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Speaker 1: The Mysterious Mummy by sax Roamer. It was about five

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o'clock on a hot August afternoon that a tall, thin man,

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wearing a weedy beard and made conspicuous by an ill

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fitting frock coat and an almost napless silk hat, walked

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into the entrance hall of the Great Portland Square Museum.

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He carried no stick, and looking about him as though

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unfamiliar with the building, he ultimately mounted the principal staircase,

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walking with a pronounced stoop and at intervals coughing with

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a hollow sound. His gaunt figure attracted the attention of

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several people, among them the attendant in the Egyptian room.

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Hardened though he was to the eccentric inhumanity, the man

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who hung so eagerly over the mummies of departed kings

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and cougheds so frequently nevertheless secured his instant attention. Visitors

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of the regulation type were rapidly thinning out, so that

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the gaunt man, during the whole of the time he

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remained in the room, was kept under close surveillance by

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the vigilant official. Seeing him go in the direction of

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the stairs, the attendant supposed the strange visitor to be

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about to leave the museum, but that he did not

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do so immediately was shown by subsequent testimony. The day's

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business being concluded, the staff of police who patrol nightly

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the Great Square Museum duly filed into the building. A

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man is placed in each room, it being his duty

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to examine thoroughly every nook and cranny. Having done which,

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all doors of communication are closed, the officer on guard

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in one room, being unable to leave his post or

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or to enter another. Every hour the inspector, a sergeant

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and a fireman make a round of the entire building,

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from which it will be seen that a person having

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designs on any of the numerous treasures of the place

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would require more than average ingenuity to bring his plans

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to a successful issue. In recording this very singular case,

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the only incident of the night to demand attention is

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that of the mummy in the Etruscan Room. Persons familiar

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with the Great Portland Square Museum will know that certain

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of the tombs in the Etruscan Room are used as

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receptacles for Egyptian mummies that have, for various reasons, never

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been put upon exhibition. Anyone who has peered under the

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partially raised lid of a huge sarcophagus and found within

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the rigid form of a mummy. Will appreciate the feelings

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of the man on night duty amid das surroundings so lugubrious.

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The electric light, it should be mentioned, is not extinguished

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until the various apartments have been examined, and its extinction

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immediately precedes the locking of the door. The constable in

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the etruscan room glanced into the various sarcophag guy and

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cast the rays of his bull's eye lantern into the

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shadows of the great Stone tombs. Satisfied that no one

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lurked there, he mounted the steps leading up to the

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Roman gallery, turning out the lights in the room below

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from the switch at the top. The light was still

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burning on the ground floor, and the sergeant had not

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yet arrived with the keys. It was whilst the man

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stood awaiting his coming, that a singular thing occurred from

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somewhere within the darkened chamber beneath There came the sound

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of a hollow cough by no means deficient. Encouraged, the

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constable went down the step in three bounds, his lantern,

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throwing discs of light upon stately statues and gloomy tombs.

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The sound was not repeated, and having nothing to guide

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him to its source, he commenced a second methodical search

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of the sarcophaguy as, offering the most likely hiding places.

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When all save one had been examined, the constable began

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to believe that the coughing had existed only in his imagination.

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It was upon casting the rays of his bull's eye

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into the last sarcophagus that he experienced a sudden sensation

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of fear. It was empty, yet he distinctly remembered from

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his previous examination that a mummy had lain there. At

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the moment of making this weird discovery, he realized that

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he would have done better before commencing his search for

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the man with the cough first to turn on the light,

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for it must be remembered that he he had extinguished

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the electric lamps. Determined to do so before pursuing his

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investigations further. He ran up the steps to find the

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Roman gallery in darkness. The bright disk of a lantern

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was approaching from the upper end, and the man ran forward.

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Who turned off the lights? Here came the voice of

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the sergeant. That's what I want to know someone did

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it while I was downstairs, said the constable, and gave

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a hurried account of the mysterious coughing and the missing mummy.

