16-THE HIDDEN TRAPDOOR

THE HIDDEN TRAPDOOR After a lot of work, we finished searching the whole Egyptian Mouseum. But we didn't find the missing papyrus or the treasure. Luckily, Professor Sandsnout had a plan. "Let's go back to the underground chamber where I found THE MUMMY WITH NO NAME. Maybe we'll find something there," he suggested. Oh no, I thought. Not the basement. I hate basements. They're so DARK and COLD. And some are crawling with bugs. Did I tell you I hate bugs? I bit my lip and followed the others with shaky paws. The professor led the way down

the old spiral staircase. The flickering candle he held in his paw made SPOOKY SHADOWS on the walls. DOWN, DOWN, DOWN we went until we reached the underground chamber. I looked around. The place was PACKED with stuff, just like the professor had said— urns, chests, bowls, statues. And everything was covered in dust. What a PIGSTY! Didn't any mouse ever clean up around here? This place was almost as bad as Packrat Pete's living room. That rodent never threw anything away. Professor Sandsnout put the candle on the floor. "This is where I found the GOLDEN SARCOPHAGUS

that held THE MUMMY WITH NO NAME," he explained. There was so much DUST I could hardly breathe. I began to PANIC. What if I was having a life-threatening asthma attack? Then I remembered I don't have asthma. What a relief! I relaxed. I stared at the dusty floor. That's when I noticed some STRANGE FOOTPRINTS. I pointed them out to the professor, and we decided to follow them. The footprints led to a trapdoor on the floor. The professor grabbed the heavy metal ring on the door and pulled with all of his might. "Heeeave-Ho!" he squeaked. The door popped open. I was impressed. Who knew Professor Sandsnout had such STRONG MUSCLES?

Heeeave Ho!