HICCUP A Mystery in Two Acts by Brent Hartinger 2111 E. John St. #103 Seattle WA 98112 (206) 325-2785 bharting@heartland.bradley.edu Copyright 1997 by B. Hartinger Cast of Characters Dr. Malcolm Leonard: A distinguished-looking, but slightly wild-eyed man of sixty, DR. MALCOLM LEONARD is a gifted archeologist and a passionate defender of science. Problem is, his impressive grasp of the Big Picture usually comes at the expense of minor details, making him somewhat feeble-minded. Dr. Margaret Yeers: A stout woman in her late fifties, DR. MARGARET YEERS projects a sober, reassuring presence, but with just a touch of sadness in her mien. The death of her daughter, REBECCA, four years earlier was a terrible blow for DR. YEERS, one from which SHE still has not recovered. Georgeanne Murphy: GEORGEANNE MURPHY, a woman in her mid-twenties, has spent much of her life on the sidelines, watching others perform, and dreaming big dreams. A woman with keen insight about other people--and a degree in psychology to boot!--"GEORGE" longs for a chance to prove HERSELF. But she also fears what it is SHE might learn from such a chance. Allen Drum: ALLEN DRUM, a man in his mid-twenties and a former archeologist-in-training, is now an accountant in a huge, anonymous firm--and a man of great passions long denied. Part of HIM sincerely loves his fiancee, GEORGEANNE, but HE can't quite commit to HER, because SHE represents for HIM the stable, conventional life HE chose when HE forsook archeology four years earlier. Nassir: Twenty-six year-old NASSIR, a female, is a native Egyptian who has been guiding tourists around her country most of her life. NASSIR can be superstitious, but there is an ancient wisdom to HER as well. Beware the person who dismisses HER out-of-hand; there is much more to NASSIR than meets the eye. Scene: The interior of an Ancient Egyptian tomb. Time: The present. ACT I Scene 1 SETTING: It is the ancient stone crypt of Hekkop, an extremely wealthy priest of Ancient Egypt (circa 1250 B.C.). An entry passage opens out of the upstage, stage-right half of the crumbling back wall. In the stage-right corner next to the entry passage is a small statue of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of embalming, atop a stone pedestal. The stage-left half of the upstage back wall, meanwhile, is covered with Egyptian murals which surround a series of fist-sized, engraved hieroglyphs. From the cracked stage-left wall, a stone spigot emerges, directly above a collecting basin. The room has two stone pillars, both downstage, one stage-left, one stage-right; the stage-right pillar has collapsed partially, creating a sheltered nook behind it. Five silver urns line the walls at regular intervals. Finally, a skittering of loose stones and rubble covers the floor, and several red archeological flag-type markers divide it into quarters. AT RISE: The tomb is as quiet as it is dark. Suddenly, the sound of a metal door scraping against rock echoes out from the entry corridor; at the same time, a growing glow of dim daylight appears in the corridor. Amid the scraping metal, distant voices reverberate. We also now hear the sound of wind blowing outside the tomb. NASSIR'S VOICE (frightened) Dr. Leonard! What are you doing? DR. LEONARD'S VOICE What does it look like? I'm opening the vault! NASSIR'S VOICE But ... how? DR. LEONARD'S VOICE With the key, of course. I got it from the university. NASSIR'S VOICE Dr. Leonard! You did not say you wanted to go inside! DR. LEONARD'S VOICE Well, of course, we want to go inside! Did you think we were coming all this way just to stand at the entrance and gawk? GEORGEANNE'S VOICE I don't understand. What's so bad about going inside? NASSIR'S VOICE This is a bad place! Bad things happen to those who enter here! DR. YEERS VOICE You're not kidding, Nassir. DR. LEONARD'S VOICE Please, Dr. Yeers, don't encourage her! DR. YEERS VOICE (somberly) Dr. Leonard ... what do you expect me to say? What happened here ... maybe it was the result of a mummy's curse. DR. LEONARD'S VOICE Oh, that's absurd, and you know it! ALLEN'S VOICE It's not so absurd, Dr. Leonard. Why did you bring us here anyway? DR. LEONARD'S VOICE I told you, it's a surprise. I'm sorry, I suppose I should've warned you. But we're here now, so let's just go inside before we freeze to death in this wind. GEORGEANNE'S VOICE (concern in her voice) Allen? What is it? What is this place? ALLEN'S VOICE It's ... a long story, George. DR. LEONARD'S VOICE Come on now, I'll explain everything once we're inside. Does everyone have a light? All right, now follow me. ALLEN'S VOICE Here, George, take my hand. GEORGEANNE'S VOICE Well ... I guess it'll be good to get out of this wind. (We hear the sound of footsteps in the passage) NASSIR'S VOICE (ominously) Very well. But do not say I did not warn you! (More footsteps are heard. As THEY walk, flashlight beams appear in the corridor outside the inner entrance to the tomb, cutting through a cloud of thick dust. The beams of light jerk and swerve, illuminating the way, but also indicating the general nervousness of the GROUP. As THEY walk closer, the beams grow brighter still) GEORGEANNE'S VOICE I see something up ahead. DR. LEONARD'S VOICE It's just a little further now. (DR. MALCOLM LEONARD, wearing a large backpack, steps out into the chamber. There is an insatiable glint in his eye as HE glances around the room) DR. LEONARD Here we are! (Right behind DR. LEONARD are DR. MARGARET YEERS and ALLEN DRUM, both staring around the room with a mixture of recognition and regret. Also in the group is ALLEN's fiancee, GEORGEANNE MURPHY, holding his hand, gazing around the chamber in amazement--and a little bit of fear. Finally, NASSIR, bringing up the rear, looks from the tomb itself to each of her COMPANIONS, her expression almost one of pity. EVERYONE except NASSIR is holding a flashlight, which THEY shine around the room) GEORGEANNE It's fantastic! DR. LEONARD (to the OTHERS) Let's light the lanterns. (From DR. LEONARD's pack, ALLEN and DR. YEERS withdraw a group of lanterns which THEY proceed to light and place them in prominent places around the chamber. With the added light, the GROUP continues its gaze around the room) DR. YEERS It looks exactly the same. As if we just left here yesterday. ALLEN It's not exactly the same. (pointing) Look. Markers. Someone's been here. GEORGEANNE (to ALLEN) You sound like you've been here before. ALLEN I have. We were all here--Dr. Yeers, Dr. Leonard, and me. Four years ago. GEORGEANNE You never told me this! ALLEN I started out studying archeology. It was later that I switched to accounting. One semester, I accompanied Dr. Leonard and Dr. Yeers here on an expedition. GEORGEANNE So that's how you know Dr. Leonard and Dr. Yeers. How exciting! I don't know why you've never told me. DR. LEONARD (thinking aloud) It is like we never left! Then again, what's four years in the life of a three-thousand year-old crypt? GEORGEANNE Wait a minute. Crypt? Nobody said anything about a crypt. Where are we anyway? DR. YEERS This is the tomb of Hekkop, a high priest in the court of Seti the first, a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt who ruled over three thousand years ago. GEORGEANNE You're kidding. DR. YEERS No. GEORGEANNE Well, he must have been some priest. I take it priests in Ancient Egypt didn't exactly take vows of poverty. DR. YEERS On the contrary. Ancient records suggest that Hekkop was one of the richest of all Egyptians--second only to the pharaoh himself. And Seti the first reigned in an era of great prosperity. GEORGEANNE Hekkop obviously wanted to go out in style. DR. YEERS All the Ancient Egyptians wanted to go out in style. They believed that after death, a person's soul made its way to the Land of the Setting Sun. There, if the gods deemed him or her worthy, a soul would be resurrected in its former body--just as the great Egyptian god Osiris had once been resurrected. That's why wealthy Egyptians had their bodies preserved as mummies--so that their souls would have a body to reanimate in the afterlife. GEORGEANNE But ... this is just an empty chamber. Where's the mummy? ALLEN And the treasure. GEORGEANNE Treasure? ALLEN The Ancient Egyptians also believed that anything entombed with the mummy went along with that person into the afterlife. Obviously, wealthy Egyptians made it a point to have as much of their wealth buried with them as possible. GEORGEANNE In other words, you could take it with you. ALLEN (gesturing to the stone spigot and collecting basin) Hekkop even went so far as to install a fountain which connected to the Nile, miles away, via an underground aqueduct--all so he would have water in the afterlife. GEORGEANNE Incredible. So ... what? I suppose the treasure and the mummy were stolen? DR. LEONARD Plundering the tombs of their ancestors has been an economic mainstay of Egypt for the last four thousand years. In fact, of all the pharaohs of Egypt, only the tomb of a single one escaped major plundering! GEORGEANNE (absently) King Tutankhamen. Because his tomb was lost in the rubble next to the tomb of Ramses the sixth. ALLEN (to GEORGEANNE) Very good. How'd you know that? GEORGEANNE Doesn't everyone know that? ALLEN No, I mean the part about Ramses the sixth. GEORGEANNE Oh, that. I saw it at the museum in Cairo. DR. LEONARD (continuing on) And King Tut was actually a very minor pharaoh. If the incredible treasures found in his tomb were what the Ancient Egyptians bestowed on a minor pharaoh, one can only imagine the manner of riches entombed with a truly great pharaoh. ALLEN Or the fabulously wealthy high priest of a great pharaoh. DR. LEONARD Exactly! (There is a pregnant pause) GEORGEANNE Well, I guess we'll never know. DR. LEONARD (cryptically) Don't be so sure. GEORGEANNE What? DR. LEONARD I said, don't be so sure that we'll never know what treasure was buried with Hekkop! GEORGEANNE How could we? Didn't you just say this tomb was plundered? DR. LEONARD Don't be so sure. GEORGEANNE You keep saying that! But the tomb is empty. Was the treasure moved? DR. LEONARD No. GEORGEANNE Then I don't understand. (to ALLEN) Am I missing something? ALLEN Six years ago, Dr. Leonard found a portion of an ancient scroll. DR. LEONARD (reciting from memory) "At last it is hidden. And now, for all eternity, these riches will be mine, shining like stars in the heavens." And it was signed by Hekkop himself! ALLEN >From that, Dr. Leonard deduced that Hekkop's treasure wasn't stolen, but that he hid it somewhere inside his tomb. This tomb. GEORGEANNE Why would he do that? DR. LEONARD Because the Ancient Egyptians weren't stupid! They knew the tombs of their ancestors were being plundered! Why do you think they stopped building pyramids? All the thieves knew where to go! Over the centuries, the Egyptians even took to building traps, sliding panels, mazes, even decoy treasure rooms in their tombs--all in an effort to thwart the thieves. ALLEN Dr. Leonard believes that Hekkop oversaw the construction of his own tomb--probably even killing the workers upon its completion. And that he spent the rest of his years hiding his great hoard of treasure somewhere within these walls. DR. LEONARD Hekkop's mummy was stolen--or perhaps it was never placed here in the first place. But as for his treasure, I believe that Hekkop managed to outsmart even the most persistent of thieves! GEORGEANNE But ... hasn't the tomb already been searched? DR. YEERS Many times. Four years ago, Dr. Leonard himself led an expedition here to finally locate the hidden treasure. Your fiance and I were members of that expedition. We searched this chamber for over two months. We examined it stone-by-stone, inch-by-inch. Metal detectors ... sonar ... the works. GEORGEANNE And? DR. YEERS And we didn't find a thing. GEORGEANNE But if that's true, why are we here now? ALLEN Yes, Dr. Leonard, what's this all about? DR. LEONARD What this is about is the fact that I was right! And that I've finally discovered the secret location of Hekkop's treasure! DR. YEERS (skeptically) Dr. Leonard .... DR. LEONARD No, it's true! This time I know I'm right! (DR. YEERS and ALLEN both look on skeptically) DR. LEONARD You don't believe me. (pointing to the back wall) There! It's right there! Hekkop's treasury is right behind this wall! DR. YEERS Dr. Leonard, that's impossible. We spent weeks examining that wall. It's solid rock. DR. LEONARD No, it's just designed to make you think it's solid rock! It's actually a sliding panel! ALLEN Even if that's true, how do we get it open? We're not equipped to chip through solid stone. DR. LEONARD I brought you here to show you, not tell you, so ... stand back, everyone! (Curious now, THEY do stand back. DR. LEONARD approaches the hieroglyphics covering the wall) DR. LEONARD (slowly reading the hieroglyphs) "When the dead shall walk to the setting sun, when time itself shall flow, when fire burns in silver urns, then Hekkop's face will show." (to GEORGEANNE) This is fairly typical of the kinds of inscriptions found in tombs such as these. "Bless the occupant of this tomb, etc. etc." But this is no ordinary inscription! It's actually part of an intricate lock--the world's first combination lock!