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How long has there been a mummy in this tomb,

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asked the sergeant. There was one there a month back,

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but they took it upstairs. They may have brought it

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down again last week though, or it may have been

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a fresh one. You see, the other lot were on

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duty up to last night. This was quite true, as

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the sergeant was aware. Three bodies of picked men share

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the night duties at the Great Portland Square Museum, and

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those on duty upon this particular occasion had not been

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in the place during the previous two weeks. Very strange,

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muttered the sergeant, and a moment later his whistle was

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sounding from all over the building. Men came running, for

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none of the doors had yet been locked. There seems

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to be someone concealed in the museum. Search all the

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rooms again with the brief order. The constables disappeared and

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the sergeant, accompanied by the inspector, went down to examine

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the Etruscan room. Nothing was found there, nor were any

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of the other searchers more successful. There was no trace

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anywhere of a man in hiding. Beyond leaving open the

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door between the Roman Gallery and the steps of the

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Etruscan Room, no more could be done in the matter.

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The gallery communicates with the entrance hall, where the inspector,

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together with the sergeant and fireman, spends the night, and

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the idea of the former was to keep in touch

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with the scene of these singular happenings. His action was

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perfectly natural, but these precautions were subsequently proved to be

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absolutely useless. The night passed without any disturbing event, and

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the mystery of the vanishing mummy and the ghostly cough

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seemed likely to remain a mystery. The night police filed

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out in the early morning, and the Inspector with the sergeant,

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returned as soon as possible to the museum to make

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further inquiries concerning the missing occupant of the sarcophagus. A

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mummy in the in tomb, exclaimed the curator of Etruscan Antiquities.

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My dear sir, there has been no mummy in there

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for nearly a month, but my man states that he

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saw one there last night, declared the inspector. The curator

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looked puzzled, turning to an attendant, He said, who was

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in charge of the Etruscan room immediately before six last night?

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I was, sir, were there any visitors? No one came

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in between five forty and six, and before that I

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was away at tea, Sir, who was in charge? Then

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mister Robins? Call Robins, the commissionaire in question arrived. How

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long were you in the Etruscan room last night? About

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half an hour, sir? Are you sure that no one

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concealed himself? The man looked startled. Well, sir, he said, hesitatingly,

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I'm sorry I didn't report it before. But when mister

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Barton called me at about twenty five minutes to six,

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there was some one in there, a gent in a

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seedy frock coat and a high hat, and I don't

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remember seeing him come out. Did you search the room, yes, sir,

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but there was no one to be seen. You should

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have reported the matter at once. I must see Barton. Barton,

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the head attendant, remembered, speaking to Robin's at the top

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of the stairs leading to the Etruscan room. He saw

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no one come out, but it was just as possible

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for a person to have done so and yet be

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seen by neither himself or robins. Let three of you

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thoroughly overhaul the room for any sign of a man

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having hidden there, directed the curator briskly. He turned to

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the sergeant an inspector, with a smile. I rather fancy

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it will prove to be of Mayer's nest, he said.

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We've had these mysteries before. The words had but just

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left his lips when a museum official, a well known

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antiquarian expert, ran up in a perfect frenzy of excitement.

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Good Heavens Peters, he gasped, the Rienzi vase has gone.

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What came an incredulous chorus. The circular top of the

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case has been completely cut out and ingeniously replaced at

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a plausible invitation of the vase substituted. They waited for

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no more, but hurried upstairs to the vase room, which

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in the Great Portland Square Museum is really only a

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part of the Egyptian Room. The Rienzi vase, though no

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larger than an ordinary breakfast cup, all the world knows

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to be of fabulous value. It seemed inconceivable that anyone

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could have stolen it. Yet there in the midst of

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a nod of excited officials, stood the empty case. Whilst

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the imitation antique was being passed from hand to hand.

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Never before, nor since has such a scene been witnessed

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in the museum. The staff, to a man, had lost

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their wits. What is to be done was the general inquiry.

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In less than half an hour, the doors would have

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to be opened to the public, and the absence of

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the famous vase would inevitably be known. Noticed. It was

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at this juncture, and whilst everyone was speaking at once,

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that one of the parties, standing close to a wall cabinet,

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suddenly held up a warning finger. Hush, he said, listen.

