“Quite so,” Barry agreed. His original purpose was forgotten, for here apparently was an even deeper mystery than that which had been puzzling him. “At the moment I simply don’t know what to make of it all, so please start right at the beginning.” Danbazzar took up a position before the mantelpiece. Barry could not help thinking that the background suited the figure. The man had the majestic presence of a Pharaoh. “The facts,” he began, speaking slowly and impressively and emphasizing his statements with graceful and unfamiliar gestures, “are of a sort which you would be justified in doubting if you met them in a Sunday newspaper. My reputation, though, gives them a greater value. But in spite of a life devoted to these subjects, I’m not infallible, and I won’t consent to go any further, as I have already told you, Mr. Cumberland”--turning in the latter’s direction--“until two other opinions have been taken.” “Your proposal is fair and reasonable,” was the reply; “and I have already agreed to it.” “Very well!” Danbazzar resumed. “The story starts from five years ago, when I was paying one of my periodical visits to Egypt, and when I discovered”--he pointed--“this papyrus. I won’t bore you with particulars of how it came into my possession as Mr. John Cumberland has these already. Nor can I account for its presence in the place where it was found. Enough to say that I recognized it to be genuine and immediately set to work to decipher it. I tried to restore, as far as possible, those parts which had become defaced. “A first glance had shown me that it was not the ordinary ritual buried with most mummies. A very short study proved that is was unique--unique in every way--and that it dated from the latter part of the reign of Seti the First.” “When did he reign?” Barry asked. “Roughly, about thirteen hundred and sixty years before Christ!” “Good heavens!” Barry stared again at the fragment with its amazing freshness of colouring; “then this thing is something over three thousand two hundred years old?” “Precisely,” Danbazzar nodded. “In other words, it dates from a time when the art of mummifying human bodies had reached a very high state of perfection. One day, perhaps very soon, you will see the mummy of Seti himself in the Cairo Museum. You will never forget the majesty of his features preserved by that lost art for over three thousand years. I mention the fact of the high development of the art of the mummy maker at this period, because the contents of the papyrus show that this had been achieved by long years of study, and that even more extraordinary results were looked for by a certain group of students closely associated with Pharaoh’s court.