The Curse of the Cairo Cat: A Lottie Lipton Adventure
him of his appointments cook his breakfast and even tie his bow tie for him In her spare time she had the run of the museum She did not go to school but instead read voraciously from the museum library and was tutored by her Uncle Bert and her friend Reg the kindly old caretaker He too lived on the grounds and was a mine of information it was from him that Lottie knew how to tune a piano address a Bishop and even throw a knife It was Reg who had interrupted their game of hide-and-seek and he led them to the main 6
entrance where a package was waiting Uncle Bert set about opening the packing crate with a crowbar When he had finished a large golden statue stood before them Lottie had never seen anything so beautiful The Golden Cat of Cairo It’s the centerpiece to my new exhibition The pharaohs worshipped felines you see and this was made to commemorate the passing of one of the royal pets It’s marvelous breathed Lottie unable to take her eyes off it Legend has it that the statue is cursed continued Uncle Bert It comes to life every night and prowls around causing mischief 7
Poppycock snapped a voice from behind them They turned to see Sir Trevelyan Taylor the Head Curator of the museum He was a thin weasel-faced man and he had never liked Lottie or Uncle Bert He tried at every opportunity to get them out of their home at the British Museum not caring for even a second where they might go He looked the statue up and down frowning Bertram when will you learn that archaeology is about facts not spooky curses Now make sure this beastly object is in position for the grand opening tomorrow We’ve got some very 8
important guests coming and I’m relying on their donations to keep the museum running If we don’t make our target I’ll know who to blame he said stalking off The Professor looked at his companions and blushed Poppycock of course There’s no such thing as curses He patted the giant cat on the head Ho-hum We’d better get this in place The exhibition opens tomorrow The night of the grand opening of the exhibition came and Lottie was busy helping her great uncle to prepare He had to give a 9