--designed to allow entry into the treasury. GEORGEANNE The world's first combination lock? DR. LEONARD Imagine that this whole wall is a padlock. But rather than numbers on its face, this lock has words-- hieroglyphs, the very first words. The lock is opened by pushing the correct hieroglyphs in the correct order- -just as a padlock is opened by turning to the right numbers! ALLEN But even if that was true, we don't know the combination. DR. LEONARD Oh, yes, we do! (At this boast, DR. YEERS, ALLEN, and even NASSIR stare at HIM, not sure what to make of this new development. DR. LEONARD, meanwhile, stands enjoying their welling curiosity) GEORGEANNE (to ALLEN) Is it possible? Could Dr. Leonard be right? ALLEN It's possible. Archeologists learned long ago never to say never in Egypt. Over ten years ago, scientists found evidence of secret passages underneath the great Sphinx--but they still haven't been able to find a way inside. DR. LEONARD This time I'm right--I know I am! DR. YEERS Well, don't just stand there, you old fool! Open it! (DR. LEONARD laughs) DR. LEONARD Stand back! Here goes! (As HE pushes the symbols, HE names them) DR. LEONARD (Continued) "Time." "Flow." "Dead." "Face." "Sun." (HE looks over at his COMPANIONS and grins a final smile) DR. LEONARD And the last symbol in the combination is ... "Burns"! (As soon as HE presses the symbol, HE immediately steps back and stands ready for a door in the wall to roll open. The GROUP tenses with anticipation. Nothing happens. Nonetheless, THEY continue to stare at the wall. When nothing still happens, DR. LEONARD grows increasingly agitated) DR. YEERS Dr. Leonard? (Without saying a word, DR. LEONARD steps forward and repeats the combination) DR. LEONARD (as HE pushes the symbols) "Time." "Flow." "Dead." "Face." "Sun." "Burns." (When HE is done, HE steps back from the wall once again and waits. Once again, nothing happens) DR. LEONARD I don't understand. (HE steps forward and tries the combination again--to no avail) DR. LEONARD (Continued) But ... I don't understand! (HE tries yet again--even more frantically now) ALLEN Dr. Leonard, how did you learn this "combination" anyway? DR. LEONARD (as HE continues to work) It was written on another ancient scroll. (Finished with the combination, DR. LEONARD steps back and waits again. But once again, the wall does not budge) DR. LEONARD (Continued) It's not possible! I was so certain! ALLEN Another ancient scroll? What scroll? DR. LEONARD (distracted) It was left for me at the front desk of the hotel--a photocopy of an ancient manuscript. At first, I thought it was nothing, just a meaningless string of hieroglyphs. Then I remembered the inscription here. Every symbol on that scroll could be found on this wall. That's when I formulated my theory about a combination lock. It seemed like the perfect explanation. DR. YEERS Who left this photocopy? DR. LEONARD Well, I really don't know. There was no note inside, and the clerk at the desk couldn't remember who left it. DR. YEERS You don't know who left the manuscript? DR. LEONARD Well ... no. DR. YEERS But, Dr. Leonard--! DR. LEONARD But what? My interest in Hekkop is well-known. I simply assumed it was someone who knew I was back in Egypt--probably one of the professors at the University of Cairo. ALLEN Wait a minute. When you did get this manuscript anyway? DR. LEONARD When? Why, yesterday morning? ALLEN Yesterday morning? DR. LEONARD That's right. What about it? ALLEN Well, if you just received that manuscript yesterday morning, why did you invite us all to join you Egypt in the first place? DR. LEONARD Invite you? I didn't invite you--you invited me! ALLEN What are you talking about? You sent us plane tickets and an invitation to join you in Cairo. You said it was extremely urgent. DR. LEONARD I did no such thing! Dr. Yeers sent me a ticket and the same invitation! DR. YEERS I did not! I received a plane ticket and an invitation from Allen! (There is a sudden silence as THEY all realize THEY have been the victims of some sort of strange practical joke) DR. LEONARD Something very odd is going on here. (to DR. YEERS and ALLEN) If neither of you sent those invitations ...? ALLEN Who did? And why? DR. LEONARD There has to be some explanation. It was probably someone from the university. Someone from the original expedition. DR. YEERS But why wouldn't they tell us who they are? (beat) NASSIR (suddenly) Everyone happy now? No treasure. Too bad. Very sad. (ushering THEM towards the door) Now we go. Very exciting day, but now we go. GEORGEANNE I agree with Nassir. I think we should leave. (Suddenly, the wind outside picks up considerably) DR. YEERS Not so fast. GEORGEANNE What? ALLEN Shhh. Listen. (THEY do listen. Outside, the wind is now blowing fierce gusts. ALLEN steps out into the hallway) GEORGEANNE What is it? ALLEN (looking up the hallway) Sand storm. GEORGEANNE What? ALLEN It's a sand storm. NASSIR No. No sand storm. I go see. (SHE leaves. But even after SHE is gone, the rest of the GROUP remains silent) GEORGEANNE What's wrong? Why aren't we leaving? ALLEN George, if it's a sand storm, we can't leave. GEORGEANNE What do you mean, we can't? ALLEN We can't drive in a sand storm. We'll be blown right off the road. GEORGEANNE Oh, that's ridiculous. It's just a little wind. (SHE looks to the OTHERS. From their stone-faced reactions, SHE sees that THEY all agree with ALLEN) GEORGEANNE (Continued) Well, we can't stay in here. DR. LEONARD We may not have any choice. GEORGEANNE What? DR. YEERS Dr. Leonard is right, Georgeanne. If it's a sand storm, we'll just have to wait it out. ALLEN I'll go get the rest of the supplies from the car. DR. LEONARD I'll go with you. GEORGEANNE Supplies? Why do we need the supplies? ALLEN Well ... we don't know how long we're going to be in here. GEORGEANNE We don't need supplies! How long could it be? DR. YEERS Hours. Or days. GEORGEANNE Days? ALLEN Calm down, George. It's not that big a deal. It'll probably blow right over. But even if it doesn't, we spent plenty of nights working in here four years ago. DR. LEONARD This is all my fault. We never should've come. I was just trying to make up for everything that happened four years ago. GEORGEANNE What happened four years ago? (There is an awkward pause as DR. LEONARD looks to ALLEN and DR. YEERS for help in explaining the situation) ALLEN It was just a ... difficult expedition, that's all. GEORGEANNE Difficult? ALLEN Dr. Leonard, are you ready? GEORGEANNE Wait a minute! What happened four years ago? DR. LEONARD It was a ... very difficult expedition. GEORGEANNE But how? How was it difficult? ALLEN (quickly) It was a bitter disappointment, that's all. We spent two months, and we didn't find what we were looking for. (to DR. LEONARD) Ready? (DR. LEONARD nods, and THEY leave. Confused and frightened, GEORGEANNE watches THEM go. At the same time, NASSIR returns, watching DR. LEONARD and ALLEN go back up the entry-passage) NASSIR Where do they go? DR. YEERS They're getting the supplies from the car. In case we have to spend the night. NASSIR Spend the night where? DR. YEERS Well, in here, of course. NASSIR Oh, no! That is very bad idea! Very very bad! DR. YEERS Nassir! NASSIR Sand storm not bad! Not bad at all! Just a little wind, some sand. Easy to drive in. DR. YEERS Nassir, you know that's not true! If it really is a sand storm, we don't have any choice but to stay in here. NASSIR Oh, no! Sleeping here is a very bad idea! (to Georgeanne) Ms. Murphy, you must tell them! Staying in here is very, very bad. GEORGEANNE Nassir, I'm sure it's-- NASSIR You do not know the whole truth about Hekkop! DR. YEERS And you do? NASSIR Yes! GEORGEANNE What don't we know? NASSIR I know why there is no mummy here--and no treasure. GEORGEANNE Why? NASSIR Because Hekkop was buried alive! When he was entombed, he was not dead. DR. YEERS Nassir, Hekkop was high priest under Seti the first. It's inconceivable that he wouldn't have been mummified by the other priests in preparation for the afterlife. NASSIR But Hekkop was an evil priest--very greedy! The other priests knew this, so they gave him slith, the herb of the sleep of death. To all observers, the body seemed to be dead, but it was not! GEORGEANNE That must be quite an herb. NASSIR It no longer exists, but it did! And with this herb, the priests fooled even Hekkop's queens and his advisors. Hekkop's body was taken to be prepared for the afterlife, but it was not prepared. It was sealed in this tomb--buried alive! That is why there was no mummy found--because he was not buried! GEORGEANNE If Hekkop's priests had wanted him gone, why didn't they just kill him? NASSIR The other priests didn't kill him because Hekkop was high priest! He was evil, but he was still the high priest. They thought they could not kill him, or the gods would be angry. GEORGEANNE (tentatively) But even if they did bury him alive, he would still have died eventually--so wouldn't there be a body? There aren't even any bones. NASSIR His body died, yes, and because he was not mummified, that body has crumbled to dust. But it is said that his spirit did not die, that it lives on--searching! For because Hekkop's body was not preserved, there was no body for the gods to resurrect in the afterlife. It is said that Hekkop's ghost still roams this tomb-- searching for another body to claim as his own! DR. YEERS Nassir--! NASSIR Over the centuries, Hekkop's spirit has grown very impatient--and very angry. That is why we must leave this place! That is why you must tell the others that we cannot stay in here! DR. YEERS All right, Nassir, we've heard enough. GEORGEANNE But Dr. Yeers ... earlier you agreed with Nassir. You said maybe this place did have a mummy's curse. DR. YEERS It was a joke. Just a dumb joke. NASSIR Dr. Yeers, you spent two months in this tomb four years ago. DR. YEERS Yes. NASSIR And did nothing unusual happen? (DR. YEERS does not answer) GEORGEANNE Dr. Yeers? (SHE still does not answer. SHE looks away, desperately searching for someplace to put her gaze) GEORGEANNE Dr. Yeers? What is it? DR. YEERS (quietly; mournfully) It's ... nothing. GEORGEANNE Is this was Dr. Leonard feels he needs to "make up" for? DR. YEERS (ignoring HER) You know, if we're going to be sleeping here tonight, we should clear away some of these rocks. GEORGEANNE Dr. Yeers, what happened to you people four years ago? I want to know. (DR. YEERS begins to work, bending down to brush the rocks to one side of the chamber) DR. YEERS Because they'll go right through our sleeping bags. All these rocks? They'll go right through. (As DR. YEERS works, GEORGEANNE looks at NASSIR. Without a word, NASSIR stares back, as if to say, "Don't say I didn't warn you." For the first time since arriving here, GEORGEANNE is genuinely spooked) (BLACKOUT) END OF SCENE 1 ACT I Scene 2 AT RISE:(It is several hours later. Packs and sleeping bags have been laid out across the floor of the chamber, and GEORGEANNE, DR. YEERS, and ALLEN sit atop the bags in a semicircle. ALLEN is re-stringing his hiking boots; GEORGEANNE is hunting through her backpack, taking items out as SHE does; and DR. YEERS is writing in a notebook. DR. LEONARD, meanwhile, stands behind, still trying to open Hekkop's treasury by pressing on the hieroglyphs on the back wall. As for NASSIR, SHE sits on top of her own sleeping bag, several meters apart from the OTHERS, quietly chanting. A camping stove lies nearby, along with the dirty plates, a cooler, and other remnants of a meal. Outside, the fierce wind still blows) ALLEN Dr. Leonard, you've been at it for over an hour now. Don't you think it's time to give it a rest? There's always tomorrow. DR. LEONARD Tomorrow! There's always tomorrow for people your age. But at my age, there aren't quite so many tomorrows! ALLEN (to GEORGEANNE; as HE re-strings his boots) Dr. Leonard has a touch of the melodramatic in him. GEORGEANNE So I've noticed. ALLEN (to GEORGEANNE) Um ... can I ask you a question? GEORGEANNE Hmm? (HE points to a box GEORGEANNE has removed from the backpack) ALLEN Why did you bring rat poison? GEORGEANNE Oh, I didn't mean to. It just happened to be in my backpack. From that week we rented the cabin on the lake? DR. YEERS (looking up from her book) I'm curious about something, Dr. Leonard. DR. LEONARD (still at the wall) Hmm? DR. YEERS Why did you bring Allen and I back here with you? When you found the manuscript waiting for you at the front desk, why didn't you just come back here yourself? DR. LEONARD Are you kidding? You and Allen are the only two people who ever took my theory about Hekkop's treasure seriously in the first place. Of course you had to be here at the actual moment of discovery! ALLEN Problem is, there wasn't any moment of discovery. DR. LEONARD Well, no. Not yet. But that's science for you. The fact is, science is mostly just a lot of work. Darwin sailed around the world and then wrote for twenty years before he finally realized the theory of natural selection. But the fact that they're rare just makes science's great moments of discovery all the more fabulous when they actually do happen! ALLEN Like when Howard Carter first peered inside King Tut's tomb, and when asked from behind if he saw anything. "Yes," he said. "Wonderful things!" (ALLEN laughs dismissively. Having finished with his boots, HE sets them aside. GEORGEANNE, meanwhile, has finally found what SHE was looking for in the backpack: a tin of mints. SHE tries unscrew it, but finds the top on too tight) DR. LEONARD You will see wonderful things here some day, Allen. Mark my words. GEORGEANNE (offering the tin to ALLEN) Can you get this for me? (as ALLEN tries, SHE speaks to DR. LEONARD) Are you really so sure that you'll find Hekkop's treasure, Dr. Leonard? DR. LEONARD Of course. I have to be. GEORGEANNE You have to be? DR. LEONARD It is my meaning. GEORGEANNE Your what? DR. LEONARD My meaning! Hekkop's treasure is the reason why I get up in the mornings! Some day--maybe not tomorrow, maybe not even next year, but some day--I'll finally discover the secret of that treasure. And so I've got a reason to keep living. GEORGEANNE But even if you do find the treasure, you'll just have to give it to the Egyptian government. DR. LEONARD My dear child, the point isn't the treasure itself. It's in searching for the treasure. Braving the mystery! Confronting the conundrum! I couldn't care less about the actual treasure. GEORGEANNE But what happens if you actually do find the treasure? You're reason for living will be gone. DR. LEONARD I suppose I'll just have to go out and find myself another mystery. GEORGEANNE Maybe that's what my life needs. More mystery. DR. LEONARD That's what every life needs! GEORGEANNE But how does a person go about finding ... mystery? DR. LEONARD By opening your eyes! My dear girl, there are mysteries all around you--and not just in Ancient Egyptian tombs. Why do leaves turn red in the autumn? Why does the moon glow? What makes one person like their artichoke dipped in mayonnaise, while someone else likes it dipped in melted butter? No matter where you are in the world, George, there's a mystery as close as the nearest tree or rock or person sitting next to you! (GEORGEANNE looks involuntarily over at ALLEN; HE glances back inextricably) DR. LEONARD (Continued) And they're all mysteries worth solving. Because each of these little mysteries is another piece in the greatest riddle of all--the mystery called the universe! GEORGEANNE (to DR. LEONARD) Boy, where were you when I was picking a major? My advisor's idea of inspiration was to show me his listing in a book called "Who's Who in Contemporary Psychology." (to ALLEN) Your accounting professors must've been something else if you switched from Dr. Leonard to them. (ALLEN, who has been unable to get the tin of mints open, hands it abruptly back to GEORGEANNE) ALLEN I can't get this. DR. LEONARD Here, let me try. (HE easily unscrews the tin) DR. LEONARD (Continued) Here you go. GEORGEANNE Impressive! (GEORGEANNE takes back the tin and helps HERSELF to a mint) DR. LEONARD (to ALLEN; ribbing HIM) Don't feel bad, my boy. I'm sure you loosened it! (GEORGEANNE offers ALLEN a mint, but HE tersely shakes his head no; suddenly aware that SHE has offended HIM, GEORGEANNE stares after HIM) DR. LEONARD (Continued) (flexing his muscles) It's all those sarcophagi I've opened over the years. DR. YEERS (wistfully) You know, I envy you, Dr. Leonard. DR. LEONARD (cheekily) My upper arm strength? DR. YEERS Your certainty! There was a time when I think you could've talked me into flying with you to the moon. DR. LEONARD (as HE sits) Dr. Yeers! I'd like to think I still could! After all, this morning when I invited you to come on this expedition, you didn't hesitate. DR. YEERS I didn't, did I? I wonder what that says about me. DR. LEONARD It says that you're human! That you hunger for the unknown and yearn for the unexpected! DR. YEERS No. I don't think so. Unfortunately, I think that