I know curses aren’t real, just movie-plot stuff and legends, but standing there on the edge of that gully, with the silence so strong, I could easily think it had been a curse. I glanced over at Frank who looked uneasy too. We moved a bit closer and found the guy with the eye patch was lying down, doubled over at an odd angle, like he’d been digging through the leather bag clutched in his hands. In the flickering lamplight that made waving shadows, he almost looked like he was moving. I cleared my throat. “Frank...”

Frank shook his head. “Just because there’s no evidence of trauma, doesn’t mean he was killed by a curse.”

I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Frank...what if it is true?” I kept my voice low and wished for a moment I had eyes in the back of my head so I could watch everyone.

Frank narrowed his eyes. “Joe, don’t be ridiculous. Even Volsky said the curse of Tutankhamen didn’t really exist.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I need a stick, any length will do.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not like we can preserve evidence.” Did I mention my brother is obsessed with those forensic shows on television? Well, he is.

“We can at least try to get fingerprints from the belly bag,” he said quietly.

Theo tossed us a length of hollow metal tubing. I assumed it went with the camera gear, maybe part of a tripod or something. Frank caught it and poked into the belly bag still clutched in the dead man’s hand. He peered inside with his penlight and went very still.

I frowned. I watched him shift slightly and lean over further. I heard the distinct sound of rustling paper and moved forward. I squatted down beside Frank. “What is it?”

“The map,” he whispered.

I looked down into the belly bag and frowned. Folded into a triangle, was a sheet of white paper. I started to reach in and get it but Frank shot me a glare. I glared right back. “What?”

“Maybe it’s better to let everyone think it’s gone.”

“And then what? We turn around and go back. You think Samantha will fall in line with that?”

“She’d be crazy not to.”

I shrugged. “Well...she’s pretty but...why do I always fall for the crazy ones?”

Frank gave me a grin. “Just lucky, I guess.”

“You’re such a riot.” I spared a quick look at the people lining the edge of the gully. I turned back to my brother and gestured to the camel driver. “Do you really think he did this on his own?”

Frank arched an eyebrow. “You think he didn’t?”

I hate it when he does that. I shifted forward instead of answering him. I snatched the map and unfolded it. It was a rough sketch done in ink. Down in the right-hand corner was a rectangle marked ‘temple’. In the upper middle of the paper just past some wiggly lines labeled dunes was an X. I shook my head. “I don’t believe it. A genuine X-marks-the-spot treasure map.”

“Fold it back quick,” snapped Frank. He stood up. “It’s here.”

I studied the drawing one second longer, then folded it back like it was just as Samantha ran toward me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek. “Oh, thank you. You’re my hero.”

I swallowed hard and handed her the map, all the while noticing Tommy glaring at me. Just great. I knew I had to be blushing because my face felt hot. I nudged Frank hard. “Not a word. And wipe that goofy look off your face. You have to protect me now,” I added, nodding toward Tommy.

He rolled his eyes. “I thought you could take care of yourself, little bro.”

I swatted his shoulder. “Shut up.” I didn’t quite look at the body. There’s something about a dead body that just gives me the creeps. “What about him?”

Before Frank could answer, Mounir’s four remaining guides and drivers took away their dead comrade. Mounir stepped forward, shaking his head. “It is the curse. Alas, he was foolish.” He glanced over at Samantha. “It is not over, Ms. Chilton. I am afraid it is just beginning.”

Tommy frowned. “What do you mean?” He glanced at the spot the camel driver had fallen. “You’re trying to say it was a curse? Oh, that’s just great!” The man’s voice rose until he was shouting. “That’s just great.”

“Shut up, Tommy,” Samantha snapped at him. “Just shut up. We’re going ahead with this no matter what!”

“Dr. Mounir is behind all this!” Volsky shouted, pointing a finger at the rotund man. “He probably ordered the man to steal the map.”

“Me?” Mounir looked shocked and even angrier. “It is you, Volsky. You have been trying to sabotage my career for years. You’ll stop at nothing, I see – not even murder.”

