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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Pirates of Shan, by Harold Leland Goodwin
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Pirates of Shan
+
+Author: Harold Leland Goodwin
+
+Release Date: April 19, 2010 [EBook #32059]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PIRATES OF SHAN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                        THE PIRATES OF SHAN
+
+                A RICK BRANT SCIENCE-ADVENTURE STORY
+
+                          BY JOHN BLAINE
+
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS
+NEW YORK, N. Y.
+1958
+
+ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
+
+_Printed in the United States of America_
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _Rick wielded the kris with deadly effect_]
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+I THE MISSING SCIENTISTS
+
+II THE HINDU MERCHANT
+
+III BAGOBO COUNTRY
+
+IV THE HEADMAN'S SECRET
+
+V TRAIL OF THE "SAMPAGUITA"
+
+VI THE MAN IN THE RED FEZ
+
+VII NEWS AT ZAMBOANGA
+
+VIII THE "SWIFT ARROW"
+
+IX THE MORO KNIVES
+
+X SOUTH OF SULU
+
+XI THE DANCING PIRATES
+
+XII SEARCH THE WIDE SEAS
+
+XIII THE TWO DATUS
+
+XIV THE HIGH FIRE
+
+XV PLAN OF ATTACK
+
+XVI THE BLACK CLIFF
+
+XVII THE RADIO LINK
+
+XVIII UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS
+
+XIX CHAHDA SWEEPS THE SEA
+
+XX THE PATROL TAKES OVER
+
+
+
+
+List of Illustrations
+
+
+_Rick wielded the kris with deadly effect_
+
+_The warrior shook Rick's hand and smiled_
+
+_The man's back was tattooed with a strange design_
+
+"_All hands on deck! Pirates!_"
+
+_A sudden jerk would attract the guard's attention_
+
+_Rick braced himself for the shock_
+
+
+
+
+THE PIRATES OF SHAN
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+The Missing Scientists
+
+
+"We'd better do something," Rick Brant stated grimly, "and we'd better
+do it fast." He picked up a stone and threw it far out into the green
+waters of the Atlantic, a gesture that did little to relieve his worry
+and anxiety.
+
+Don Scott, nicknamed Scotty, said soothingly, "I know how you feel. I
+feel the same way. But don't forget that Dad is just as worried as we
+are--maybe even more so, because he feels responsible. Besides, I don't
+think we have long to wait, not with Colonel Rojas here."
+
+Rick knew that his dark-haired pal was right, but inaction, even under
+ordinary circumstances, made him restless, and now that two staff
+scientists had mysteriously disappeared, his normal desire to keep
+things moving swiftly was augmented by fear for their safety.
+
+The Spindrift Scientific Foundation, with headquarters on famed
+Spindrift Island off the New Jersey coast, was regarded by most people
+as a typical group of scientists, impersonal and efficient, who
+sometimes made important discoveries or got involved in scientific
+adventures. But the picture of the Foundation, given mostly through
+impersonal scientific publications, was wrong.
+
+The scientific efficiency and purpose of Spindrift could not be denied.
+But what the public failed to appreciate was that the staff, headed by
+Rick Brant's scientist father, was more like a family than a
+corporation. The center of activity was the big Brant house and the
+adjoining laboratory on Spindrift Island. The scientists were not only
+colleagues, but close personal friends.
+
+As a consequence, when the staff zoologist, Dr. Howard Shannon, and the
+staff archaeologist, Dr. Anthony Briotti, failed to turn up on schedule
+from an expedition to the Sulu Sea, the entire Foundation became
+personally concerned. All work stopped while the staff speculated on
+what might have happened, what course of action to take.
+
+Rick Brant and his pal Scotty were particularly upset when the days
+passed and Hartson Brant failed to decide on a course of action. Rick
+knew, of course, that his father was proceeding logically, obtaining
+information by cable and phone from the Philippines, but he resented the
+passing days.
+
+"I'm glad Rojas is here," Rick said. "That must mean Dad is making up
+his mind. And you know what I hope, don't you?"
+
+"Same as I do. But don't hope too much. Maybe Dad will decide this is a
+job for professionals, and not for us."