these days I'm quite content with the known and the expected. DR. LEONARD Nonsense! DR. YEERS No. I think it's true. DR. LEONARD (taking out a pipe and lighting it) Well ... you certainly haven't lost your flare for culinary exploration. DR. YEERS How would you know? You barely touched your dinner. DR. LEONARD I touched enough of it to know that you still know your way around a Coleman stove. DR. YEERS Expedition food. That's one thing I haven't missed. GEORGEANNE Don't you go on expeditions any more, Dr. Yeers? DR. YEERS No. DR. LEONARD (puffing on his pipe) Dr. Yeers has taken a brief sabbatical from field work. DR. YEERS Not so brief. It's been four years. DR. LEONARD (to GEORGEANNE; with enthusiasm) Dr. Yeers is currently in the business inspiring our next generation of Egyptologists! DR. YEERS (to GEORGEANNE) I teach. DR. LEONARD You say that like it's a bad thing! Teachers are the high priests in the religion of science. DR. YEERS Maybe so, but if that's true, archeology is a dying denomination. Kids today know the money isn't in digging up mummies, but in designing a genetically altered banana that never turns brown. DR. LEONARD Well, that's not your fault. You're not to blame for the avarice of today's students! DR. YEERS Of course, I am--me and other teachers like me. Someone is to blame. Someone always has to be. GEORGEANNE (to DR. YEERS) Why'd you give it up? Field work, I mean. DR. YEERS Oh, a lot of reasons. (DR. YEERS, however, does not provide any of those reasons. In the ensuing silence, GEORGEANNE looks over at ALLEN, still lost in somber thought and now staring somewhere stage-right) GEORGEANNE Allen? (Still lost in thought, HE does not answer) GEORGEANNE (louder) Allen. ALLEN (looking over at HER) Hmm? GEORGEANNE What were you looking at? What were you thinking? ALLEN Nothing. Nothing at all. (beat) GEORGEANNE I'm sorry for what I said about your switching studies. I think accounting is-- ALLEN It's not that, George. It's nothing. (Looking away again, ALLEN falls silent; whatever was on his mind is clearly still on his mind. GEORGEANNE looks to the OTHERS who have also become vaguely saturnine) GEORGEANNE (standing and moving for the door) Well. I'm going into town. Does anybody want anything? (No one responds) GEORGEANNE (Continued) That was a joke. Honestly, you people are too .... (As SHE is moving for the door, GEORGEANNE backs into the statue of Anubis. It startles HER, and SHE cries out in surprise) GEORGEANNE Oh! (turning to see it's only a statue) Oh, God, that scared me. I guess I'm a little nervous after all. I could just imagine a secret passage opening up behind me, and--(hic) (GEORGEANNE has hiccuped) GEORGEANNE (Continued) Oh, great. ALLEN You okay? GEORGEANNE Wait a minute. (Holding her throat, GEORGEANNE is waiting to see if the hiccup was a one-shot deal, or if SHE has a full-fledged case of them. A second later, SHE hiccups again) GEORGEANNE This always happens. Whenever something frightens me, I get the hiccups. DR. YEERS That's funny, I thought it was the other way around. A good scare is supposed to cure the hiccups. GEORGEANNE Yeah, well, tell it to my glottis. (hic) ALLEN I know a cure. GEORGEANNE No, not that sipping water one. That never works for me. (hic) Besides, then I'll have to pee all night long. DR. LEONARD I've got one. GEORGEANNE A cure? DR. LEONARD Yes, and it never fails. Stand up. (GEORGEANNE stands, hiccuping as SHE does) DR. LEONARD Now put your fingers in your ears. GEORGEANNE Put my fingers.... (SHE does) DR. LEONARD Now take a big breath and hold it for thirty seconds. (With her fingers in her ears, GEORGEANNE cannot hear) GEORGEANNE (withdrawing her fingers) What? (hic) DR. LEONARD (with a good-natured chuckle) Oops. Sorry about that. Listen first. With your fingers in your ears, take a big breath and hold it for thirty seconds. Always works. Can't miss. GEORGEANNE Okay. (hic) (SHE plugs her ears with her fingers, then takes a great breath and holds it. Her face grows increasingly red. As SHE holds her breath, SHE does not hiccup. A moment later, SHE releases the air in a tremendous whoosh. Then SHE stands, uncertain, waiting along with the OTHERS--even NASSIR--to see if the remedy has really worked. As the seconds tick by, GEORGEANNE begins to smile; it does seem to have worked. Just as SHE is about to congratulate DR. LEONARD on his great cure, SHE hiccups. SHE sighs) DR. LEONARD I don't understand. That's always worked for me. DR. YEERS Wait a minute, I've got one. (SHE turns and begins to dig around in her pack. Finally, SHE finds what SHE's looking for--a small paper sack. SHE dumps out the contents and hands it to GEORGEANNE. GEORGEANNE, however, has noticed something odd about the bandanna SHE is wearing in her hair) GEORGEANNE Oh! You've got a spider (hic)--in your bandanna! DR. YEERS (touching her head) What? Where? GEORGEANNE Oh, wait a minute. No, I guess I'm (hic) wrong. It's just a piece of lint. DR. YEERS (handing GEORGEANNE the paper bag) Here. Put this over your mouth and breathe into it. GEORGEANNE That's it? Just breathe into it? (hic) DR. YEERS Yes--deep breaths. (GEORGEANNE places the bag over her mouth, and begins to breathe. Once again, the remedy is successful as long as SHE is breathing into the bag. But then, after a reasonable amount of time, SHE removes the bag and waits patiently to see if SHE has had success. Immediately, SHE hiccups. GEORGEANNE sighs again) ALLEN Honey, just relax. They'll go away on their own. GEORGEANNE I hope they'll go away. (hic) (to ALLEN) Remember that time on Vancouver Island? I had the hiccups for three days straight. By the end of the weekend, my whole (hic) chest was sore. (As GEORGEANNE speaks, NASSIR stands, approaches GEORGEANNE, and slips behind HER, wrapping her arms around her stomach from behind) GEORGEANNE What are you--? (hic) NASSIR Shhh. Be still. (NASSIR begins to delicately massage GEORGEANNE's stomach. A few seconds later, SHE turns and returns to her sleeping bag. GEORGEANNE waits for the next hiccup, but it does not come. Slowly, as SHE becomes convinced that her hiccups are truly gone, SHE begins to smile. SHE looks over at NASSIR--already having retreated back into her chanting-- and suddenly realizes the implications of NASSIR's success with her hiccups: If SHE was right about this, could SHE be right about everything else? GEORGEANNE frowns) (BLACKOUT) END OF SCENE 2 ACT I Scene 3 (It is the middle of the night, and EVERYONE is asleep. The sound of the wind has finally stopped. In the middle of the floor, a single lamp burns very dimly, casting long shadows in the chamber and making the five sleeping bags of the party little more than indistinguishable lumps. Soft snoring emanates from several of the bags--though it is impossible to tell who it is making the noise. Suddenly, GEORGEANNE hiccups, jogging her awake) GEORGEANNE (sitting upright; softly) Oh, for crying out loud. (With a sigh, GEORGEANNE plugs her ears, then takes a deep breath and holds it. It doesn't help. Removing her fingers from her ears, SHE sighs again. SHE looks down at her stomach and hesitantly starts to massage it in the way NASSIR was doing earlier. Suddenly, two dark FIGURES rise up out of the dark shadows behind the collapsed pillar, stage-right. One FIGURE looms behind the OTHER--and seems to be viciously strangling HIM or HER! Quiet guttural gurgling noises break from the throat of the VICTIM--though in the darkness, it is still completely unclear as to the identity of either PERSON. GEORGEANNE gasps loudly) GEORGEANNE Huh--? (SHE fumbles for the lantern to turn it brighter. In her panic, however, GEORGEANNE knocks the lantern over, causing the chamber to fall into pitch blackness) GEORGEANNE'S VOICE No! Oh, my God! Wake up! Everybody, wake up! ALLEN'S VOICE George? What is it? What's wrong? GEORGEANNE'S VOICE There's someone--! Oh, my God, light the lantern! Quickly! DR. YEERS' VOICE What's going on? DR. LEONARD'S VOICE What is it? What's wrong? GEORGEANNE'S VOICE Where's a flashlight? Does anyone have a flashlight? ALLEN'S VOICE Wait a minute! I've got some matches! (Finally, ALLEN manages to get a match lit. In the dim light, GEORGEANNE sits in the middle of the chamber, surrounded by DR. LEONARD, DR. YEERS, ALLEN, and NASSIR, all staring at HER and each other with frenzied concern. With the lit match, ALLEN quickly lights the lantern) DR. LEONARD George, what is it? What's wrong? (GEORGEANNE is too frightened to speak. SHE jerks around the chamber, trying to locate the two FIG- URES SHE saw earlier) ALLEN (turning the lantern up bright) George? What is it? GEORGEANNE (pointing; in a hoarse whisper) There! There's someone there! (ALLEN aims the lantern in the direction in which GEORGEANNE is pointing. Meanwhile, DR. YEERS and DR. LEONARD fumble to get more lanterns lit. Soon the chamber is filled with light. But there is no ONE in the place where GEORGEANNE is pointing--or anywhere else in the chamber. ALL look nervously back to GEORGEANNE) GEORGEANNE There was someone here. Two people! (ALLEN scrambles upright and, grabbing a lantern, goes out to investigate the hallway. HE returns a second later) ALLEN There's no one there. And if someone had run up the corridor, we would've heard an echo. (ALLEN walks around the chamber, investigating any possible hiding places. As HE does, ALL stare warily about the room) GEORGEANNE There was someone here! I'm sure of it! ALLEN Well, there's no one here now. DR. YEERS (to GEORGEANNE) Now try to calm down. Start at the beginning. Tell us exactly what happened. GEORGEANNE (breathlessly) I was ... sleeping. I was asleep. And I got the hiccups again, and it woke me up. And then these two figures rose up out of the shadows. DR. LEONARD Could you make them out? GEORGEANNE No! It was too dark. I just saw ... the two figures. And then I knocked over the lantern, and everything went dark. DR. YEERS George ... I don't know how to say this delicately. Is it possible you were just having a bad dream? GEORGEANNE No! That was no dream. I know the difference between a dream and reality! DR. LEONARD What were they doing? You said you saw two people. What were they doing? GEORGEANNE They were ... fighting or wrestling. One of them was making these noises--like they were being ... strangled. ALLEN (stiffening) What? DR. YEERS (tightly) Strangled? (Arms crossed, GEORGEANNE begins anxiously pace) GEORGEANNE Yes. Yes, I'm sure of it. One person was strangling the other. Allen, I'm scared! Let's get out of here. ALLEN George, you know we can't do that. We're stuck here, at least for the time being. GEORGEANNE Then we can wait in the car! I just have to get out of this tomb! NASSIR Quiet, please. Listen. DR. YEERS I don't hear anything. NASSIR That is right. The wind has stopped. GEORGEANNE Oh, thank God! Come on, Allen, let's get out of here! ALLEN Okay, in a second. Let's just-- GEORGEANNE Now! I can't stay in this place even one second longer. ALLEN (consolingly) Okay, okay. We're going. (THEY leave. When THEY are gone, the remaining THREE sit in stone- faced silence) DR. LEONARD (to DR. YEERS) It's a coincidence, that's all. Just a coincidence. DR. YEERS I'm sure you're right. (beat. No one moves) DR. LEONARD Let's get the things packed up and into the truck. (Still unsure, DR. YEERS nods once) DR. LEONARD (Continued) Nassir, help me with these sleeping bags. NASSIR Yes, Dr. Leonard. (NASSIR quickly steps forward to help HIM pack. DR. YEERS does too. As THEY pack, however, ALLEN and GEORGEANNE step back into the doorway of the chamber. BOTH look as white as ghosts) DR. LEONARD What is it? What's wrong? GEORGEANNE We're trapped. DR. YEERS What are you talking about? ALLEN The iron door we opened on the way in--the one the university installed. It's locked. The wind must've blown it shut, and it locks automatically. DR. LEONARD Well, that's no problem. I know there's a lock on the inside--safety guidelines require it. And I've still got the key. (HE begins to search his pockets. ALL watch HIM anxiously. HE doesn't seem to be able to find it) DR. LEONARD (Continued) That's funny. I know I had it earlier. DR. YEERS What are you saying? You've lost the key? That we're trapped in here? DR. LEONARD Don't be ridiculous! I obviously had the key on the way in--I used it to open the door. It has to be around here somewhere. (HE begins to search his sleeping bag and his pack. The OTHERS join in the search, but no one can find the key) DR. LEONARD (Continued) I ... don't understand. GEORGEANNE Well, even if we can't find the key, there must be some other exit to this place. ALLEN Not that we know of. And we spent two months looking. GEORGEANNE But I saw two people--one person strangling the other! If that door is locked, how did they get out? DR. YEERS Maybe they're the ones who locked the door. Maybe the wind didn't blow it closed at all. ALLEN Then why didn't we hear them? I'm sure we would've heard them running up the hallway and closing the door. But even if we didn't, George said they were trying to kill each other. That doesn't sound like two people who'd immediately turn and run away the second everyone woke up. GEORGEANNE What are you saying? That I didn't see anyone? That it was all a dream? ALLEN No! (slowly) I just think ... for the time being ... we should concentrate on trying to find a way out of here. DR. YEERS Well, I'm sure someone will be here before too long. After all, there were archeological markers on the floor. DR. LEONARD Those could be months--even years--old. Archaeologically speaking, this tomb is considered tapped out. ALLEN But Dr. Leonard, you said you got that key from the university. Surely, they'll send someone out when they realize you haven't returned. DR. LEONARD Well, yes, they would've ... except I didn't tell anyone I was taking it. DR. YEERS What? DR. LEONARD I thought I'd discovered the secret of Hekkop's treasure! I didn't want to tip my hand. DR. YEERS Nassir! You must've told someone where we were going. NASSIR I'm sorry. I did not. DR. YEERS So we are trapped! DR. LEONARD Of course, we're not trapped! I just dropped the key, that's all! (scanning the floor) It's just a matter of our finding it again. GEORGEANNE I know none of you believe me, but I saw someone. I know I did! And they couldn't have just vanished into thin air! NASSIR Couldn't they? (ALL look at NASSIR) GEORGEANNE What? NASSIR Three thousand years ago, this tomb was built. It has outlasted kings and civilizations--a tiny pocket of tranquility in the raging torrent of time. But who knows the true nature of time? Do you, Dr. Leonard? DR. LEONARD (suddenly) Oh, Nassir, we don't have time for any more of your-- DR. YEERS (cutting HIM off) No. Let her speak. GEORGEANNE (to NASSIR) I don't understand. What does "time" have to do with what I saw? NASSIR Perhaps it has everything to do with what you saw. You say you saw two people, and now they are gone. But maybe what you saw wasn't "now" at all. GEORGEANNE Nassir, you're not making any sense! NASSIR Here in Egypt, we think of time like a river ... like the River Nile, the River of Time ... always flowing forward. But if you've ever been on a boat on the river Nile, you know the river flows at different speeds ... often rushing forward ... but sometimes slowing nearly to a stop. And sometimes in these moments of quiet stillness, the river bends, and you can look up from the water and catch a glimpse of the river ahead--or a glance back to see the river behind. GEORGEANNE So what are you saying? NASSIR That perhaps dreaming in the sleepy backwater of this crypt, you caught a glimpse ahead or behind in the river of time. Perhaps your sleeping mind experienced a hiccup of its own. A hiccup in time. GEORGEANNE You think what I saw hasn't taken place yet? That it's part of the future? NASSIR Or that it already happened ... in the past. (At this, ALLEN exchanges a pithy glance with DR. YEERS. GEORGEANNE notices) DR. LEONARD Nonsense! This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. A "hiccup" in time! NASSIR But Dr. Leonard ... what happened to embracing mystery? DR. LEONARD No! What you're doing isn't embracing mystery--it's running from it! Embracing mystery means using facts and logic to understand the mystery--and to deduce an explanation! Anyone can explain anything by spinning soothing fairy tales out of thin air--but that's giving up! That's just one more way of avoiding the mystery in life! GEORGEANNE But someone was in here--two people. I saw them! If they're not here now, where are they? DR. LEONARD A secret passage! ALLEN Impossible! Dr. Leonard, we searched this tomb for two months straight. We didn't find any secret passages. DR. LEONARD We also never found Hekkop's treasure, but I know it's in here somewhere! If that's still in here, why not a secret passage? GEORGEANNE Look. I don't know what happened to the two people I saw, but I do know that none of you has been telling me the whole truth about this place. What happened in this crypt four years ago? Dr. Leonard, just what is it that makes you feel you need to "make up" to the others for? And Dr. Yeers, exactly what was it that made you give up field work and turn to teaching? (to ALLEN) And you! Why didn't you ever tell me that you studied archeology? And that you came halfway across the world to spend two months on an archeological expedition to find hidden treasure in the three-thousand year-old tomb of Hekkop of Ancient Egypt! You'd think this would be something you might have mentioned! It would've been a hell of a lot more interesting than all those boring stories about your boring job and your boring co-workers! (ALL are silent when SHE finishes. ALLEN, DR. YEERS, and DR. LEONARD exchange a glance. NASSIR watches it all with some concern) ALLEN (quietly attempting a joke) So now the truth comes out. You think my job is boring, do you? GEORGEANNE No. Don't. Don't change the subject. I want the truth, I want all of it, and I want it now. (beat) ALLEN (finally) Four years ago, a week before the expedition was scheduled to end, a member of our party was killed. GEORGEANNE (horrified) What? ALLEN She was my fiancee ... Rebecca. GEORGEANNE Your what? ALLEN My fiancee. GEORGEANNE But ... you never told me you had a fiancee before me! ALLEN No. I didn't. DR. YEERS Rebecca was my daughter. Her death was the real reason why I gave up field work. (glancing around the tomb) I didn't like to be ... reminded. GEORGEANNE Oh, Dr. Yeers! DR. LEONARD And it was my expedition that had caused two of my dear friends to lose the person they cared most deeply about. That, my dear, is what I felt--and still feel-- the need to make up for. GEORGEANNE My God. I had no idea. (pause; awkwardly) How ... did she ... die? DR. LEONARD (quickly) It doesn't matter. That was a long time ago. GEORGEANNE No. Please. I want to know. (There is another silence. ALLEN, DR. LEONARD, and DR. YEERS exchange glances again) ALLEN (finally) She was strangled. (BLACKOUT) END OF SCENE 3 ACT I Scene 4 AT RISE:(It is several hours later. GEORGEANNE sits on her sleeping bag, taking sandwiches from the cooler and arranging them on a plate. The sound of hammering echoes down from the outer corridor. Finished with the sandwiches, GEORGEANNE looks nervously around the chamber; after her experience the night before, SHE does not like being alone. When her gazes reaches the statue of Anubis, SHE stands and steps over closer to it for a closer view; she is both fascinated and appalled. SHE continues staring at the statue. Behind HER, ALLEN, covered in sweat, appears from out of the passageway, but GEORGEANNE does not yet notice HIM. Behind THEM, the pounding continues) ALLEN You okay? (This startles GEORGEANNE; SHE gasps, spinning around to face HIM) ALLEN (Continued) Oh, I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you knew I was there. (GEORGEANNE hesitates, touching her throat) GEORGEANNE It's okay. I don't think you gave me the hiccups. (regarding the statue) Who is this anyway? ALLEN Anubis. The god of the dead. GEORGEANNE Oh, that figures. (GEORGEANNE quickly turns away) How's it going out there anyway? ALLEN I don't know. If we only had some tools, we could unhook the hinges. Or saw them off. GEORGEANNE Still no sign of Dr. Leonard's key? (HE nods negatively) ALLEN I don't know what could've happened to it. We've gone over this tomb with a fine-tooth comb. I'm afraid he must've dropped it when he and I went out to the car for the supplies. GEORGEANNE (crossing to the sleeping bag) Oh, here. Have a sandwich. We should eat them before they go bad. (HE takes one and begins to eat) GEORGEANNE (Continued) I'm sick of that pounding. Turn on some music. ALLEN What? GEORGEANNE There's a cassette player by my sleeping bag. Turn it on. (ALLEN turns on music, then continues to eat. Neither speaks for several seconds) GEORGEANNE (Continued) So why didn't you tell me? ALLEN Tell you what? GEORGEANNE You know what. ALLEN What was I supposed to say? "Hey, honey, you know I was engaged before, and my fiancee was brutally strangled in an Egyptian tomb"? You'd be surprised how few opportunities there were for me to bring something like that up. GEORGEANNE It just seems strange that I didn't know. It's like you were keeping secrets. You never even told me that you studied archeology. It's like you just forgot this entire portion of your life. ALLEN I didn't forget. I tried to forget, but I never could. GEORGEANNE So why did you come back to Egypt? You must've known that invitation had something to do with Hekkop's tomb. ALLEN I didn't want to come. But then you saw the invitation and thought it sounded exciting, and everything was all paid for, and ... well, I didn't want to disappoint you. (beat; GEORGEANNE watches HIM) But on the way here, I decided that coming here was a good thing. Losing Rebecca was the hardest thing that ever happened to me. I think ... I think she's the real reason I can't bring myself to let us set a date for our wedding. GEORGEANNE Why? ALLEN I think it's partly that I'm afraid I'll lose you too. But part of it is also ... Rebecca. GEORGEANNE (as if stating a fact) You still love her. ALLEN (HE nods) I guess I thought that by coming back here, I could finally put her to rest. GEORGEANNE (gently; quietly) How did it happen? ALLEN What? GEORGEANNE How did it happen? The murder. ALLEN Oh, I don't know. GEORGEANNE No. I want to know. ALLEN It doesn't matter. Does it really matter how it happened? GEORGEANNE It does to me. (ALLEN sighs and turns away) ALLEN Rebecca liked to stay up late at night. One night, after the rest of us had already gone to bed, the son of our guide--a teenager by the name of Halim---snuck up behind her and strangled her. By the time we found the body a couple of hours later, Halim was gone. GEORGEANNE You. You found the body. ALLEN Yeah. GEORGEANNE How awful for you. (beat) Did they catch him? ALLEN Yes. He didn't get far. GEORGEANNE Why'd he do it? ALLEN We never found out. He was killed during the capture. GEORGEANNE (still gently) Where did it happen? Where was she killed? (beat) ALLEN Here. Inside the crypt. (pointing stage-right) I found the body ... there. GEORGEANNE My God, Allen, I'm so sorry. ALLEN It's not your fault. And I should've told you earlier. I'm sorry. GEORGEANNE (tentatively) Well ... is there anything else you haven't told me about that last expedition? ALLEN No! Nothing at all. I promise you. (GEORGEANNE, not knowing what to say to this, falls silent again. SHE glances back to the corridor where it sounds as if the OTHERS are still pounding away at the door) GEORGEANNE (finally) Allen? ALLEN Hmm? GEORGEANNE Do you think we're ... safe? ALLEN What do you mean? GEORGEANNE (lowering her voice) Well ... with Nassir. ALLEN George, that's racist. GEORGEANNE No, it's not the fact that she's an Egyptian. It's the way she talks. How she keeps saying we're not supposed to be here. And that "hiccup in time" business! How did she know someone had once been strangled in here? ALLEN Maybe she didn't. Maybe it was a coincidence. Or maybe she had heard about the murder and was just using it to frighten us away. It's clear that she doesn't want to be here. GEORGEANNE Well, why isn't she comfortable in here? I mean, she's a guide, isn't she? Isn't this what she does--guide people into ancient tombs? ALLEN It's not that strange. A lot of the natives are very superstitious about these tombs. (Despite the continuing pounding out in the hallway, DR. LEONARD enters suddenly. As HE does, HE speaks, giving GEORGEANNE a start) DR. LEONARD Too superstitious, if you ask me! (to GEORGEANNE) Sorry, George. Didn't mean to frighten you. GEORGEANNE It's okay. I'm still just a little ... shaky, that's all. (SHE hesitates again, anticipating hiccups that do not come) ALLEN (to DR. LEONARD) Any progress? DR. LEONARD Oh, Dr. Yeers is still at it, but it looks pretty hopeless to me. ALLEN That was my feeling too. GEORGEANNE What about Nassir? What she's doing? DR. LEONARD (derisively) Oh, she's leaning against the wall ... meditating or something. (beat. Out in the corridor, the pounding, just barely audible over the sound of GEORGE's music, finally stops) GEORGEANNE So ... now what? ALLEN (deferring to DR. LEONARD) Doctor? DR. LEONARD Well, it seems to me we have two options. One, we can start looking for secret passages. GEORGEANNE I know I saw someone last night. DR. LEONARD Yes, but remember, four years ago, we spent almost two months searching this chamber. Even if this tomb does have a secret exit, what are the odds we're going to find now what we couldn't find in two months? GEORGEANNE You said there are two options. What's the second one? DR. LEONARD We start looking for Hekkop's treasure again! ALLEN Oh, Dr. Leonard .... DR. LEONARD No--wait, please! Hear me out! I'm still convinced that the treasure has something to do with the ancient manuscript that came to me in that envelope. ALLEN Dr. Leonard .... DR. LEONARD Dr. Leonard nothing! That manuscript was marked with Hekkop's official seal! ALLEN So what? DR. LEONARD So what? That means that manuscript is authentic! ALLEN Why does it mean that? You said yourself you received a photocopy of the manuscript. That would make it easy to forge. DR. LEONARD Normally, I would agree with you, except Hekkop's seal was perfectly transcribed. ALLEN Dr. Leonard, I'm not following you. DR. LEONARD This tomb was first discovered in 1916 by an archeologist named Theodore Brickman, a man who kept very detailed notes. But the fact is, one aspect of his notes was inaccurate. He inaccurately transcribed Hekkop's official seal! It's a slight inaccuracy, hardly noticeable, but it's there, and scholars have been repeating his mistake ever since! It's in all the reference books! (short beat; DR. LEONARD is disappointed) I'm sure I've told you all this before, Allen. GEORGEANNE And the seal on the manuscript you received was the authentic seal? DR. LEONARD Exactly! ALLEN Dr. Leonard, that doesn't prove anything except that whoever forged the manuscript has actually visited this tomb. Besides, even if we did find Hekkop's treasure, how would that help us? We're trapped inside this tomb, remember? DR. LEONARD But if I'm right and we do manage to find the treasury, there's a good chance we'll find tools there too! GEORGEANNE Tools? DR. LEONARD The Ancient Egyptians didn't just bury their dead with treasure. They buried them with all kinds of things-- clothing, games, food--all the things they might need in the afterlife. Often that included tools. And the Ancient Egyptians used hammers, chisels--even crude metal saws! ALLEN But after all this time ... surely they wouldn't still be usable. DR. LEONARD Maybe, maybe not. Items in the tomb of Meketre, a court functionary from the Eleventh Dynasty, were so well preserved that they actually found three-thousand year-old fingerprints on them. ALLEN Dr. Leonard, there are no tools. That's just an excuse to keep searching for the treasure, and you know it! (Suddenly, DR. YEERS rounds the corner, speaking as she does. Once again, it gives GEORGEANNE a start) DR. YEERS What's just an excuse--? (to GEORGEANNE) Oh, I'm sorry. Did I startle you? GEORGEANNE No. I'm ... fine. ALLEN (to DR. YEERS; derisively) Dr. Leonard thinks we should keep looking for Hekkop's treasure, that we'll find tools that'll help us-- DR. LEONARD (suddenly angry) NO ONE LEAVES UNTIL WE FIND THAT TREASURE! (At this strange outburst, the room falls silent) ALLEN That sounded like a threat. DR. LEONARD (repossessing HIMSELF) No! No. I just think that that's our best hope to get out of here. And it's not just the tools I'm thinking about. Treasuries have also been known to contain maps or blueprints of the tomb itself--sometimes as part of the Book of the Dead. GEORGEANNE That's right. The Book of the Dead. ALLEN (to GEORGEANNE) How do you know about the Book of the Dead? GEORGEANNE I ... saw one at the museum. It's the book that the Egyptians buried with the mummy to help the person's spirit find its way to the Underworld, right? Death's Little Instruction Book. DR. LEONARD Exactly! And if Hekkop's Book of the Dead does contain a blueprint of this tomb, it would reveal the exact location of any hidden passages. ALLEN You really can't give it up, can you? DR. LEONARD I can't give it up, because I know I'm right! ALLEN Either that or you just can't admit when you're wrong. GEORGEANNE Allen! ALLEN (annoyed) What? I'm not the one who lost the key and locked us in here in the first place! GEORGE Allen, it wasn't Dr. Leonard's fault that-- ALLEN Then whose fault was it? That key didn't walk out of here on its own! (DR. LEONARD starts to speak, but finally thinks better of it. Instead, HE looks for his pipe) DR. LEONARD Has anyone seen my pipe? ALLEN What's wrong? Did you lose that too? DR. LEONARD (pointedly ignoring ALLEN) I must've left it up by the entrance. (HE turns to go retrieve his pipe. The music from GEORGE's cassette player continues to play) GEORGEANNE Allen, it doesn't do any good to ride him like that. Dr. Leonard didn't mean to lose the key. ALLEN Didn't he? I wouldn't put it past him. He's the one who brought us out here, remember? And you just heard