Free Ramose and the Tomb Robbers by Carole Wilkinson

shouted eagerly.
    “There’s just a tunnel,” Seth shouted back. “We’ll see where it leads.” He started forward and then changed his mind. “You go first,” he said.
    The boys walked slowly along the tunnel. It was a rough-hewn passage, but not as low as the tunnel in the pyramid. Ramose and Hapu could walk along it comfortably, if they bent their heads a little. Seth had to bend over double.
    “We better watch out for those demons you read about,” said Hapu.
    “What demons?” said Seth trying to look in front of him and behind him at the same time.
    “He’s just joking, Seth,” said Ramose. “There was nothing about demons on the papyrus.”
    A noise echoed down the tunnel, the sound of falling rocks.
    “What was that?” said Seth. He was so afraid, he almost grabbed Ramose’s arm.
    “It was just some stones falling down the shaft.”
    “It sounded like it was coming from the tunnel.”
    “It’s an illusion. The sound echoes from one wall to another.”
    “I’m not so sure,” said Hapu. “It could be the ghost of the owner of this tomb.”
    Seth stopped to listen. Hapu grinned at Ramose.
    “Don’t worry, Seth. We’ll protect you.”
    The passage turned first to the left and then to the right and then opened into a chamber stacked with burial goods. Another short passage led to the burial chamber. The room was almost filled by a white sarcophagus. There was less than a cubit of space on either side. In each of the side walls there was a recess, stacked with chests. Seth’s fear of ghosts suddenly evaporated.
    “That was easy,” he said, examining the lid of the sarcophagus. “I think we should be able to lift this and slide it off.”
    He was right. The lid wasn’t as thick as the pharaoh’s had been. With the aid of the lever, the three of them were able to lift the sarcophagus lid and then slide it over to one side. Ramose looked inside. There was a painted coffin similar to the one in the pyramid. Ramose held his lamp up to read the inscriptions.
    “It’s the tomb of a princess,” he said. “Daughter of the pharaoh in the pyramid.”
    Seth had already jumped inside the sarcophagus and was smashing the coffin with the stone hammer.
    “You don’t have to break it,” said Ramose. “We can ease it off.”
    “This is quicker,” said Seth.
    In a few minutes he had broken open the coffin. The mummy inside was small. The gilded mask bore the face of a young girl, a child. Seth was gleefully ripping the jewelled collar from around her neck and the armbands from her arms. The threads broke, just as they had with the pharaoh’s jewellery. Seth scooped up handfuls of beads. He ripped the linen bindings from her and began roughly pulling the amulets from the mummy’s body.
    “Don’t just stand there!” shouted Seth stuffing the treasure in a bag. “Start going through the chests and take anything valuable to the bottom of the shaft.”
    Ramose and Hapu did as they were told. They collected up golden bowls and goblets and alabaster vases and carried them to the shaft. Intef let down a large leather bucket on the rope and they piled the treasure into it to be hauled up. Inside one of the chests, Hapu found a casket decorated with gold and ivory. He opened it up. A sweet perfume filled the chamber.
    “Look at this,” he said.
    Inside was a gold mirror and two silver combs. There were small jars made of jasper and greenstone, which would have once been filled with perfumes and cosmetics. Hapu closed the lid and carried it out to the shaft. Ramose saw another casket with similar decorations. He opened the lid. It was full of jewellery. There was a necklace with large solid gold beads in the shape of lions’ heads. Two matching beaded anklets had seated lions threaded on them. Another necklace was strung with gold cowry shells. There was also a delicate crown decorated with rosettes of gold and turquoise. It had thin gold streamers hanging at the sides and a rearing snake’s head at