+
+Hartson Brant had returned only a few minutes ago from a hurried trip to
+New York. He had brought with him Colonel Felix Rojas of the Philippines
+Constabulary. The tall, slender officer was at present on duty with his
+country's United Nations delegation. He was an old friend, dating back
+to the adventure of _The Golden Skull_ when Rick, Scotty, Chahda, and
+Tony Briotti had gone to the fabulous rice terraces of Ifugao.
+
+The colonel was having a belated lunch with Dr. and Mrs. Brant, and
+Rick's father had indicated politely but firmly that the two boys were
+not to broach the subject of the missing scientists until the colonel
+had finished eating. Dr. Brant had promised to call them for the meeting
+which was to take place immediately after lunch. Both boys were so
+impatient for the meeting to begin that it seemed to them the others
+were taking an unduly long time to consume the meal.
+
+"Rick, Scotty. Come on into the library."
+
+The boys turned swiftly at Hartson Brant's call and hurried from the
+waterfront to the big Brant house. As they entered, Hobart Zircon was
+just coming down the stairs from his room. The distinguished nuclear
+physicist greeted them with a comradely wink. "So you two are attending
+the meeting too, eh? I have an idea we may be joining forces again."
+
+Zircon had shared many adventures with the boys. More than once, his
+enormous size and legendary strength had gotten them out of a tight
+spot. The physicist was considerably over six feet tall and built like a
+fighting bull, and he had a booming voice that fitted his physique.
+
+Hartson Brant introduced Zircon to Colonel Rojas, waved the group to
+seats, and got down to business. He addressed the Filipino officer.
+"First, let me say for all of us that we are indebted to you for leaving
+your office on such short notice to give us the benefit of your advice
+and counsel."
+
+"It is nothing. If I can be of help, I will be grateful. Perhaps if you
+will start at the beginning, it will clarify things."
+
+The scientist nodded assent. "I'll be glad to. As I told you on the way
+over, two of our staff members are missing. You know one of them--Dr.
+Anthony Briotti. The other is Dr. Howard Shannon, our zoologist. Tony,
+of course, is an archaeologist. They departed for the Sulu Sea several
+weeks ago on a joint expedition to try to find new evidence for a theory
+of migration of the early peoples in the Pacific."
+
+Hobart Zircon added, "We started on this theory some time ago with a
+trip to an island in the western Pacific. Dr. Briotti continued that
+work during the rice-terrace expedition. I believe you met him then."
+
+"I did," Colonel Rojas agreed. "How is the present expedition connected
+with your previous work? The combination of an archaeologist and a
+zoologist seems unusual."
+
+"Tony has determined that the origins of the Bajaus, the Sea Gypsies of
+Sulu, may be of importance," Hartson Brant explained. "In addition, he
+wanted to check some details of Bagobo culture. Dr. Shannon hoped to
+contribute some evidence based on the early migration of some animals
+from the Asia mainland to the islands."
+
+Colonel Rojas nodded. "I understand. The presence of some animals may
+show that a land bridge existed between Sulu and the mainland across
+which the early peoples may have migrated."
+
+"Exactly. I'm sure you also know that our staff has been co-operating
+with Dr. Remedios Okola of the University of the Philippines. It was
+from him we learned that our friends had vanished, when they failed to
+keep an important appointment."
+
+"You know their itinerary?"
+
+"Yes. They flew to Manila and spent a few days with Dr. Okola. At that
+time he persuaded them to revise their schedule, to return to Manila
+long enough to join him on a trip to the rice terraces. They flew to
+Zamboanga, chartered a boat of some sort, and sailed to Davao by way of
+Cotabato. They were supposed to leave the boat at Davao and fly back to
+Manila to take the trip with Okola, after which they would return to
+Davao, pick up the boat, and go into the Sulu Sea." The scientist's lips
+tightened, then he added, "They never kept the appointment with Okola!"
+
+"What did Okola do about it?"
+
+"He got in touch with the constabulary and asked for a check on their
+whereabouts, thinking they might have been delayed. The constabulary at
+Davao reported that Shannon and Briotti had reached Davao and hired a
+truck to take them to a Bagobo village. The truck driver let them off at
+a foot trail to the village. No one has seen them since."
+
+Rojas rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You have heard from the American
+consulate at Manila?"
+
+"Yes, by phone, on the same day I talked with Okola. The consulate has
+asked your government for help. However, yesterday I received a cable
+stating that a second investigation has uncovered nothing new. It
+appears that both our governments have done all they can, but obviously
+we cannot stop there. So I have decided to send Dr. Zircon, with Rick
+and Scotty, to hunt for our friends."