him--"No one leaves until we find that treasure!" DR. YEERS Oh, Allen, did you really expect him to change? He'll die before he admits that treasure doesn't exist. Rebecca was exactly the same. (beat) GEORGEANNE It must have been hard ... her dying. DR. YEERS I didn't tell Dr. Leonard, but she's the real reason I'm here now. Rebecca wanted to find Hekkop's treasure so badly. Well, you remember, Allen. ALLEN It's all she thought about. DR. YEERS Several weeks ago, when I first received that invitation to come to Egypt, somehow I knew we'd end up here. To tell the truth, I thought Dr. Leonard had already found the treasure. So I decided to come see it in Rebecca's honor. (with a sad smile) So you see, George, I was right, what I said before. I'm not here because I yearn for the unexpected or to confront the conundrum, like Dr. Leonard said. Just out of plain, old, boring obligation. GEORGEANNE How long have you known Dr. Leonard? DR. YEERS Too long. Almost thirty years. GEORGEANNE How come you and he never ...? DR. YEERS Never what? GEORGEANNE Well, you know. Got together. DR. YEERS I knew what you meant. I just wanted to hear you say it out loud. And the answer is, because I couldn't compete. GEORGEANNE Dr. Leonard had a girlfriend? DR. YEERS Lots of them. Neferteri. Tiy. Hatshepsut. GEORGEANNE Ancient Egyptian queens and pharaohs. DR. YEERS That's right. And you don't know humiliation until you've been bested by a three-thousand year-old mummy. A couple of times, I thought about wrapping myself up in bandages, but I figured that didn't exactly send the right impression. GEORGEANNE It's not too late. DR. YEERS To be with Dr. Leonard? Oh, yes, it is. GEORGEANNE Why? DR. YEERS It just is. GEORGEANNE Because you blame him for Rebecca's death? ALLEN George, I really don't think-- DR. YEERS No, Allen, it's all right. And the truth is, I do blame him--or at least some small part of me does. If he hadn't invited us here, she never would've died. (beat) GEORGEANNE Oh! Have a sandwich. The ice has melted, so we have to eat them before they go bad. DR. YEERS Thank you. (SHE helps HERSELF to a sandwich and begins to eat it) GEORGEANNE Well. I suppose we should get started. ALLEN (sarcastically) Searching you mean? Why not? All we're looking for is an incredibly well-hidden secret passage that probably doesn't exist, or an incredibly well-hidden treasure that probably doesn't exist and may not help us even if it does! GEORGEANNE Allen, it doesn't do any good to be negative. ALLEN Sure, it does. It makes me feel better. GEORGEANNE Well, I'm going to start looking for a--oh! (As SHE speaks, GEORGEANNE turns around to face the doorway--which DR. LEONARD is just stepping into. This startles GEORGEANNE yet again. DR. LEONARD is now holding his pipe in his mouth) DR. LEONARD I'm sorry. I-- GEORGEANNE No, it's my fault! It's okay. This is ridiculous. I've got to calm down. ALLEN Dr. Leonard, you're not actually thinking of smoking that in here, are you? There's barely enough fresh air as it is! DR. LEONARD (with a touch of hostility) I'm not thinking of smoking at all--but I am thinking of clenching this unlit pipe between my teeth. GEORGEANNE Stop it, both of you! ALLEN I'm going to search the hallway again for the key. (HE leaves. Meanwhile, DR. LEONARD, sucking sullenly on his pipe, moves to his place by the hieroglyphs, once again staring at them furiously. GEORGEANNE watches HIM. The music from the tape-deck continues to play) GEORGEANNE Dr. Leonard, I'm sorry about Allen. DR. LEONARD (intent on the wall) For what? GEORGEANNE What he said. DR. LEONARD There's nothing to be sorry for. I shouldn't have yelled. I shouldn't have brought you all out here. He's right to be angry. This is all my fault. GEORGEANNE No. That's not why he's angry. I didn't understand before, but I do now. DR. LEONARD I don't know what you're talking about. GEORGEANNE He's jealous. DR. LEONARD Jealous? Of what? GEORGEANNE Of you! For living his dream! Allen was born to be an archeologist. I can't believe that I'm his fiancee and I didn't know this, but I didn't--not until yesterday. After Rebecca's death, he obviously felt he needed to quit archeology, but it was a mistake. He isn't an accountant, and he never will be. Now I understand why he's been so miserable. This is his passion--out here in the field, searching tombs like this. And now he sees you--someone who didn't quit, someone who wouldn't quit if Osiris himself came back from the dead and commanded you to! And you're the person who kindled his passion in the first place. He thinks he let you down. DR. LEONARD That's ridiculous. I understand completely why he left the field. GEORGEANNE But it's not just that he left the field of archeology. Remember what you said about seeking the mystery in life? There isn't any in Allen's life. He left the field of mystery too. I think that's how he planned it after Rebecca died, but I think now he's starting to realize he was wrong. And he resents you, because you're the one who's making him realize it. DR. YEERS A degree in psychology, you say? I only hope my archeology students pick up as much as you seem to have picked up from your psychology professors. (This comment makes GEORGEANNE self-conscious) GEORGEANNE Oh, it's just words. That's the thing about psychology. You can't ever .... (Suddenly, GEORGEANNE spots something on one of the walls) DR. YEERS George? What is it? GEORGEANNE (approaching the wall) I'm ... not sure. (SHE begins to inspect the wall, pressing against it) DR. LEONARD George? What did you find? GEORGEANNE Well, there's something in the wall here. A panel or something. Something about the light from where I was standing. DR. LEONARD A panel? (Eagerly, DR. LEONARD and DR. YEERS both step closer) GEORGEANNE I'm not sure. Wait a minute. DR. LEONARD Did you find something? Is there something there? GEORGEANNE I can't ... quite ... tell. But I think .... DR. YEERS What? You think what? GEORGEANNE Well, I think that .... (suddenly sagging in defeat) No. No, I guess I'm wrong. It's not anything. It's just some cracks in the wall. (looking up) I'm sorry. I was wrong. (The disappointment is palpable) GEORGEANNE (Continued) I'm sorry. I just thought .... DR. YEERS It's all right, George. We had plenty of false alarms four years ago. GEORGEANNE Still, I didn't mean to get your hopes up. (As SHE speaks, however, a somber ALLEN appears in the doorway. DR. LEONARD looks over at HIM) DR. LEONARD Allen, my boy? What is it? You're white as a ghost. (ALL turn to face HIM) ALLEN It's Nassir. She's dead. It looks like ... she's been strangled. (BLACKOUT) END OF SCENE 4, ACT I ACT 2 Scene 1 AT RISE: (Everything is unchanged; the action is continuous from the end of the first act. DR. LEONARD, DR. YEERS, and GEORGEANNE stare at ALLEN, still standing stone-faced in the doorway of the chamber. The music from GEORGE's cassette recorder still plays) DR. LEONARD (unable to believe his ears) What did you just say? ALLEN Nassir is dead. She's been strangled. (ALL are stunned. GEORGE moves to turn off her music player, suddenly wildly inappropriate. When it is off, the silence is deafening) DR. LEONARD (at last) But ... she can't be dead. I was just out there in the hallway with her. (ALLEN steps away from the door, as if to say "See for yourself." DR. LEONARD, DR. YEERS, and GEORGEANNE hesitate, then hurry out into the hall. ALLEN follows. The sound of their footsteps in the hallway echoes. Finally, the footsteps stop. There is a pause) GEORGEANNE'S VOICE My God. Isn't there ... something we can do? DR. LEONARD'S VOICE She's dead. There's nothing we can do about that. DR. YEERS'S VOICE How do we know she's been ... strangled? There isn't much of a mark. ALAN'S VOICE I just ... assumed. From the way her neck is angled. And there's no blood. No other wound on her body. DR. LEONARD'S VOICE But if she was strangled, why didn't she scream? Why didn't we hear anything? GEORGEANNE'S VOICE The music was playing. We wouldn't have heard a thing. (beat) ALAN'S VOICE Let's get out of here. (The footsteps begin again. A second later, the FOUR appear in the doorway, each as pasty-faced as ALLEN looked earlier. No one speaks for several somber seconds) GEORGEANNE (finally) Someone's trying to kill us. DR. LEONARD What? GEORGEANNE Think about it. The invitations to Egypt to each of us, the airline tickets. Then the locked door and the disappearing key. Now Nassir dead? It's all too much of a coincidence. Someone went to a lot expense to get us here. Now they're trying to kill us, and Nassir just happened to be the first to go. DR. LEONARD You think someone stole the key from me? While I was sleeping? GEORGEANNE It's possible. ALLEN So there really is a secret passage. And it must exit out into the corridor. Whoever George saw last night must've come back and killed Nassir. George, you said that one of the people you saw was choking the other one. Do you think--? GEORGEANNE That it could've been Nassir? I don't see why not. DR. LEONARD But if someone had tried to strangle her, wouldn't she have said something to the rest of us? (NO ONE has an answer for this) DR. LEONARD There has to be a logical explanation for all of this! Who was the last person to see Nassir alive? ALLEN It was you, Dr. Leonard. When you went out to get your pipe. DR. LEONARD Well, yes, but I ... well, I can't say for sure if she was alive. (THEY look at HIM inquisitively) DR. LEONARD (Continued) She was leaning up against the wall ... sort of like she is ... now, I guess. I just assumed she was chanting or praying or some such nonsense, so I simply ignored her. It was dark, and I didn't even look at her. But I don't remember her making any noise. Maybe when I went out there, she was already ... dead. ALLEN What about you, Dr. Yeers? Was she still alive when you stopped working on the gate? DR. YEERS (thinking) Yes. Yes, I'm sure of it. We spoke--sort of. She was sitting against the wall, just where she is now, but she was chanting and rocking. I asked if she had any ideas how to get the door open. She looked right at me and then started chanting louder. At first, I thought she was just being rude, so I ignored her and started walking back in here. But then it occurred to me that maybe this was her idea on how to get the door open. Chant. Or pray. GEORGEANNE And that was the last you saw of her? DR. YEERS That's when I came back in here. ALLEN So the murder must've taken place in between the time Dr. Yeers left the corridor and Dr. Leonard went back to get his pipe. GEORGEANNE But that was barely a minute. DR. YEERS It's true. That hardly seems like enough time for someone to open up a secret passage, strangle someone, prop the body back up, then disappear back into the passage. DR. LEONARD Well, maybe she was still alive when I saw her. Maybe she was just ... quiet. GEORGEANNE (perplexed) But that would mean she'd have to have been murdered between the time you left and Allen went out to get her, and that was only a matter of seconds too. DR. LEONARD This doesn't make any sense. If it wasn't someone from a secret passage, then who? Who killed her? (In the silence that follows, the implications of this statement dawn on each member of the group) DR. YEERS One of us. GEORGEANNE You had time, Dr. Yeers. So did you, Dr. Leonard. ALLEN But if one of us killed Nassir, then-- GEORGEANNE Then it must have been one of you and Nassir that I saw in the dark last night. ALLEN George, that's impossible. We were all sleeping. How could--? GEORGEANNE Were we? Were we all sleeping? In the dark, I couldn't tell. And after I knocked over the lamp, there was more than enough time for whoever it was to slip back in with the rest of the group. ALLEN But ... GEORGEANNE Why didn't Nassir say anything? I don't know. That's the big question mark. She even tried to persuade me I didn't see anyone with that whole "hiccup in time" business of hers. (beat) Maybe she was afraid. DR. LEONARD Afraid? Of what? GEORGEANNE I don't know. Maybe she knew one of us was trying to kill the others. Maybe that's why she didn't want to come down here, even in the middle of a sand storm--and why she was so insistent that we leave. ALLEN George, listen to what you're saying! Why would Dr. Yeers or Dr. Leonard kill our guide? DR. YEERS Wait a minute. When did this become about Dr. Leonard and I? (to ALLEN) You had plenty of time out there in the hallway too! ALLEN What? Me? GEORGEANNE That's ridiculous! Allen is no murderer. DR. LEONARD It's no more ridiculous than your saying I am, or Dr. Yeers is! Allen said he found the dead body-- (to ALLEN) But if you'd just found a dead body, what took you so long to come get us? ALLEN I ... I didn't even know she was dead! At first I thought she was meditating--just like you said. But when she didn't move after I spoke to her, I shook her, and she still didn't respond. Then I felt for a pulse. It was only then that I realized she was dead. (As ALLEN speaks, GEORGEANNE notices something odd about DR. YEERS' hair; momentarily confused, GEORGEANNE stares at it. Finally, DR. YEERS notices SHE is being stared at) DR. YEERS (to GEORGEANNE) What are you looking at? GEORGEANNE (quietly) Your bandanna. DR. YEERS My what? GEORGEANNE (louder) Your bandanna. DR. YEERS (touching it) What about it? GEORGEANNE It's on backwards. Upside-down. DR. YEERS It's a bandanna. It can't be on upside-down. GEORGEANNE No, I mean that you had it on the other way around. Last night--when I thought I saw a spider in your hair. DR. YEERS What are you talking about? GEORGEANNE Yesterday. I distinctly remember that the design was the other way up. DR. YEERS So? GEORGEANNE So nothing. I just noticed, that's all. (Unconsciously, GEORGEANNE takes a step away from DR. YEERS, closer to DR. LEONARD and ALLEN) DR. YEERS Why did you notice? What are you trying to say? DR. LEONARD (bluntly) She's saying you could've used it to strangle Nassir. And she's right. You could've. DR. YEERS I know what's she's saying, and it's crazy! Why would I kill Nassir? DR. LEONARD Why indeed? Why would any of us have killed her? DR. YEERS Look, I took my bandanna out of my hair last night when I combed my hair! I must've put it back in upside-down! DR. LEONARD Okay, okay! Don't get your knickers in a twist! DR. YEERS I do not have my knickers in a twist! DR. LEONARD I still don't understand why. Why would one of us want to kill our guide in the first place? ALLEN That's a good question, Dr. Leonard. You made your dislike for her clear enough. DR. LEONARD Now wait a minute! There's a big difference between not liking someone and killing them! I certainly believe in putting an end to the superstitious nonsense that she was spouting, but I'll do it with my logic, thank you very much--not with my bare hands around the person's neck! DR. YEERS (still annoyed with DR. LEONARD) Your bare hands? DR. LEONARD What about them? GEORGEANNE Upper body strength. From opening so many sarcophagi. You said it yourself, Dr. Leonard. DR. LEONARD Well, just because I have strong arms, that doesn't mean ...! ALLEN Look. The fact is that