Cockatoo told this to his horrified master, and
wanted him to come back to hide the corpse in the packing case.
Braddock refused, and then Cockatoo told him that he would throw
the jewels--which he had taken from Sidney's body--into the
river. The position of master and servant was reversed, and
Braddock was forced to obey.
"The Professor slipped silently ashore and into the room. The
two men relighted the candle and pulled down the blind. They
then placed the corpse of Sidney in the packing case, and screwed
the same down in silence. When this was completed, they were
about to carry the mummy in its coffin--the lid of which they
had replaced--to the boat, when they heard distant footsteps,
probably those of a policeman on his beat. At once they
extinguished the candle, and--as Braddock told Mrs. Jasher--he,
for one, sat trembling in the dark. But the policeman--if the
footsteps were those of a policeman--passed up another street,
and the two were safe. Without relighting the candle, they
silently slipped the mummy through the window, Cockatoo within
and Braddock without. The case and its contents were not heavy,
and it was not difficult for the two men to take it to the boat.
When it was safely bestowed, Cockatoo--who was as cunning as the
devil, according to his master returned to the bedroom, and
unlocked the door.
Pages:
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379