Stephen was right next to the mummy in the tomb, Joseph was at the tomb entrance and John was at the nearby hospital injured. so why wait 3 years? the mummy could waste them right there.
shareHe needed to be given direction.
shareThere is also the fact that if you are going to kill someone you don't want it to be traced back to you. So waiting and biding their time was I'm sure part of it. Also they might not have expected them to be returning to England quite so soon and travel back then (in 1889) was quite a bit slower than it is today.
shareIt took 3 years to arrive in England from Egypt via boat back in those days
share