Read Online The Jungle Pyramid by Franklin W. Dixon - Free Book Online Page B

seemed about to choke off at any moment. He released the brake and chugged away from the hotel, dispensing tourist information as they rattled along.
    First he took them through Mexico City’s main square. “The Zocalo, ” he informed his passengers. “Our great plaza.”
    The area was dominated by the cathedral. They saw the national palace, the library, the School of Fine Arts, and other public buildings in and around the plaza.
    Traffic whizzed every which way. Their guide stepped on the gas and headed into it. His passengers braced themselves as he raced ahead of one car and braked sharply to avoid another.
    â€œChet, this is worse than your jalopy!” Biff muttered out of the comer of his mouth.
    They reached a beautiful broad boulevard. The car bumped along past trees, office buildings, crowds of pedestrians, and benches where tourists and citizens relaxed. Next came the markets of Mexico City, colorful areas with shops and outdoor stalls. Most of the vendors were selling fruits and vegetables.
    In the Merced Market, Chet tapped the driver on the shoulder and told him to stop. Juan pulled into a side street.
    â€œWhat’s up, Chet?” Frank asked.
    â€œCome on. I’ll show you.”
    They got out and followed him as he walked to a stall with succulent Mexican dishes. The aroma of tacos, tortillas, enchiladas, and chili filled their nostrils. Chet closed his eyes and inhaled rapturously.
    â€œWe might have known,” Joe said with a chuckle. “Chet never passes up any chow.”
    â€œI’m with him this time,” Frank said.
    The rest echoed the sentiment. They ordered a tortilla for each, including the driver, then strolled around the market, examining stall after stall. Juan talked to them animatedly, and occasionally conversed with the merchants in Spanish.
    Chet, Biff, and Tony paused to look at some prints of Mexico City. Frank and Joe wandered down a side street into a dingy alley.
    â€œSeñores, permit me to tell your fortune!” The speaker was an old woman with piercing black eyes and a black lace veil over her hair. Her shop had an astrological chart of the heavens on the open door. “Señores, only a few pesos!” she urged them.
    They went in and found her shelves covered with curios—herbs to be distilled for poisons, signs of the zodiac, and dolls with pins stuck in them.
    The woman grabbed Joe’s hand and began to read his palm. “You have had a recent misfortune,” she said in a singsong voice.
    Joe rubbed his jaw, which was still sore from Rumble Murphy’s punch. “Right,” he replied.
    Frank extended his hand. “How about reading my future?” he suggested.
    The woman surveyed his palm. Her eyes narrowed. “What do I see here?”
    â€œThat’s what I want to know,” Frank said.
    â€œMuch gold!”
    The Hardys were startled. They tried to query the woman. Finding she would say no more, they paid her and left the shop.
    â€œCould she know about the gold we’re after?” Joe wondered.
    â€œAnything’s possible,” was Frank’s opinion.
    The Mexican guide continued the sightseeing tour by driving to Chapultepec Park, a broad green area of woods and a lagoon, where entire families were enjoying the outdoors. Children played amid multicolored shrubs, bushes, and flowers. Fountains spouted water.
    â€œChapultepec,” the guide said. “That word means ‘grasshopper’ in the Aztec language.”
    His battered car huffed and puffed as he pointed it up the hill. At the top he parked in the grounds of Chapultepec Castle, a white stone building with rounded arches and a tall oblong tower. A piece of sculpture on the terrace represented a huge grasshopper.
    Inside, the visitors were streaming through the various halls. The boys from Bayport joined them. They saw costumes worn in Mexico City since Aztec times and the apartment once occupied by Emperor