Abercrombie Smith and Edward Bellingham are neighbors and fellow students at the University of Oxford. Smith is a medical student and athlete, while Bellingham is a specialist of Eastern studies and the owner of many Egyptian artefacts. A series of strange episodes happen after Edward buys a four-thousand-years-old mummy. Smith suspects his fellow student of hiding a dark and threatening secret, and soon discovers what the truth really is. What aroused Edward Bellingham's great interest for Egyptian artefacts? What kind of strange episodes followed his latest acquisition and what is he going to do with the mummy? How is Smith going to react to the shocking discoveries he has made? You can find all the answers in Sir Conan Doyle's short story "Lot No. 249".