Chapter 4

Chapter 4 "There must be a way to open the door from in here," Ruth Rose said. "Let's look for a switch or something." The kids searched the walls near the door but found nothing that would open it.

"But why did the door close in the first place?" Josh asked. "You might have set off an alarm when you touched the case," Ruth Rose said. "If she's right," Dink said, "someone will hear the alarm and come to see who's in here. All we have to do is wait." "Wait in here?" Josh squeaked. "It won't be for long," Dink said. "Any second now, that door will slide open again." "Yeah, well, let's wait in the treasure chamber," Josh muttered. "Those mummies are creeping me out." "They're just dust," Ruth Rose said. "But they're dead dust!" Josh said, heading into the chamber. The kids sat on the floor and leaned against a wall. The room was silent. The ceiling lights cast a soft glow onto the gold inside the cases. "I've always dreamed of being locked in a room full of gold," Josh said. "But now that I am, I'd rather be home." Minutes passed, then more minutes. No one came to rescue them. The stone door in the tomb remained solidly shut.

"No one knows we're in here," Josh muttered. "We could be trapped forever. We'll die and become mummies!" "Our parents all know we're at the museum," Ruth Rose said. "If I'm not home for supper, my dad will call." "But by then the museum will be closed," Josh insisted. "No one will answer the phone!" "Then my folks will drive here," Ruth Rose said. "Or they'll call the police," Dink said. "All we have to do is sit here and chill out." "I'm already chilled," Josh mumbled. "This place feels like the inside of a refrigerator." Dink grinned. "Gee, Joshua, I thought you'd be happy inside a refrigerator." "Very funny, Donald!" Josh muttered. "Plus, I'm sitting on gravel. Why can't they have carpets like normal people?" Ruth Rose stood up and wiped gravel and sand off her shorts. "Josh is right. Let's see if we can find someplace more comfortable to sit," she said. "Like home," Josh said. "Or like this!" Ruth Rose said. She had opened a small door cut into the stone wall.

"It's some kind of closet," Dink said, peering inside. "Egyptians didn't have closets," Josh said. The kids saw folding chairs, cleaning supplies, and a stack of carpet pieces. "The carpet squares must be for kids to sit on," Ruth Rose said. "Let's spread them out." The kids covered the closet floor with carpet squares, then lay down. "This is more like it," Josh said, making himself comfortable. "Now if someone would just bring

me some pizza and a soda, I'd be happy." "Would you share it with the mummies?" Ruth Rose asked Josh. "Nope." More time passed. Dink yawned, and his eyes grew heavy. He pulled the closet door shut, darkening the small room. Then he lay down, and they all drifted off to sleep. Suddenly, a huge blast shook the room. The folding chairs fell over with a crash, and a box of cleaning stuff flew off a shelf. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose bolted up out of a sound sleep. "What the heck was that?" Josh said. "It sounded like a bomb!" "I smell smoke!" Ruth Rose said in the dark. Dink opened the closet door a crack, then pulled it shut again. "The place is filled with dust," he said, wiping his eyes. "What happened?" Ruth Rose asked. Just then Dink heard voices. "Someone's out there," Josh said. "We're rescued!" "Quiet!" Dink whispered. "They wouldn't bomb the place to rescue us."

Dink nudged the door open a crack. He peered through the floating dust, then suddenly scooted back. Two shapes in dark clothing slipped past the closet, inches from the kids' noses. Both carried black gym bags. As the kids watched, the two figures separated, stopping in front of two of the glass cases. Dink heard glass breaking, and then a piercing alarm bell sounded. "Grab as much as you can. Then we're outta here!" one of the intruders said. "They're not here to rescue us," Dink whispered. "They're here to steal the mummies' gold!"