+
+Rick and Scotty exchanged relieved glances. It was what they had hoped
+and expected.
+
+The colonel nodded. "I have not had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Zircon
+until now, but I have seen Rick and Scotty in action. They are
+resourceful, and they are lucky--two necessary qualities for a
+expedition such as this. Do you also plan to use their Hindu friend,
+Chahda?"
+
+Rick leaned forward anxiously. He had suggested getting Chahda to help
+out several days ago, but his father was at that time waiting for
+further word from the American consulate. Chahda, a one-time Bombay
+beggar boy, had been a close friend since the Tibet relay expedition. He
+was a real wizard at uncovering information.
+
+"Yes," Hartson Brant replied. "I have sent him a cable, through his
+organization, but he has not yet replied."
+
+Chahda was now a combination assistant and secretary to the chief Far
+East agent for JANIG, the secret government agency charged with the
+protection of United States top secrets. The Hindu boy's boss, Carl
+Bradley, was an old friend of Hartson Brant. Rick knew that Bradley
+would release Chahda at once, if assistance to Spindrift was involved,
+not only because of his friendship for the Brants, but because the
+island scientists had once helped to solve a case for the Far East
+agent. Chahda would be especially helpful in the search for the missing
+scientists, because he knew his way around the Philippines and had
+friends there. It occurred to Rick that his father had probably wired
+Chahda, in care of Bradley, via the Spindrift contact in JANIG--Special
+Agent Steve Ames.
+
+Colonel Rojas lighted a Manila cigar and settled back in his chair.
+"First of all, let us examine the area in which your friends have
+disappeared. Davao is on the island of Mindanao, the largest in the
+Philippines. It is peaceful, for the most part, even though we have a
+mixture of Moros, Christians, and pagans there."
+
+Rick knew about the Moros, Filipinos of the Moslem faith. They were
+known as valiant and deadly fighting men. The pagans were primitive
+people, like the Bagobos.
+
+"Davao is a large, fairly modern city. But once outside of the city
+itself, the country becomes wild. Some of the Bagobo villages are quite
+close to Davao. They are peaceful folk, and quite harmless, but there
+are savages in the back country who may not be."
+
+"Perhaps we should take arms," Zircon said.
+
+"I would say so. At least a rifle and a sidearm of some kind."
+
+Scotty spoke up. "I can take my rifle."
+
+"And I can borrow Hartson's forty-five automatic," Zircon added. "That
+should be enough."
+
+"True," the colonel agreed. "You can always call on the constabulary for
+help. I will give you letters to all commanding officers in the area."
+
+Rick knew that would open many doors, because Rojas was not only a
+former commandant of the constabulary, but popular with the entire
+force.
+
+"How about clothing, Colonel?" Rick asked.
+
+"I assume you will go by air. That means very little baggage. One
+tropical suit and the rest rough clothing would be my suggestion."
+
+Scotty changed the subject. "Sir, have you any idea what might have
+happened to our friends?"
+
+The officer shrugged. "No more than you have. Scientists generally are
+not rich enough to rob, but they are not so poor that they can be harmed
+with impunity. Robbery is always possible, although unlikely, with one
+exception. Did they have any weapons with them?"
+
+"Shannon had a hunting bow and arrows," Mr. Brant replied. "He planned
+to collect some specimens. Briotti had no weapon at all."
+
+"Then that eliminates the only robbery possibility I can think of. Had
+they been well armed, Moros might have attacked to get their weapons.
+The Moro loves weapons of all kinds, and may even kill to get them--a
+point you might remember."
+
+Rick shook his head. "It's hard to imagine why anyone would want to harm
+them--if anyone did. I think we'd better get to Mindanao as soon as
+possible. When do we leave, Dad?"
+
+"Tomorrow night, son. I made reservations for you while I was in New
+York this morning."
+
+"Are we going to take special equipment?" Scotty asked.
+
+Rick had been thinking about that very point. "I'm planning to take the
+Megabuck network. It will be useful if we have to separate."
+
+The little network of three miniature radio units, transmitters, and
+receivers combined, had been of invaluable help in rounding up a group
+of foreign agents bent on stealing the plans for a United States
+intercontinental ballistic missile.
