CHAPTER XIX.

A Fight to the Finish AS BIFF spoke the name, Ramonez thrust a hand beneath his jacket. Whether he was after a gun or a knife, Biff didn't wait to see. He sprang out to the patio, shouting: "He's here-Ramonez-" Then, turning about again, Biff was just in time to see the door come slamming shut, almost in his face.

Kirby arrived a few seconds later. Yanking his gun from its holster, he rammed open the door and drove in with the same gusto that he had shown the day when Biff was trapped in the closet at the Red Bull.

As on that previous occasion, Kirby arrived too late. The room was empty, its wide open window showing the course that Ramonez had taken. There was no tracing him in the darkness, except from the strumming of distant guitars. Moments later, that sound had faded into the night. Ramonez had rejoined the 163.

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mariachi players, and the entire group was gone.

Mr. Brewster had so far scarcely mentioned Ra-monez when discussing the Tizoc situation. Now, he explained who Ramonez was and how suspiciously he had acted.

"Ramonez sounds like Tizoc," exclaimed Kirby. "Those mariachi players are probably his Eagle Knights. I wish I had brought some workers up from the mine. We'd handle that bunch!"

The pieces of the torn message were still with Bertha's notes. Biff put them together for Kirby's benefit.

"These slips are what Ramonez was after," declared Kirby. "They are evidence that he was inducing people to join up with the Tizoc racket. Imagine him getting away with it right outside the Red Bull!"

Mike overheard that comment and later made one of his own to Biff.

"It would have been easier for Kirby to plant that banana man outside the Red Bull than it would have been for Ramonez."

"Then you still think that Kirby is Tizoc?"

"I'm still not sure," replied Mike. "Let's call it a toss-up between Kirby and Ramonez."

"And I say, let's call it a day."

To that, Mike agreed, for both he and Biff were dog-tired from their strenuous ordeal. They turned in for the night, leaving it to Mr. Brewster to map out the next day's plans with Kirby.

A FIGHT TO THE FINISH 165.

Biff's dreams were vivid. He fancied himself trapped between a flock of eagles and equally ferocious owls that all had round-rimmed eyes like Ramonez. Kirby was in the dream, too, banging away with a big gun, while Biff dodged the shots. Next, Biff was falling from a cliff, with Mike swooping down and grabbing him. He woke up to find Mike giving him a shake, with daylight showing in the window.

"It's after dawn," Mike was telling him. "Chaco and his men are here. Grab some breakfast in a hurry. We're going to get started soon!"

Half an hour later, the expedition had reached the lone cactus and was turning off toward the hidden ledge. When they reached it, Mr. Brewster was amazed to see how completely the jutting rim cut off any view from below.

At the entrance to the cave, Biff's father told the boys: "Wait here with Mr. Kirby. I'm going back to post two of Chaco's men as lookouts. I'll bring the rest along."

There were five in Chaco's crew beside himself, which meant that Mr. Brewster would have four faithful, able-bodied followers. But Kirby grew impatient as he waited with the boys.

"Every minute counts right now," the big man insisted. "I'm going in there on my own"-he pulled his ranchero hat down over his eyes and planted his hand on his bolstered gun-"so tell Mr. Brewster I 166 .

couldn't wait. Anywhere I go, I want to be there first."

Kirby strode into the outer cavern, and the boys watched him stalk across it through the patchy sunlight that filtered down through the fissures. Whether he reached the inner cave, they could not tell, for as the gloom swallowed Kirby's burly form, white shapes seemed to flit from the side walls and converge upon the spot where they had last seen Kirby.

Instinctively, Biff and Mike recoiled from the outer entrance, drawing back along the ledge.

"Eagle Knights," gulped Biff. "They've got him."

"Unless it was an act," responded Mike. "Maybe Kirby wants us to think it happened that way. Then he can really trap us."

On one point, they both agreed; namely, that Mr. Brewster ought to know what had happened. They raced back along the ledge and waved frantically as Biff's father came in sight with Chaco and three other chunky, stolid men close behind him.

Before Biff and Mike could give more than the bare details, Mr. Brewster understood all. Kirby's absence was expressive in itself. Biff's father waved for Chaco and the rest to follow him into the cavern. But he threw a last warning to Biff and Mike.

"Stay back," Mr. Brewster told them. "You ran into trouble here before. We'll take care of this."

Biff halted and looked at Mike glumly.

A FIGHT TO THE FINISH 167.

"Dad said to stay back. He meant it."

"But how far back?" asked Mike. "He didn't say to stay outside, here on the ledge. Or did he?"

"No, he didn't."

"So we go in." Mike gestured to the cavern entrance, where Mr. Brewster and Chaco's men had already gone. "Then we stay back."

