r had
written the name once borne by the dead man, with a complete translation
of the record upon the _cartonnage_ itself. According to the statement
here set forth, the coffin contained the mortal remains of a certain
Ptahmes, Chief of the King's Magicians--an individual who flourished
during the reign of Menptah (Amenepthes of the Greeks, but better known
to the nineteenth century as the Pharaoh of the Exodus). For all I knew
to the contrary, my silent property might have been one of that band of
conjurors who pitted their wits against Moses, and by so doing had
caused Pharaoh's heart to be hardened so that he would not let the
Children go. Once more I stood looking at the stolid representation of a
face before me, guessing at the history of the man within, and wondering
whether his success in life had equalled his ambition, or was
commensurate with his merits, and whether in that age, so long since
dead, his heart had ever been thrilled by thoughts of love.

While wrapped in this brown study, my ears, which on that particular
occasion were for some reason abnormally acute, detected the sound of a
soft footfall on the polished boards at the farther end of the room. I
wheeled sharply round, and a moment later almost fell back against the
mummy-case under the influence of my surprise. (How he had got there I
could not tell, for I was certain I had locked the door behind me when I
entered the house.) It is sufficient, however, that, standing before me,
scarcely a dozen feet away, breathing heavily as though he had been
running, and with what struck me as a frightened look in his eyes, was
no less a person than Monsieur Pharos, the man I had met at the foot of
Cleopatra's Needle some weeks before, at the Academy that afternoon, and
at Medenham House only a couple of hours since. Upward of a minute must
have elapsed before I could find sufficient voice to inquire the reason
of his presence in my room.

"My dear Mr. Forrester," he said in a conciliatory tone, "while offering
you ten thousand apologies for my intrusion, I must explain that it is
quite by accident I am here. On reaching home this evening I pined for a
breath of fresh air. Accordingly I went for a stroll, lost my way, and
eventually found myself in this street, where, seeing an open door, I
took the liberty of entering for the purpose of inquiring the way to my
hotel. It was not until you turned round that I realised my good fortune
in having chanced upon a f