Dr. Leonard, Dr. Yeers, and I all had time out in that hallway. It could have been any one of us who killed Nassir. (beat) GEORGEANNE Well, if one of us really is a ... murderer ... we should stay together. We'll be safe that way. ALLEN Safe from the murderer maybe, but we're still locked in here ... with a limited amount of food and water. (This sobering thought silences the GROUP) GEORGEANNE (quietly) Hekkop. ALLEN What about him? GEORGEANNE (recollecting) Nassir said that after he died, Hekkop's spirit returned from the Land of the Setting Sun only to find his body hadn't been mummified--that it had been allowed to decompose--so his spirit was without a body. And this made him angry. So now his ghost roams around his tomb looking for another body to inhabit. (SHE glances to ALLEN and DR. LEONARD) While you were gone. She said all this last night while you were getting the supplies from the truck. DR. LEONARD So what are you saying? That Hekkop inhabited one of our bodies to lock the gate, then commit the murder? ALLEN (dismissing HER) George .... GEORGEANNE I don't know what I'm saying! I'm just saying what Nassir said. DR. LEONARD Yes, well, Nassir also predicted that terrible things would happen to anyone who sets foot inside this tomb. (beat; it occurs to DR. LEONARD and the OTHERS that that is exactly what's happened since entering Hekkop's tomb) DR. LEONARD (Continued) Oh, for crying out loud! You people are supposed to be scientists! DR. YEERS We are scientists, Dr. Leonard. A good scientist doesn't discount any possibility. DR. LEONARD A good scientist also doesn't jump to supernatural explanations for things that have perfectly rational explanations! DR. YEERS And what's the perfectly rational explanation for everything that's happened? (beat) DR. LEONARD (quietly) I don't know. But that doesn't mean there isn't one. (A resentful silence ensues. Finally, DR. LEONARD turns to face the wall of hieroglyphics) DR. LEONARD Hekkop's treasure. ALLEN Dr. Leonard, how can you think about--? DR. LEONARD No, you don't understand! Now it really is our only chance! If the murderer is one of us, then there's no reason to think there's a secret passage. And if there's no secret passage, then the only hope we have is finding the tools in Hekkop's treasure! ALLEN Oh, Dr. Leonard, that's an incredibly long shot, and you know it. DR. YEERS Allen is right. What we need to do is find that key. ALLEN To the gate? DR. YEERS Don't you see? If the murderer is one of us, then one of us took the key from Dr. Leonard. ALLEN And that means the key is still somewhere in this tomb! Of course! The murderer isn't going lock him or herself inside this tomb without a way out! DR. LEONARD But we already searched the entire tomb, and we couldn't find it anywhere. ALLEN We didn't search each other. DR. LEONARD What? ALLEN If one of us stole the key, he or she might still be carrying it on our bodies. We need to search each other. (There is an awkward pause. Finally, GEORGEANNE steps into the middle of the room and lifts her arms) GEORGEANNE I'll go first. (There is another pause. Then DR. YEERS steps forward and begins to search HER. SHE shakes her head at the OTHERS, indicating that SHE's found nothing. Next, SHE steps into the middle of the room, and GEORGEANNE begins to search HER. GEORGEANNE finds nothing either) DR. LEONARD (stepping forward) I'll go. (ALLEN searches DR. LEONARD, ultimately finding nothing. HE steps back, discouraged) ALLEN Well, that's that. Whoever murdered Nassir must've hid the key. We'll have to start over, searching the tomb. We can split up and-- DR. LEONARD What about you? ALLEN What? DR. LEONARD Nobody searched you yet. ALLEN But .... (with a nod, HE acquiesces) You're right. Okay. (HE steps into the center of the room. DR. LEONARD searches HIM) ALLEN (Continued) (as HE is searched) We'll divide up the tomb like an archeological dig. We can even use those markers we found earlier. And we'll work in teams of two, so that the murderer--whoever he is-- will never be alone. And from this point on, let's make sure we all stay in the same room at the same time. (Still searching ALLEN, DR. LEONARD freezes. ALLEN looks down at HIM) ALLEN (Continued) What? What is it? (From ALLEN's pocket, DR. LEONARD slowly withdraws a long, thick, dark string. It is one of the strings HE was using earlier to string his boots. Holding one end, DR. LEONARD holds it up like a garrote. EVERYONE in the room stares at the string) ALLEN (Continued) What is it? What's wrong? (Suddenly, ALLEN realizes the implications of what DR. LEONARD is holding. HE glances to see that the OTHERS are ALL staring at HIM now) ALLEN (Continued) Wait a minute .... Surely, you don't think ... It's a shoe-lace! From my hiking boots! DR. LEONARD Which you just happened to carry out into the hallway with you when you happened to find Nassir dead? ALLEN I brought extra shoe-laces! So what? You think that I used it to strangle ...? That's ridiculous! George, tell them how ridiculous that is. GEORGEANNE It's ridiculous! Completely ridiculous. DR. YEERS (to ALLEN) Why didn't you want to be searched? ALLEN I did! I suggested it, remember? DR. YEERS Maybe you suggested it to draw attention from yourself. So we wouldn't think we needed to search you too. DR. LEONARD Why did you assume she'd been strangled? ALLEN What? DR. LEONARD When you came in from the hallway. You said she'd been strangled. But there were no marks on her neck. Why would you assume that ... unless you knew it was true. ALLEN Wait a minute! Look. I know we've been under a lot of pressure here, but that's no reason to ... I mean, let's not get paranoid. DR. YEERS A member of our expedition is dead. I think we've got reason to be paranoid. ALLEN This is crazy! George, tell them how crazy this is! GEORGEANNE It is crazy. Allen wouldn't kill anyone. He couldn't. (This statement is greeted with an odd silence) GEORGEANNE (Continued) What? What is it? DR. LEONARD Allen did kill someone. Four years ago. GEORGEANNE (uncomprehending) What? ALLEN Look, I didn't exactly kill someone! GEORGEANNE Dr. Leonard, what are you talking about? Allen, what is he talking about? (ALLEN hesitates before speaking. Standing next to ALLEN, GEORGEANNE looks extremely vulnerable) ALLEN (awkwardly) George, you remember when I told you about the person who murdered Rebecca? GEORGEANNE Halim, the son of your guide. Yes? ALLEN He tried to run--remember, I told you how he tried to get away? But that he was killed before he got very far? So we never found out why he killed Rebecca. Remember all this? GEORGEANNE I remember, Allen. But what does all that have to do with you? (ALLEN doesn't answer) GEORGEANNE (Continued) (nervously) Allen, tell me what all this has to do with you! ALLEN What I didn't tell you is that ... I was the one who caught him. GEORGEANNE What do you mean? ALLEN I barely touched him, I swear! It was like he just ... collapsed in my arms! GEORGEANNE Allen, what are you saying? (beat) ALLEN (firmly) I'm saying I killed him. Halim killed Rebecca, and I killed him. (beat. GEORGEANNE does not know how to assimilate this new information) GEORGEANNE (quietly) Why didn't you tell me? ALLEN I ... don't know. I wanted to. I was afraid. GEORGEANNE (louder; backing slowly away) You said you told me everything. ALLEN I know I did. I'm sorry. I lied. But I was ashamed. I barely touched Halim. But I guess I was angry. He'd just killed my fiancee! GEORGEANNE (suddenly shouting) You said you told me everything! ALLEN I know! And I'm sorry! But I'm not a murderer. Even the police said so. One of them told me that if it had happened to them, they'd have done the same thing. GEORGEANNE Did you kill her? ALLEN Who? Nassir? (imploringly) No, George, I didn't. I swear I didn't! GEORGEANNE Was that you I saw last night in the dark? ALLEN No! It wasn't me! I don't know who it was, but it wasn't me! (As HE speaks, ALLEN reaches out for GEORGEANNE, but SHE backs back into DR. LEONARD and DR. YEERS' protective presences, leaving ALLEN isolated now) GEORGEANNE But why Nassir? Because she's Egyptian, and an Egyptian killed Rebecca? That's your idea of finally putting Rebecca to rest? And you called me a racist? ALLEN George, I didn't kill her! I know you don't believe me, but I didn't! DR. YEERS Look, George. Let's just calm down here. Let's not jump to any conclusions. ALLEN (pitifully) I didn't do it! I didn't kill Nassir! DR. LEONARD It's okay, my boy. Just calm down. ALLEN Look, I killed Halim. Even murdered him if you like. I admit that. But I didn't kill Nassir! DR. LEONARD Okay, okay! We believe you. (beat) GEORGEANNE So what do we do now? DR. YEERS Well, no matter who the murderer is, we're still stuck in here. DR. LEONARD Not necessarily. ALLEN What do you mean? DR. LEONARD Well ... there's still Hekkop's treasure, and we've still got the ancient manuscript to consider.... (Sighing loudly, ALLEN sits) DR. LEONARD (Continued) (to ALLEN) What? ALLEN Dr. Leonard, you know what. DR. LEONARD No, I don't. ALLEN There is no treasure, Dr. Leonard. There. I said it. DR. LEONARD But the ancient manuscript ...! ALLEN Dr. Leonard, can't you see that that was part of the murderers plan? That's how he or she lured us here! By leaving that forged manuscript at the front desk of our hotel. The murderer knew you'd assume it had something to do with Hekkop's tomb, and they knew you'd bring us along with you. DR. LEONARD There's no treasure. ALLEN That's right. DR. LEONARD (with an edge in his voice) What makes you so ... sure? ALLEN Because four years ago, we spent two months looking for the damn thing, and we didn't find it! DR. LEONARD But the manuscript! ALLEN Dr. Leonard, you're not listening to me. DR. LEONARD But how can you be so sure? ALLEN Well, for one thing, because it didn't work! If it's the combination to some lock, how come it didn't open? DR. LEONARD Well, obviously I'm doing something wrong. What intrigues me is how you can be so certain that the scroll is meaningless. ALLEN Dr. Leonard ...! DR. LEONARD It seems to me that the only way you'd know that would be if ... you sent it. ALLEN (wearily) Of course, I didn't send it, Dr. Leonard. I just don't think-- DR. LEONARD And it seems to me the only way you'd know there isn't any treasure in here is if you .... ALLEN Is if I what? DR. LEONARD (spitting the words) If you already found the treasure! ALLEN (standing again) Dr. Leonard, are you out of your mind? DR. LEONARD All I know is that, four years ago, you and Rebecca spent plenty of evenings in here all by yourselves! You could've easily found Hekkop's treasure, then sealed it back up to come back and retrieve it later. ALLEN Next you'll be saying I killed Rebecca. Was it you who invited us back to Egypt, Dr. Leonard? To find out if one of us stole your precious treasure? DR. YEERS Dr. Leonard, is that true? Has this all been some sort of ... test? (As SHE speaks, DR. YEERS, ALLEN, and GEORGEANNE begin to shift together, leaving DR. LEONARD isolated in the back of the chamber) DR. LEONARD I was invited just like the rest of you. As for the ancient manuscript, someone left it for me in an unmarked envelope at the front desk of our hotel! ALLEN That's right, the mysteriously blank envelope. But we never saw any envelope--or any manuscript! We still haven't seen this manuscript. DR. YEERS That's true! Maybe there wasn't any manuscript. Maybe it was all just an excuse to get us back here. (DR. LEONARD immediately begins fumbling in his clothes for the copy of the ancient manuscript) DR. LEONARD (angrily) Of course there's a manuscript! You don't believe me? All right! All right! ALLEN Or even if there is a manuscript and an envelope, maybe you forged it yourself! GEORGEANNE Stop it--everyone! This isn't getting us anywhere! Dr. Leonard, Allen didn't steal your treasure. Trust me on this. I'll even show you our credit card statement. (Still fumbling for the envelope, DR. LEONARD stops and smiles meekly. HE lowers his arms-- though HE still hasn't produced the envelope or the manuscript) GEORGEANNE (Continued) And Allen? Just because you didn't find Hekkop's treasure four years ago, that doesn't mean it isn't here or that we won't find it. It could be here--okay? (A second later, ALLEN nods affirmatively. There is another pause) ALLEN You know, I hate to say it, but ... who knows how much longer we're going to have to be here? DR. YEERS So? ALLEN So shouldn't we conserve the fuel in our lanterns? DR. LEONARD Allen is right. Most of the lantern fuel is still out in the truck. With all five lanterns burning at once, we could be in total darkness by the end of the day. DR. YEERS Well ... I suppose even one lantern is better than total darkness. (DR. LEONARD and ALLEN work their way around the room, turning off all the lanterns except one in the middle of the floor) GEORGEANNE (with a shiver) Ohhh. It's so cold and ... dark. (Suddenly, GEORGEANNE begins to laugh) ALLEN What is it? What's so funny? GEORGEANNE Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'm losing my mind. This just isn't what I had in mind for our trip to Egypt. I think, hey, I've always wanted see the pyramids, why not? I never expected to be trapped in the three-thousand tomb of Hetepka with a dead body and a murderer! (ALLEN and DR. YEERS begin to laugh--but DR. LEONARD doesn't) DR. LEONARD Hetepka? GEORGEANNE (quickly) I mean Hekkop. The tomb of Hekkop. DR. LEONARD How do you know about Hetepka? GEORGEANNE What? I don't. I just misspoke. DR. LEONARD You just said it. GEORGEANNE Did I? Well, I didn't mean to. I meant Hekkop. ALLEN But there was an Hetepka. An ancient Egyptian nobleman. A different dynasty, of course, but still ... I'm just wondering how you knew about him. GEORGEANNE I ... don't know. I suppose I read it somewhere. Or the museum in Cairo! I think I saw it at the museum. The point is, I can't believe that we-- DR. LEONARD Just like you read about the exact location of King Tut's tomb in a museum? You learned an awful lot at that museum. GEORGEANNE What? DR. LEONARD Earlier. When we first arrived here, you knew that King Tut's tomb was located next to the tomb of Ramses the sixth. ALLEN And the Book of the Dead. You knew about the Book of the Dead. And all those Egyptian queens. You knew about them too. GEORGEANNE Well, I can explain that. I went to the library before we left. I was reading up on ancient Egyptian history. DR. LEONARD And you just happen to have remembered the name of an obscure Ancient Egyptian nobleman. GEORGEANNE Yes. ALLEN George? GEORGEANNE What? DR. YEERS What's going on here? Who are you really? GEORGEANNE No one! I mean, I am who I say I am. DR. LEONARD Then how did you know all those ... facts? GEORGEANNE I ... studied archeology. ALLEN What? GEORGEANNE I did! In college. ALLEN No, you didn't. You studied psychology! GEORGEANNE No! It's true. I studied archeology, just like you. ALLEN When? GEORGEANNE Right before I met you. And the first few months we dated. ALLEN But you told me-- GEORGEANNE That I was a studying psychology. I know. I lied. Because your fiancee had just been killed! I thought