Проклятие мумии, или Камень Семи Звезд

           Thusitwas,thatattheverytimewhenMr.Trelawny,who,inmakinghisgreatcollectionofworksonEgypt,had,throughabooksellers’catalogue,acquiredthisvolumewiththemanuscripttranslation,wasstudyingit,Iwasreadinganothercopy,inoriginalDutch,inLeyden.Wewerebothstruckbythedescriptionofthelonelytombintherock;cutsohighupastobeinaccessibletoordinaryseekers:withallmeansofreachingitcarefullyobliterated;andyetwithsuchanelaborateornamentationofthesmoothedsurfaceofthecliffasVanHuynhasdescribed.Italsostruckusbothasanoddthing—forintheyearsbetweenVanHuyn’stimeandourownthegeneralknowledgeofEgyptiancuriosandrecordshasincreasedmarvellously—thatinthecaseofsuchatomb,madeinsuchaplace,andwhichmusthavecostanimmensesumofmoney,therewasnoseemingrecordoreffigytopointoutwholaywithin.Moreover,theverynameoftheplace,’theValleyoftheSorcerer’,had,inaprosaicage,attractionsofitsown.Whenwemet,whichwedidthroughhisseekingtheassistanceofotherEgyptologistsinhiswork,wetalkedoverthisaswedidovermanyotherthings;andwedeterminedtomakesearchforthemysteriousvalley.Whilstwewerewaitingtostartonthetravel,formanythingswererequiredwhichMr.Trelawnyundertooktoseetohimself,IwenttoHollandtotryifIcouldbyanytracesverifyVanHuyn’snarrative.IwentstraighttoHoorn,andsetpatientlytoworktofindthehouseofthetravellerandhisdescendants,ifany.