"Wait!" " Take a look at this." " What is it?" "We found it ten foot from the entrance." "Looks like a badge of some sort." "It is." "And I think it proves that we're on the right track at last." "I hope so, for John's sake." "Let's go and talk to him." "Steve, John must get his leg properly set." "He's your son." "You must send him back to base." "That's for him to decide." "I'll abide by what he says." " Hello, Father." " We've got something, Son." " Where exactly was this found?" " Ten foot from the entrance." "It's the badge of the Karnak guards." " It could be." " But it is, man, you know it is." "Look at the hieroglyphic on the reverse there." "Yes, I believe it is!" " Have you seen this, Uncle Joe?" " Yes, I've seen it." "Any idea of the length of the gallery?" "Hard to say, five foot, possibly ten?" "We should break through in four or five days, then." " Uh-huh." " What about your leg, John?" " What about it?" " Well, I don't know much about medicine, but I do know that if that leg isn't set properly now, it will knit the way it is." "It's your decision, Son." "Five days isn't long to wait." "It's a damn sight too long." "Joseph, you're not an archaeologist, but you know better than anyone else what's been put into this search." "For 20 years, I've been trying to discover the tomb of Ananka." "We know that she set out on a pilgrimage to Amtak." "We know that she disappeared with all her party." "We've discovered a concealed tomb in the rock face out there, and we now have evidence that one of her soldiers had access to it." "He might even have been part of the burial party." "Think, man, in five days, we might be looking at Ananka herself." "Or we might be looking at an empty hole in the ground." "Joseph!" "I promised to abide by John's decision." "You're his father, you could have ordered him there." "That boy's going to have a twisted leg for the rest of his life and it'll be your fault." "Well, this is it." "Pity poor old John couldn't come in with us." "I promised to let him know what we'd find." "Glad you stayed, Joseph?" "I'll tell you that when I see how John's leg heals." "Oh, it'll be all right, man." "You haven't heard him complaining, have you?" "That's because he's as pig-headed as you are." "He's my son." " Are you ready?" " Ready." "Mr Banning?" "I'm Banning." "I must ask you to stop these operations." "I don't understand." "You must not continue digging here." "Why on earth not?" "We've got all the necessary permits, haven't we, Joseph?" "I'm not interested in permits." " You're not from the Egyptian government?" " No, I'm not." "Oh." "There's no more to be said." "Mr Banning, please?" "Allow me to appeal to your reason." "Believe me when I say that what you are doing places yourself and the rest of your party in the gravest danger." "If you persist in continuing with this operation," "I cannot answer for the consequences." "Nobody's asking you to, sir." "And now if you'll excuse me..." "Mr Banning!" "You would do well to remember the ancient saying," "He who robs the graves of Egypt dies." "Now, for the last time, please stop what you're doing and leave this place." "And for the last time, kindly mind your own business." "Come on, Joseph." "Superb." " Is it?" " Yeah." "It's the royal seal of Ananka." "Now then, hold your breath, Joseph." "Marvellous." "Absolutely undisturbed." "Is it really Ananka?" "It must be." ""Ananka." ""Lady of the two kingdoms." ""High priestess of the great god Karnak."" "It is, Joseph." " I'll tell John." " Huh?" "Stephen, I'll tell John." "Yes, do that." "Is it the tomb, effendi?" "Yes, the tomb of Ananka." "It's the Scroll of Life." "Is he quite sure?" "There's no doubt?" "No doubt at all." "After all these years." "Confound this leg." "You'd better get back, he'll need help." "Let him have his moment of triumph." "Steve, what is it?" "What's happened?" "Was that the last?" "Hmm?" " What did you say?" " Was that the last?" "Yes, yes, that was all of it." " Isobel?" " Mmm-hmm." " How is she?" " She's fine." "What did she say about your father?" "She went to see him again." "Still the same." "Doctors think it's permanent." "How can they say that?" "When Father first went into the nursing home, they said if there was no improvement in six months, there never would be." "They may be wrong, you know." "They know very little about mental illness." " All is ready, effendi." " OK." "You want to see the inside of the tomb for the last time?" "The sooner you seal it up again, the happier I shall be." "Yes, I feel the same way." "I've worked in dozens of tombs." "Seems the best part of my life's been spent amongst the dead." "But I've never worked in a place that had such an aura of menace." "There's something evil in there, Uncle Joe." "I felt it." "Oh, well, let's get it over." "I've placed a charge 12 feet along the tunnel." "It'll bring the roof down." "Great god Karnak, father of all living things, hear these words from me, the humblest of your servants." "For this