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<div class="box">
<p class="center"><span class="ss">A BIFF BREWSTER
<br/>MYSTERY ADVENTURE</span></p>
<h1>BRAZILIAN <br/>GOLD MINE <br/>MYSTERY</h1>
<div class="fig"> <ANTIMG src="images/logo.jpg" alt="Compass" width-obs="300" height-obs="308" /></div>
<p class="center"><span class="ss">By ANDY ADAMS</span></p>
<p class="tbcenter"><span class="ss">GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS
<br/>NEW YORK</span></p>
</div>
<p class="center small">© GROSSET & DUNLAP, INC., 1960</p>
<p class="center small">ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
<br/>MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p>
<h2>Contents</h2>
<dt class="jr"><span class="jl"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span></span> <span class="small">PAGE</span>
<br/><span class="cn">I </span><SPAN href="#c1">Up the Amazon</SPAN> 1
<br/><span class="cn">II </span><SPAN href="#c2">The Clutching Hand</SPAN> 8
<br/><span class="cn">III </span><SPAN href="#c3">The Hidden Boathouse</SPAN> 16
<br/><span class="cn">IV </span><SPAN href="#c4">The Safari Starts</SPAN> 25
<br/><span class="cn">V </span><SPAN href="#c5">The Spotted Terror</SPAN> 40
<br/><span class="cn">VI </span><SPAN href="#c6">Into the Quicksand</SPAN> 50
<br/><span class="cn">VII </span><SPAN href="#c7">The Deadly Coils</SPAN> 58
<br/><span class="cn">VIII </span><SPAN href="#c8">A Traitor Strikes</SPAN> 67
<br/><span class="cn">IX </span><SPAN href="#c9">The Shrunken Heads</SPAN> 76
<br/><span class="cn">X </span><SPAN href="#c10">Trapped by the Head-Hunters</SPAN> 85
<br/><span class="cn">XI </span><SPAN href="#c11">A Sudden Surprise</SPAN> 95
<br/><span class="cn">XII </span><SPAN href="#c12">Between Two Fires</SPAN> 103
<br/><span class="cn">XIII </span><SPAN href="#c13">The River of Death</SPAN> 110
<br/><span class="cn">XIV </span><SPAN href="#c14">The Devil’s Gateway</SPAN> 119
<br/><span class="cn">XV </span><SPAN href="#c15">Fabulous El Dorado</SPAN> 128
<br/><span class="cn">XVI </span><SPAN href="#c16">Surrounded!</SPAN> 137
<br/><span class="cn">XVII </span><SPAN href="#c17">The Man of Gold</SPAN> 147
<br/><span class="cn">XVIII </span><SPAN href="#c18">Urubu Again</SPAN> 156
<br/><span class="cn">XIX </span><SPAN href="#c19">Partners in Crime</SPAN> 164
<br/><span class="cn">XX </span><SPAN href="#c20">The Tables Turn</SPAN> 173
<h1 title=""><span class="ss">BRAZILIAN GOLD MINE MYSTERY</span></h1>
<div class="pb" id="Page_1">1</div>
<h2 id="c1"><span class="small">CHAPTER I</span> <br/>Up the Amazon</h2>
<p>“Guard this letter as you would your life!”</p>
<p>Mr. Stannart spoke in a low, tense tone as he
glanced around the waiting room at Idlewild Airport.
Biff Brewster felt a sudden surge of excitement when
he took the envelope that the gray-haired man handed
him.</p>
<p>The envelope was tightly sealed, and it was addressed
to Biff’s father, Thomas Brewster, at the Hotel
Jacares in Manaus, Brazil. In the upper corner
was the return address of the Ajax Mining Corporation
in New York City. Gregg Stannart was the president
of the company, and Mr. Brewster was its chief
field engineer.</p>
<p>“Since you are flying to Brazil to join your father,”
Mr. Stannart continued, “I decided to have you deliver
this letter personally, rather than take the risk of
its falling into the wrong hands.”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_2">2</div>
<p>He paused, gave Biff a keen, steady glance, and
asked, “Did your father tell you why he was going to
the headwaters of the Amazon River?”</p>
<p>“He wrote that he was going on a jungle safari,”
replied Biff, “and he invited me to fly to Brazil and
join him, as a birthday present.”</p>
<p>Biff was thinking back to his birthday party at the
Brewster home in Indianapolis less than a week ago.
His mother had brought in a cake with sixteen lighted
candles that Biff had blown out with a single puff, to
the delight of the twins, Ted and Monica, who were
five years younger than Biff. But the big surprise was
when Biff’s mother had given him the birthday letter
from his dad.</p>
<p>Next had come the excitement of packing, when it
dawned on Biff that nearly all his birthday presents
were clothes and equipment he could use on a tropical
trip. Then Biff had flown to New York where Mr.
Stannart had met him to put him on the plane for
Brazil.</p>
<p>“Your father is bound on a highly important and
secret mission for our company,” Mr. Stannart confided
now. “He is going far up the Rio Negro, which
joins the Amazon just below the city of Manaus. The
party <i>supposedly</i> will be looking for sites for rubber
plantations.”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_3">3</div>
<p>Mr. Stannart paused, then said solemnly, “Your
father will be looking for gold—a fabulous gold mine
about which we have secret information. But here in
New York,” he went on, “we have just discovered
that there has been a leak in that information. We
have learned that certain people would do anything to
stop your father and get to the mine first. Even now,
he may be in danger.”</p>
<p>“But Dad didn’t say anything about it—”</p>
<p>“Because he doesn’t know about it. He may change
his mind about letting you accompany him after you
give him this letter. It will tell him all he needs to
know.”</p>
<p>Biff put the letter deep down into his coat pocket.
