

“’We must go back to the tomb in the Valley of the Sorcerer.  Show no hesitation in the morning when I give the orders!  If you ask any questions as to where we are going it will create suspicion, and will defeat our purpose.”

“‘All right!” I answered.  “But why shall we go there?’ His answer seemed to thrill through me as though it had struck some chord ready tuned within: 

“‘We shall find the mummy there!  I am sure of it!’ Then anticipating doubt or argument he added: 

“‘Wait, and you shall see!’ and he sank back into his blanket again.

“The Arabs were surprised when we retraced our steps; and some of them were not satisfied.  There was a good deal of friction, and there were several desertions; so that it was with a diminished following that we took our way eastward again.  At first the Sheik did not manifest any curiosity as to our definite destination; but when it became apparent that we were again making for the Valley of the Sorcerer, he too showed concern.  This grew as we drew near; till finally at the entrance of the valley he halted and refused to go further.  He said he would await our return if we chose to go on alone.  That he would wait three days; but if by that time we had not returned he would leave.  No offer of money would tempt him to depart from this resolution.  The only concession he would make was that he would find the ladders and bring them near the cliff.  This he did; and then, with the rest of the troop, he went back to wait at the entrance of the valley.

“Mr. Trelawny and I took ropes and torches, and again ascended to the tomb.  It was evident that someone had been there in our absence, for the stone slab which protected the entrance to the tomb was lying flat inside, and a rope was dangling from the cliff summit.  Within, there was another rope hanging into the shaft of the Mummy Pit.  We looked at each other; but neither said a word.