Leila stood nearby, just watching everyone. She’d wrapped her scarf around her face, hiding everything but her eyes. I wondered what she was thinking. I watched Theo grab his camera and start recording the crazy scene. I winced at the thought of how embarrassing this would be for everyone.

Samantha was holding the folded map, turning it over and over in her hands. She stopped and then turned to look at us. She marched toward us, backing us up until we were all standing right in front of her tent, out of earshot of everyone else. It wouldn’t have mattered, Tommy was yelling even louder now. She jabbed a finger at us. “You said you were reporters, but I know you’re lying.”

I blinked, wondering if she’d somehow overheard us talking a few minutes ago about fingerprints and evidence. “Us? Lying?” I asked, striving to sound quite innocent. If she had overheard us, it would be a simple matter of saying Frank was addicted to CSI. “What do you mean?”

Frank cleared his throat. “What makes you think—?”

“For one thing, you never take any notes. You don’t even carry pens and pads.”

I shared a quick look with Frank. “He’s got a photographic memory. Remembers everything he hears, he reads.” I felt a sharp pain in my calf and saw that Frank had kicked me.

“He’s kidding. We haven’t initiated the main interview, Samantha. Our notepads and pens are packed away.”

Samantha shook her head, not looking convinced. “No. No. I don’t believe you. You’re not reporters.” She slid a glance at Theo and his two men and shook her head again. “I’ve encountered numerous reporters and no...you’re nothing like them. Who are you really ?”

Frank glanced around, barely looking my way. I frowned. What was he up to. He lowered his voice and gestured to her tent. “Could we, um, talk in private?”

Samantha didn’t look too happy but lifted the tent flap and the three of us went inside. I wanted to know what Frank was up but couldn’t just point blank ask him. She folded her arms across her chest and scowled. “I’m listening.”

Frank took a deep breath. “We were sent here to protect you.”

I hoped I didn’t look shocked. Samantha certainly did. “Tommy said my mother sent you here to spy on us. Is it true?”

“Not exactly. Your mom is worried about you, all right, but that’s not why we’re here. Remember someone killed to get that map already. Now whoever it is, has killed again.”

Samantha shook her head. “But why? We’re heading straight for the tomb. Why try and steal it now?”

I shared a look with Frank and saw that question had passed through his mind as well. Why indeed? It would have been better just to wait until the tomb was located. Frank cleared his throat. “Lots of people would love to get their hands on the treasure.”

Samantha sighed. “I guess you’re right about that. So who sent you anyway? My mother?”

Frank and I looked at one another.

“I knew it,” Samantha said and we didn’t argue. She sat down on her cot. “She thinks I can’t handle myself out here on my own.”

“Look,” said Frank. “We’re here to protect you. We’re not interested in the treasure. You need to trust us. No one else.”

“So you’re saying...I can’t even trust...Tommy?” Samantha’s voice was soft and small, like the voice of a wounded child.

“Especially not him,” I said. “You’ve known the guy, what, three weeks? He could easily be interested in you for your money.”

“Not to mention the chance to get at the treasure,” Frank added.

Samantha blinked back tears. She seemed really shaken up. I could see our words had gotten to her. “I...I just can’t believe Tommy would try and steal from me. Let alone kill somebody.”

“We don’t know for certain that he did,” said Frank. “But from now on, we’d better be careful – that is, if you still want to keep going.”

Samantha blinked, looking startled as if she hadn’t even considered turning back. “Why wouldn’t I? I mean, I have the map back. It’s only another day’s ride...”

There were shouts coming from the gully where the body had been discovered. Men were yelling and I heard Leila shouting back at them. Everybody was on edge it seemed. Frank shared a look with me, then glanced over his shoulder. “I’d better go see if everything’s all right,” he said and left.

I watched him duck out of the tent and then turned back to Samantha. It dawned on me this was the first time I was alone with Samantha. I swallowed hard and touched her shoulder. “Samantha?”

She sniffed and looked up at me, her eyes full of tears. “I’ll...I’ll be okay.”

I cleared my throat. “You know...you could just give up, and we could all go home and forget the whole thing.”

“Are you suggesting I do that?” she asked, sounding puzzled.

“It would be safer for you. My job is to keep you safe.”

