Free Emily and the Lost City of Urgup by Gerry Hotchkiss

standing guard, surrounding the palace’s walls. She turned to see the professors approaching. “I can’t wait to go inside the palace,” she said to them. “Nor can we,” they answered. “However, we have something else on our minds.”
    “We have talked to Hadar and Kadar, and we all agree we are not just going to wait and react to whatever evil plans those thieves cook up. We are going to act, to catch them before they try something sinister. And we have a plan.”
     

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Five Years in the Boiler Room

    “EMILY HAD A glimpse of the thieves,” said Professor Witherspoon, “but the Arab saw them clearly. He even could point out the boss. Let us enlist his aid to describe the thieves.” Professor Dasam and the guards approached the Arab who was working on the engine of his truck. They explained their plan and he seemed more than willing to help them. The whole group met in the shade outside Professor Witherspoon’s tent. With Dasam translating, each thief was described, including Smiley Wiley the leader, who had a fat round face. “We should be able to identify him,” said Emily, “and the one who is totally bald. He is the man who tied me up.”
    “Now Emily, you are not part of our plan, so please leave us to get on with it,” Witherspoon stated. All the men continued to discuss the plan while Emily only overheard glimpses: “night”, “disguise”, “suborn,” “a perfect sting.” What did it all mean?
    After dinner she went immediately to her tent and, through a small opening, watched as Hadar, Kadar and the Arab retired to Professor Witherspoon’s tent. Were they plotting the plan? “It may be tonight,” she thought. She put a kerchief over her face and a light cotton coat with a hood covering her body and crept outside barefooted. Soon the men were seen leaving the professor’s tent. All were dressed as Arabs and Emily could not even make out which was Professor Witherspoon. They ambled towards the worker’s tents. Passing tent after tent, suddenly the lead man stopped and they all stepped back a few paces. Two of the men entered the tent.
    Emily’s curiosity was too much. She snuck around the back of the tent and listened to the voices of the men inside. “Who are you?” someone spoke out.
    “Never mind we are who,” a voice answered. “We know you no Arab people. You English people.” “What!”, another voice answered. “Quiet, please, and listen to what we offer. We a plan have. But we need more people. Like you.” “Why us?” asked another voice. “No good you up to. We watch you. Always you follow the rich people who come in Rolls Royce and big roadster. Why do you do that, we ask? Aha, we say. Maybe you steal money or something. We, too, want something. “What do you want?” the first voice inquired. “The parchment paper with the map.”
    Smiley Wiley had heard enough and he stood up. “I don’t know who you Arabs are but we’re not interested in stealing a piece of paper with a map of a place we are already standing on.” “Do you Arab hieroglyphics read?” a voice responded. Smiley and his henchmen shook their heads. “Much much more is on parchment than just map. On top of palace is secret door to pharaoh’s treasure. So secret only parchment can show.”
    The thieves were hooked. “This must be what they mean by a sting,” though Emily. She skirted away from the tent as one of the men leaned against her. “What’s that,” he said. “What’s what?” another asked. “I thought I felt something.” “You felt your imagination.” They plotted to sneak into Professor Dasam’s tent and steal the parchment. The disguised ‘Arabs’ would keep a lookout from outside while the four thieves went inside and ransacked the tent until they found the paper.
    Meanwhile Emily returned to her tent and watched the action from afar. Professor Dasam, Hadar and Kadar and several other men had formed a circle near his tent, all sitting on the ground