it would upset you to know that I was studying archeology. ALLEN But you didn't know about Rebecca! Earlier, you said this was a whole life of mine that you didn't know anything about! GEORGEANNE No, I know. The thing is, I did know. I lied about that too. Well, I didn't know how she died. Just that she did. ALLEN What? GEORGEANNE (flustered) I was studying archeology. We even had a class together-- four years ago, right before you went away on that expedition with Dr. Leonard and Dr. Yeers. ALLEN I don't remember that. You weren't in any of my classes! GEORGEANNE No, I know. That's because you were in love with Rebecca. You didn't even notice me. But I noticed you. I guess you could say I had a ... crush on you. ALLEN What about Dr. Yeers and Dr. Leonard? How come they didn't recognize you? GEORGEANNE I never had them for teachers. Dr. Leonard was away on another expedition, and Dr. Yeers was on sabbatical when I arrived. And then you went away on your expedition, and when you came back, Rebecca was dead, and you dropped out of the archeology program. Well, I guess I still had a crush on you. I waited a couple of months, because I knew you were still upset about Rebecca. Then one day, I introduced myself to you in the student center. But I pretended like I didn't know anything about archeology or Egypt, because I thought it might ... upset you. By the end of the year--after we'd started dating--I'd switched to psychology anyway, so it didn't seem to matter. That's why I never told you. It just ... didn't seem to matter. ALLEN You mean you've been lying all this time--pretending that you know nothing about Ancient Egypt when you're really an expert? GEORGEANNE I'm no expert. But ... well, yes. ALLEN But just a minute ago ... you were so angry with me for lying to you. For not telling you about Rebecca and Hekkop. You even thought I might've killed Nassir! And here all along you'd been lying to me? GEORGEANNE (increasingly nonplussed) I wasn't angry. I was just ... upset because I saw those two people in the dark, and it seemed like everyone knew what was going on except me. I was only angry later--a few minutes ago--when I learned you killed Halim. Because when you told me about Rebecca, I specifically asked you if you'd told me everything, and you said you had, but you hadn't! That's why I was angry. Because you lied then, not because you'd lied before. (SHE hesitates) Never mind. You're right. I was a hypocrite. I'm sorry. (SHE takes a step toward ALLEN, but this time, HE backs away, toward DR. YEERS and DR. LEONARD. Now GEORGEANNE is isolated) DR. LEONARD (to GEORGEANNE) It's Hekkop's treasure, isn't it? You're here to steal Hekkop's treasure! GEORGEANNE What? No! I'd never even heard of Hekkop or Hekkop's treasure until we arrived here with you! I don't know anything about anything! DR. YEERS But did you ... kill her? GEORGEANNE Nassir? Oh, my God, no! How? How could I have killed her? (to DR. YEERS) I was in here from the time you talked to her, to the time that Allen found the body! Even if I'd wanted to, how could I have killed her? DR. YEERS Maybe she really wasn't strangled. Maybe she was ... poisoned. Maybe her throat was constricted. GEORGEANNE Poisoned? How could I have poisoned her? (It slowly dawns on GEORGEANNE and the OTHERS that SHE served food just before NASSIR died) GEORGEANNE (Continued) The sandwiches? You think I gave Nassir a poisoned sandwich? DR. YEERS Why not? You were certainly eager that the rest of us have one. GEORGEANNE Because the tuna was going bad! How could I poison you? Where would I get the poison? DR. LEONARD Your backpack. GEORGEANNE What? DR. LEONARD The rat poison. (GEORGEANNE looks bewildered, like SHE's stuck in a hole, and that just keeps getting deeper and deeper) GEORGEANNE Okay! So I brought poison! But why? Why would I kill Nassir? DR. LEONARD So there would be no witnesses. Maybe she was just the first to die. GEORGEANNE Look! I'm not the murderer! Allen, you believe me, don't you? ALLEN Georgeanne ... my head is spinning. I don't know what to believe! GEORGEANNE But ...! (SHE tries to calm HERSELF down) Look, this doesn't make any sense. Are you saying that I went to all the trouble of mailing plane tickets and invitations to everyone, and forging an ancient scroll and leaving it for Dr. Leonard--just so I could lure you here to kill you? Why would I do that? ALLEN She's ... got a point. Dr. Leonard, how could she have forged that manuscript? DR. LEONARD Maybe she didn't forge the manuscript! Maybe the manuscript is real, and a colleague of mine left it for me. Maybe it's just a coincidence it turned up when it did. DR. YEERS Or maybe someone left the manuscript as a joke! We're not the only archeologists to have visited this tomb. Surely there are others who are familiar with Hekkop's official seal. But I agree with Dr. Leonard. That doesn't make her any less guilty. GEORGEANNE But why would I want to kill you? If I wanted Hekkop's treasure, wouldn't I at least wait until after we found the it? (ALL hesitate, unsure) ALLEN It's a good point, Dr. Leonard. What possible motivation would George have for poisoning us now? GEORGEANNE Exactly! And why would I .... (beat) Wait a minute. (to DR. YEERS) What did you just say? DR. YEERS What? GEORGEANNE About the ancient manuscript. You just said that we're not the only archeologists to have visited to Hekkop's tomb. DR. YEERS Yes? So? GEORGEANNE And that other people would know Hekkop's official seal. DR. YEERS They probably would! Clearly, others have been here even since we left four years ago. GEORGEANNE But when Dr. Leonard told us that the manuscript was marked with Hekkop's official seal, you were out in the hallway. How could you possibly know that that's how the manuscript was marked? DR. YEERS Well ... Dr. Leonard must've mentioned it to me. DR. LEONARD (quietly) I didn't. I'd remember that. I'm feeble-minded, but I'm not that feeble-minded. DR. YEERS Well, then I must've overheard you talking from out in the hallway. GEORGEANNE The music was playing. You couldn't have heard a thing. DR. YEERS Well, that I just assumed it! It's not an unreasonable assumption, you know--that one of Hekkop's scrolls would be marked with his official seal! (beat) GEORGEANNE You sent those invitations and those plane tickets, didn't you, Dr. Yeers? And you left that manuscript for Dr. Leonard. DR. YEERS Of course not! That's ridiculous! GEORGEANNE (to DR. YEERS) "Time, flow, dead, face, sun, burns"? Those aren't the numbers in an ancient combination lock, are they? It's just a random string of symbols taken from the inscription on the wall there. You certainly spent long enough in this tomb to have memorized them--along with Hekkop's official seal. (Her face a shroud of shadows, DR. YEERS does not respond.) DR. LEONARD Dr. Yeers? Is what George is saying true? (Silent, DR. YEERS stands absolutely immobile) DR. LEONARD (Continued) Dr. Yeers? Answer me! Tell me you didn't leave that manuscript! (But DR. YEERS does not tell HIM this--a response which is, of course, an answer of sorts) DR. LEONARD So ... the manuscript was a forgery! (forlornly) The secret of Hekkop's treasure is ... that there is no treasure. GEORGEANNE And that means you killed Nassir too, didn't you, Dr. Yeers? DR. YEERS (vehemently) No! (more calmly) I had nothing to do with Nassir's death, I can promise you that. DR. LEONARD (to DR. YEERS) But why? Why did you invite us back to Egypt? And why did you leave the manuscript? GEORGEANNE Because she knew it would get you back together again in this tomb. (Once again, DR. YEERS does not answer) DR. LEONARD Is that it? You wanted to reunite the members of our expedition in this tomb? But why? GEORGEANNE Because she wanted to kill you, Dr. Leonard--to avenge the death of her daughter, Rebecca. She said it herself when she was talking about how archeology has become so unpopular: "Someone is always to blame. Someone always has to be." But in the case of Rebecca, it wasn't just Halim, the son of your guide, who was responsible, was it, Dr. Yeers? It was Allen and Dr. Leonard too, wasn't it? And Nassir and I--who just happened to be unlucky enough to accompany them on this second expedition. Last night you started to kill Nassir when I woke up with the hiccups. When that failed, you tried again today--and succeeded. (pause; GEORGEANNE is confused) But what I still don't understand is how you thought you could strangle Nassir without waking the rest of us up--and why, after you failed, Nassir didn't say anything to anyone. DR. YEERS I told you already! I had nothing to do with Nassir's murder! GEORGEANNE But you did gather us here to kill us. Didn't you? (DR. YEERS hesitates briefly, then finally decides to speak) DR. YEERS (to DR. LEONARD; dully) I begged you not to encourage her in archeology, Dr. Leonard. Let this one live a normal life, I said--not like the nomadic lives we've had. But you wouldn't listen. Every time you saw her, you had to dazzle her with stories of lost cities and hidden treasures. When you were through with her, she had the glint of gold in her eyes and the Fountain of Youth running through her veins. And now she's dead. DR. LEONARD What are you talking about? I don't know what you're talking about! DR. YEERS Yes, you do, Dr. Leonard. You know exactly who I'm talking about. DR. LEONARD Rebecca? You think that I--? DR. YEERS I know what you did. DR. LEONARD I ... didn't know. I didn't know how you felt! DR. YEERS You did! I told you often enough. DR. LEONARD Then I didn't listen. But Dr. Yeers ... Margaret ... I said what I said to her out of love! If I'd known she would've died, I never would have said those things, and I never would have come here. I'd give up Hekkop's treasure and more just to have her back again. Rebecca was like a daughter to me. GEORGEANNE She wasn't like daughter to you, Dr. Leonard. DR. LEONARD What? DR. YEERS (to DR. LEONARD) Why is it that you can read ancient hieroglyphics, but you can't see what's as plain as the desert moon? Rebecca was your daughter! DR. LEONARD But that's ... DR. YEERS Impossible? No, not quite Malcolm. DR. LEONARD But that was ... DR. YEERS Just one time, twenty six years ago? Yes, but once is all it takes. You should know that, Dr. Leonard. There's no mystery there. ALLEN (to GEORGEANNE; astounded) But ... how did you know? GEORGEANNE Are you kidding? That was the easy part. DR. LEONARD (to DR. YEERS) But why didn't you ever ... tell me? DR. YEERS Because it was over between us. And because I knew if you knew she was your daughter, you'd put your crazy visions in her head. Which is exactly what you did anyway. ALLEN Dr. Yeers, it's not Dr. Leonard's fault that Rebecca died. It wasn't anyone's fault. She loved archeology. She lived for it. But she also knew the risks. DR. YEERS Oh, you were as bad as Dr. Leonard! You say you loved her? (spitefully; with a nod to GEORGEANNE) Well, it sure didn't take you long to get over her! ALLEN You have no right to say that! I did love Rebecca! When she died, it almost killed me! DR. YEERS (with a shrug) So maybe you did love her. I've always been a poor judge of character. (DR. YEERS reaches down into her backpack, casually pulls out a gun, and aims it at GEORGEANNE, ALLEN, and DR. LEONARD) ALLEN What are you doing? You just admitted that I loved your daughter! Pulling a gun now makes no sense! DR. YEERS I'm insane. I don't have to make sense. DR. LEONARD Margaret--please! Don't do this! DR. YEERS I would've killed you all hours ago, but I didn't plan on that sand storm. I couldn't very well kill you if I was going to be trapped in this tomb for who knew how long with your dead bodies. (to DR. LEONARD) And then you had to go and lose the key, you scatter-brained old fool! DR. LEONARD You didn't steal my key? DR. YEERS Oh, no, you lost that all on your own. That's why I didn't kill you when the storm stopped--because I needed you three to help me find the key out of here! But it doesn't matter now. I don't care any more if I get out of here or not. And I hope none of you do either .... (SHE raises the gun, as if to shoot, but just as SHE does, GEORGEANNE kicks at the lone lantern on the floor of the chamber) GEORGEANNE (as SHE kicks) NO! (The lantern immediately goes out, causing the room to fall into darkness) DR. YEERS (Continued) Huh? What are you--? GEORGEANNE (in the blackness) Quickly! Everyone inside the secret passage! (There is much movement and fumbling around in the darkness) DR. YEERS You're bluffing! There is no secret passage! And there's no other way out of this tomb! (DR. YEERS fumbles in among the supplies, looking for a flashlight. SHE finally finds one and turns it on. GEORGEANNE, DR. LEONARD, and ALLEN, who is tightly clutching an unlit lantern, are pressed, back-to-front, against the upright pillar, stage-left; GEORGEANNE is on the outside of the lump. THEY ALL look completely terrified. Meanwhile, DR. YEERS shines the flashlight all around the room) DR. YEERS (a soft croon) I know you're in here. There is no secret passage. (With gun and flashlight both outstretched, DR. YEERS investigates the collapsed pillar, stage-right. Satisfied that there is no one hiding in its crannies, SHE approaches the upright pillar, stage-left, where the THREE are pressed up in a mound against each OTHER) DR. YEERS (calmly; quietly) I know you're here. It's pointless to hide. (DR. YEERS shines her light behind the pillar. As SHE does, however, DR. LEONARD, ALLEN, and GEORGE- ANNE--holding their breath and moving silently in unison--back around the pillar, directly opposite DR. YEERS. DR. YEERS and the THREE make a complete circle around the pillar. Confused that SHE did not find who SHE's looking for, DR. YEERS hesitates, shining her light around the chamber, but keeping a wary eye on the pillar as well. Finally, SHE turns back to the pillar, circling it again halfway, then stopping and turning the other direction before making another complete circle. Taking their cues from a seemingly-psychic GEORGEANNE, the THREE once again just barely manage to stay on the opposite side from DR. YEERS. When DR. YEERS is finished with the circle this second time, SHE hesitates again. SHE points her flashlight in the direction of the entrance) DR. YEERS (to HERSELF) The hallway. (louder; towards the hallway) I know where you are! (Slowly, SHE starts for the hallway. Behind HER, ALLEN lifts the lantern HE is holding, motioning to the OTHERS that HE will follow behind her and plunk it down on top of her head. The OTHERS nod. Just as DR. YEERS gets halfway across the chamber, however, GEORGEANNE hiccups. Her eyes get wide and SHE slaps her hands over her mouth, but it is too late. DR. YEERS, standing in the doorway to the chamber, turns back toward the pillar and smiles evilly) DR. YEERS (softly) I can hear you. (DR. LEONARD, ALLEN, and GEORGEANNE stand frozen with fear. Despite her best efforts, GEORGEANNE hiccups again) DR. YEERS (Continued) Come out where I can see you. (NO ONE moves. A second later, DR. YEERS rushes toward the pillar, madly firing her gun) DR. YEERS I SAID, COME