The Face of Isis by Cyril G Read online

sight which no human eye had beheld for

  the floor of the temple. The first thing that

  nearly three milleniums wiped out the caught their attention was a large circular hole memory of the terrible danger he had braved.

  piercing the roof exactly in the center.

  His imagination pictured the little temple as it

  “This temple must have been dedicated

  had been when swarthy priests in flowing

  to the Sun God,” remarked the Professor,

  white robes, celebrated their mysterious rites

  pointing to the opening. “There was probably

  amongst those silent pillars, while rows of

  an altar in such a position that the sun’s rays bowing worshipers filled the seats around.

  would strike it exactly at noon.”

  Professor Wadsworth’s emotions were

  “There’s the altar,” said Courtland,

  different in kind but no less intense. For him it pointing to a huge square block of stone on the was the culmination of a lifetime of study, the opposite side of the temple. “And there’s the

  fulfilment of a lifelong ambition. The world,

  priest, if I’m not mistaken,” he added,

  or at least his world, the world of science,

  indicating a pile of bones lying in front of the would acclaim him in no uncertain voice. He

  altar.

  would take rank with the greatest

  In a moment the professor was

  archaeologists of all time.

  waddling across the floor to submit this new

  But they were only at the beginning of

  discovery to examination, when Courtland

  their discoveries. Greater wonders than any

  with a cry of warning, rushed after the little

  they had yet seen were to come. When they

  man and seizing him unceremoniously by the

  walked down the flight of granite steps, or

  collar, jerked him backwards so violently that

  seats, and approached the central temple, the

  the Professor sat down on the floor with great

  Professor gave voice to an exclamation of

  suddenness.

  amazement.

  “For Heaven’s sake, be careful, sir!”

  “Great Heavens!” he cried, “this is Courtland cried, “I thought you were done even more marvelous than I had realized. Do

  for!”

  you notice anything especially strange in the

  “Why! What!” sputtered the Professor,

  structure of this building?”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Well, no, I can’t say I do,” replied

  Courtland pointed to the floor directly

  Courtland, “unless you mean the masonry.

  under the circular opening in the roof.

  Those old workmen must have been

  “You almost stepped into that!” he

  wonderful stonecutters. Can’t see the joints at panted.

  all.”

  The even surface of the granite floor

  “Exactly!” agreed the Professor. “But

  was broken by a round hole like the mouth of

  the reason you cannot see the joints is because a well, about six feet in diameter. Its highly

  The Face of Isis

  11

  polished sides dropped away into skillfully concealed door,” said the professor.

  impenetrable gloom.

  “Well, there is nothing to be gained by

  They lay on their faces on the floor

  looking down the shaft. Let us examine the

  and peered down into the gulf which had

  altar. There may be an inscription which will

  almost proved the end of Professor throw some light on the purpose of the Wadsworth’s career. The rays of Courtland’s

  temple.”

  flashlight failed to reveal any bottom to the

  They carefully skirted the mouth of the

  pit. An empty cartridge case was dropped and

  well and approached the place of sacrifice.

  the professor’s stop-watch showed the interval

  The altar was a perfectly cubical mass of

  before a faint tinkle announced that the bottom granite, hewn, like the temple, from the solid

  had been reached.

  rock. It bore no inscription and was

  unornamented save for a globe and crescent,

  THE Professor made a rapid calculation in his

  the latter with its horns turned upwards,

  notebook. “Allowing for the speed of sound

  rendered in bas-relief.

  and using thirty-two feet per second for the

  “The symbol of the goddess Isis,”

  acceleration of gravity, with proper allowance

  remarked the Professor. “One of the great

  for the resistance of the air,” he announced,

  trinity of deities who dominated the religion of

  “the pit is about eight hundred feet deep. That Egypt during the Fifth Dynasty. This building

  would make the bottom practically level with

  closely resembles the famous temple of Isis at

  the ground.”

  Philse and it is possible that it was constructed

  “Why, the pinnacle is like an under the supervision of some priest from that enormous cannon!” exclaimed Courtland.

  temple.”

  “More like a great elevator shaft,”

  “And perhaps this is the old codger

  amended the Professor. “Ever since we arrived

  himself,” said Courtland, motioning to the

  I have been puzzled as to how the ancient

  heap of bones which lay at their feet.

  priests reached their aerial place of worship.

