It was nearly dinnertime when Pete came up to see how they were doing. “It looks much better,” he said.
The Aldens finished up the corner they’d been working on and stepped back to look.
“Yes, it does,” said Jessie, “if I do say so myself.”
She and the others closed up the paint cans and cleaned the brushes and pans before they left. As they were walking out, the Aldens talked about all the interesting things they’d seen and learned about ancient Egypt so far.
“That was cool to learn how they made a mummy,” Henry said.
“And I like all those statues,” said Violet. “Especially those two gold cats.”
“And the baboon,” Benny added.
“That’s it!” Jessie cried.
“That’s what?” asked Benny.
“I noticed something was wrong in the prep room this morning,” said Jessie.
“We all did—someone messed everything up,” said Henry.
“Besides that,” Jessie said. “Even after Sam and I had gotten everything straightened out, I kept thinking something was wrong. But I couldn’t figure out what it was. Now I remember—the baboon wasn’t with the other statues.”
“What do you mean?” Violet said. “Sam said that was everything for the exhibit.”
“Well, I didn’t see it,” said Jessie.
“Maybe Sam just moved it somewhere else,” suggested Henry.
“Or maybe whoever messed up the room stole the baboon,” Jessie said. “Maybe that’s why the room was all out of order—because the person was going through all the statues.”
“Was there anything else missing?” Violet asked.
“I don’t know,” said Jessie. “That was the only thing I noticed.”
“Why would someone steal that baboon?” Benny asked.
“Remember, Pete said the objects were all really valuable,” Jessie said.
“That doesn’t explain why they went through Sam’s papers,” Henry pointed out. “Those aren’t valuable.”
“But those papers have information about the artifacts,” Jessie said. “Maybe they wanted to read about the artifacts, too.” She thought for a moment. “And there’s an information card to go with each piece. But I don’t remember seeing one for the baboon. If we had, Sam and I would have noticed the statue was missing.”
“So the person stole the statue and the card, too?” Violet asked.
“I guess so,” said Jessie.
“We’d better tell Sam about this first thing tomorrow morning,” said Henry.
“See?” Benny said. “That mummy’s curse wasn’t just a joke!”
CHAPTER 5
A Thief in the Museum
The Aldens arrived early at the museum the next morning. But this time, the door to the prep room was locked.
“That’s good,” said Henry. “Now no one can go in and make a mess or steal something.”
While the children waited for Sam or Pete to arrive, they finished painting the last wall of the exhibit hall.
They were just cleaning their brushes when Sam appeared in the doorway.
“Hello!” she called, heading into the prep room. The Aldens quickly put away all the painting supplies and followed Sam.
“Sam, we were wondering ...” Jessie began. “Are these all the pieces for the Egypt exhibit?”
“Yes,” Sam said, continuing to unload her bag.
“Are you sure everything’s here?” Jessie asked.
Sam looked quickly at Jessie. “What do you mean?”
“Well, the first day we were here, Pete showed us some of the artifacts. And there was a little baboon ...” Jessie said.
“Yes?” Sam said.
“Where’s the baboon now?” Jessie asked.
Sam’s eyebrows furrowed. “The baboon? It’s ...” She went over to the tables holding the artifacts and walked slowly from one table to the next. “How odd,” she mumbled to herself. She walked around the tables again before walking quickly to the corner where the boxes were stacked. The Aldens watched as Sam picked up one box after another, making sure they were all empty.
At last, Sam turned around and looked back at the Aldens. “I don’t know where it is,” she said. She looked quickly around the room, but there was nowhere else that the baboon statue could have been.
“So you saw the baboon two days ago?” Sam asked.
“Yes,” said Henry. “It was right on the table with the other pieces you’d unpacked.”
“I remember because it was my favorite piece,” said Benny sadly.
“When did you notice it was missing?” Sam asked.
“Yesterday,” Jessie said. “And remember, someone had come in and messed everything up... .”
“Oh, my goodness,” Sam said, sinking into her chair. “So we have a thief.”
Everyone was silent for a moment.
Then Sam spoke. “We mustn’t jump to conclusions. The statue may just have been misplaced.”
“There may be other things missing, too,” Jessie pointed out. “I just happened to notice that piece because it was Benny’s favorite. Should I go through the list you have and see what else is missing?”
“No,” Sam said. “You kids have done enough work already. Take a break for lunch.”
“Shouldn’t we tell Pete and Dr. Snood?” Henry asked.
“Yes, definitely” said Sam. “But not until we’re really sure it’s missing. I don’t want to worry them if I don’t have to.”
When the Aldens came back from the café a short while later, they were pleased to see how bright and clean the exhibit hall looked with its fresh coat of paint.
“Now all we need to do is wash this filthy floor,” said Jessie.
“And dust the display cases,” Henry added.
Henry and Jessie each took a mop and a bucket from the supply closet and found a bottle of floor soap. Violet and Benny found rags and some glass cleaner.