OUT WHERE I CAN SEE YOU! (In their terror at the sound of the gun-shots, the THREE leap out into the open--and into the light of DR. YEERS' flashlight. At their appearance, DR. YEERS is suddenly calm again) DR. YEERS (Continued) (to ALLEN, meaning the lantern in his hand) Drop it. (HE does; GEORGEANNE continues to hiccup) Now light the lanterns. All of them. ALLEN Why? DR. YEERS Because I want to see what I'm doing. ALLEN (gingerly) What are you doing? DR. YEERS You'll see. ALLEN Look, Dr. Yeers, I can't tell you how sorry-- (DR. YEERS fires her gun in his direction. ALLEN, not hit, dives madly out of the way) DR. YEERS I SAID, LIGHT THE GODDAMN LANTERNS! ALLEN (scampering to the light the lanterns) Okay! Okay! (Nervously, HE lights them. As HE does, DR. YEERS shifts her footing to keep the three of THEM grouped relatively together. When the lanterns are all lit, ALLEN joins DR. LEONARD and GEORGEANNE, still hiccuping. ALLEN and GEORGEANNE hold hands) DR. LEONARD You'll never get away with this. DR. YEERS Maybe you're right, Malcolm. On the other hand, unlike you, I don't care if I do or not. By letting my daughter die, you ruined my life. (cocking her gun) And now I'm going to ruin yours. (Once again, SHE raises her gun, as if to fire, and there seems to be no hope at all for GEORGEANNE, ALLEN, or DR. LEONARD. But just as DR. YEERS is about to pull the trigger, a secret passage opens in the wall behind DR. YEERS, and NASSIR, fully alive, leaps out of it, wrapping a length of rope around DR. YEERS' neck and yanking it tight. Together, THEY look surprisingly like the scene--the "hiccup in time"--that GEORGEANNE witnessed in the dark the night before) ALLEN Nassir? But-- (DR. YEERS tries to scream and begins wildly firing her gun. GEORGEANNE, ALLEN, and DR. LEONARD leap for cover behind the pillar) NASSIR (tightening the rope) Drop it! Drop the gun! (Choking from the rope around her neck, DR. YEERS drops the gun. GEORGEANNE immediately scampers forward to grab it, then points it at DR. YEERS. DR. YEERS, however, continues to struggle, reaching backward and grabbing NASSIR by the hair) (With a hard yank, DR. YEERS pulls a wig right off NASSIR's head-- revealing not an Egyptian woman, but a Caucasian one. With another sudden jerk of the rope, DR. YEERS falls, coughing and choking, to the floor) GEORGEANNE (to the YOUNG WOMAN) What in the--? ALLEN (from behind; to the YOUNG WOMAN) Rebecca? DR. LEONARD Wh--? How is this possible? (DR. YEERS, still reeling from the rope around her neck, stares up at the YOUNG WOMAN with a look of surprise and terror. The YOUNG WOMAN-- REBECCA, DR. YEERS' murdered, twenty-five year-old daughter and ALLEN's former fiancee--stares mutely at the floor) ALLEN (approaching; extremely confused) But ... you're dead. You can't be Rebecca! I saw your dead body! DR. LEONARD And Nassir! She was dead too! You're two people, and both of them are dead! (REBECCA looks up, wiping the dark-skinned make-up off her face) REBECCA Why did you have to come back? Why couldn't you just stay away? ALLEN Rebecca, I don't understand! You're dead! You were strangled four years ago by Halim! GEORGEANNE (clueing in) No. She wasn't. (hic) She just wanted you to all think that she was. So she could go on looking for Hekkop's treasure herself! ALLEN (to REBECCA) But I saw your dead body! I attended your funeral! GEORGEANNE (suddenly understanding) Slith! (hic) ALLEN (numbly) What? GEORGEANNE The herb of the sleep of death! (to REBECCA) So you were telling the truth (hic) when Nassir told us about the herb. But not only did it exist in the time of Hekkop, it still does! ALLEN (to GEORGEANNE) What are you talking about? REBECCA It's an ancient Egyptian herb that replicates the state of death! She's right. It's thought to be extinct, but isn't. Not quite. ALLEN But the funeral! I went to your funeral--back in San Diego! REBECCA Once I awoke in the hospital morgue, I replaced my body with another. Then it was cremated. DR. LEONARD And as Nassir, you took slith again last night--to get us to think our guide had been strangled. REBECCA No. That was a side-effect of having taking it once before. I still have occasional ... flashbacks. I did not intend to "die" again. ALLEN But ... Halim ... the boy who murdered you! I ... killed him! GEORGEANNE No, you didn't. He was in on the plan. He took slith too. (to ALLEN) You said you barely touched him, and he died? That's why. ALLEN (to REBECCA) Is that true? REBECCA Yes. ALLEN Halim did that all for you? But ... why? GEORGEANNE Catch a clue, Allen. They were lovers. (hic) ALLEN Rebecca? REBECCA We were lovers for a time. But he left. He was the one who came and told me that Dr. Leonard was coming back on a new expedition. And he helped me disguise myself as Nassir. DR. YEERS (from the floor; hoarsely) But ... why, Rebecca? Why did you go to all that trouble four years ago just to make us think you were dead? GEORGEANNE (to Rebecca) I was right, wasn't I? It's the treasure. Those are your markers on the floor. You didn't want to share Hekkop's treasure. ALLEN Rebecca, is that true? All this time ... you've been here looking for Hekkop's treasure? REBECCA You don't understand! Hekkop's treasure is here! I can feel it! DR. LEONARD Good lord! And people say I'm obsessed! REBECCA (to the GROUP) Why did you have to come back? Why did you have to come back? GEORGEANNE Because your mother wanted to kill us! GEORGEANNE (to REBECCA) You. You're who I saw in the dark last night. It wasn't Dr. Yeers strangling Nassir that I saw-- it was Nassir strangling Dr. Yeers! Did you wake up in the middle of the night and see that Dr. Yeers was planning to kill us in our sleep? Is that it? So in the dark, you slipped behind her and strangled her before she could see who you were! Afterward, in the darkness and the confusion, Dr. Yeers (hic) and you both slipped back in with us, pretending like nothing had happened! (to DR. LEONARD) That's it, Dr. Leonard! One riddle solved-- one less mystery in the world! REBECCA I saved your lives--and Mother, I spared your life too. But you still didn't leave! Why didn't you leave? GEORGEANNE We couldn't leave! We were trapped! (hic) I think we still are! ALLEN (stepping forward to touch HER) Rebecca .... REBECCA (shivering with lunacy) Leave me alone! Can't you see I just want to be alone? ALLEN But-- REBECCA (gesturing behind HER) The secret passage! I found it two years ago! It leads to a stairway up and out! It's open now, so take it! Leave! Go away! Don't come back! Leave me alone! (ALLEN stares at REBECCA while SHE continues to nervously quiver and gaze at the floor) DR. YEERS (reaching up her hands) Rebecca ... REBECCA Go to hell, Mother! Just because you didn't get away with killing them doesn't mean you're not a murderer! DR. YEERS But--! REBECCA Go! Get out! All of you! (to Dr. YEERS, without looking at HER) That includes you, Mother. (DR. YEERS continues to stare at REBECCA, but ALLEN turns to GEORGEANNE and firmly takes her hand. THEY turn to DR. LEONARD, who is now staring at the hieroglyphs on the back wall with renewed interest) GEORGEANNE Dr. Leonard? DR. LEONARD What you just said. A ... riddle. ALLEN What? (Still looking at the wall, DR. LEONARD beings to smile, then to laugh) ALLEN (Continued) Dr. Leonard? What's wrong? DR. LEONARD (pointing to the wall; continuing to laugh) These symbols! They aren't the numbers in some ancient combination lock--but it isn't just a meaningless inscription either. How could I have been so stupid? The secret of Hekkop's treasure has been staring me in the face all along! ALLEN What do you mean? DR. LEONARD The treasure, my boy! These are the directions to Hekkop's treasure-- in the form of a riddle! (At this, REBECCA looks up--a look of terror, but also wonder on her face) DR. LEONARD (reading the hieroglyphs) "When the dead shall walk to the setting sun, when time itself shall flow, when fire burns in silver urns, then Hekkop's face will show." (HE thinks) "When the dead shall walk to the setting sun ..." (HE stares around the chamber. Finally, his sight comes to rest on the statue of Anubis, in the corner, stage-left) DR. LEONARD (Continued) Of course! "When the dead shall walk!"--Anubis, god of the dead! (DR. LEONARD approaches the statue) DR. LEONARD (Continued) (thinking out loud) "When the dead shall walk to the setting sun." (suddenly) Of course! The setting sun! To the west! (trying to orient HIMSELF, DR. LEONARD points directly across the crypt, stage right) That way! (DR. LEONARD turns the statue to west) DR. LEONARD (Continued) Now what? "When time itself shall flow." (Staring around the chamber, HE ponders this new line to the riddle) ALLEN (suddenly; pointing to the spigot and water basin) The water! (DR. LEONARD and GEORGEANNE look at HIM, uncomprehending) ALLEN (Continued) "When time itself shall flow"! The River Nile--the River of Time! "When time itself shall flow"? We need to turn on the water! DR. LEONARD Of course! (Immediately, HE approaches and cranks on the spigot. Water begins to flow down into the basin) DR. LEONARD (Continued) (redirecting his attention to the hieroglyphs) "When fire burns in silver urns"--the urns! We need to light the urns! (HE immediately turns and lights the closest ancient urn. If possible, as this first urn is lit, the other urns burst into flames right in a row) DR. LEONARD (Continued) (returning to the hieroglyphs) "Then Hekkop's face will show"! (to the OTHERS) That's everything! Stand back, everyone! The treasure should be right behind this wall! (At this, DR. LEONARD expectantly faces the back wall of the chamber. GEORGEANNE continues to hiccup, but nothing happens. ALL continue to stare expectantly. Still nothing happens. Finally, the ancient urns along the wall start to fizzle out, and the water rushing from the spigot begins to slow) DR. LEONARD I don't understand! I was so absolutely certain this time! (As THEY continue to watch, the urns go completely out, and water from the spigot finally stops) ALLEN (finally) Come on, Dr. Leonard. Let's get out of here. DR. LEONARD But ...! (With a sigh of despair, DR. LEONARD nods) ALLEN (turning to REBECCA) Rebecca, I-- REBECCA Please. Just go. (ALLEN turns to GEORGEANNE and DR. LEONARD and motions them out of the room. As THEY go, a sheepish DR. YEERS climbs up to her feet. Meanwhile, DR. LEONARD stops in front of REBECCA) DR. LEONARD I didn't know it was possible to find a treasure and lose it at exactly the same time. (When REBECCA does not respond, DR. LEONARD nods and turns to follow ALLEN and GEORGEANNE out. Just as they reach the entrance to the secret passage, however, the chamber begins to rumble) ALLEN What in the--? GEORGEANNE Something is (hic) happening! DR. LEONARD It's the treasure! Hekkop's treasure! (Eagerly, the GROUP turns to face the back wall of the chamber yet again. The rumbling gets louder--but still nothing happens. The tension builds. Nothing happens. Finally--with no warning--a large stone platform descends from the ceiling above their heads, spilling over with glittering jewels, sparking gold, and all manner of other fabulous treasure. The GROUP, dipping their heads and moving out of the way, is struck dumb by the sight of this three-thousand year-old hoard. Meanwhile, the chamber continues to rumble-- despite the fact that the treasure looks to have fully descended from the ceiling. GEORGEANNE continues to hiccup) ALLEN (awe-struck) It's ... wonderful! DR. LEONARD (reciting) "For all eternity, these riches will be mine, shining like stars in the heaven!" The old bastard practically said it outright! (Nearly catatonic at the sight of the treasure, REBECCA steps forward, seizes a piece of it and begins to caress it lovingly--like a baby) DR. LEONARD (breathlessly) I was right. I can't believe I was right! GEORGEANNE Dr. Leonard? Why hasn't the rumbling stopped? DR. LEONARD I was right! For once in my life, I was right! ALLEN Dr. Leonard? The rumbling. (Suddenly, a piece of stone falls from the ceiling. DR. LEONARD looks at it curiously. Then another piece drops--and another, and another. Engrossed by the treasure, REBECCA ignores the rumbling and the falling ceiling. Transfixed by the unexpected sight of her living daughter, DR. YEERS ignores it too) GEORGEANNE Dr. Leonard? What's going on in here? DR. LEONARD My guess is that this whole tomb is booby-trapped so that if anyone does solve the riddle of Hekkop's treasure, the ceiling falls in on them. That's Hekkop for you. (to HIMSELF; quietly, joyously) I still can't believe I was right! GEORGEANNE Booby-trapped! We've got to (hic) get out of here! ALLEN Quickly, Dr. Leonard--out the secret passage! (Nodding, HE moves for the exit. While HE does, ALLEN turns to REBECCA. Meanwhile, the rumbling grows stronger, and the ceiling continues to fall) ALLEN (Continued) Rebecca, come on! We've got to go! REBECCA Leave me alone! It's my treasure! ALLEN (grabbing HER) Rebecca, you can take what you're holding! But come on now! This whole ceiling is going to collapse! DR. LEONARD Now, Rebecca! Quickly! REBECCA (jerking away from ALLEN) Leave me alone! GEORGEANNE Allen ... Dr. Leonard ... we've got to hurry! ALLEN (turning to DR. YEERS) Dr. Yeers, come on! DR. YEERS No! I can't leave her! Not again! Rebecca, please! REBECCA Get your hands off me! It's my treasure! GEORGEANNE (pulling on HIM) Allen, come on! We've got to go now! (ALLEN looks forlornly back at REBECCA and DR. YEERS, but then nods reluctantly. GEORGEANNE pulls him into the secret passage. With another sad look at REBECCA and DR. YEERS, DR. LEONARD follows. The rumbling grows louder still-- almost as if reaching a crescendo. A huge chunk falls from the ceiling. The sound of a crash begins) (BLACKOUT) (The rumbling explodes into a cacophony of collapsing rubble. The stone groans, and the rocks weep. Then all is silent) (The sound of footsteps climbing stone stairs is heard. A second later, the footsteps come to a stop) GEORGEANNE'S VOICE (out of breath) We made it outside. I can't believe we made it. ALLEN'S VOICE (out of breath) Is everyone okay? DR. LEONARD'S VOICE (out of breath) I'm fine. Just a little tired. ALLEN'S VOICE There's no way anyone could've survived that collapse. DR. LEONARD'S VOICE No, there's not. (beat) ALLEN'S VOICE I can't say I'm entirely broken up about that. DR. LEONARD I can't say that I am either. GEORGEANNE'S VOICE Dr. Leonard. Your treasure. DR. LEONARD'S VOICE I don't care about the treasure. Just so long as both of you are safe. ALLEN'S VOICE We are. Thanks to Georgeanne. You figured it all out. GEORGEANNE'S VOICE I did, didn't I? ALLEN'S VOICE That was a side of you I didn't even know existed. GEORGEANNE'S VOICE Yeah? Well, I'd say there's even a little bit more mystery left in me to discover. ALLEN'S VOICE I can't wait. And George! Your hiccups are gone. GEORGEANNE'S VOICE You're right. ALLEN'S VOICE I guess you were wrong. I guess a big scare will get rid of your hiccups after all. GEORGEANNE'S VOICE I guess you're right. (short beat) I have a feeling it may be a long time before I get the hiccups again. END OF PLAY