Max possessed a splendid amount of courage, but to be alone in a tomb and suddenly to hear a terrible noise, and to be nearly suffocated with dust, to have the torch knocked over--fortunately not extinguished--would be sufficient to set the strongest nerves quivering, and make the most valiant man tremble. He dare not raise his head. He was afraid to open his eyes. Had he done so, he would have known that the commotion was caused by a huge bat trying to escape from the inhabited tomb. Nearly an hour passed before Max found courage enough to lift up the torch, which had nearly burned itself out. If his torch went out, what was he to do? He was far from being a madcap at that time. But youth asserted itself, and Max found his spirits rising, perhaps aided considerably by his eyes suddenly perceiving another torch. “I’ll have a gay old time. Why shouldn’t I? Eh, old fellow?” Was Max addressing himself or one of the mummies in the place? He lighted the torch, and began to look round his prison house. On the walls--which had once been smoothed by sculptor’s skill--were the remains of paintings and hieroglyphic inscriptions. “These old fellows believed in having their tombs beautiful!” exclaimed Max, aloud. And the words had scarcely left his lips when his hair began to rise on his head, for he heard a voice add, with sepulchral emphasis: “Beautiful!” “Who’s there?” asked Max, half afraid of his own voice. “There!” “It was only an echo,” said Max; but all the same it was startling, especially when the voice of the tomb repeated the last syllable: “Oh!” But the sturdy young American laughed; and the whole tomb seemed alive with demoniac mirth, as the walls beat back the loud guffaws of the youth. “I shall go mad!” exclaimed Max. “Mad!” repeated the echo. With wonderful courage Madcap Max remained silent for a time, afraid of the echo, and yet not afraid to continue his search. Close to the place where Girzilla had kept the eatables was a sarcophagus, which seemed as if it had not been opened. Here was something to do. He resolved to open the stone casket. The work was easier than he anticipated, for the lid was not fastened down, and Max was able to push it on one side. He brought over a torch so that he might the better look into the huge cavern-like coffin. When he did so he saw a mummy; the face, outlined by the cloths, was that of a woman. “Who can it have been?” he wondered. And then, with a pure love of fun, he resolved to unwrap the body, which may have been hidden from the world two or three thousand years, and present the mummy to his strange girl friend. Max was now in his glory. He had something to do, and at the same time his spirit of mischief was aroused. He never imagined that Girzilla would be frightened if she entered and saw a mummified Egyptian looking at her. It would be fun to watch her countenance. And that was all that Max did it for.