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A sudden silence fell upon the room, so that people

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running about in other apartments could be plainly heard, and presently,

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from somewhere behind the glass doors surrounding the place came

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a low moan, electrifying the already excited listeners. The keys

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were promptly forthcoming, and then was made the second astounding

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discovery of the eventful morning. A man, gagged and bound,

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was imprisoned behind a great mummy case. Eager hands set

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to work to release him, and restoratives were applied, as

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he seemed to be in a very weak condition. He

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was but partially dressed and breathed heavily through his nose

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like a man in a drunken sla lumber. All waited

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breathlessly for his return to consciousness, for certainly he, if anyone,

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should be in a position to furnish some clue to

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the deep mystery. On regaining his senses, he had disappointingly

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little to tell. He was Constable Smith, who had been

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on night duty in the Egyptian room. Sometime during the

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first hour, and not long after the alarm in the basement.

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He had been mysteriously pinioned. As he paraded the apartment,

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he caught no glimpse of his opponent, who held him

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from behind in such a manner that he was totally

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unable to defend himself. Some sweet smelling drug had been

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applied to his nostrils, and he remembered no more until

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regaining consciousness. In the mummy case, that was the whole

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of his testimony In setting out the particulars of this

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remarkable affair, a third and final discovery must be noted.

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The three men who had been directed to examine the

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Etrus skin room brought to light a bundle of old

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garments containing an ancient opera hat, a faded frock coat,

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a pair of shiny trousers, and a pair of elastic

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sighted boots. They were wedged high up at the back

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of a tall statue, where they had evidently escaped the

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eyes of all previous searchers that constituted the entire data

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upon which investigations had to be based. The Egyptian Room

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was closed indefinitely four repairs. No further useful evidence could

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be obtained from anyone. Several witnesses furnished consistent descriptions of

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the shabby stranger with the hollow cough, but it may

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here be mentioned that no one of them ever set

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eyes upon him again. The inspector, the sergeant, and the

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fireman solemnly swore to have visited the Egyptian Room at

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the end of each hour throughout the night, and to

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having found the constable on duty as usual. Smith swore

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with equal solemnity that he had been drug during the

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first hour and subsequently confined in the mummy case. The

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matter was carefully kept out of the papers, although the

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museum throughout many following days positively bristled with detectives. As

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the second week drew to a close, and the Egyptian

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Room still remained locked. Well informed persons began to whisper

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that a scandal could no longer be avoided. There can

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be no doubt that in many quarters Constable Smith's share

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in the proceedings was regarded with grave suspicion. It was

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at this critical juncture, when it seemed inevitable that the

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loss of the world famous Rienzi vase must be made

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known to an unsympathetic public, that certain high authorities gave

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out that the vase had been removed, and that none

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of the night staff were in any way implicated in

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its disappearance. On this announcement being made, several strange theories

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were mooted. Some stated that the vase had never left

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the museum. Others averred that it had been pawned to

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a foreign government. Whatever the real explanation, and the secret

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was jealously guarded by the high placed officials who alone

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knew the truth, Suffice it that the Egyptian Room was

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again thrown open, and the Rienzi vase shown to be

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reposing in its usual position. Now that it again stands

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in its place for all to see, there can be

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no objection to my relating how I once held the

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famous Rienzi vase in my possession for twelve days. If

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there be any objection, I am sorry. You must understand.

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I am no common feat, no footpad. I'm a person

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of keenly observant character, and my business is to detect

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vital weaknesses in great institutions and to charge a moderately

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high fee for my services. Thus I discovered that a

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certain famous tiara in a French museum was inadequately protected,

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and accordingly removed it, replacing it by a substitute. The

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authorities refused me my fee, and all the world knows

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that my clever forgery was detected by the experts that

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brought them to their senses. It is the genuine tiara

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that reposes in their cabinet now. In the same way,

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I removed the world renowned historical mummy from its resting

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place in Cairo, and two days later they grew suspicious

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of my imitation. It was the handiwork of a clever

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Birmingham artist, and the department was closed. The bulky character

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of the mummy nearly brought about my downfall, and it

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was only by abandoning it that I succeeded in leaving Cairo.