desecration, you will be avenged." "Those unbelievers who disturb the rest of your handmaiden, the princess Ananka, shall suffer for their blasphemy." "Though it takes me years of earthly time," "I shall re-enter the tomb and find the instrument of your revenge, as ordained by your servants 4,000 years ago." "This I swear." "Yes, completely unexpected." "It happened this morning, when they went to wake him." "He asked for you straight away." "But for three years, he hasn't even acknowledged that he has a son." "Now he starts asking for me." "How do you explain it, Doctor?" "Frankly, at the moment, I can't." "I had thought that his condition was permanent." "As you know, I believe that he suffered a physical stroke to the brain." "Should be incurable." "Could this mean that he's going to get better?" "I don't know, Mrs Banning." "His condition could be purely temporary." " May I see him?" " Of course." "I would suggest alone." " I'll wait for you here." " All right." "Oh, James, show Mr Banning to his father, please." " Yes, sir." "Right this way, sir." " Thank you." "Hello, Father." "John?" "You must excuse me, I..." "I've been unwell, you understand." "My memory..." " You look well, Son." " I am well, thanks." "Your leg, what's the matter with it?" "Oh, I..." "I damaged it three years ago." "It didn't mend very well." "Oh." "You should have seen a doctor and had it set." "You wanted to see me, Father?" "Oh, yes." "The mummy." "I wanted to tell you about the mummy." " The mummy?" " From Ananka's tomb." "Oh, she's in the British Museum." "Not the princess, not her." "It was the mummy who lives." "I'm afraid I don't..." "I don't understand." "The mummy I brought to life when I read the scroll." "There was no other mummy." "Don't talk rubbish, man, I was there, I saw it myself." "It came from the rock when I read the scroll." " What scroll?" " The Scroll of Life." "After 4,000 years, the words of the scroll brought him to life again." "It hates us, John." "It hates us for desecrating the tomb of its princess." " It will kill us!" "It will kill us, all of us!" " Father..." "Father, you mustn't upset yourself." "Stop thinking about it." "Nothing really happened that day, you know." "You're a fool, John." "Thank you for coming." "Goodbye, Father." "Remember, John..." "Someone has found the scroll." "The mummy is released again." "As I was saying..." "I says to him," ""If you think I'm going to cart goods which I don't know nothing about," ""then you've got another thing coming your way, mister," I says." " So he says?" " So he says," ""It don't make no difference what you're carting, so long as you get paid for it"." "So you says?" "To which I was forced to agree, times being what they are." "But he didn't tell you what was in it?" "Oh, something about relics." "Aye, relics." " All the way from Egypt." " Relics?" "Why send all the way to Egypt for them?" "You've got them right here in Englefield." "Well, these come from Egypt." " Well, I don't like the look of him." " Who?" "The cove we're doing the carting for." "He's a foreigner." "Well, he can't help that, poor chap." "Come on, drink up." "We've got to get going." " Good night, Bill." " Good night." " I'll drive." " I'll drive, you're drunk." "It's my cart, my horse and I'll drive." "What a dear old horse." "A man's best friend is a horse." "It's a dog." "It's a horse." "I'm not that drunk." " And I'll drive." " All right, you drive..." "Whoa!" "Do you think we'd better tie that down?" " What for?" " The road is bumpy." "Aw, just past the nursing home, he said." "It's only half a mile." " Right." " Giddyup!" "The mummy." "It's waiting." "It's always there." "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" " That's from the nuthouse." " Perhaps one of them got out." "The box isn't half moving about." "You'd better slow down over the causeway." "I'm not going to have my throat cut by no lunatic." "Not for all the relics in Egypt." "Take care, Jim." "You'll have me in too if you're not careful." "Oh, it's hopeless." "Parts of this bog are next to bottomless." "We'll never find it." "Now, for some particulars, if you don't mind." "First, what was on the cart?" "A great, ruddy box." "We was taking it to the house up the ways there." " And what was in the box?" " I don't know." "But whatever it was, I reckon it's better at the bottom of the bog." "Why do you say that?" "It's my idea there was something in that box which wasn't quite right." "I see." "Now, where do you say you was taking the box?" "Up the ways there." "A big house, set back, he said." " Who said?" " I said, Officer." "Oh." "Morning, sir." "You was expecting this box?" "Yes, I was." "I engaged this man and his companion to transport it from the station." "I see." "Well, hard luck, isn't it?" "I mean, losing it like this." "Is it quite irrecoverable?" "Oh, yes, sir." "Quite." "I see." "Thank you, Officer." "One moment, sir, if you don't mind." "The contents of the box?" "Relics, Officer." "Egyptian