Mystery of the Mummy's Curse by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

chosen sandwiches and fruit, and the two men were having soup.
    But for once, Benny wasn’t interested in food. “Please tell us about the mummy,” he begged Pete.
    Pete began speaking in a low voice. “The director of the museum wants to keep the details of the exhibit a secret,” he explained. “But I don’t think anyone will hear me.”
    â€œWhy are you keeping it a secret?” Jessie asked quietly.
    â€œWell, it’s not really a secret,” Pete said. “We’ve announced the exhibit in the newspapers and put up posters around town. But this is the biggest exhibit ever to come to the Greenfield Museum. We want to make sure we’ve got it all set up perfectly before we let out any details.”
    â€œYou must know a lot about Egypt if you made an exhibit about it,” Benny said.
    â€œActually, the exhibit was put together by the Egyptian Museum,” Pete said. “We’re renting it from them. Museums often share exhibits. We’ve also hired an expert on Egypt to help set it up.”
    Pete paused to eat a spoonful of his soup. Henry looked around and noticed that a young woman sitting near them had stopped eating her lunch and was watching them closely. Henry wondered why.
    â€œDo you know what a mummy is?” Pete asked Benny.
    â€œIt’s a dead person wrapped in bandages, right?” Benny said.
    â€œThat’s about right,” Pete said. “In ancient Egypt, they believed that when a person died they would still need their body. So they figured out a way to preserve it. They did such a good job that some mummies have lasted for thousands of years.”
    â€œWow, that’s old!” Benny said in an awed voice.
    â€œSome mummies, especially the mummies of kings, are decorated with beautiful masks and fancy painted coffins. Some have gold and jewels on them. But our mummy isn’t quite that fancy. Our exhibit will also show lots of things Egyptian people made and used thousands of years ago.”
    Henry was very interested in the exhibit. But he couldn’t help thinking that someone else seemed to be, too. The woman sitting nearby was still watching them. She had finished eating, but she continued to sit at her table looking toward the Aldens. Henry wondered if she could hear what they were saying.
    Then Henry noticed something strange. The woman had her hands under the table. She seemed to be holding something in her lap. Henry couldn’t see what it was. Why would she be hiding something under the table?
    When they’d all finished their lunches, Pete said, “I’d better get back to my office.”
    â€œWhen did you say the exhibit opened?” Jessie asked.
    â€œIn two weeks,” Pete said, standing up.
    â€œI don’t know if I can wait that long!” cried Benny.
    Pete smiled and his eyes sparkled. In a hushed voice he said, “The mummy is being delivered this afternoon. Would you like to see it?”
    Without a moment’s pause, all four children cried, “Yes!”
    Pete and Grandfather laughed. “I have to get back to my office,” Grandfather said, “but the kids can walk home later without me.”
    â€œThen let’s go,” Pete said.
    As the children said good-bye to Grandfather and left with Pete, Henry looked back at the young woman sitting near them. For the first time, she noticed Henry looking at her. She quickly stuffed whatever she was holding into a large, orange bag at her feet. Pete had said the details of the exhibit were supposed to be a secret. Had the woman overheard? Had she been listening to their conversation? And what had she put into her bag?
    As Pete led the Aldens back down the hall, a voice called out, “Pete?”
    Pete turned and stepped into the office next to his. “Yes, Reginald?” he said, motioning for the children to follow him.
    Sitting behind a desk was a man about Grandfather’s age. Behind him were a