A mysterious visitor, a secret parcel, and globe-trotting spies

For the first time, I was going to see the bold, courageous, and mysterious Matt Barnes. He disappeared from civilization for years at a time. Where had he been--the Mendenhall Ice Caves in Alaska? Pharaoh's Treasury in Jordan's Petra? Wherever he had been, he suddenly reappeared. What would coax Matt Barnes to return to the civilized world?

Then Matt Barnes stepped into view. Under a brimmed hat and long leathery overcoat, the superhero globetrotter was here. But Matt Barnes came and went in a single night. He disappeared again, leaving me a mysterious package--the wrapping had no name, address, or markings to show where it came from. And I quickly discovered I wasn't the only one who desperately wanted what was inside.