To that, Biff agreed. "Let's go."

Inside, things were happening fast.

As Mr. Brewster neared the inner cavern, four Eagle Knights sprang up to seize him. They were stopped in their tracks by Chaco and his loyal crew, who spread both ways, swinging clubs of their own. Mr. Brewster drove on into the inner cavern.

Biff and Mike were close behind, but remembering the order to "Stay back!" they paused at the inner entrance. There, they witnessed the quick duel that followed. In the center of the domed cavern stood Tizoc, his jeweled mask and golden robe flashing in the glow of the half-hidden lights. In his upraised hand, he gripped his obsidian knife as a challenge to all comers.

As the only challenger, Mr. Brewster didn't wait. He drove straight in, barehanded, warding off Tizoc's downward stroke with one arm. Then, with his other fist, he drove a punch to the masked face just as he had done at Judge Arista's.

Tizoc reeled back as Biff and Mike watched, breathless. Now, for the first time, the boys saw that there 168 .

were more Eagle Knights, crouched and waiting at the sides of this glowing cave where the stone-lipped idol of Mexitli squatted as if watching from its rocky pedestal.

By his swift, unexpected drive, Mr. Brewster had utterly ruined Tizoc's plans. If Biff's father had hesitated at sight of that upraised blade, a quick signal would have brought the Eagle Knights swarming in to seize him. Instead, he had gone straight for Tizoc; now all they could do was watch the grapple.

Mr. Brewster held one advantage. Tizoc's followers, believing that their masked chief was invincible, would not move unless he waved them in. But if Mr. Brewster made the slightest slip, his last chance would be gone. Tizoc would fling him to the Eagle Knights.

They would swarm upon Mr. Brewster as furiously as the real eagles had swooped down on the boys on the cliff, the day before.

Biff's father didn't make a slip. With his left hand, he was gripping Tizoc's right wrist, trying to wrench away the obsidian knife. His right arm was clamping Tizoc's left and he was shoving his right fist up against the jeweled mask, hoping to pry it loose from the false Tizoc's face.

During the struggle, they reeled to the rear of the cave and jolted against the rocky pedestal where the statue of Mexitli was perched. The squatty Aztec War A FIGHT TO THE FINISH 169.

G.o.d looked like a stony-faced referee, awaiting the outcome of a wrestling match in order to declare the winner.

That, perhaps, was what roused Tizoc to a last furious surge. He twisted his knife hand free, but only momentarily, for Mr. Brewster immediately regained his iron grip. But in that instant, Tizoc had gestured with the knife, and the Eagle Knights had accepted the flash of the obsidian blade as a signal for attack. They surged forward.

Biff and Mike were rooted helplessly. Before they could even call a warning, Mr. Brewster saw the approaching menace. He made a last valiant effort to unmask Tizoc, at the same time shouting to the Eagle Knights: "Stay back, all of you! Stay back until you see who Tizoc really is!"

Ordinarily, the Eagle Knights would not have heeded those words. Their own fierce war cries should have drowned Mr. Brewster's shout; and they were still taking orders from Tizoc, not from the man who opposed him. But the call came from the very foot of the Mexitli statue, the place where such sounds were magnified!

Mr. Brewster's words were transformed into a thundering roar, which the Eagle Knights took to be the voice of Mexitli, a figure even more powerful than Tizoc. They halted, as the entire cavern echoed: 170 .

"Stay back-stay back!"

That was all the time that Mr. Brewster needed. While his shout reverberated from the walls and dome, he ripped away Tizoc's mask and dragged his sagging opponent to the center of the cavern. There, he delivered a decisive upward punch that jarred the false Tizoc's jaw and tilted his face into the light.

Biff and Mike, already starring forward to give what help they could, were close enough to see that face quite plainly. They halted and stared in sheer amazement.

Of all the surprises that their adventures had produced, none could quite match this!

CHAPTER XX.

The Final Riddle TIZOC was Professor Mark Bortha!

It seemed incredible that the man who seemingly had so ardently pressed the hunt for Tizoc had been playing that part himself. Yet here was evidence that had to be taken at face value. Evidence in the form of Bortha's own face!

Trouble was not yet over. Bortha snapped suddenly from his daze and tried to brandish his knife, hoping to rally his followers. But the dumfounded Eagle Knights still hesitated, and too long.

They were suddenly rushed from behind, rapidly overwhelmed and sent sprawling to the cavern floor. The attackers who had surprised the Eagle Knights were men in mariachi costumes, who had been lurking in the side caverns, awaiting this opportunity. Their leader stepped forward to congratulate Mr. Brewster, 171.