  Although the ligaments which united

  The steps by which we made the ascent are

  the bones had long since mouldered away,

  too perilous and laborious for every-day use.

  they could still trace the outlines of the

  They were evidently designed for an skeleton of a man of large stature. A golden emergency.”

  sistrum, the duplicate of the one they had

  “Well, if this is an elevator shaft,” found at the foot of the rock, lay close to the commented Courtland dryly, “they must have

  left hand, while the right arm was bent under

  left the car at the first floor. I don’t see any the body and a dagger with a bronze blade and

  push button, so I guess it’s the steps for us!”

  golden shaft lay among the ghastly ribs.

  “It is probable that the car was

  “Do you see what has happened?”

  operated by means of a rope running over a

  asked Wadsworth in a low voice. “He was the

  pulley on a wooden framework spanning the

  last living soul in this awful place and he

  hole in the roof,” the Professor elucidated.

  offered himself as a sacrifice to the goddess.”

  “The woodwork has long since rotted away

  “Poor old Buffer!” said Courtland.

  and followed the car into the shaft.”

  “Perhaps he was left alone up here, and he

  “But how did they get out when they

  couldn’t work the elevator and killed himself

  got to the ground floor?” asked Courtland.

  rather than climb down the outside. Don’t

  “There’s no sign of an opening in the rock

  know that I blame him!”

  outside.”

  While Courtland was philosophizing,

  “The outlet is probably closed by a

  the Professor walked around to the rear of the

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  altar. S
uddenly he emitted a tremendous shaft, since the spiral stairway did away with shout, which startled Courtland out of his the Professor’s rather fantastic theory of an reverie.

  elevator? Was it possible that the shaft was

  “The Stairs! Eureka, the Stairs!” yelled

  nothing more than an oubliette, a pit of death

  the Professor.

  like those in old French castles, into which

  The altar was nothing but a shell! The

  unfortunate victims were cast, as a part of the whole back was hollowed out, for all the mysterious rites of the goddess?

  world like a miniature subway station, and a

  flight of steps was visible descending into

  SOME of these questions were soon to be

  darkness. A huge slab of granite which had

  answered. The explorers passed through the

  formed the back of the altar, lay on the stone

  door, walked down a short passage and

  floor. The aged priest, if such he were, had

  emerged, not into the open air, but into a large apparently lacked the strength to replace the

  chamber, perfectly circular, at least forty feet slab, after making his last ascent.

  in diameter, but barely six feet in height. In

  The Professor was in a frenzy of the center of the floor was a circular spot of excitement. He could hardly wait until phosphorescence, a ghostly shimmering glow Courtland had made sure that he had a spare

  as though a concealed source of light were

  bulb for his flashlight, before rushing down

  shining through a slab of opal glass.

  the tunnel. They started, Courtland in the lead.

  The mysterious light was reflected

  The steps led steeply downward, sweeping

  from the low roof and dimly revealed the

  round in a great spiral.

  limits of this rock-hewn chamber.

  Round and round they went, Courtland

  “What a weird place!” exclaimed

  counting the steps aloud. The flashlight Courtland. “What do you suppose it was used gleamed faintly on the rough-hewn walls and

  for? And what is that uncanny light?”

  roof of the tunnel. They had long since lost all

  “This was probably the burial place for

  sense of direction, but they knew that they

  the mummies of the priests,” said the

  could not get beyond the confines of the Professor. “We may find their tombs carved pinnacle.

  out of the rock walls. As for the light, it must At last, when Courtland had counted

  be due to some radioactive substance in the

  just over a thousand steps, he came to a rock. Let us examine it more closely.”

  sudden halt.

  As they approached the uncanny spot

  “The bottom!” he said.

  of light, Courtland noticed that its surface was The Professor plodded down the last

  not perfectly uniform but was broken at one

  few steps and stood beside him. They were in

  point by a small, dark object. Suddenly he

  a tiny room, hardly six feet square, and facing burst into a shout of laughter and running

  them was a door which gave forth a metallic

  forward, picked up this object and exhibited it gleam in the rays of the electric light.

  to the Professor.

  The door, which was of solid bronze

  It was an empty cartridge case!

  and bore the globe and crescent of Isis, hung

  “One on you, Professor!” he chuckled.

  on massive hinges. Courtland put his shoulder

  “Radioactive substance in the rock! It’s the

  against it and swung it open with little effort, light coming down the elevator shaft and

  revealing a passage through which came a dim

  shining on the floor.”

  light. This must be the entrance from the

  So it was nothing very mysterious after

  ground level. But if so, where was the bottom

  all. They stepped into the circle of light, and of the shaft? And what was the object of the

  looking upward, they could see a tiny disk of

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  13

  blue sky, visible through the hole in the

  After tremendous exertion, the two

  temple roof, eight hundred feet above them.

  men succeeded in raising the heavy stone lid

  It was Courtland who drew the and sliding it to one side. Courtland flashed Professor’s attention to the fact that there was his light into the interior. It was empty!

  no debris of any sort at the bottom of the shaft.

