Read Online Lost City of the Templars by Paul Christopher - Free Book Online

greatest case of misdirection in history. All three of his previous expeditions went south, but the fourth one goes north even though everyone thinks she’s going south again.”
    “Initially I don’t think it was misdirection. I think he found something else other than the three ships sent west full of treasure,” said Holliday, taking a healthy sip of the cold beer.
    “Such as?”
    “He went to three places to do his research: the maritime archives in Spain, the maritime archives in Portugal and the archives in Venice. Most of the ships built, purchased or leased were owned by the Zeno bothers, Antonio and Nicolo. The family had a monopoly on all ships going to the Holy Land.” Holliday took another hit from the can of beer. “He made a notation on the flyleaf of the journal on the page where he describes his trip to Venice, on the Orient Express, no less. I still haven’t figured it out.”
    “What volume is it in?” Rafi asked.
    “Two.”
    “Give me five minutes,” said Rafi, and disappeared. He was back in four. “Is this it?”
    “That’s the one,” said Holliday. He took the stapled photocopy from Rafi and flipped through the pages. “There,” he said, pointing. The notation read:
    P.D.A.TS 3731
    “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
    “Beats me.” Holliday shrugged.
    “May I see it?” Eddie asked. Rafi handed it over to the Cuban, who read it and then laughed. “No one noticed there was no period between
S
and
T
?”
    “What difference would that make?” Rafi asked.
    “Read the whole thing backward,” Eddie said. “It is a children’s code.”
    “ST.A.D.P. 1373,” Rafi said after a few seconds. “I still don’t get it.”
    “That is because you did not have a Catholic mother who dragged her youngest child to Mass even though Fidel forbid it.”
    “Tell us, then.”
    “San Antonio di Padua, patron saint of lost things, and my mother was always losing me because I was always running away.”
    “A Templar ship in 1373? That’s almost seventy years before the treasure ships left Portugal.”
    “Was he famous for finding anything in particular?” Holliday asked.
    Eddie nodded. “Most often he is associated with the
Arca de la Alianza
.”
    “The Ark of the Covenant,” whispered Rafi.
    “
Sí,
” said Eddie.
    “Holy shit,” said Rafi.
    A red speck appeared directly in front of them almost at eye level. Holliday could hear the distant grinding roar of turboprop engines. “A plane, flying low,” he said, squinting ahead. It slowly resolved itself into a high-winged, narrow flying boat. There was suddenly a series of twinkling lights on both wings.
    “No! No de nuevo!”
Eddie growled. He turned to Rafi. “Take the wheel!”
    Rafi did as he was told as Eddie turned and slammed open the door of the pilothouse cabin. He came out a few seconds later carrying the Stoner automatic rifle, the FN Maximi and two heavy belt ammunition boxes. He dropped the ammunition boxes out from under one arm and handed both weapons to Holliday. Eddie pushed up the trapdoor in the pilothouse roof and boosted himself through.
    “It looks like a water bomber,” said Rafi as the bloodred aircraft approached.
    “You see any forest fires?” Holliday asked. “And when does a water bomber have machine guns in its wings?”
    “What do I do?”
    “Head for the shore. Try to run her aground.”
    Eddie’s strong black arm appeared through the trapdoor and Holliday handed him the weapons and the ammo boxes one by one, then followed them through the opening. He boosted himself up and took the Maximi from Eddie, who was gripping the automatic rifle. Directly ahead of them the red boat-hulled bomber was almost skimming the water, the double machine guns in each of the high-slung wings now chewing into the bow of the riverboat.
    “She comes very low, this aircraft,” said Eddie, feeding a belt into the left-hand receiver of his weapon. Holliday did the same for the Maximi.
    “The Canadair has a