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dead,’ George said with a smile.
    Again Sir William fixed him with a serious look. ‘Don’t think I haven’t considered that,’ he said. ‘Now, I shall wait here while you find something to prise open this crate.’
    There was a crowbar lying on top of one of the other crates nearby, and George assumed it had been left there from when the crate containing the mummy of Orabis had been opened. He eased the end of the crowbar beneath the wooden lid of the square crate and pusheddown heavily on the other end. He could feel the wood straining against the nails. Then with a squeal, several of the nails pulled free of the wood and the lid lifted.
    â€˜Well done,’ Sir William said, as George moved round to prise open the other side.
    Before long, the lid was propped against the side of another crate, and George and Sir William were staring into the open box. It was filled with straw, but there was obviously something inside the straw. George could see the glint of metal – of gold?
    â€˜I had several chaps from Egyptology help lift the sarcophagus from its crate,’ Sir William said. ‘Not ideal as they were more than a little intrigued to know what we get up to down here. But in this case, I think we need to remove one of the sides. Since there are just the two of us, you agree?’
    George nodded.
    â€˜I don’t,’ another voice announced before George could say anything. ‘There’s three of us.’
    George almost dropped the heavy crowbar as he turned sharply to see who had spoken. He sighed with relief as he saw who it was. He should have guessed.
    â€˜So, what’s going on here?’ Eddie asked. He had his hands jammed deep in his trouser pockets and was leaning against the empty mummy crate. He had a piece of straw sticking out of his mouth while he chewed on the end, like a music-hall farmer about to burst into comic song.
    Sir William was still sifting through the straw inside thesquare crate. ‘Nonetheless,’ he said, apparently unsurprised at Eddie’s arrival, ‘I feel removing one of the sides would be the best course of action.’
    As the side of the crate fell away, straw spilled out across the floor. Sir William reached in and pulled it away until they could see what was beneath.
    â€˜It’s another box,’ Eddie said, disappointed. ‘I’ve never seen so many boxes as you’ve got stashed down here.’
    George was rather more impressed. The box was made of a pale ceramic-like material that had an almost translucent quality. The glint of metal that George had seen was part of the mass of hieroglyphs that covered much of the sides and top of the box, in brilliant gold and deep blue. Tiny pictures and symbols that meant little to George – figures and birds and shapes …
    â€˜Old, is it?’ Eddie wondered.
    â€˜Very,’ Sir William assured him. ‘Now, let’s see if we can get the top off, shall we?’
    The lid was heavy and felt like fragile stone. Sir William described it as ‘calcite’ but it wasn’t a material that George was familiar with. The closest he had seen before was alabaster.
    They laid the lid carefully on the ground and looked inside the box. It was divided up into five – a square area of two pairs, and at the end a single double-sized compartment. This larger space was empty, but in each of the others was what looked like a statue.
    â€˜A canopic chest,’ Sir William announced, as if this was entirely to be expected. He lifted out one of the statues.
    It was about two feet tall, cylindrical but widening to a top that was carved in the vague shape of a head. There were more hieroglyphs down the front, with the top painted into the face of an ape.
    George and Eddie lifted out the other statues and set them down in a row on a nearby shelf of a bookcase. They were similar, but the head of each figure was different.
    â€˜Are they just