t,
my dear. But I shall see Don Pedro myself to-morrow. Meanwhile, let us
eat and drink. I must go down to the museum, and you--"

"We shall go to congratulate Mrs. Jasher," said Lucy.

So it was arranged, and shortly Professor Braddock retired into his
sanctum along with the devoted Cockatoo, who displayed lively joy on
beholding his master once more. Lucy, after being carefully wrapped up
by Archie, set out with that young man to congratulate the bride-elect.
It was just half-past nine when they started out.

The night was frosty and the stars twinkled like jewels in a cloudless
sky of dark blue. The moon shone with hard brilliance on the ground,
which was powdered with a light fall of snow. As the young people walked
briskly through the village, their footsteps rang on the frosty earth
and they scrunched the snow in their quick tread. The Warrior Inn was
still open, as it was not late, and lights shone from the windows of the
various cottages. When the two, following the road through the marshes,
emerged from the village, they saw the great mass of the Fort bulking
blackly against the clear sky, the glittering stream of the Thames,
and the marshes outlined in delicate white. The fairy world of snow and
moonlight appealed to Archie's artistic sense, and Lucy approving of the
same, they did not hurry to arrive at their destination.

But shortly they saw the squarely fenced acre of ground near the
embankment, wherein Mrs. Jasher's humble abode was placed. Light shone
through the pink curtains of the drawing-room, showing that the widow
had not yet retired. In a few minutes the lovers were at the gate and
promptly entered. It was then that one of those odd things happened
which would argue that some people are possessed of a sixth sense.

Archie closed the gate after him, and, glancing right and left, walked
up the snowy path with Lucy. To the right was a leafless arbor, also
powdered with snow, and against the white bulked a dark form something
like a coffin. Hope out of curiosity went up to it.

"What the deuce is this?" he asked himself; then raised his voice in
loud surprise. "Lucy! Lucy! come here!"

"What is it?" she asked, running up.

"Look"--he pointed to the oddly shaped case--"the green mummy!"

CHAPTER XIII. MORE MYSTERY

Neither Lucy nor Archie Hope had ever seen the mummy, but they knew
the appearance which it would present, as Professor Braddock, with the
enthusiasm of an archaeologist,