relics." "Nothing more." "I'm very sorry, Mr Banning." "I simply cannot explain it." "First, we have this recovery after three years, and now this." "I've never known him so violent." "He seems to have a persecution mania." "He..." "He thinks there's somebody who wants to kill him." " When did it start?" " Yesterday evening." "There's..." "There's nothing I can do I suppose." "Nothing whatever, I'm afraid." "We have him in a padded cell for his own safety." "Is that really necessary?" "We cannot possibly afford to take any chances." "He may do himself a serious injury." "You see, with this persecution complex, he's quite liable to take his own life in order to cheat whoever he thinks is after him." "It's quite common." "But what could have put him in this state of mind?" "As far as I know, he hasn't an enemy in the world." "Great Karnak, god of all light and darkness, hear this prayer from the humblest of your servants." "Help me in my task." "Make my way easy, that I may achieve your desires and return to the land of my forebears." ""Return, O Ka, the double." "O Ba, the soul." ""Pulse strong, O Ab, the heart." ""Make supple the limbs and strong the sinews." ""Refill, oh, my soul, this heart with tenderness that he may walk the Land of Khem," ""in all thy strength and beauty," ""and wear once more the Urolith."" "O Karnak, through me, guide this, thy servant, on his appointed task." "Go now." "Go and destroy those who desecrated the tomb of our princess." "Those unbelievers who gazed upon her long-dead face." "Go." "And let the spirit of Karnak, our god, go with you." "Now, If you want anything in the night, just ring this bell." "It's no good shouting or banging on the door." "We won't hear you." "All right now?" "Good night, Mr Banning." "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "The very nature of this deed points to the fact that it was committed by some homicidal maniac." "And if it were not for the evidence of forced entry," "I would have no hesitation in telling the doctor of the nursing home to look among his own inmates." "However, there is no doubt that the perpetrator of this crime came from outside the nursing home and left the premises immediately after the crime." "I can only exhort the police to do everything in their power to apprehend this individual with the utmost dispatch." "The verdict of this court is murder by person or persons unknown." ""Person or persons unknown."" " Coroner said it was the work of a maniac." " I can't believe that." "There must be a motive somewhere." "We must go through his papers." "Perhaps we'll find something there." "He was in the nursing home for three years." "And before that, 10 years in Egypt." "Then, we'll have plenty to work on." "Father kept a record of everything." "I still don't know exactly what we're looking for." "I don't really know myself." "A letter, a note." "Anything that may give us a lead." "But, Uncle, you knew Father pretty well." "Did he ever mention anyone to you who bore him a grudge or he disliked?" "I never remember your father saying a harsh word about anyone ever." " Except that Egyptian fellow that time." " What Egyptian?" "You remember I told you." "The day we entered Ananka's tomb." " The man who tried to stop us." " Yes, yes, I remember." "That sort of thing was always happening." ""Dear Mr Banning, unless this account is settled..."" "So much debt." "He was such a methodical man in everything else, but he would leave paying bills to the last minute." "He was always being sued." "If you could remember the argument you had when you decided to take him in hand?" "He said he was perfectly capable of dealing with his own business affairs." "And two minutes later, there was a little man on the doorstep serving a writ." "We had a good laugh about it afterwards." "You were very fond of your father, weren't you?" "Yes." "Yes, I was." "In spite of that leg." "That was my own fault." "I could have gone back to base and had it set." "Then all the trouble started." "Do you remember that day?" "I don't think I shall ever forget it." "That look on your father's face when he realised he'd discovered Ananka's tomb." "And then afterwards." "It was..." "It was never really established what made him crack, was it?" " Overwork and the excitement." " That was the doctor's verdict." "That's what it was." "What else could it have been?" "I can't get out of my mind what Father said to me the other day when I went to see him." "All that nonsense about the living mummy and the Scroll of Life?" " Mmm-hmm." " You'd better, otherwise you'll be having a breakdown too." " What's that?" " The Ananka folio." " Do you know the legend?" " Vaguely, yes." "What about it?" " Do you know it?" " No, I don't really." "Some wild story about the living dead." "That sort of thing, wasn't it?" "And here it is." ""In the year 2000 BC," ""the Princess Ananka, high priestess of the temple of Karnak, set out on a pilgrimage." ""She was bound for Amtak, the reputed birthplace of