Bob, in his quest to find the treasure whose map is hidden inside the Golden Gazelle, has traveled back in time and agreed to battle Roman General Octavian in order to cover Cleopatra's escape with Mark Anthony. In return, Cleo showed Bob that the treasure is buried at the Temple of Osiris. If only Bob and Harvard (his dog) can survive the battle.
But don't worry -- Bob and Harvard have a supply of Nile Blue Cheese -- whose odoriferous properties carry the day!
One of my favorite comics panels of all time is the top one on this page, where the big lug says, "You slay me and then I'll slay you." Kind of like heads I win, tails you lose!
Note Harvard's use of the term "chemical warfare," and the last panel on the page, where the term "fall out" is used for yuks.
The only thing left to do is return home to 1964, since they now know where the treasure is buried. But first, some cheese sandwiches!
Well, here they are at the Temple, but *gasp* it's under "10 billion tons" of water! And for the Pièce de résistance, check out the statues.
The BAD NEWS: Here in the present century, they can't get the treasure because it is Egyptian government property now.
ONE THE OTHER HAND: It seems that Cleopatra found a way of thanking Bob and Harvard for their heroics! Plus, ol' Cleo correctly divined the TRUE NATURE of Bob and Harvard's relationship, too!
Voice trained, indeed! This last joke harks back to the opening scene of the story, when Harvard was helping Bob win that chess match by giving instructions through an earpiece.
As my sainted high-school English Lit teacher Della Craighead used to say, this story comes "circle full round."
See you in a few days to wrap up this issue.