She thought for a moment and cleared her throat. “But...if you were me?”

I grinned. “If I were you? I’d keep going, just to stick it to whoever killed my ex-boyfriend and that thieving camel driver.”

She gave me a teary smile. “Thank you for understanding.” She stood up and kissed me on the cheek.

I took a deep breath and managed a smile. It was more important to protect her than anything else. That was my job. “I’d...better go see how Frank is doing,” I said awkwardly. As I reached the tent flap, I picked up a heavy flashlight and tossed it gently to her. “If anyone comes in, just bop them over the head with that and yell for help. I’ll come running.”

“Thanks, Joe,” she said, her smile widening. “I won’t forget this.”

I was probably wearing a stupid grin. “Me neither,” I said, lifting the tent flap and going outside.

OOOF!! No sooner was I clear of the tent than a ton of bricks rammed into my side and knocked me to the ground, slamming the air out of my lungs. Dazed, it took me a second to realize it was Tommy. He punched me hard in the stomach.

“Lay off my girlfriend, you scum!” he grunted, socking me over and over again.

I wanted to explain things to him, but it’s not easy when you’ve had the breath knocked out of you. Man, this guy had fists of steel. His punches hurt. I had no choice but to deliver a hard-driving kung-fu combination to his solar plexus. It sent him reeling several feet backward.

I managed to get to my feet and limp over to where he lay, groaning. “I wish you’d have let me explain,” I said. “Samantha and I were just talking. And what are you really upset about anyway? Losing your girl? Or losing your chance to see the treasure map?”

Tommy rolled over to one side and propped himself on one elbow. “I’ll get you for this. When you least expect it, I’ll pay you back, big-time.”

I took in a deep breath and winced at the soreness in my ribs. “Don’t make me humiliate you...again,” I said, leaving him there to recover his senses. If I hadn’t been so bruised, I probably would have done a victory dance.

***

The next morning, the sun rose big and blood-red over the desert. In a matter of just minutes the temperature went from freezing to almost unbearably hot. Dr. Mounir sent the body of the dead camel driver back to Abydos, along with another driver and two of the camels. Then the rest of us broke camp and headed further west.

Frank and I dropped back to the rear of our little camel caravan, so that we could talk freely without risk of being overheard. He’d been aggravated with me when he found out about my little confrontation with Tommy but glad I hadn’t taken things too far.

“Don’t get me wrong, I would have but I was too sore.” I shifted in the saddle and winced. “Do you really think that camel driver stole the map on his own?” I asked.

“No. He was working for Mounir, remember?”

“So are all of them,” I pointed out. “Including Leila.”

Frank shot me a glare. “Leila’s no pushover. She thinks for herself.”

I didn’t miss his tone. I knew that he’d been noticing Leila quite often. “How does she feel about Mounir?”

“She doesn’t think much of his curse theories,” he said. “I don’t think she trusts him much either.”

“Smart girl. So if the dead guy stole the map for someone else, who do you think it was?”

Frank shrugged. “Well, we know the guy was working for Dr. Mounir. But that doesn’t mean he stole it for him. Anybody on the expedition could have paid him to do it.”

“Why not steal it themselves?” I asked. “It’d be simpler, no middle man to muck things up.”

“Well, if they tried and got caught, it would be the end of everything for them. Remember, they took the trouble last time to disguise the thief as a mummy. If they sent someone else to do it, and that person got caught, they could deny hiring him. No need for a disguise.”

I nodded. “Okay, I follow that so far. So why did the person who killed the camel driver not take the map?”

“That’s easy.”

I grunted. “Oh?”

Frank nudged his camel nearer to mine, causing mine to try and bite his. He leaned closer. “It leaves everyone thinking about the curse. Even Mounir added to it, talking about it last night.”

“So you think Mounir’s trying to get Samantha to give up and go home. We’re close enough, he’d probably be able to find it on his own from here.”

“Wouldn’t even be an issue if he could convince Samantha he had her best interests at heart.”

I frowned, watched the people ahead of us. “So...you think he’ll try again?”

Frank gave me a wide grin. “You think he won’t?”

Did I tell you I hate it when he does that?

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Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.