her god." ""The great procession travelled for three months," ""when the princess was stricken with a sickness from which she died." ""The body of the princess lay in state in her own tent," ""while the involved and lengthy mourning ceremonies took place."" "I am come unto thee, O Osiris, who art cleansed of all impurities." "Thou goest 'round heaven." "Thou seest Ra." "Thou seest the beings who have knowledge." "Behold, thou art in the Sektet Boat as it goeth 'round the horizon of heaven." "Prosper thou for me." "All the ways unto thee." "Homage to thee, Osiris, thou mighty and beneficent being." "Thou holy god." "Thou prince of eternity." ""Then her body was prepared for embalming" ""by the incredible process known only to the ancient Egyptians." ""First, it was anointed with the holy oils."" "Hail, Osiris, triumphant." "The goddess Wa hath given thee birth." "And Anubis, who sitteth upon the hill, hath set thee in order and will fasten thee thy swathings." "Thou art more beautiful than a goddess and hath been begotten for transformations more numerous and with a created form more perfect than those of the gods." ""Then the embalmers, with natron and sweet spices" ""prepared her for everlasting preservation."" "The god, Ta Sekret, hath given unto thee the honours of the divine house which he hath." "Peoples and nations exalt thee." "The majesty of thy terror is in the hearts of men and the dead." ""And thus she lay for 70 days in her bath of natron." ""Custom decreed that after purification," ""the body of the princess should be returned" ""to the coastal plains where she had ruled in life." ""But Kharis, high priest, for reasons of his own, chose to ignore custom." ""Here she had died and here she would remain for all time." ""He caused a tomb to be prepared close to the place of death," ""and it was to this tomb that the ceremonial cortege moved to in final procession." ""Centuries of time had laid down the laws governing the order of the procession." ""The Sektet Boat forbearing the spirit of the dead to the afterworld." ""The living god, personification of the recorder of souls." ""Anubis, guardian of the tomb." ""The head of the goddess Hathor." ""Maidens bearing the Ushabti," ""symbols of mythical power and significance." ""The royal mummy itself, the mortal remains of the Princess Ananka." ""Kharis, high priest, the personal representative of his god Karnak," ""nursing within him a terrible secret." ""The tomb had been hewn deep in the side of a mountain." ""It was designed to remain inviolate for all time." ""Although 1,000 miles from her home, the princess was laid to rest" ""with the full pomp and circumstance which was her divine right." ""As the high priestess of the god Karnak," ""to have done less would have been committing sacrilege." ""Under the watchful eye of Kharis, the royal mummy was taken" ""from its bier by Nubian slaves and was carried into the tomb." ""Behind it walked Kharis." ""And behind him came the casket containing the heart of the princess." ""Much blood was to flow during the succeeding days." ""Many were to die, both for the further glorification of the princess" ""and to ensure that the location of the tomb remained a secret." ""The Nubian slaves were put to the sword." ""Their fate was ordained, as was the fate of the six maidens." ""They all died so that their spirits would accompany that of their princess" ""into the afterworld."" "Hail to thee, child of the god Shu." "The underworld has gained mastery over his diadem." "Like the Hammamet beings, may thou arise, even as Karnak doth arise and fare forth." "Have power over the speech of thy mouth." ""Thus started the final rites." "Rites that continued for six days," ""culminating in the sealing of the tomb." ""That night, Kharis returned to the tomb alone." ""He violated the royal and sacred seal to regain entry." ""In life, the princess had been loved by Kharis." "It was a forbidden love," ""the high priestess being bound by all vows to the god Karnak himself." ""But now Ananka was dead." "And the vows were no longer binding." ""Kharis now attempted the ultimate in blasphemy." ""Using the timeless Scroll of Life" ""said to have been written by the hand of the god Karnak himself," ""he tried to bring back to life the princess he loved."" "O, thou lord of souls." "O, thou lord of the tomb." "Thou mighty one of Amentet." "Let not these limbs be without movement." "Let them not pass away." "And let them not suffer from corruption." "Make supple these limbs and strong these sinews." "Refill, oh, my soul, this heart with tenderness, that she may walk again the land of Khem in all her strength and beauty." "Give life." "Give life when I pronounce the mighty word of power." "Fulfil ye now the will of the lord god Karnak." ""For this dreadful profanity," ""Kharis was sentenced to have his tongue cut from his mouth" ""so that the cries he would utter during the fate that awaited him" ""should not offend the ears of the gods." ""Death