The Mummy's Curse by Penny Warner Page B

their secret hiding places. Cody found a note in the knothole of the ash tree in her yard. M.E.’s message was tucked inside her flower box. Luke’s was under the doorstep of his
grand-mère’
s condo. And Quinn spotted his in the family doghouse. Cody was totally hooked on creating her own glyphs and couldn’t wait to do more.
    When they reached Berkeley Cooperative Middle School, Cody and M.E. waved good-bye to Luke and Quinn, and the pairs headed for their own classrooms. When the girls entered Ms. Stad’s room, they noticed the last drawing was still taped to the whiteboard.
    It looked to Cody like the hidden picture still hadn’t been solved.
    â€œGood morning, class!” Ms. Stad greeted the students after they were settled at their desks. “I hope you had a good time at the museum—in spite of all the drama. As you know, two of our students,along with two students from Mr. Pike’s class, did a little ‘extra credit’ work while they were there.” She paused and smiled at Cody and M.E. “Thanks to their keen eyes and what they learned about fakes and forgeries, they were able to catch a thief in the act of stealing a valuable artifact and save the Egyptian Museum a lot of money. How about a round of applause for Cody and M.E.!”
    The kids clapped—all except for Matt the Brat, who turned and gave Cody the stink-eye. Cody ignored him, figuring he was just jealous about the attention she and M.E. were getting.
    â€œAnd now I have a surprise,” Ms. Stad continued. “We have a special guest today.” She opened the classroom door and in walked Dr. Jordan. The kids clapped, happy to see the museum art expert.
    â€œHi, students!” Dr. Jordan said, greeting the group of sixth graders. He turned to the teacher. “Thanks for the invitation to come and visit your classroom, Ms. Stadelhofer.”
    â€œWe’re so happy to see you again, Dr. Jordan. Welcome.” She turned back to her students. “Dr. Jordanis here to help us solve a mystery.”
    The class grew quiet in anticipation. Cody wondered what mystery Dr. Jordan could solve in their ordinary classroom. It certainly wasn’t like the museum, which was full of mysteries, puzzles, codes, and riddles.
    â€œDr. Jordan, we’re stumped,” Ms. Stad said to him. “Last week, I asked the students to create their own hidden pictures.”
    Dr. Jordan nodded. “Ah, yes. Steganography. How did they do?”
    â€œExcellently!” Ms. Stad said. “They solved all of the picture puzzles—except one.” She pointed to the lone picture on the whiteboard and the Egyptian hieroglyphs underneath. “We wondered if you could help us, since you’re an expert in Egyptian art and hieroglyphic writing.”

    Code Buster’s Key and Solution found on this page , this page .
    Dr. Jordan studied the drawing of an eye inside a triangle and the hieroglyphs below.
    â€œThe students used their hieroglyphic decoder cards to translate the symbols,” Ms. Stad continued, “but the letters made no sense. Maybe you can help us crack the code?”
    Dr. Jordan nodded. “That’s the Eye of Providence that watches over all of us. You’ll find the symbol on the one-dollar bill.” Dr. Jordan focused on the hieroglyphs. Then he drew in a deep breath, let it out, and said, “Aha!”
    â€œYou’ve figured out the message?” Ms. Stad said, her eyebrows raised in excitement. Cody wondered if Ms. Stad really knew the answer already.
    â€œI think I have,” Dr. Jordan said. “But before I tell you, I’ll give you all a clue. Write out the message on a piece of paper in the same pattern as the hieroglyphs.”
    Cody and the rest of the students pulled out pencil, paper, and their hieroglyphic decoder cards, and wrote down the translation, using the same pattern that was on the paper. The message formed three rows of