+
+The unusual name, Megabuck, had grown out of a joke Rick had conceived
+about a "million bucks" television quiz program. Two of the sets were
+pocket size, and used hearing-aid-type earphones. The third had been
+made in the form of an ornamental hair band for Rick's sister Barby to
+wear. The tiny microphone worked by sound induction through the bones of
+the head. The earphone was incorporated into one end of the band.
+
+Zircon and Scotty agreed that the radio units might come in handy, and
+the physicist added, "I have a pocket-size, battery-operated wire
+recorder I use for making notes. I think I'll take that. It may be
+helpful for recording conversations for later translation."
+
+"A good idea," the colonel approved. "The local dialect is called
+Chebucano. Of course many people speak some English. Have you an atlas?
+I think it might be useful if we went over a map of Mindanao and the
+Sulu Sea area."
+
+The map study was very helpful. The three absorbed Colonel Rojas' fund
+of information about the area. It was a part of the world none of them
+had ever seen, located only a few degrees above the Equator in the deep
+tropics. To the west of Mindanao was the Sulu Sea, with the Celebes Sea
+to the south. The widely scattered centers of civilization had famous,
+imagination-stirring names, like Jolo, Tawi Tawi, Cotabato, and
+Zamboanga.
+
+Later, the Filipino officer dictated letters of introduction to Rick's
+sister Barby, a pretty blond girl a year younger than her brother. Barby
+took the dictation directly on the typewriter. Once the letters were
+signed and turned over to Dr. Zircon, Hartson Brant escorted the colonel
+to the mainland, where arrangements had been made for a local taxi
+service to drive him back to New York. Rojas' parting statement was
+"This affair worries me. I shall be most interested in developments, and
+you may hear from me sooner than you think."
+
+Later, Scotty and Rick gathered in the latter's room and talked while
+loading the radio units with fresh batteries.
+
+"Wonder how long it will take to hear from Chahda?" Rick asked.
+
+"Depends on where he is and how fast Steve Ames can get a message to
+him. He'll join us if he can. You can bet on it."
+
+"I hope so," Rick said thoughtfully. "We'll be in Manila in a couple of
+days, and we'll need him. We've got a job ahead of us, because Tony and
+Shannon aren't lost. You can be sure of that. They're not the kind to
+get lost. And if they had been in an accident of some kind we'd have
+heard."
+
+"Meaning what?"
+
+Rick's eyes met Scotty's. "That leaves only one logical answer, doesn't
+it? They've either been killed or captured!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+The Hindu Merchant
+
+
+Thirty-six hours later, after a grueling transcontinental--trans-Pacific
+flight with only the briefest of stops to change planes, Rick, Scotty,
+and Zircon were in Manila. Their stay in Manila only three hours old,
+they had already visited the American consulate and found that no new
+information on the missing scientists had been received; they had
+arranged a luncheon date with Dr. Okola, and had reserved space on
+Philippine Airlines to Davao on the following morning.
+
+Rick paced the floor, sipping a glass of fresh limeade, made with
+_calamansi_, the tiny, pungent local limes. His time for the past three
+days had been spent alternately dozing and thinking about the problem of
+the missing scientists. The more he wondered about their strange
+disappearance, the more worried he became.
+
+"There's simply no reason for it," he said aloud.
+
+Scotty looked up from the chair in which he was reading the Manila
+_Times_. The husky ex-Marine didn't have to be told what his pal was
+thinking. "No reason we can see," he agreed. "But there has to be a
+reason."
+
+Hobart Zircon spoke from the desk where he was writing a note to Hartson
+Brant. "You might remember, Rick, that we've been on other expeditions
+where the reason for certain events was just as puzzling."
+
+Rick knew the kind of events the physicist meant. Only a few dozen yards
+from this very room, in the ancient walled city across the street, he
+and Scotty had been under rifle fire for a reason they couldn't have
+guessed at the time.
+
+"Listen to this," Scotty said suddenly. He read from the newspaper.
+"'The American consulate reported today that three members of the
+Spindrift Foundation staff have arrived in Manila to begin a search for
+the American scientists reported missing a short time ago. The
+scientists disappeared north of Davao.' End of item."
+
+"That's short and to the point," Rick commented a little bitterly. "They
+certainly don't make much fuss over two missing Americans, do they?"
+
+"And it's on page seventeen," Scotty added. He folded the paper back to
+the front page. "Look at this headline."
