The Secret of the Soldier's Gold by Franklin W. Dixon Read Free Book Online Page B

problems.”
    Instantly Frank was wide awake. “Joe,” he whispered. “It’s Isabel!”
    Joe sat up slowly, trying to come back from the dream he was having about him and Frank solving a sensational crime back in Bayport. “What’s wrong?”
    â€œWhat happened, Isabel?” Frank said into the receiver. “Are you all right?”
    â€œIt’s about Frau Rilke’s suitcase,” Isabel said.
    â€œWhat about it?” Frank said.
    Joe was now out of bed and sitting beside Frank, his ear as close to the receiver as possible.
    â€œI overheard some of Father’s men talking on the police radio this morning,” Isabel explained. “Evidently the word on the streets is—and I quote—you and Joe have a map that shows where some gold bars are buried here in Lisbon.”
    â€œGreat,” Frank said. “Now what?”
    â€œI don’t think that anyone except us knows that the gold is in the backyard of Senhora Bragança’s house,” Isabel said. “So for right now it should be safe. But I’m worried about you two.”
    â€œSo am I,” Frank said.
    Joe leaned away from the receiver and nodded. “You got that right,” he said.
    â€œI have to be at the television studio in a few minutes, so I need to leave,” Isabel said, “but I just wanted to warn you to be careful.”
    â€œThanks, Isabel,” Frank said. “We’ll talk to you later.”
    â€œSomething doesn’t make sense here, Frank,” Joe said. “Last night Isabel seemed certain that the de Feira brothers wouldn’t spread the word around Lisbon about the map. What happened?”
    â€œThey’re just dumb,” Frank said.
    â€œDo you really think they’re that dumb, Frank?” Joe asked.
    For several minutes Frank didn’t say anything. Finally he looked at Joe with an expression of bothanger and disappointment. “Well, there is only one other way that it could have happened, Joe, and I don’t like what it means.”
    Joe nodded slowly. “Do you think Isabel is behind it?” he asked.
    â€œA good detective would have to consider that as a possibility, Joe,” Frank said.
    â€œBut her father is a high-ranking police official,” Joe protested.
    Frank shrugged. “This sort of thing has happened before,” he reminded Joe.
    â€œIt’s hard to trust anyone these days,” Joe said sadly.
    â€œI know,” Frank said. He stood up and stretched. “For now it’s just speculation on my part, though, and there really could be another explanation.”
    â€œI hope so,” Joe said. “I really like Isabel.”
    â€œI do too,” Frank said. “We just need to do what we always do, Joe, and that’s to keep an open mind.”
    â€œI wonder now if that intruder last night was really one of the de Feira brothers,” Joe said.
    â€œI was thinking that too,” Frank said.
    â€œWell, we’ve got to do something about this,” Joe said. “Maybe we could come up with a plan to send everyone on a wild goose chase.”
    They debated about different ways to do that, but none of their ideas seemed feasible.
    Finally Joe said, “I know! A fake map!”
    Frank looked at him. “What do you mean, a fake map?”
    â€œWell, Isabel is the only one who knows that the real map is of Senhora Bragança’s backyard—but she doesn’t know exactly where the suitcase is buried,” Joe explained.
    â€œRight,” Frank said. “That would keep her—and whomever else she might have told—from getting the suitcase because they couldn’t just go in and dig up the entire backyard.”
    Joe nodded. “If they knew the exact spot, then they’d have no problem finding the gold if it’s still there.”
    â€œSo this new map would put the suitcase in an area as far away from the real location as