was not for Kharis, nor was life." ""For his sins, he was sentenced to remain for all time" ""on guard near the body of his princess." ""He was buried alive in a secret tomb specially prepared for him." "The rest of them never got back to Egypt." "Illness perhaps?" "Savages?" "Who knows." "That is the legend of Ananka." "The dictionary defines "legend" as being historical myth." "But don't forget half the story we know is fact." "We know that Ananka died on a pilgrimage and was buried somewhere in the jungle." "We know that no survivors ever returned to Egypt." "Now, if half the story is true, why not the other half?" "Because the other half is removed from fact." "It's fantasy." "Dad knew all about the legend." "Perhaps having discovered that half of it was true, he let his imagination persuade him that the rest of it could have been." "Is it possible that's what drove him out of his mind?" "Possible, yes." "He was overexcited, he'd been working too hard." "But remember, John, historical myth." "Treat it as such." "If you don't want the same thing to happen to you." "A fairy story, nothing more." "Help us, your servants, O Karnak, to fulfil the second of our tasks." "Go now." "Destroy the second of the infidels who dared to desecrate the tomb of your princess." "Hey, Bill, give us a whisky." "Make it a large one." "Anything wrong, mate?" " Gamekeeper troubles?" " I wish it was gamekeepers." "I've seen the like tonight that mortal eyes shouldn't look at." "You've been round to Molly Grady's again." "Ten foot tall, he was!" "Swathed in bandages, come lumbering through that wood like a great bear." " Who?" " You mean "what?"" "I tell you, it wasn't human." "Oh, I needed that." "Are you sure that's the first one you've had tonight?" "Have you been seeing the little people?" "If it's little people, it's the biggest little people ever you heard anything about." "I'll have another one of those." "I tell you, something very unpleasant is going to happen here tonight." "Well, John, I'm going to bed." "I think you should too." "We'll do some more in the morning." "Yes, of course." "You must be tired, I'm sorry." " Goodnight." " Goodnight." "What I don't understand, Mr Banning, is that if you hit him like you say you did, you must have killed him." "You didn't do that, otherwise there would be a body." "So, I must assume that you missed." "I tell you, Inspector, I hit him, twice at least from here." " At four yards?" " At four yards." "I see." "All right, let us have your impressions as to who this intruder must have been." "You'd never seen him before?" "I told you, Inspector, he was bandaged, there was just a slit for his eyes, the rest of him was covered." "With bandages?" "Extraordinary." " And you hit him twice." " At four yards." "I see." "Well, I've got men out there looking for him now." "That's all we can do at the moment." "You'll let me know if you have any ideas." " I have one already." " You have?" "Why didn't you say so?" "You wouldn't believe me." "I don't believe you about hitting him, if that's what you mean." "All right, Inspector." "I believe the intruder was a mummy, a living mummy." " A mummy." "One of those Egyptian things?" " That's right." "I thought they were always dead people." "They usually are." "By rights, this one should be dead too." " Now, look..." " Inspector, would you sit down, please?" "I want to tell you about something that happened three years ago." "Something I'm now convinced happened to my father." "As you know, he was driven out of his mind." "We were excavating a tomb." "The tomb of a princess Ananka, who died 4,000 years ago." "I was out of action at the time." "My leg." "Father and Uncle Joseph entered the tomb without me." "Uncle had promised to let me have any news as soon as he could." ""Ananka." ""Lady of the two kingdoms." ""High priestess of the great god Karnak."" "It is, Joseph." " I'll tell John." " Huh?" "Stephen, I'll tell John." "Yes, do that." "It's the Scroll of Life." ""To restore to life." ""O thou lord of souls" ""O thou lord of the tomb." ""O mighty one of Amentet." ""Let not these limbs" ""be without movement." ""Let them not pass away," ""and let them not suffer from corruption." ""Make supple these limbs" ""and strong these sinews." ""Refill, oh, my soul," ""this heart with tenderness," ""that he may walk..."" "When my uncle found him, Father's mind was completely unbalanced." "He never recovered." "I didn't believe the story my father told me." "I..." "I thought he was..." "Well..." "But I'm beginning to think differently now." "Mr Banning, are you trying to tell me that these two murders were committed by a dead man?" " I knew you wouldn't believe me." " You're right, I don't." "I find it incredible that you should even imagine such a story." "I deal in facts, Mr Banning." "Cold, hard facts." "The facts tell me that someone broke in here, committed a murder, then got away." "There is no doubt whoever did it killed your father too." "This I consider a fact