+
+Across the top of the front page was emblazoned: WHERE IS ELPIDIO
+TORRES?
+
+"Who's he?" Rick asked.
+
+"A Filipino kid. He ran away, got lost, or got kidnaped. No one knows
+which. His father is a big sugar operator and politician. The kid has
+been gone for weeks, but the paper is still playing it up at the top of
+page one."
+
+Rick snorted. "Headlines for one Filipino boy and page seventeen for two
+American scientists. Some contrast!"
+
+Hobart Zircon fixed a stamp to his letter and walked over to the boys.
+"You're not thinking straight, Rick. Suppose two Filipino scientists
+were lost in the Rocky Mountains, and the son of a leading American
+citizen was missing. How would our own papers play it?"
+
+Rick had to grin. "Emphasis on the local boy, I suppose. You're right,
+Professor. I'm just upset. I'd hoped for more from the consul this
+morning."
+
+The vice-consul in charge of the case had nothing to add to what they
+already knew, and had slim hope of obtaining more information. The
+American ambassador had received assurances from the Philippines
+government that all possible aid would be given to the Spindrift search
+party, and that the constabulary would not give up the hunt. No more
+could be done. The American consulate had no resources with which to
+conduct a search.
+
+"Come on," Zircon said. "It's time for lunch. Dr. Okola will be arriving
+in a few minutes."
+
+"All right. But I wish we could really get started on our search, or
+find someone who could help us. Even Chahda hasn't shown up. We haven't
+even had a reply to Dad's message."
+
+As they went down to the dining room Scotty pointed out that Chahda
+might be very hard to reach. "For all we know, he could be in the
+interior of Malaya, or some unlikely place. He would come if he could,
+Rick."
+
+Rick knew Scotty was right. Chahda had proved his loyalty and friendship
+more than once. Just the same, he had hoped Chahda would come. The Hindu
+boy with his "Worrold Alm-in-ack" education, as he called it, could be a
+great help. Chahda had not only memorized the entire _World Almanac_,
+but he seemed to have a sixth sense about people and places that was
+always a source of amazement to Rick and Scotty.
+
+Lunch with Dr. Okola was pleasant, even though it did nothing to advance
+the search. Rick and Scotty reminisced about _The Golden Skull_
+expedition with the Filipino archaeologist and enjoyed the hour. They
+parted with Dr. Okola's assurances that he was ready to help in any way
+he could.
+
+As Rick unlocked the door of their room after lunch, he said, "I guess
+it's up to us to..." He stopped with a yell of delight as the door
+swung open. Seated by the window, waiting for them, was a slim,
+brown-skinned boy in a turban. Chahda!
+
+The Hindu boy pounded them in glee, then shook hands with Zircon. "It is
+good for old friends to meet," Chahda declared, "even in such unhappying
+soaking-stances."
+
+"Circumstances," Rick corrected automatically. "Why didn't you wire? We
+thought JANIG hadn't been able to get our message to you."
+
+"I was in Singapore with my boss, Carl Bradley," Chahda explained. "When
+your message comes, he says go now, Chahda. By the time a message back
+catches them, so will you. You know, he right? I get here before you,
+already two days now."
+
+"Two days!" Scotty exclaimed. "What have you been doing?"
+
+Chahda bowed. "Scotty, please to be speckfull. You now speak to Raman
+Sunda, salesman of cloths."
+
+"I'll show proper speck," Scotty said with a grin. "Do you mean
+clothes?"
+
+"Not clothes. Cloths. Tax-tills."
+
+"Textiles," Zircon boomed. "Chahda, what on earth does a Hindu textile
+salesman have to do with finding Briotti and Shannon?"
+
+"Plenty do with, Professor. In this country is plenty Hindus like me.
+Many sell tax-tills. So I travel, and listen. Yes?"
+
+Rick still didn't get it. "But why, Chahda?"
+
+"We face fact you like so much, Rick. Okay? This is country of
+brown-skinned people, like me. People talk to me when they not talk to
+you. So I go alone to Davao, on island of Mindanao. Is big city, says in
+'Alm-in-ack.' Has 111,263 peoples. Some maybe know something, so my
+friends here, they send me to friend in Davao. He helps me meet people
+who can maybe help some more. Okay?"
