The Curse by Harold Robbins Page A

the collection than the scarab.”
    â€œFor its magic.”

13
    I kept a straight face because I thought his answer was comical, but asked him a serious question.
    â€œDo you believe that the scarab has magical powers?”
    He gave me a deep, throaty chuckle. “Absolutely, but not the way you might think. The magic lies in how it affects people. Egypt is a poor country with a rich history. For two thousand years, since the days of the Roman Empire, Egypt has been trampled by invading armies who stole from it, and the most prized pieces of Egyptian history were looted and taken to foreign lands. No doubt foreigners would have taken the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx had they been able to move them.”
    â€œThe exception is Tut’s treasures.”
    â€œYes, and you must appreciate the effect that the discovery had on my people. When the tomb was found there was enormous pride and patriotism and identification with the greatness and glories of our past. The boy king’s heart came to be called the ‘Heart of Egypt’ and symbolized all the greatness that we once were.
    â€œDuring that era of colonialism, a nationalistic movement arose determined to drive out the foreigners who controlled our country and rebuild the country’s greatness. It was galvanized by the discovery of the incredible tomb. The theft of the heart scarab, the most sacred object belonging to King Tutankhamen, had a disheartening effect on my people. As time went on we remained first under the heel of foreign governments and then in the hands of corrupt officials because the people had lost hope.
    â€œOur greatness has been taken away from us. I want it back for my country.”
    I was getting the picture.
    The magical power of the scarab had to do with a person’s thoughts and not its spiritual force.
    â€œYou believe the scarab’s magic will once again galvanize the people of your country into achieving their potential.”
    He spread his fingers on the table. “Their great potential. What’s stopping my people is their unwillingness to rid themselves of a government that keeps most of them poor.”
    Years ago a Cairo taxi driver told me the government kept control in the poor country by keeping the price of rice down—something Marie Antoinette and hubby Louie could have done to keep their own heads.
    â€œWhere is the scarab now?” I asked.
    â€œRadcliff brought it back to his estate in England and housed it there in his private museum. Over the decades it had only been brought out to show a few private friends because to display it publicly would cause an uproar and an admission that it had been stolen from the tomb. Radcliff’s great-granddaughter, Heather, came into possession of it and agreed recently to return it.”
    That caught me by surprise because it would have been major news in the world of antiquities.
    He chuckled at the look on my face.
    â€œBut not publicly. Each of Radcliff’s heirs have perpetrated the fraud by failing to admit to possession of the scarab. Not only would a public admission hurt Heather’s family’s reputation and her own, but many items Sir Jacob acquired during his time in Egypt and other places in the Middle East would come under scrutiny. To avoid publicity, a ruse was decided upon.”
    â€œWhat was the ruse?”
    â€œThe assistant curator in the Radcliff museum agreed to remove the scarab from the vault where it was kept and return it to Egypt. However, she would never admit where she obtained it from, although everyone would know that it came from the museum.”
    â€œI suppose it isn’t stealing if the Radcliff woman agreed to it. Something went wrong?”
    â€œYes,” he said, “something did go wrong or I wouldn’t be seeking your services, would I? The scarab was actually stolen. A gang of thieves apparently learned of the scheme and intercepted the assistant curator at a hotel in London