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who by now had taken away Bortha's knife and had pinioned the robed prisoner's arms behind him.

The leader of the mariachis was Jose Ramonez. His manner now was brisk, rather than smooth. Without his gla.s.ses, his face had lost its owlish look, and his speech was blunt and decisive, a marked change from his former oily tone.

"It is time I introduced myself in my true capacity," Ramonez told Mr. Brewster. From his mariachi jacket, he produced a folding wallet which he opened to display a badge and other credentials. "You knew me only as Judge Arista's secretary. Actually, I am a special investigating agent of the Mexican Federal Government." He gestured to the other men in mariachi costumes. "These are my deputies."

Mr. Brewster showed brief astonishment; then suddenly he queried: "How does Justin Kirby figure in all this?"

"More so than he probably knows," rejoined Ramonez, with a slight smile. "Tell me, where is Se-nor Kirby?"

"That's right! Where is Kirby?"

Mr. Brewster turned to the boys, but before they could reply, a voice spoke from the cavern entrance: "Here is Senor Kirby."

Chaco was the speaker. He and one of his men were helping Kirby in from the outer cabin. Kirby's ran-chero hat was gone, his face was grimy and blood- THE FINAL RIDDLE 173.

streaked, his revolver was missing from its holster. But he managed to give a wry smile as he said weakly: "I really goofed, barging in the way I did. A bunch of Eagle Knights grabbed me and left me lying in a corner back there." He gestured to the outer cavern. "That's the last thing I can remember, until Chaco came along and put me back in circulation."

Kirby paused, did a double-take as he saw Bortha in Mr. Brewster's grip. Then he asked incredulously: "You're not telling me the professor is Tizoc!"

"We are," stated Ramonez, "but he was trying to pin that honor on you. Come this way and I'll show you."

He led the group into the cavern where the stacks of boxes were. Biff's father dragged Bortha along with him.

"I was specially delegated to work with Judge Arista," explained Ramonez, "just in case someone would try to steal the lost Aztec treasure, if Dr. La Vega found it. I heard the Tizoc rumors, so I came to El Cielo on one of my so-called vacations and did some investigative work.

"I learned that for months, large shipments of mining equipment and other supplies had been coming in by railroad and then carried by pack train over the mountains and down to Kirby's headquarters at Hacienda Arroyo. But only a small percentage of those shipments reached their destination.

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"The rest, amounting to many tons, disappeared before they got as far as El Cielo. Just where, none of the natives would tell, they were all so afraid of Tizoc. We knew that if we pushed the inquiry too rapidly, word would get back to Tizoc. So we took it slowly, keeping special watch on Senor Kirby."

Kirby looked at Ramonez and blinked. "Why me?"

"Because Tizoc was pinning suspicion on you," explained Ramonez. "Those boxes are addressed to you, Kirby. By watching you, we hoped to track things back to Tizoc, whoever he was."

"But Bortha was on the train coming into Mexico City when the boys were attacked in the judge's museum," Mr. Brewster put in. "How could he have been Tizoc then?"

"We learned later that the train was late," replied Ramonez, "although a bulletin at Buenavista Station had announced that it would arrive on time. Bortha stole the Tizoc costume, fled from Judge Arista's wearing it, and made a phone call from nearby, claiming that he had just arrived at the station. But he couldn't have, because his train wasn't in."

Bortha glared angrily as he realized for the first time that his alibi had been punctured.

"We knew then," added Ramonez, "that Professor Bortha must have come in on an earlier train or that he had reached a through highway and come in by car. Of course, you were in Mexico City, too, Kirby."

THE FINAL RIDDLE 175.

"That's right," nodded Kirby. "I'd been hearing all sorts of rumors from the workers who left the excavation to take jobs with me. They talked about a man named Brewster who was due in Mexico City and was coming to El Cielo later. When I heard he was a mining expert, I figured he'd be checking on me. So I went to Mexico City to get a line on him."

"As Bortha planned it," declared Ramonez. "He started those rumors, Kirby. He wanted you to be in Mexico City when he stole the Tizoc costume, so you could be blamed for it."

Biff turned to Kirby and asked: "Then you really were watching us outside the Hotel Del Monte?"

"I really was," acknowledged Kirby. "I paid the cab driver to pick you up so I could trail you in another cab. I figured you would lead me to where your father was. I wanted to get a look at him."

"But why did the cabby swing over by the Buena-vista Station?"

"I told him to do that," explained Kirby, "so my cab could stay close behind yours, without your knowing that you had been trailed all the way from the hotel. After you reached Judge Arista's, I figured there was no more use. When you were admitted, I simply went away."

Biff pondered; then asked: "But who made that Tizoc phone call?"