+
+"I should have known," Rick said with admiration. "Leave it to you to
+dig up an angle."
+
+Chahda winked. "Among Hindus is always ideas. Now, I go Davao tonight.
+You coming too? Okay. You stay at Apo View Hotel. Is very good. I stay
+there, too. We not knowing each other for little while, I think. That is
+why I come into your room with special key my boss gives me to open many
+doors. Better I work alone for now."
+
+Scotty asked, "How much do you know about our friends' disappearance,
+Chahda?"
+
+The Hindu boy launched into a concise and rapid summary. Rick wasn't
+surprised to find that Chahda knew everything they had found out.
+
+"You never fail to amaze me," Zircon boomed.
+
+Rick went to his suitcase and drew out the unit of the Megabuck network
+he had made for Barby. He explained its operation to Chahda, who
+promptly slid it under his turban where no one could see it.
+
+"Sahib Brant plenty smart to make this," Chahda intoned. "Poor native
+boy salutes mighty scientist!" He ducked Rick's return swing.
+
+Dr. Zircon had gone to his own suitcase. He returned with his
+pocket-size wire recorder and handed it to Chahda. "I brought this to
+record conversations in other languages. I think you might stimulate
+more interesting talk than we could, Chahda. It will record for an hour
+on a single spool."
+
+Chahda took the gadget and checked its operation. Rick was amused to see
+that the "poor native boy" figured it out in something less than a
+minute, and put it casually in his coat pocket.
+
+"We meet in Davao," Chahda said. He shook hands all around, then paused
+at the door. "Please, you good friends. I see you worry plenty. We find
+Tony and Dr. Shannon. You see." He opened the door and was gone.
+
+Rick breathed a sigh of relief. "I feel better," he stated. "Just seeing
+him again makes me feel good."
+
+"I agree," Zircon said, "and so does Scotty. Now, we will do a little
+sight-seeing. I haven't been in downtown Manila for twenty years. We'll
+only worry and fret if we stay in this hotel room, so let's go."
+
+The three taxied through the old walled city, then across the Pasig
+River and into Manila proper. They inspected the Escolta, principal
+street in the shopping area, then headed for Quiapo Square to see the
+great cathedral and the shops. Traffic was heavy, so they paid the taxi
+driver and got out and walked.
+
+As they crossed a pedestrian overpass by the cathedral, Scotty said
+quietly, "In case you were feeling neglected, you can stop. We're being
+tailed." Rick and Zircon were too experienced to pause or show interest.
+Scotty added, "There's quite a mob on the sidewalk once we get down from
+this bridge. Push right into it. I'll drop out and intercept him. If
+we're being tailed, we want to know why."
+
+The plan was executed smoothly. Rick was never sure when Scotty melted
+into a convenient doorway. After a moment he stopped and looked around.
+He was in time to see Scotty step from the doorway and confront a small,
+poorly dressed man who wore a red fez.
+
+Rick and Zircon were at Scotty's side in an instant.
+
+The man in the red fez reached for a pocket, and Rick tensed to swing if
+necessary. But the man only drew out a cardboard pillbox. "Plenty
+bargain for Americans," he announced. "Me Moro from Sulu. My cousin best
+pearl diver in Jolo. He get real pearl, I sell. You look."
+
+He opened the pillbox. Rick saw a half dozen pearls of assorted sizes.
+
+"We're not interested," Zircon said flatly. "Sorry. Come on, boys."
+
+They walked away, leaving the Moro staring after them.
+
+Zircon chuckled. "A common thing, as I recall it. I also seem to
+remember that most of the pearl-selling Moros in Manila are not genuine.
+They're Visayans from Cebu trying to sell phony pearls to tourists."
+
+"But he was trailing us," Scotty insisted.
+
+"I don't doubt it in the least," Zircon replied. "He was probably sizing
+us up to see if we're tourists or local Americans. Is he trailing us
+now?"
+
+Scotty took advantage of a plate-glass window to survey the street
+behind them. "Not that I can see," he admitted.
+
+"All right. Let's not be jumpy, boys. Of course we want to know if, or
+why, anyone is shadowing us, but I think we have the answer in this
+case. Let's let it go at that."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+Bagobo Country
+
+
+By ten o'clock on the following morning Rick and his friends were
+jouncing along a twisting, bumpy road into the foothills of Mindanao.
