seemed to have vanished, and in
its place was a window looking into his study.

He saw the mummy-case leaning up against the wall, but it was empty. In
front of it stood a man and a woman. Both were plainly, almost meanly,
dressed; the man in a tightly-buttoned black frock-coat and baggy grey
trousers; the woman in a plain gown of dark stuff, and a shawl which was
draped round her head and shoulders in somewhat Eastern fashion.

He could see their faces distinctly in profile. They were of the classic
Coptic type which so persistently reproduces the features of the old
Egyptians as we see them outlined in the wall-paintings of the temples
and the half-mutilated carvings and statues. The window of the study was
open, but the door was shut; so was the door of his own room, but for
all that he distinctly heard the man say to the woman in Coptic, which,
curiously enough, sounded as familiar to his ears as the faces seemed to
his eyes:

"Neb-Anat, it is gone! These heathen ravishers have not been content
with stealing the body of our Queen from its sacred resting-place and
bringing it here, whither we have traced it with so much labour. See, it
has been stolen again; hidden, no doubt, so that the servants of the
King could not find it. It may be that even we have been suspected and
watched, in spite of all our care. Yet it must be found, or the doom
that may not be revoked will be ours."

"Even so, Pent-Ah," replied the woman in a soft, musical voice which
well suited the comeliness of her face; "but though the priceless
treasure has been taken from its casket, it cannot have been carried out
of the house, for you know that every approach has been watched closely
since it was brought here. Come, in this house it must be, and to find
it is our task. Every one is asleep; take off thy shoes and let us
search."

She took off her own shoes as she spoke, and he saw the man do the same.
Then, as the man opened the door and they passed out of the study, the
picture vanished from the mirror.

Amazement at what he had seen and heard--the disappearance of the Mummy,
the presence of the man and woman, evidently charged with what they
believed to be the sacred mission of stealing it back again, and their
evident purpose of searching the house for it--instantly gave place to a
quick thrill of fear.

His daughter's bedroom was on the same floor as the study, only a
couple of doors away round the corner of the landing. These people