also." "But that's where the facts run out." "Well, it's my job to dig around until I unearth some more facts." "But facts, Mr Banning, not fantasy straight out of Edgar Allan Poe." "If you've any more ideas, please let me hear them." "They make fascinating listening if nothing else." "There is one more." "I think I'm the next to be killed." " It was only a little hare, sir." " Er, thank you, Sergeant." " It was dead anyway, sir." " Sit down, would you?" "I'm Inspector Mulrooney, criminal investigation from London." "An inspector from..." "The squire's gone mad altogether." " I beg your pardon?" " It was only a little hare, sir." "And you're a..." "I'd better explain to you the way it was." "You see, I was out having a bit of a stroll, minding my own business, see, through the woods, and I happened to see this little bunny lying down there." "It was dead, sir." "Killed." "In one of them wicked traps." "So I picked it up, sir, I was going to give it a decent burial..." "And what else did you see in the woods?" "Nothing, sir." "Only a little bunny, it was lying there..." "Uh-huh." "It's been reported that you rushed into The Red Lion last night saying you'd seen a man in the woods." "Oh, yes, I..." "I saw him, all right." "Describe him to me, please." "Oh, well, sir, he was horrible, sir." "He was about 10 foot high..." " How high?" " Well... 7'6"?" "Yeah, he'd be about that." "About 7'6 ", 7'7"." "I had a father once." "He was tall." "About seven foot, something like that..." "And then?" "Well, and then there was all this yelling coming from the nuthouse." "I got scared and whipped up the horses." "Went over the causeway and the box just fell off." "Straight into the swamp." "There wasn't a hope of saving it, not a hope." "Ah, it was nasty business all round." "Very scarifying, it was." "Thank you." "Give him another, will you?" "I thought the crate was gone for good." "Well, parts of the bog are next to bottomless, you understand, sir." " Well, I was going up to see this man..." " Which man?" "The one whose crate it was, the Egyptian." "Anyway, I didn't have to." "He arrived on the scene, and, well, I told him straight away..." " How did he take it?" " Well, it's funny, that one, sir." "Here's this crate come thousands of miles from Egypt." "Then to lose it practically on his doorstep." "Well, he didn't seem to mind." "Treated the whole thing casual like." " And the contents of the box?" " Relics, he said, sir." " Relics?" " Egyptian relics." "The last task is upon us, O Karnak." "Watch over us as you have watched over me during the past three years." "Watch as you did throughout the long journey from our own land to this strange country of the unbeliever." "Watch while Kharis, the living mummy, your servant, performs this last task, the one that will release him from his eternal bondage." "The destruction of the last member of the party who desecrated the tomb of your high priestess." "Go now, Kharis." "Kill the last unbeliever who disturbed the sleep of your beloved." "John, isn't it time you came to bed?" " What's the matter?" " It's extraordinary." "I never noticed it before, but with your hair like that, you're the image of Ananka." "Am I?" "She was considered the most beautiful woman in the world." "Oh, I am flattered." " Mind you, the world wasn't so big then." " Oh, don't spoil it for me." "Have you heard anything more from the police?" "No, not since this morning." "Why don't they hurry up and do something before there's another murder?" "Well, they're doing the best they can, I suppose." "It's frightening to think of some maniac wandering around loose in the countryside." "Yes." "Yes, it is." "Oh, thank you." "You know something, don't you?" "It's just an idea." "Have you told it to the police?" "I told them, but they didn't believe me." "I can't blame them either." "Won't you tell me?" "It's just that I think the... the maniac might come here again." "Here?" "Yes, he wants to kill me." "John, what are you saying?" "Of course, I may be wrong." "But if I'm not, my only chance of catching him is to sit here and wait." "But you told me the police didn't believe you." "They didn't." "You're going to do this by yourself?" "What else can I do?" "I won't allow it." "John, this is ridiculous." "What can you do alone against this man?" "I have to take a chance." "I'll have my gun, be ready for him." "I won't let you." "If what you think is true, you should get away now." "Or at least ask for police protection." "Darling, I tried to convince the inspector, but he wanted facts." "But, Isobel... if you really want to help me, you'll go upstairs to your room and lock the door." " But I..." " Isobel..." "I've never ordered you to do anything before, but I'm doing so now." "Please do as I ask." "Please go, Isobel." "Very well, John." "John, please take care." "I will, darling." "Don't worry." "No!" "Darling!" "Darling!" "Are you all right?" "He thought your wife here was this Ananka woman, is that it?" "You'll admit