n seven
places round this corner are the symbols of the constellation which we
call the Plough, which Queen Tera held to rule her birth and her
destiny. I have examined them carefully, and I notice that they are
all representations of the grouping of the stars, as the constellation
appears in different parts of the heavens. They are all astronomically
correct; and as in the real sky the Pointers indicate the Pole Star, so
these all point to one spot in the wall where usually the serdab is to
be found!'

"'Bravo!' I shouted, for such a piece of reasoning demanded applause.
He seemed pleased as he went on:

"'When you are in the tomb, examine this spot. There is probably some
spring or mechanical contrivance for opening the receptacle. What it
may be, there is no use guessing. You will know what best to do, when
you are on the spot.'

"I started the next week for Egypt; and never rested till I stood again
in the tomb. I had found some of our old following; and was fairly
well provided with help. The country was now in a condition very
different to that in which it had been sixteen years before; there was
no need for troops or armed men.

"I climbed the rock face alone. There was no difficulty, for in that
fine climate the woodwork of the ladder was still dependable. It was
easy to see that in the years that had elapsed there had been other
visitors to the tomb; and my heart sank within me when I thought that
some of them might by chance have come across the secret place. It
would be a bitter discovery indeed to find that they had forestalled
me; and that my journey had been in vain.

"The bitterness was realised when I lit my torches, and passed between
the seven-sided columns to the Chapel of the tomb.

"There, in the very spot where I had expected to find it, was the
opening of a serdab. And the serdab was empty.

"But the Chapel was not empty; for the dried-up body of a man in Arab
dress lay close under the opening, as though he had been stricken down.
I examined all round the walls to see if Trelawny's surmise was
correct; and I found that in all the positions of the stars as given,
the Pointers of the Plough indicated a spot to the left hand, or south
side, of the opening of the serdab, where was a single star in gold.

"I pressed this, and it gave way. The stone which had marked the front
of the serdab, and which lay back against the wall within, moved
slightly. On further examining the other s