Free The Mysterious Ambassador by Lee Falk

smiled. This, obviously, was Diana's mysterious "good friend." The doctors were only puzzled. Somehow, they felt this strange appearance and place would somehow be explained ... as soon as the kissing stopped.
Luaga and the delegation had a different sensation.
They knew where they were. Jungle-bred, they were seeing for the first time a legend they'd heard about since earliest childhood. They were in a place forbidden by the jungle's most rigid taboo—the Deep Woods. Tales had filtered out occasionally through the years from the rare visitor who had actually seen it, or had pretended to—the Skull Cave, the skull throne, all sounding like a dream. Now, here it was, solid and real. And here he was—bigger than imagined, vigorous, and young. Such were the first impressions in this amazing place. The pygmies watched the warm greeting Diana received with some amazement. They'd never seen the Phantom like this. His anticipation and anxiety about Diana had been equal to hers. Their meeting was bound to be electric.
When their greeting was over and Diana's feet once more touched the ground, the Phantom met the others while she clung dizzily to his arm. He complimented Luaga on his election and the doctors on their work in ending the epidemic. They all stared at this masked man with astonishment. In this remote place, he seemed to know everything that had happened to them and to everyone else in the jungle and out of the jungle. The jungle folk have an old saying—the Phantom's eyes and ears are everywhere.
There was another surprise. The two pilots, Lanston and Osborne, came out of the cave and introduced themselves. And in a hut near the cave, Luaga was shown the four soldiers, now prisoners, who had shot down the helicopter. Then the recent arrivals sat in the sun on the ground before the skull throne to dry out. A feast was placed before them—fruit and nuts and berries from the woods, smoked meats, spring water and fruit juice. The pilots had already learned, to their annoyance, that no alcoholic drinks were served here.
As they ate, they talked and exchanged experiences. The pilots had also had the mad raft ride down the mountain stream. They told how they had been shot down, how they'd met the masked man in the woods, and how he had handled Bababu's gun crew. The medical team answered the Phantom's questions about their work in the village, and Luaga and the delegation spoke of Bababu and the civil war. And among the questions and answers, all noticed that the masked man said not one word about himself, nor did he offer any explanation about this place. After several hours of talking and feasting with him, though he was pleasant and friendly, he remained as unknown as the first moment they'd seen him.
What was to be done now? Word had come via radio that a second rescue team had arrived in Mawitaan and would come for the delegation.
"They must not come," said the Phantom. "Bababu will shoot them down as he did the first team."
All agreed on this. But then how would they get out of this dangerous jungle swarming with guerillas? Not only guerillas, the Phantom told them. Now, heavily armed companies of Bababu's army were entering the jungle to search for Luaga. What should be done? Luaga was anxious to return to Mawitaan to lead his people; the team was in a hurry to return to New York, and then to the Caribbean where another epidemic crisis awaited them.
Before any decisions were reached, a pygmy sentry ran to the Phantom and whispered to him.
"Excuse me now," he said. "The Council of Chiefs is arriving. You will all want to rest after your exhausting journey."
The team members and the delegation were led to huts where clean straw pallets awaited their tired bodies. Luaga wanted to join the conference, since it concerned him. But the Phantom asked him to stay out of sight. He wanted Luaga's presence here to remain unknown. Luaga went inside the Skull Cave, to the shadows where he could not be seen, and listened. Diana