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I'm not proud of that case I was clumsy. But

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of the case of the Rienzi Vase, I have every

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reason to be highly proud that you may judge of

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the neatness and dispatch with which I acted. I will

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relate how the whole business was conducted. You must know, then,

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that the first flaw I discovered in the arrangements at

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the Great Portland Square Museum was this the wall cases

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were badly guarded. I learned this interesting fact one afternoon

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as I strolled about the Egyptian room. A certain gentleman

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I will not name him, was showing a party of

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the ladies round the apartment. He had unlocked a wall

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case and was standing with a handsome bead necklet in

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his hand, explaining where and when it was. He was

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only a few yards away, but with his back toward

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the case enough the key, with others attached, was in

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the glass door. You will admit that this was exceedingly careless,

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but the presence of four charming American ladies one can

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excuse him. I regret to have to confess that I

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was somewhat awkward. The keys rattled, the whole party looked

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in my direction, but the immaculate mad about town with

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his cultivated manner and his very considerable knowledge of Egyptology,

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How should they suspect? I apologized I had brushed against

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them in passing. I made myself agreeable, and the uncomfortable

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incident was forgotten by them, not by me. I had

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a beautiful wax impression to keep my memory fresh. The

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scheme formed. Then I knew that a body of pick

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police promenaded the museum at night, and that each of

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the rooms was usually in charge of the same man.

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I learned later that there were three bodies of men,

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so that the same police were in the museum but

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one week in every three. I made the acquaintance of

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seven constables and frequented eight different public houses before I

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met the man of whom I was in search. The

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first policeman I found, who paraded the Egyptian room at night,

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was short and thick set. I gave him up as

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a bad job. I learned from him, however, who was

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to occupy the posse during the coming week, and presently

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I unearthed the private bar which this latter officer, his

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name was Smith, used eureka. He was tall and thin. Incidentally,

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he was also surly, but the winning ways of the

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jovial master plumber, who was so free with his money,

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ultimately thought him. Every night. Throughout the rest of the

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week I spent in this constable's company, studying his somewhat

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colorless personality. Then one afternoon I entered the museum. My

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weedy beard, my gaunt expression, my hollow cough. They were

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all in the part. I went up to the Egyptian

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room to assure myself that a certain mummy case had

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not been removed, and having found it to occupy its

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usual place, I descended to the Etruscan basement. For half

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an hour I occupied myself there, but the commissionaire never

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budged from his seat. I knew that this particular man

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was only in temporary charge, whilst another was a tea

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for I was well posted, and wondered if his companion

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were ever coming back. Luckily, an incident occurred to serve

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my purpose. The chief attendant appeared at the head of

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the steps Robin's. He called Robins, ran briskly upstairs at

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his command, and then in fifteen seconds my transformation was complete,

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gone with a weedy gray beard and mustache, gone, the

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seedy black garments and the elastic sighted boots, gone the

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old opera hat. And behold I was Constable Smith, attired

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in mummy wrappings, an acrobatic spring, and the bundle of

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aged garments was wedged behind a tall statue, where nothing

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but a most minute search could reveal it. Down again,

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not a second despair into the empty sarcophagus at the

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further end of the room. And lastly, a hideous rubber

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mask slipped over the ruddy features of Constable Smith and

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attached behind the ears. My arms stiffened and my hands

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concealed in the wrappings, and I was a long dead

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mummy with a neat leather case hidden beneath my arched back.

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Brisk work, I assure you, but one grows accustomed to

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it in time. The Commission entered the room very shortly afterwards.

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He had not seen me go out, but as I expected,

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neither was he absolutely sure I had not done so.

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He peered about suspiciously, but I did not mind. The

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real ordeal came a couple of hours later, when a

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police officer flashed his lantern into all the tombs. For

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a moment, my heart seemed to cease beating as the

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light shone on my rubber countenance. But he was satisfied,

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this stupid policeman, and I heard his footsteps retreating to

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the door. I allowed him time to get to the

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top and extinguished the light in the Etruscan room. And

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then I was out of my tomb and hidden in

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the little niche immediately beside the foot of the stairs.

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I coughed loudly. Heavens. He came back down the steps

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with such velocity he was carried halfway along the room.

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He began to flash his latern into the tombs again,

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but before he had examined the first of them, I

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was upstairs in the Roman gallery without the electric light.

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It was quite dark in the Etruscan room, which is

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in the basement, but being a bright night, I knew

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I could find what I required in the Roman Gallery

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without the aid of artificial light. Besides, I had not

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to act in the open. Someone might arrive too soon.

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So thoroughly well posted as to the situation of the switches,

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I extinguished the lamps and dodged in among the Roman

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stone work, to the foot of a great pillar, towering

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almost to the lofty roof and surmounted by an ornate capitol.