there's a strong resemblance." "She's been dead for a thousand years." "So has the mummy, a comatose state of living death." "You know, Mr Banning, this morning I was all for having you certified." "And now?" "I've been asking questions all day, trying to get some sort of lead." "What I've come up with helps to confirm what you're saying." "I'm glad you're convinced." "I didn't say that, but it is a theory." "My facts seem to have gone wrong." "Now tell me what you know about this man who is supposed to be an Egyptian." "What man?" "The one that's just taken the big house past the nursing home." " An Egyptian?" " So the locals say." "Though it's my belief they wouldn't know an Egyptian from a Chinese acrobat." " But what's an Egyptian doing here?" " That's what I asked myself." "Didn't you ask him?" "Mr Banning, if he tells me he's over here to grow mushrooms, I'll have to accept it." "And he's not likely to say he's over here to murder a few people." " Don't you know anything about him?" " Nothing." "I don't even know if he's really Egyptian." " I could find out." " No doubt, but you're not going to." "This must tie up." "It's too great a coincidence." "If he's up to something, you'll be placing yourself in danger." "I know, it's your own neck." "But, at the moment, I'm partially responsible for keeping it where it belongs." "It's my duty to warn you not to take any action yet." "All right, Inspector." "It'll take a little time, but I'll find out about him eventually." " You're going, Inspector?" " I am, but I shan't be far away." "Now remember, Mr Banning, no private police work please." " Goodnight, Inspector." " Goodnight." "Great God, we have accomplished what we set out to do." "The three desecrators are now dead." "At last, you have been avenged." "Now, we are free to return to our own country, if that is your desire." "You have done well, Kharis." "You may rest." "Soon we start the long journey home." "Rest, Kharis." "I will call you when it's time." "Go." "Good evening." "My name is Banning." "I live a few miles from here." "I'd heard there was a newcomer to this rather lonely district, so I thought I'd pay you a neighbourly call." "This is very courteous of you, Mr Banning." "I hope I haven't called at an inconvenient time." " Not at all." "Do come in." " Thank you." "My name is Mehemet Akhir." "This way please." "Thank you." "It is so difficult getting to know people in a strange land." "You come from Egypt, don't you?" " Yes, I do." " I spent many years in your country." "You must know Egypt very well then." "There's still a lot I want to learn." "You're not Banning the archaeologist?" "John Banning, junior member." "Of course, you're Stephen Banning's son." "You knew my father?" "Only by reputation." "I haven't heard about him lately." "Has he retired?" "My father is dead." "I'm sorry." "Please accept my sympathy." "May I have your coat?" "Won't you sit down?" "Thank you." "Well, this is indeed an honour." "To meet someone who has taken part in unearthing so many of the sacred secrets of my country." "Are you interested in archaeology?" "Yes, I am." "Academically, that is." "Not commercially." "It has often puzzled me about archaeologists." "Has it never occurred to them that by opening the tombs of beings who are sacred, they commit an act of desecration?" "If we didn't, the history of your country, indeed a great part of civilisation, would still be unknown." "Nevertheless, those tombs were sealed for all time." "You're an intruder." "You force your way in, you remove the remains of the long dead kings and send them to places like the British Museum, where thousands of people can stare at them." "Does this not trouble you at times?" "Your conscience, perhaps?" "No, it's my job." "But it troubles you?" "Why should it trouble me?" "I'm a civilised man, Mr Banning." "To me, the dead are the dead." "Clay." "Can I offer you some refreshment?" "No, thank you." "A cigar, perhaps?" "Do you mind if I keep to these?" "Not at all." "I'm very sorry to hear about your father." " When did he die?" " Recently." " Had he been, uh..." " Thank you." "Ill for some time?" "Yes, he had." "But that wasn't the cause of his death." "What was the cause then?" " He was murdered." " Oh." "It was a great shock to me." "Oh, please forgive my apathy." "In my country, as you know, violence is quite commonplace." "It doesn't leave the same impression as it does in this peaceful, well-ordered community." "The history of your country is steeped in violence." "Indeed, it is." "I remember the opening of Princess Ananka's tomb." "She was high priestess to a pagan god, Karnak." "We have reason to believe that over 100 people were put to death during her funeral rites." "Most probably." "And Karnak wasn't a particularly important deity, a third-rate god." "Not to those who believed in him." "Perhaps not." "But their standard of intelligence must have been remarkably low." "Why do you say that?" "He was insignificant." "He had nothing to