Mr. Stannart nodded approvingly.</p>
<p>“Be careful what you say to strangers,” he warned
Biff, “and above all, guard that letter!”</p>
<p>It was nearly time for the departure of Biff’s plane.
Mr. Stannart explained that it would take him to
Belem, the capital city of the Brazilian state of Para,
not far from the mouth of the Amazon. There, Biff
would change to a plane for Manaus, a thousand miles
up the great river.</p>
<p>Mr. Stannart studied the other passengers who were
waiting to board the plane. He said to Biff in parting,
in a low but confident tone:</p>
<p>“You won’t have any trouble on this flight. But be
careful after you leave Belem!”</p>
<p>The long trip south did prove uneventful. During
daylight, the plane was over the Atlantic Ocean, and
darkness had settled when it reached the coast of Brazil.
Biff landed in Belem at dawn, so it wasn’t until
he had changed to the plane for Manaus that he gained
his first view of the Brazilian jungle.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_4">4</div>
<p>He saw it from a seat beside the window as the
plane climbed above Belem; a vast, solid mass of billowing
green that looked ready to swallow the city
that spread below. Then the jungle ended, and the
plane was flying over a huge expanse of brownish
water streaked with waves of white. This was the
Amazon River, stretching as far as the eye could see.</p>
<p>A smooth voice purred from beside Biff’s shoulder:</p>
<p>“It looks more like an ocean than a river, doesn’t
it?”</p>
<p>Biff turned to meet the gaze of the smiling man
sitting beside him whose eyes looked sharp even
through his dark-green glasses. The large lenses gave
an olive hue to the sleek, oval face that narrowed to a
pointed chin.</p>
<p>“<i>O Rio Mar</i>,” the smiling man continued. “That is
what Brazilians call the Amazon. It means ‘The River
Sea’ in Portuguese. Do you understand the language?”</p>
<p>“A little,” replied Biff, “but I know Spanish better.”
He was about to add that he had learned both
from his father. Then, remembering Mr. Stannart’s
warning to be careful when he talked to strangers,
Biff stated simply but truthfully:</p>
<p>“I have been studying Spanish in school.”</p>
<p>“You will need to speak Portuguese,” the man declared,
“if you are stopping off anywhere between
Belem and Manaus.” He paused inquiringly. Then,
getting no response, he added, “If you go farther up
the Amazon or any of its tributaries, you will need to
know the dialects of Indian tribes as well.”</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_5">5</div>
<p>The stranger’s easy, persuasive tone almost caused
Biff to remark that he was going on beyond Manaus.
But he caught himself in time and said nothing.</p>
<p>“You may have to talk fast, too,” Biff’s fellow passenger
continued. “Those tribes are often dangerous.
You are sure to find head-hunters among them.”</p>
<p>This time, Biff asked a question.</p>
<p>“Have you been among the head-hunters, sir?”</p>
<p>The stranger’s smile widened. “My name is Serbot,
Nicholas Serbot. And yours?”</p>
<p>“Bruce Brewster. My friends call me Biff.”</p>
<p>Nicholas Serbot inclined his head politely. “No, I
have never been among the head-hunters, Biff. I come
to Manaus occasionally to do business for some European
concerns that I represent. Mostly in rubber.”</p>
<p>“My dad is in Manaus,” Biff volunteered. “I’m
meeting him there.”</p>
<p>“Perhaps he will take you on a jungle safari. They
organize such trips in Manaus.”</p>
<p>“That sounds great!” exclaimed Biff. “I’ll mention
it to Dad!”</p>
<p>“Tell him to inquire at the Hotel Amazonas,” suggested
Serbot. “Meanwhile”—he leaned toward Biff
as he spoke—“you may find the scene below quite interesting.”</p>
<p>They had reached the head of the Para River, the
principal mouth of the Amazon, sixty miles above
Belem. The plane was thrumming over a gigantic
carpet of thickly tufted green, furrowed by a maze
of irregular streams.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_6">6</div>
<p>“The region of the Thousand Islands,” Serbot explained.
“Those channels that twist through the solid
jungle are called the Narrows. They come from the
main course of the Amazon, and most of them are
deep enough to be navigable.”</p>
<p>Below, Biff saw an ocean-going freighter working
up through a watery passage. It looked like a toy boat
from this altitude, and occasionally it was swallowed
by the thick foliage that jutted over the channel, only
to emerge from the green arcade.</p>
<p>Soon the boat was far behind, and Biff watched the
narrow channels widen and merge into a limitless,
white-capped sea—the great Amazon itself. Serbot’s
purring voice, and the steady drone of the plane’s
motors had a lulling effect. Biff’s eyes closed to avoid
the glare of the tropical sun; soon he was asleep. He
dreamed that he was back at Idlewild, with Mr. Stannart’s
voice repeating:</p>
<p>“Guard this letter as you would your life! Guard
this letter....”</p>
<p>In the dream, invisible fingers seemed to be plucking
the precious envelope, drawing it up and out of
Biff’s pocket. With a sudden start, Biff awoke and
shot his own hand to his pocket, where it met the
crinkle of paper.</p>
<p>The dream had been realistic in one respect. As he
dozed, Biff must have kept slumping down into his
seat, causing the envelope to work upward every time
he hunched his shoulders. A few inches more and it
would have fallen from his pocket.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_7">7</div>
<p>Or was that the answer? What if those phantom
fingers had been real instead of mere figments of a
dream!</p>
<p>As he thrust the envelope far down into his inside
pocket and buttoned his coat for safer keeping, Biff
Brewster shot a suspicious glance toward his companion
of the plane trip, the smooth-spoken man who
called himself Nicholas Serbot.</p>
<div class="pb" id="Page_8">8</div>
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