Part 13 (1/2)

176 .

Kirby stared, puzzled, while Ramonez simply shook his head. It was Bortha who spoke up, suddenly.

”I did,” he said. Turning his head, Bortha glared at Mr. Brewster. ”I wanted to know if you had arrived in Mexico City, so I could plan about going to Arista's museum. I couldn't give my name, so I talked like Tizoc, to throw a scare into anyone who answered.”

”Then you planted the crystal skull?”

”Yes, a few hours earlier. I knew that Kirby had been snooping around the Del Monte, so I decided that would be something to pin on Kirby, too.”

”Everything gets pinned on me,” retorted Kirby, ”and the biggest thing of all is this big pile of boxes.” He turned to Ramonez. ”What's in them, to make them so all-fired important?”

Ramonez turned to his deputies and said: ”Show him.”

They opened the boxes, and the boys moved forward to take a look with Kirby. One box was packed with rifles. Another contained machine guns. More boxes were opened, revealing more such weapons.

Ramonez turned and gestured to a still larger stack as he declared: ”Those contain ammunition, actually millions of rounds of it. In that far stack, you will find thousands of hand grenades. Some boxes contain bazookas and other weapons. Enough to equip a small army.”

Mr. Brewster spoke, somewhat puzzled: THE FINAL RIDDLE 17X.

”What did Bortha want to do? Start a revolution here in El Cielo? Why, he'd be crazy-”

”But he isn't crazy,” interposed Ramonez, staring steadily at Bortha as he spoke. ”He planned, as Tizoc, to make this cavern into an a.r.s.enal from which he could s.h.i.+p arms and ammunition to trouble-makers in any Caribbean countries where revolts could be stirred up. It is all part of an international plot, and he is an important member of it. As an archaeologist- which he is-he could turn up in any part of the world without causing comment.”

”But how did he intend to s.h.i.+p the weapons out?”

Before Ramonez could reply, Bortha spoke for himself.

”By plane,” he announced. Then, sneeringly, he went on: ”Why do you think I kept telling Dr. La Vega that we needed a landing strip at El Cielo? So I would have it when I really needed it. I knew that time would be running short, sooner or later-”

”And fortunately,” put in Mr. Brewster, ”it happened sooner instead of later.”

”That leaves just one thing,” added Ramonez. ”How Bortha planned to pay for all these arms. There can only be one answer. He must have found the lost Aztec treasure.”

Bortha's broad face tightened suddenly with an expression of restrained fury.

”I feel sure you found it, Bortha,” continued Ra- 178 .

monez. ”That's why you engineered that cave-in. You are still hoping that you can get away with some of it. Instead, you are going to turn it over to us-immediately-”

Right then, Bortha made a sudden break. He whipped away from Mr. Brewster's grasp, drove hard at Kirby, and reeled the big man into Ramonez' path. With a quick recoil, he darted the other way, reached the corner of the cavern and pressed a hidden switch. A slab pivoted in the wall and in another moment, Bortha would have gone through the opening, locking the door behind him.

But in that moment, Biff and Mike had acted. To them, Bortha's quick darts were like the s.h.i.+fty tactics of a runner on a football field. They had gone after him and were guessing each twist that he intended. Now, Biff caught Bortha with a low tackle at the knees and Mike landed squarely on his toppling shoulders, flattening him solidly.

The revolving panel closed. Bortha's attempted escape had failed. Now Ramonez arrived, pressed the switch, and reopened the rocky slab. This time, they all went through, taking Bortha with them. Inside, they found a steep, zigzag stairway, its stone steps, all of ancient origin, leading deep down through the cliff.

By the time they had reached the bottom, they realized they were below the level of the excavation. There, the stairway opened into a huge, vaulted room, THE FINAL RIDDLE 179.

that was utterly fabulous in its glitter. All about were stacks of gold, in the form of plates, bowls, vases, statues, even weapons and suits of armor. All were the work of ancient craftsmen, and some of the decorated bowls and helmets were heaped to the brim with pure gold dust.

Jewels, too, were abundant. There were great mosaics, done in jade and turquoise, priceless in their own right. There were rings, bracelets, even crowns, set with amethysts, opals, and other valuable gems. Biff and Mike looked at each other, recalling the tales that they had heard of Montezuma's treasure and the wealth of other Aztec rulers.

This reality outmatched those fables.

Across the treasure room was a low archway, with a short, steep stairs beyond. At the bottom of these steps, the party reached a shaft of daylight and found themselves at the bottom of the deep pit that Bortha had dug into the rubble, within the fenced enclosure. They clambered up a ladder at the side of the pit and came out near Bortha's tent.