The Gold Mystery

The Gold Mystery
Produced for:	Fantomen 16/1977
# of pgs:	32
Writer:	Janne Lundström
Artist:	Heiner Bade
Original colorist:	N/A
Producer:	Semic

"The Gold Mystery" is a 1977 Team Fantomen story, written by Janne Lundström, with art by Heiner Bade.

Plot summary

A transport plane with captain Pedersen takes off from Heathrow in England with Morristown as destination. The plane is carrying 700 kilos of gold. From Morristown control tower the operators can see the plane going past them and continuing over the sea. The plane disappears off the radar. Caleb and Oona Kagoda are on their yacht at sea when the plane crashes nearby. Caleb put on his diving gear and finds the plane on the bottom of the sea. The pilot is missing and the cargo hold is empty.

Later that night when the Kagodas return to their office in Morristown harbour, they are attacked by an unknown man who sets fire to their boat. The Phantom has listened to the search for the missing airplane in the radio control room. Later that night he saves the Kagodas from being murdered. In their office they speak about the mystery of the missing plane, the missing cargo and how the plane could crash far beyond its range. Meanwhile two men are watching the office from the shadows.

The Phantom visits President Luaga who tells him that the gold belongs to Bengali who intended to use it for urgently needed food and medicine. The Phantom then visits captain Pedersen's apartment. He finds a photo of Pedersen with a tall crewcut man. Somebody tries to shoot him from outside and the Phantom leaves the apartment. Using the photo he learns that the man on the photo is pilot Chris Andersen. He manages to locate Andersen very quickly when Andersen tries to run him over with a lorry. Kaleb Kagoda also identifies the man on the photo as the man who tried to murder the Kagoda's the previous night.

The Phantom leaves Morristown harbour with the Kagodas. He scouts the coastal mountains where the plane may have disappeared for a few days, successfully locating a secret air strip with an underground hangar. He finds the Kagodas tied up and surrenders his pistols. The crooks tie up his hands, then tell him how they managed to steal the gold using two identical planes.

The next day the Phantom and the Kagodas are left tied in the cave. They manage to escape just before bombs destroy the cave. The Phantom manages to locate the bad guys, beat them up and return the gold.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• The 21st Phantom
• Caleb Kagoda
• Oona Kagoda
• Guran
• Toma
• Lamanda Luaga
• Devil
• Hero

One-time characters

• Evan Pedersen
• Chris Andersen
• Blackie
• Landstroem
• Abdul

Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Heathrow airport
• Sotobar (mentioned)
• Bengali
  • Morristown
    • Morristown Airport
    • Morristown harbour
    • Morristown Presidential Palace
  • Coral Sea
    • Patusan island (mentioned)
  • The Deep Woods
    • The Skull Cave
      • The Radio Control Room

Organizations

• Bengali coast guard
• Benga Trans Air

Vehicles

• The Jungle Express

Related stories

Refers to

• "Secret of the Swamp" by Janne Lundström and Jaime Vallvé
• "Death in the Sky" by Ulf Granberg and Jaime Vallvé

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Denmark

• "Guldmysteriet", Fantomet #112 (1979)
• "Guldmysteriet", Fantomet Krønike #10 (1996)

Finland

• "Kulta-arvoitus", Mustanaamio 26/1977
• "Kulta-arvoitus", Mustanaamio 17/1988

Norway

• "Gullmysteriet", Fantomet 25/1977

Sweden

• "Guldmysteriet", Fantomen 16/1977
• "Guldmysteriet", Fantomen 14/1988

West Germany

• "Das Gold der grünen Hölle", Phantom #230 (1983)
• "Das Gold der grünen Hölle", Phantom Super-band #1064