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

the inside,” Henry said.
    â€œSo that means ...” Violet began.
    â€œSomeone was trying to break out ,” said Jessie.
    The children looked back into the room. They looked all the way down to the other end where the coffin lay. And then they noticed something they hadn’t noticed before.
    Something even more frightening than the picked lock.
    The lid of the coffin was open.

CHAPTER 10
The Truth Comes Out
    â€œIt was the mummy!” Benny cried. “It escaped!”
    The lid of the coffin wasn’t completely open, but it was pushed back several inches. It definitely was not the way it had been left the night before.
    From across the room, it was too dark to see if the mummy was still inside.
    â€œThat’s ridiculous, Benny,” said Jessie. But she didn’t sound sure.
    â€œThen who was it?” asked Benny.
    â€œI don’t know,” said Jessie. “But it wasn’t the mummy. The mummy has been dead for thousands of years.”
    â€œCome on, let’s go take a closer look,” Henry said.
    The children began walking slowly to the other end of the dark room. They didn’t take their eyes off the coffin. Benny lagged behind, afraid of what they might find—or not find—when they got there.
    The coffin was exactly where it had always been, its painted designs visible even in the dim light. When they’d crossed the room, the children stood a few feet away, just looking at it.
    They knew the mummy couldn’t get up and move. They knew, as Jessie said, that it had been dead for thousands of years. But in the darkness, with the lid of the coffin slightly open, somehow anything seemed possible.
    Henry took a few steps closer.
    He was trying to peer inside the gap left where the lid had been pushed back. But the light was so dim that it was hard to see.
    â€œIs the mummy still there?” Benny asked nervously.
    â€œYes, I think so,” Henry said, squinting and moving closer.
    â€œThis is silly,” Jessie said at last. She walked quickly back to the door and switched on the light.
    Henry stepped up to the coffin and looked in. He could see the magnificent death mask peering up at him from inside the coffin. “Yes, there it is,” he said, breaking into a smile.
    The others breathed a sigh of relief and moved closer to see for themselves.
    â€œThere’s something else in there, too!” Benny cried, pointing in the coffin.
    The other children peered in. There was a large, straw bag tucked in next to the mummy.
    â€œThat’s Sam’s bag,” Violet said. “What’s it doing in there?”
    Benny looked inside. All he saw inside was a brown-paper bundle. He put it up on the table. Before Henry could stop him, Benny had begun unwrapping it.

    â€œI don’t think you should—” Henry began. But he stopped speaking when he saw what was in the package. “I don’t believe it!” he said.
    â€œIt’s the missing gold cat,” Benny said.
    The children looked at each other, speechless.
    â€œI’ll go get Pete,” Jessie said, walking toward the door.
    A few moments later, Jessie returned with Pete—and Dr. Snood.
    Jessie showed them the lock on the door. “See, here are the scratches.”
    The two men studied it. “This was definitely picked from the inside,” Dr. Snood agreed. “Just as you said.”
    Then they walked to the back of the room and looked at the open coffin. “You children didn’t open this?” Dr. Snood asked.
    The children all shook their heads.
    â€œHelp me,” Dr. Snood said to Pete. Together they lifted the lid off and placed it gently on the table. Then they both walked slowly around the coffin, examining the mummy and the death mask.
    â€œI don’t know why someone opened the coffin, but fortunately the mummy doesn’t appear to be damaged,” Dr. Snood said at last. He sounded relieved.
    â€œThere’s