The Curse of King Yutta (continued . . .)

With a rending crash, Janno burst in through the window of the Imperial bedchamber! The strange figure by Trigo’s couch backed away in alarm.

Ho-hah!

He saw the deadly insect by his uncle’s sleeping head, and flicked it across the chamber, even as his uncle’s eyes snapped open.

That thing nearly had you with our illustrious ancestors, uncle!

Janno! What in the stars? . . .

He turned on a strange figure, as a weapon appeared in a bandaged hand . . .

So! Who would have thought that the Mummy of the longmy departed King Yutta had to descend to the use of firearms!

Ten thousand curses on you, Imperial brat!

It was a matter of instants for Janno to disarm his opponent, and rip the hideous mask from an angry face!

Behold! The rogue behind all our troubles, uncle!

Rothi! But—we all thought . . .

Yes, he was supposed to have perished in an air crash—yet another victim of the mummy’s curse. What a convenient deception, when he, himself, was manipulating the mummy’s curse for his own evil ends!

Start talking, Rothi! I want the whole story from your own lips!

It was to the Trigan Empire’s everlasting shame that torture was sometimes used to extract confessions in high treason cases. Happily, Rothi needed only to be shown the inside of the chamber of torment—and his nerve broke.

I confess! And I will name my accomplices! They number six, including my son Sweya!

He told the whole story to the Imperial council.

Your object, then, was to overthrow the Imperial family and set up a dictatorship? You seized upon the Mummy’s curse as a way to kill without being detected?

Yes! We eliminated Ricci and Obolom for no other teason but to draw attention to the curse. Next it was our intention to destroy Brag, Janno and the Emperor!

Then Peric said a very strange thing . . .

What you were not aware of, however, was that there is no Mummy—and no curse!

What are you trying to say, Peric?

Imperial Majesty, my lords—you will remember that there was some picturewriting on the actual sarcophagus, which appeared to me to be in some sort of code. Well, I have cracked that code . . . And here is the truth written there . . .

“ . . . After the false tomb has been sealed, the lord of the skies and the sovereign of the stars will be taken to sea in a great ship, and his body will be laid to rest in the bosom of the great ocean!”

Every one present saw, in his mind’s eye, the scene—as it must have taken place countless lunar years before . . .

The tomb that was unearthed in Trigan City was nothing more than an elaborate trick?

Precisely, Imperial Majesty! Everything about it—the treasure, the sarcophagus, the curse—were devised to hide the true whereabouts of the Great King’s remains!

So ended the saga of the Mummy’s curse. Rothi and his accomplices were punished, and Brag made a complete recovery from his grievous hurts.

We despaired for your life, father.

Takes more than an air crash to finish me.

Besides, with me out of the way, and Trigo out of the way, the Trigans would have been blessed with you as their Emperor! And we couldn’t allow that!