As soon as the housemaid had left the room I quietly let myself out by the French window, which I closed behind me but could not fasten, went out at the side gate and closed that also behind me, holding the bolt of the latch back with my pocket-knife so that I need not slam the gate to shut it.
"The other events of that day, including the dropping of the scarab, I need not describe, as they are known to you.

But I may fitly make a few remarks on the unfortunate tactical error into which I fell in respect of the bones.

That error arose, as you have doubtless perceived, from the lawyer's incurable habit of underestimating the scientific expert.

I had no idea that mere bones were capable of furnishing so much information to a man of science.
"The way in which the affair came about was this: The damaged mummy of Sebek-hotep, perishing gradually by exposure to the air, was not only an eyesore to me: it was a definite danger.

It was the only remaining link between me and the disappearance.