  No, not quite empty, for where the

  “So that disposes of the idea that it was

  head of the mummy should have been, was a

  used as an elevator,” he said. “But the golden casket; the casket which Courtland had question still remains, what was it used for?”

  shown me in his house at Cambridge.

  “The most puzzling thing,” said the

  Courtland

  reached

  in

  and laid hold of

  Professor, “is he extreme smoothness of the

  the casket, but in spite of its small size it took walls of the shaft. They are polished like the

  all his strength to lift it. He set it on the floor surface of a mirror. If it were merely intended and the Professor seized the flashlight and

  to transmit light or air, the builders, or rather began eagerly examining their find.

  excavators, would hardly have gone to the

  The lid was secured by a simple bolt.

  trouble to polish the sides like that.”

  When it was raised, the reason for the great

  “My original notion may be right after

  weight of the casket was revealed. It was filled all,” laughed Courtland. “It may be a cannon

  to the brim with a fine powder, apparently of a and this is the breach we’re standing in! Well, metallic nature. When Courtland took some of

  let’s see if they’ve left any gunpowder.”

  it in the palm of his hand it seemed heavier

  Courtland turned the rays of his than any known metal. It was bluish in color flashlight on the walls of the circular chamber.

  with a prismatic sheen, almost like mother-of-

  At one point a large alcove had been carved

  pearl.

  out, the roof being raised so that it formed a

  The hieroglyphics upon the casket

  semi-circular room like a chapel. On the back

  were the first, and in fact the only inscription wall of this alcove was an immense bas-relief

  which the explorers found in any part of the

  representing a bull with its forehoofs resting

  hidden temple. Professor Wadsworth was wild

  on a crescent. On the brow of the animal was a

  to get at the work of translating it, confident scarab inscribed with certain hieroglyphics that it would open the way to new and more and on the floor below stood a massive marvelous revelations. He wanted to start the sarcophagus or coffin cut out of a solid block

  return journey at once, but Courtland pointed

  of granite.

  out that they had still to decide whether some

  The lid of the sarcophagus also bore

  outlet existed from this chamber to the open

  the design of he bull and crescent. Wadsworth

  air at the foot of the Djibel el Sheetan. So,

  eagerly examined the cartouche or signature

  leaving the golden casket by the empty

  on the scarab.

  sarcophagus, they started to examine the walls

  “My dear boy!” he cried. “This of the circular room.

  d
iscovery is far more important than we have

  Their investigations were at once

  realized. This sarcophagus contains the rewarded. Diametrically opposite the passage mummy of no petty priest. It is he burial place by which they had entered was another bronze

  of one of the mightiest Pharaohs of he Fifth

  door, opening into another passage through

  Dynasty, Kut-Amen-Pash. Here we have which, came the unmistakable gleam of proof, not only of the early settlement of daylight. They hurried along it. Fifty feet from Mexico by the Egyptians, but that the the door they were brought to a stop at an expedition was actually led by Pharaoh archway, blocked with masses of broken rock.

  himself. Let us attempt to open the coffin.”

  The daylight they saw, was seeping through

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  14

  the interstices between the rocks and they them such labor to produce, he was unable to could hear the excited voices of their Moorish

  guess, but from the temple roof to the bottom

  workmen discussing the probable fate of the

  of the chamber of the sarcophagus he found

  “Christian Pigs” who had dared the wrath of

  no remnant or remains of human life, save the

  the Devil by violating the secrets of His pitiful bleached bones before the great altar of Satanic Majesty’s special mountain.

  Isis.

  Courtland shouted and there was

  Late in the afternoon of the second day

  instant silence. After considerable persuasion, of Professor Wadsworth’s seclusion,

  he convinced Achmed that the Sidis were Courtland was sitting on the natural coping unharmed but in need of assistance. At last,

  which surrounded the summit of the Djibel el

  guided by Courtland’s voice, the Moors pulled

  Sheetan, absorbed in visions of those far

  the rocks away and the two explorers stepped

  distant days when this silent spot had been the forth at the top of the mound where they had