They were returning to the exhibit hall when Sam appeared in the doorway. “Jessie, I’ve decided I could use your help. I’ve got too many other things to take care of.” She handed a set of papers to Jessie. “That’s the printout of all the items we’re supposed to have in the exhibit. You’ll see I made a little x next to the baboon. Would you make sure there’s nothing else missing?”
“Sure,” said Jessie. She followed Sam into the prep room.
Sam sat back down at her desk. Jessie walked slowly around the tables, checking off each item on the list when she’d spotted it. She noted the cups and pots, the doll, the beautiful gold cat statues.
As she flipped through the list, Jessie noted happily that every item had a checkmark next to it except for the baboon, which had an x. She was pleased to see that no other items were missing.
Or were they?
Jessie looked back at the table. There had been a wooden flute, hadn’t there?
She looked all around the tables, but there was no flute to be seen.
Then she looked at the paper she was holding. Had she somehow missed the listing for the flute? She quickly scanned down the list. The flute was not listed.
“Sam, this is really weird,” she said.
“What is it?” Sam asked, looking up from her work. “Is there something missing?”
“No, everything on the list is here,” Jessie said.
“Great,” Sam said with relief.
“But I remember something that isn’t here,” Jessie said.
“What?” Sam asked, standing up.
“A wooden flute,” Jessie said.
“Yes, of course,” Sam said, going to look for herself. “I was planning to put that on display next to the harp. It isn’t here?”
“No,” Jessie said. “And what’s even stranger, it’s not on the list, either.” She handed the list to Sam.
Sam flipped slowly through the list, looking carefully at each page. “You’re right, the flute isn’t listed.” Then she looked at the tables. “And I don’t see it anywhere.” Sam made a n
ote at the bottom of the list. “Another missing piece.”
“Why isn’t it on the list?” Jessie asked.
“I’m not sure,” said Sam. “This is the list I got from the Egyptian Museum. Maybe they added the flute later and forgot to put it on the list.” Sam smiled at Jessie. “Lucky for me you have such a good memory.”
“Are you going to tell Pete about it?” Jessie asked.
“Yes, I’ll go right now.” Sam walked to the door. Then she turned around and looked back at Jessie. “Don’t say anything about this to him, though. I don’t think he’d want everyone to know that pieces of the exhibit were missing. You understand, don’t you? Bad publicity for the museum.”
“Yes, I understand,” Jessie said.
After Sam had left, Jessie went into the exhibit hall. She told the others about the missing flute and that it had never even been on the list.
“I can’t believe someone has been stealing things from the exhibit,” Benny said.
“What’s Sam going to do about it?” Henry asked.
“She went to talk to Pete, but she said we shouldn’t say anything about it,” Jessie said.
“Why not?” Benny asked.
“It would be bad publicity for the museum if people found out,” Jessie explained. “Sam figured Pete wouldn’t want everyone to know.”
“That makes sense,” Henry agreed.
“I can’t believe there’s a list of items that isn’t even accurate,” said Violet. “What good is that?”
“I have an idea,” Jessie said. “Let’s make our own list. Then we’ll be sure of everything that’s there—and we’ll know if anything else disappears.”
“Great idea,” said Violet. “I’ll help you.”
“Benny and I will finish cleaning the display cases,” said Henry.
Going to her backpack, which she’d left by Sam’s desk, Jessie pulled out a small, blue notebook and a pen. She had written her name on the inside cover, but other than that, the notebook was blank. Jessie flipped open to the first page and wrote at the top: Enter the Mummy’s Tomb. “You look at the table and tell me the items, and I’ll write them down,” Jessie said.
“Okay,” said Violet. “Two gold cat statues ...” she began. Slowly the girls worked their way around the tables, with Violet telling Jessie what was on each table, and Jessie writing the items in her notebook. She wrote down the name of the object and a short description so she’d remember what it was. It took a long time, but at last, they had an accurate list of everything that was there.
Sam returned as they were finishing the list.
“What did Pete say?” Jessie asked.
“He wasn’t in his office,” Sam said. “I’ll have to catch him later.” She looked at Jessie’s notebook, which Jessie was just closing up.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Since that list wasn’t accurate, Violet and I decided to make our own,” Jessie said. She handed the notebook over for Sam to see.
“What smart kids you are,” Sam said.
Just then they heard a deep voice in the next room. When they looked in, Pete was there talking with Henry and Benny.
“Hi, Pete,” Violet said as she and Jessie joined the others.
“I was just telling the boys how great it looks in here.” He walked around the room admiring the children’s hard work. “Our regular cleaning and painting crews couldn’t have done a better job.”
The children smiled proudly.
“They’ve done a fine job, haven’t they?” Sam said. “Pete, can I talk to you in here for a moment?”
“Sure,” Pete said. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he told the Aldens.
The kids knew that Sam was going to talk to Pete about the missing items. They wanted to stay and hear what he planned to do. But it was nearly dinnertime.
“See you tomorrow,” Henry called over his shoulder.
CHAPTER 6
An Overheard Conversation
The next day, when the Aldens arrived at the museum, they found Sam carrying a large, framed picture into the exhibit hall.
