It was characteristic of her
cleverness that she did not address Don Pedro, but pointed her
speech at Lucy Kendal.
"I do hope your father will return with that mummy," she
observed, after a dexterous allusion to the late tragedy.
"I don't think he has gone to look for it," replied Miss Kendal
indifferently.
"But surely he desired to get it back, after paying nearly one
thousand pounds for it," said Mrs. Jasher, with well-feigned
astonishment.
"Oh, of course; but he would scarcely look for it in London."
"Has Professor Braddock gone to search for the mummy?" asked Don
Pedro.
"No," answered Lucy. "He is visiting the British Museum to make
some researches in the Egyptian department."
"When do you expect him back, please?"
Lucy shrugged her shoulders.
"I can't say, Don Pedro. My father comes and goes as the whim
takes him."
The Spanish gentleman looked thoughtfully into the fire.
"I shall be glad to see the Professor when he returns," he said
in his excellent, slow-sounding English. "My concern about this
mummy is deep."
"Dear me," remarked Mrs. Jasher, shielding her fair cheek with
the unnecessary fan, and venturing on a joke, "is the mummy a
relative?"
"Yes, madame," replied Don Pedro, gravely and unexpectedly.
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