commend him to anyone with the slightest degree of intelligence." "But surely, you're assuming a great deal." "I don't think so." "I made an extensive study of this so-called religion." "It's based upon artificial creeds and beliefs, some of them ludicrous in the extreme." "Did it not occur to you that beneath the superficial you've learnt about, there could be a great and passionate devotion to this God." "It occurred to me, but I dismissed it." "You're intolerant, Mr Banning." "Not intolerant, just practical." "Intolerant." "Because you're unable to experience the greatness of a deity, you dismiss it as of no consequence." "But believe me, to those who worship and serve Karnak, he is all-powerful." "Surely, there can't be people who still have such beliefs?" "Now you talk about something of which you know nothing." "You've scratched only the surface and you know nothing." "You assume the right to disturb the everlasting peace of the gods." "You pry and meddle with unclean hands and eyes." "Profanity, blasphemy, religious desecration, all these you are guilty of." "But the powers with which you have meddled do not rest easy." "I think you will not go unpunished." "Punished?" "By whom?" "There are certain things for which civilisation has no answer." "But if you choose to meddle thus, then you must be prepared to face the consequences, whatever they are." "Consequences?" "That sounds like a threat." "You must excuse me, Mr Banning." "We like to think that our European dress, our liberal education have buried the past." "But, occasionally, one is forced to realise that all this is only veneer." "Thousands of years of traditional belief cannot be dismissed in one generation." "Please, accept my apologies." "Please, I should apologise to you." "After all, I only came here to welcome you." "I'm afraid I got rather carried away." "I mustn't detain you any longer." "You haven't detained me at all." " May I?" " Please do." "The 20th dynasty, isn't it?" "Nineteenth." "Yes, of course." "How stupid of me." "Have you any other pieces in this period?" "Very few, I'm afraid." "A large consignment was lost in transit, I'm sorry to say." "How unfortunate." "The trouble is these things are irreplaceable." "Quite." "Thank you." "Most interesting." "Thank you for calling." "We shall meet again." " It's a small world." "Goodnight." " Goodnight." "Karnak, great god, your servants have failed you." "The task is not yet accomplished." "But this will be remedied." "Before the sun strokes the horizon, the last desecrator will be dead." "This, I promise." "I have served you faithfully, great god, to the best of my humble ability." "But if it should be that I'm unable to commune with you again, then so be it." "We go now." "Our fate and our destiny we place in your merciful hands." "Come, Kharis." "This time you shall not fail." "If he'd strangled you there and then, it would have served you right." "Inspector, my father and his brother have both been killed." "I had to do something." "Anyway, I found out what you wanted." "Are you sure it was him?" "I'm certain." "Apart from his conversation, he had the seal to Ananka's tomb." "What more do you want, Inspector?" "Surely..." "I'll tell you, Mrs Banning." "Perhaps your husband is right." "Perhaps this man is controlling the mummy." "I'm inclined to think he is." "But what you don't understand is he's been forced into a position where he has got to act and act soon." "I didn't want to force any action until I was ready to deal with it." "By that time it might have been too late." "Couldn't we get more help?" "At the moment, the sergeant is trying to round up some of the villagers." "In the meantime, all I have is PC Blake and another man." "Where are they?" "Blake is at the back of the house." "The other man is up the road." "It's loaded." "Now, sir, as you're acting as decoy," "I think it would be safer if Mrs Banning came with me." " Oh, I don't think so." " No, don't worry, Mrs Banning." "The man up the road will give us plenty of warning." "It's best." "If anything happens, fire your gun as a signal." "You stay here, Mrs Banning." "I'm going around to the front to check up." "All right." "Inspector Mulrooney!" "Stop!" "Isobel, your hair!" "Stop!" "Kill her, Kharis." "Kill her!" "Kill her!" "What happened?" "He's taken Isobel." " Where do you think he'll take her?" " The house." "Wait, look." "He's taking her to the swamp." "No!" "Don't risk it." "Don't shoot, you'll hit Mrs Banning." "Now what are we going to do?" "Have the men line up here." "Come on, into position." "Isobel!" "Isobel, this is John." "Isobel!" "Isobel!" "Isobel, tell him to put you down." "Tell him, Isobel, quickly." "Kharis." "Kharis, put me down." "Let's go around the other side." "Tell the men to be ready." "Stand by, men." "Be ready." "Put me down." "Kharis, put me down." "Isobel, start walking towards me." "Slowly." "When I shout, get down as low as you can." "Now, Isobel." "Fire!" "Come on, Isobel." "You're safe now."