The Mummy's Curse by Penny Warner Read Free Book Online Page B

looked as if they’d been smudged with brown ink, and they smelled like chemicals.
    â€œHow did you get your hand so dirty?” Cody asked.
    M.E. shrugged. “I don’t know. All I did was pick up that artifact. I don’t remember touching anything else.”
    Cody looked at her three code-busting friends. While the other students stood across the room listening to Dr. Jordan talk about one of the artifacts, Cody stole over to the case again. She glanced around, then pulled open the unlocked door, reached in, and ran her index finger over the top of the Eye. Removing her hand from the case, she closed the door, then held up her hand.
    Her fingertip was brown. The same shade of brown as the amulet.
    â€œGuys,” she whispered. “I don’t think the color is supposed to come off like that.”
    M.E. checked her hand again, then looked at the others.
    â€œDo you think that Eye is a fake?” Luke asked.
    Cody shrugged. “What do we do? If we tell the museum people we touched it, we could get in trouble. But if it’s a fake, wouldn’t they want to know? The forger could be a thief, and get away with stealing valuable art.”
    â€œThat writing on the bottom was weird,” M.E. said. “An eye for an
i
?”
    â€œShh!” Quinn said. “Dr. Jordan is watching us again. I’m sure he thinks we’re up to something. We need to move.”
    Cody turned around and saw the museum guy staring at them strangely. A chill ran down her back. “Come on, it’s time to turn in our assignments to Ms. Stad. We’ll figure out what to do during lunch. Follow me.”
    Cody led her friends out of the room and into the lobby, where other students had alreadygathered with their teachers. Luke and Quinn joined Mr. Pike’s group, while Cody and M.E. headed for Ms. Stad’s class. When all the students were seated on the floor, Ms. Stad asked, “So, did everyone find all of the Eyes of Horus in the museum?”
    Hands shot up.
    â€œHow many did you find, Ryan?” she asked the blond kid with glasses, sitting in the middle.
    â€œEleven!”
    â€œGood,” Ms. Stad said. “Anyone else find a different number?”
    â€œOur group found twelve,” said Stephanie.
    â€œNice,” Ms. Stad said. “Anyone else?”
    M.E. raised her hand. “We found thirteen.”
    â€œWow!” exclaimed Ms. Stad. “Are you sure?”
    M.E. nodded and held up her paper.
    â€œWell, believe it or not, our parent volunteers only found twelve when they counted them earlier,” Ms. Stad said. “I guess your group found one we missed. Hmm. I wonder if the number
thirteen
is a coincidence.”
    Cody remembered the number of thirteens they’dfound on the dollar bill. Interesting how that number kept coming up.
    â€œDid you know that many cultures consider
thirteen
a number associated with luck?” Ms. Stad asked. “Some say the Egyptians were the first people to become superstitious about the number. They thought it brought good luck and immortality, and was related to the thirteenth stage of life—the afterlife. Later, the number was associated with death. Other cultures think the number brings bad luck. Can you think of some examples of bad luck associated with
thirteen
?”
    Lyla raised her hand. “Friday the thirteenth!”
    â€œYes!” Ms. Stad said. “Some people believe that’s an unlucky day.”
    Bradley raised his hand. “My dad’s office building doesn’t have a thirteenth floor because it’s supposed to be bad luck. It just goes from twelve to fourteen.”
    â€œGreat example,” Ms. Stad said. “Many hotels, apartment buildings, and office buildings don’t have a thirteenth floor. Isn’t that interesting?”
    The students grinned and nodded.
    â€œBy the way,” Ms. Stad continued, “many of you students are thirteen years old. How many