The Five Masks of Dr. Screem by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page B

said. I gave Peter’s arm a tug, and we began to jog toward the archway.
    “I
love
your bug mask,” the man shouted after me.
    I shouted thanks but didn’t turn back.
    Peter and I trotted straight ahead. I called, “Franny! Franny!” until we were out of the man’s sight.
    “That was easier than I thought,” Peter said.
    “We’re not there yet,” I told him.
    We hurried down a long, brightly lit hall. Up ahead, I could hear kids’ voices and people laughing.
    We passed glass cases in the wall displaying blue and orange vases. Some of the vases were cracked and chipped. They looked very old.
    The cafeteria came into view. I saw only a few kids in there. They were sitting on the floor, talking and eating candy bars.
    Some white-uniformed workers had started to clean up. They were sweeping the floor and picking up candy wrappers and other trash.
    Peter and I didn’t stop at the cafeteria. We turned a corner and kept going.
    An arrow sign read: EGYPTIAN GALLERIES.
    “The mummy rooms are right up there,” Peter said.
    We started to jog faster. The lights in this hallway were dimmer. Long shadows swept over the floor.
    I could see the entrance to the Egyptian Galleries up ahead.
    We were only a few feet away — when a deep, angry voice boomed out: “
Stop right there! Where do you think you’re going
?”

20
    Caught.
    I spun around. I saw a dark-uniformed guard trotting toward us.
    I started to say something.
    But he turned. Two kids in mummy costumes stepped out from an alcove.
    “Where do you think you’re going?” the guard repeated.
    “We couldn’t find the front door,” one of the kids told him.
    He took the kid’s hand. “Follow me. You’re going the wrong way.” He led them back toward the cafeteria.
    Peter and I were pressed against the wall. I realized I was holding my breath. I let it out in a long stream.
    “I — I thought he caught us,” I said.
    “Me, too,” Peter muttered. “That was close.”
    We turned and ducked into the door marked EGYPTIAN GALLERIES . The lights in the big room were dimmed. The air felt hot and damp.
    We stayed against the wall. I gazed all around, searching for any guards. The room was empty.
    I counted four mummy cases, one in each corner of the room. A model of a pyramid stood in the center. One wall was covered with photos of the pyramids. Display cases on the other walls showed jewelry and other objects from ancient Egypt.
    Peter and I circled the room. My eyes squinted in the dim light.
    I examined the display cases. I walked around the model pyramid and all around each mummy case.
    “I don’t see a mummy mask,” I whispered. “Maybe Screem didn’t hide it here. Maybe we should leave before we’re caught.”
    I started for the door, but Peter stepped in front of me.
    “The mummy cases,” he said. “We have to look inside them.”
    “But —” I started to protest. The ancient cases were of carved heavy stone. The lids would be impossible to lift.
    “Screem hid the mask inside one of them,” Peter said. “I know it. I just know it.”
    I groaned. Peter is so stubborn. “But how do we look inside? How can we lift the heavy lids?”
    I heard a noise outside the room. I ducked behind a mummy case.
    Footsteps. Peering around the side, I saw two guards walk past the gallery.
    My heart thudded in my chest. Breaking into the museum had to be a serious crime. If we were caught …
    If we were caught, no one would believe we were searching the mummy cases for a mummy mask. We would be in major trouble.
    But we were already in major trouble, I decided.
    What could be bigger trouble than having your house and parents disappear?
    I stood up and turned to the mummy case. I moved to the center of the case and grabbed the lid with both hands.
    The lid felt surprisingly cool. It had a pharaoh’s head carved at one end. The eyes were blank. Part of the pharaoh’s headdress was broken off.
    I started to push up on the lid, but I hesitated.
    A lot of people