“What’s that?” Benny asked. The painting showed a group of Egyptian men and women. Their bodies were all turned sideways and looked stiff and angular. The edges of the painting under the glass were jagged and uneven.
“It’s a painting on papyrus,” she said. “That’s what the Egyptians used since they didn’t have paper. Isn’t it amazing how the colors have lasted for thousands of years?”
“How beautiful!” Violet said. She loved to paint and always enjoyed looking at artwork.
“These paintings really make the exhibit complete,” said Sam. “You see, the walls of the Egyptian tombs would have been covered with paintings depicting the dead person’s life.”
“Did you talk to Pete last night about the missing pieces?” Jessie asked.
“Yes,” Sam said. “He’s going to have new locks put on the doors and make sure the security guard comes by each night. We’ll catch the thief.” She smiled at Jessie’s concerned face. “Don’t worry so much.”
“I just wish there was something I could do,” Jessie began.
“There is,” Sam said. “Help me hang these paintings.”
The children spent the rest of the morning working with Sam.
First, Sam selected two maps to be mounted on the wall. One was a map of the world, showing the country of Egypt on the continent of Africa.
“Egypt is on the other side of the world from our country,” said Violet.
“It’s near the equator, so it must be hot there,” Henry pointed out.
The other map showed the outline of ancient Egypt. “What’s that big, blue line?” Benny asked.
“That’s the Nile River,” said Sam. “It was very important to the Egyptians. Egypt is a desert with very little rain. The people depended on the Nile for water to live and to grow their crops.”
They hung the two maps right by the entrance to the exhibit.
Next, they put up an assortment of paintings that showed Egyptians in many different poses: eating, singing, dancing, and driving chariots.
Other paintings depicted Egyptian gods. They had human bodies and some had the heads of animals.
Some of the paintings had rows of tiny little pictures. “What are those?” asked Benny.
“Those are hieroglyphics, a kind of Egyptian writing system,” Sam said. “It was created over five thousand years ago. The pictures might stand for a sound, a letter, or a whole word.”
Sam and the children stood in the center of the hall and looked around slowly.
“I’m going to get Pete to come up and see how great it looks,” said Violet.
“I’ll come with you,” said Benny.
The two went downstairs to Pete’s office. His door was closed and it looked dark inside. Violet knocked. As the children waited for an answer, they couldn’t help overhearing the conversation in Dr. Snood’s office next door, as his door was open.
“I’m worried because Ms. Delaney, the director of the Carson City Museum, called again. They’re quite upset over there,” Dr. Snood was saying.
“What did she say?” the children heard Pete ask.
“She said the Carson City Museum isn’t happy about working with us on next year’s festival. They feel we stole the Egypt exhibit away from them,” said Dr. Snood.
Violet and Benny looked at each other, their eyes wide.
“That’s crazy” Pete was saying.
“Well, that’s how they feel,” said Dr. Snood. “You know, for the past few years we’ve always worked well with them. That is, before you started here and suggested this exhibit.”
“Maybe there’s something we can do,” Pete suggested.
“You work on it,” said Dr. Snood. His voice sounded angry.
A moment later, Pete emerged from Dr. Snood’s office. His face looked serious until he spotted the Aldens. “Violet, Benny,” Pete said with a smile. “How’s everything going?”
 
; “We’ve put up all the paintings—want to come see?” Violet asked.
“I’d love to,” said Pete. He turned back into Dr. Snood’s office. “Reginald, would you like to come see how the Egyptian exhibit is going?”
“I’ve got to make a phone call,” Dr. Snood said. “Then I’ll come up for a quick look before my lunch meeting.”
When they entered the exhibit hall a few minutes later, Pete broke into a huge grin. “This looks fantastic. I’m sure Dr. Snood will be pleased when he sees it.”
Sam, who had been waiting with Jessie and Henry, said, “Oh, is he coming up?”
“Yes, he said he’d come up for a few minutes before his lunch meeting,” Pete said.
Sam looked at her watch. “Is it lunchtime already? I’ve got to run.”
“Can’t you stay a few minutes to talk to Dr. Snood?” asked Pete.
“No, I’m meeting with the man who’s designing the guide for the exhibit, and it may take all afternoon. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She went quickly into the prep room and grabbed her things. Then she was gone.
Dr. Snood appeared in the doorway a moment later. He walked slowly around the room, looking at the freshly painted walls, the clean glass cases, and the paintings the children had helped put up.
“I must admit, it does look nice in here,” he said in a tight voice, as if it were hard for him to say something nice. “And where is Dr. Dickerson?”
“Sam had to leave in a hurry,” Pete explained.
“You’d think our expensive Egyptian expert could make time to meet with me. We’re certainly paying enough,” he said. “Why are all the display cases empty?”
“We just cleaned them yesterday,” Jessie said. “Sam is going to arrange the pieces soon.”
“So I assume the artifacts are still in the prep room,” Dr. Snood said, heading in that direction.
Pete turned to the kids. “I think he’s pleased. You’ve done a great job. Why don’t you take the afternoon off, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Violet said. The Aldens went into the prep room to get their backpacks.