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I had planned all this beforehand. You see, but I

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must confess it was an awful scramble to the top.

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I had only just curled up on the summit, the

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hand of my invaluable leather case held fast in my teeth,

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when a sergeant came running down the gallery, almost into

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the arms of the constable, who was running up the

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steps from the Etruscan room. A moment's hurried conversation, and

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the lights turned on, and the sound of a whistle.

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It was foolish, of course, but I had expected it

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from all over the building. The police arrived and fatigued.

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As I was with my climb, yet another acrobatic feet

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was before me. The top of my pillar was no

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great distance from the stone balustrade of the first floor

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landing on which the Egyptian room opens, and a narrow ledge,

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perhaps of eleven inches, runs all round the wall of

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the Roman gallery, some four feet below the ceiling. I

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cautiously stepped from the pillar to the ledge. I was

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invisible from the other end of the place, and pressing

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my body close against the wall, reached the balustrade before

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Constable Smith, who had left his post and descended to

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the lower gallery. On hearing the sergeant's whistle, re entered

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the Egyptian room my bright A new key had found

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the lock of a certain cabinet, and I was secured

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behind a mummy case, whilst a little steel pin prevented

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the spring of the lock from shutting me in. Poor

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Constable Smith, I was sorry to have to act so,

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but ten minutes after the closing of the doors of communication,

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I came on him from behind, having silently crept from

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the case as he passed me, and following him down

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the darkened room, the thin linen wrappings that covered my

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feet making no sound upon the wooden floor. I had

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a pad ready in my hand, saturated with the contents

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of a small pile that had reposed in my mummy garments.

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I thrust my knee in his spine, seized his hands

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by a trick which you may learn for a pasetta

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any day. In the purliest of Tangier, a muscular man,

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he tried hard to cope with his unseen opponent, but

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the pad never left his mouth and nostrils, and the

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few muffled cries that is escaped team more luckily unheard.

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He soon became conscious, and I had to work hard

384
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lest the inspectors should make his round before I was

385
00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:12,480
ready for him. The mummy case had to be lowered

386
00:26:12,519 --> 00:26:16,240
onto the floor and the heavy body tightly bound and

387
00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:20,119
lifted into it, then stood up again and securely locked

388
00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:23,640
behind the glass doors. It was hot work, and I

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00:26:23,759 --> 00:26:27,720
had but just accomplished the task and climbed into the

390
00:26:27,759 --> 00:26:33,880
constable's uniform when the inspector's key sounded in the door. Ah,

391
00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:39,200
it is an exciting profession. The rest was easy, wrapped

392
00:26:39,279 --> 00:26:42,920
up in my yellow mummy linen where the various appliances required,

393
00:26:43,559 --> 00:26:46,640
and in the leather box with the imitation riens evase.

394
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The circular glass top of the case gave some trouble,

395
00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:54,880
so hard and thick was it. I had to desist

396
00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:59,000
five times and conceal my tools. Owing to the hourly

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00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:03,000
visits of the inspect Poor Constable Smith began to groan

398
00:27:03,079 --> 00:27:06,200
towards six o'clock, and a second dose of medicine was

399
00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,599
necessary to keep him quiet for another hour or so.

400
00:27:10,359 --> 00:27:12,720
I filed out with the other policeman in the morning,

401
00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:17,440
the Rienzi vase inside my helmet. As to the sequel,

402
00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:21,440
it is brief, of course. The detectives tried their hands

403
00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:24,640
at the affair, but pooh, I'm too old a bird

404
00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:29,599
to leave clues. It's only amateurs that do that. My

405
00:27:29,799 --> 00:27:32,920
fee and the conditions to be observed in paying it,

406
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:37,839
I conveyed to the authorities privately. They thought they had

407
00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:42,920
a clue then, and delayed another week. They actually detained

408
00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:47,240
my unhappy agent, a most guileless and upright person who

409
00:27:47,319 --> 00:27:52,880
knew positively nothing. Oh it was too funny, But realizing

410
00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:56,279
that only by the vase being returned to its place

411
00:27:56,799 --> 00:28:00,680
could a scandal be avoided, they met me in the

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matter and of the mysterious mummy