The Curse of the Ancient Emerald Read Online Free PDF Page A

said?” asked Chet.
    â€œThe Phantom,” I replied in a low voice.
    Chet looked between Frank and me. “I knew it! You guys have another mystery on your hands, don’t you?”
    Frank nodded. Chet groaned. “Getting involved in this kind of stuff is bad for my health. It’s all robbers and men with guns, and chases along cliff-top roads, and . . . and being stuffed inside clocks. It’s not good for me.”
    â€œSo what’s this one about?” asked Amber.
    Frank sighed and quickly filled Chet and Amber in on everything that had happened since the theft at the museum.
    â€œAnd this is the next riddle,” said Amber excitedly. She read it again and jotted it down in one of her schoolbooks.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” I asked.
    â€œWhat does it look like? We can help you with the riddle. Four heads are better than two. Right, Chet?”
    Chet let his head drop to the table with a groan.
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    After school Frank and I decided to head out to the Bayport Correctional Facility. There was still a chance we were wrong that the riddle sender was the Phantom. If he was behind bars, obviously it wasn’t him.
    â€œUnless,” began Frank as we drove slowly through the high gates, “he has someone doing his work on the outside. A protégé or something.”
    â€œYou always have to complicate things,” I said with a smile as we parked the car.
    Once we were inside the facility’s administration building, everything felt subdued. We’d been here before on cases, and I’d hated it.
    Frank approached the front desk. “Frank and Joe Hardy to see Jack Kruger.”
    The official checked a sheet of paper on the desk before him. “You’re not on the visitors’ list.”
    â€œCan you check again?” he asked.
    â€œNo need. You’re not on the list.” The guard frowned. “Who did you say you were visiting?”
    â€œJack Kruger,” Frank repeated.
    The guard looked surprised. “Kruger? He was released eight months ago.”
    â€œOh,” said Frank. “I see. I don’t suppose you have a forwarding address? We’re doing a school project on rehabilitation in prison and thought he’d be great to talk to.”
    The guard shook his head. “Sorry, boys. That’s not information I can give out.”
    â€œReally?” I said. “Because he’s a criminal. Surely it’s our right to know where he lives.”
    The guard leaned on his desk. “First, he’s not a criminal anymore. He did his time. And second, no , it’s not your right. He has a right to privacy. Got it?”
    I opened my mouth to argue, but Frank shook his head. I sighed with frustration. It looked like we had no choice but to crack the riddle.
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    Chet and Amber were waiting outside our house when we got home. I have to say, I didn’t mind that much. Amber had been right: Four heads were better than two. And a head as pretty as hers . . . well, let’s just say I had no complaints if she wanted to hang around.
    We gathered in the living room, each with our own copy of the riddle. There was something about one of the lines that was tickling the back of my mind. The Wandering Warrior. I’d heard that phrase before. But where?
    â€œThe Masterless Man,” said Amber. “Something to do with slavery? An ex-slave?”
    â€œOr an ex-butler,” said Frank. “Don’t old-fashioned butlers call their bosses Master?”
    â€œWhat about something to do with a master’s degree?” suggested Chet.
    â€œIt’s the Wandering Warrior I keep going back to,” I said. “I’m sure I’ve heard it before.”
    â€œA knight?” suggested Amber.
    â€œA Jedi knight?” put in Chet eagerly.
    I frowned and leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes to think. The Wandering Warrior. It