Synopsis: Albert Cragg has created a time machine for an entirely ignoble purpose.
He plans to use it to capture valuable trinkets from throughout history. After several false starts (including a trip to the Wright Brothers' test flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina—for reasons that aren't obviously criminal), he finally perfects the machine.
Going back to ancient Egypt, his plan is to witness the entombment of King Tut, so that he can steal the valuables in the pyramid and escape.
Needing to quickly ingratiate himself to the dying pharaoh, he must demonstrate himself a wizard. Toward this end, he shows the pharaoh several items from the future which appear to be magic to the ancient Egyptian.
Unfortunately, the "trick" works a little too well. He impresses the dying king well enough to be the last person in the tomb as the pharaoh dies. He steals the treasure he wants. He even makes it out of the tomb. But after it's sealed, one of the dead pharaoh's attendants tells him that Tut found Cragg's "magical" trinkets so enchanting that he ordered them buried in the tomb with him. All of them. Including the time machine.
Cragg is left with a bag full of jewels, but no way to return to the twentieth century.
