This installment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 568 on 2 December 1972.
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!
This instalment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 567 on 25 November 1972.
The Curse of King Yutta (continued . . .)
Above the muzzle of the levelled weapon, Janno saw the eyes that he knew so well. So you’re the one behind it all! You, who were appointed my bodyguard, have been trying to destroy me all this time! A question sprang to Janno’s lips—and Sweya gave a contemptuous laugh. And what of King Yutta’s Mummy? The Mummy?—Hah! I am not alone in this, Janno. My orders are to kill you, which is a pity, since I quite like you. But there it is . . . goodbye, Janno. Bla-a-a-mm! At the precise moment that he saw Sweya’s finger tighten on the trigger, Janno threw himself sideways! And then . . . Aaaaaagh! . . . He leapt into action! Uuuuh . . . Looking down at the unconscious face beneath him, a chord of memory stirred in Janno’s mind. That voice! The voice I heard coming from the Mummy—now I know where I heard it before!Moments later, he was rising skywards above the island. I’ve got to get back to uncle Trigo and warn him! By all the stars, I hope I’m not too late! Though it was contrary to his nature, the Emperor Trigo was taking special care for his personal safety. That night, he retired early in his locked bedchamber. I wonder how Janno is faring on his secret island? At least, if I’m destroyed, and poor Brag never recovers, there’ll be someone to be Emperor of the Trigans! The Emperor lay himself down. He’s a wild lad in many ways, but he’d settle down and make a good ruler . . . In the darkest hour of the night, a panel opened in the wall of the Imperial bedchamber . . . A strange figure flitted silently towards the sleeping form. . . . And dropped something from a box by Trigo’s head!
This instalment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 566 on 18 November 1972.