+They had risen with the dawn and taken Philippines Airlines, PAL for
+short, to Davao. On arrival they had checked in at the Apo View Hotel
+and had lost no time in finding local constabulary headquarters.
+
+Major Paulo Lacson, in charge of the detachment, had instantly ordered a
+pair of command cars. Before the Spindrifters quite realized it, they
+were whisked out of town, en route to the point where Briotti and
+Shannon had vanished. Colonel Rojas' letter of introduction had really
+worked magic.
+
+Rick stared out at the tropical landscape, and toward the peak of Mount
+Apo, an active volcano over nine thousand feet high, but he didn't
+really notice details. In a short while they would be at what he
+considered the real start of their search.
+
+The major drove the lead car, with Zircon in front beside him. Rick and
+Scotty occupied the rear seat. In the second car were four armed,
+enlisted men. As the small convoy roared toward the town of Calinan,
+Major Lacson told them all he knew of the case. It was the same
+information the three had already received, naturally enough, since
+their information had been based on the officer's reports.
+
+Rick shook his head worriedly. If Lacson, obviously an intelligent and
+efficient officer, could find out no more, how could three strangers?
+
+The command car whisked by an abacá plantation, with mile after mile of
+lush green bananalike abacá plants extending into the foothills.
+
+"Look." Scotty pointed at drying racks on which Manila hemp fiber,
+product of the abacá, was drying. The fiber was a honey blond shade.
+
+"It's just the color of Barby's hair," Rick exclaimed.
+
+Major Lacson explained, "Abacá is graded by color. White is best, but
+that shade means it is very good. It will bring a good price." Then, as
+the command car topped a rise, the major pointed ahead. "There is
+Calinan."
+
+The town was a small one, with stores and houses on both sides of a
+single main street. The place had a sleepy air.
+
+At the edge of town Lacson drew up in front of a house that flew the
+flag of the republic. A sergeant ran out, came stiffly to attention, and
+saluted. After a brief command from the major, the sergeant ran to climb
+into the second car.
+
+"Juan speaks a little Bagobo," Lacson explained. "He can translate for
+us."
+
+The two cars moved through the town, past a group of colorfully arrayed
+people with flat turbans. "There are some Bagobos now," Lacson said.
+"They come to town to shop."
+
+Rick looked with interest. In the few seconds before the car sped out of
+sight he saw that the primitives were light of skin, had pierced ears
+from which dangled loops, and that the men wore trousers formed of a
+single piece of cloth put on like a skirt, then pulled between the legs
+and fastened to an ornate belt. Their clothes were brightly colored.
+
+As Calinan dropped behind, the country turned to tropical forest, with
+tall lauan and tanguile trees, the source of so-called Philippine
+mahogany. Once Rick saw coffee bushes growing under the trees.
+
+Then, only a short distance from Calinan, the paved road came to an
+abrupt end and narrowed to little more than a dirt trail. The command
+car bucked over hummocks of cogon grass while the boys held on to keep
+from being tossed out. Finally, in a small clearing, the road petered
+out entirely.
+
+This was the glade, Lacson explained, in which the truck driver had left
+Briotti and Shannon. No one had seen them since.
+
+Towering trees cut off the sun and the air was heavy and damp with the
+smell of tropic growth. Mosquitoes whined.
+
+Lacson handed around a small bottle of insect repellent. "Rub in well,"
+he directed. "You can leave your coats in the car. It will be a warm
+hike."
+
+Rick shed his coat gladly. They had worn their tropical suits, and
+Lacson had rushed them off so fast there had been no chance to change.
+
+The major gave orders in Chebucano. Two troopers saluted and fell back.
+They would stay with the cars. Juan, the trooper from Calinan, took the
+lead as the rest started up the trail that led into the jungle from the
+clearing.
+
+"Juan knows the trail," Lacson said. "Also, he is good at spotting
+snakes and animals."
+
+Rick fell into line behind Zircon and Lacson. Scotty walked at his side
+while the two enlisted men brought up the rear.
+
+It was an eerie hike, through growth so thick one couldn't see more than
+five paces on either side of the trail. Overhead the foliage met, and
+the group walked through a kind of steaming green tunnel. The sun never
+penetrated to the jungle floor, where pale plants grew in profusion.
+
+There was life in the trees overhead, heard but unseen. Once Rick
+recognized the howl of monkeys. Again, by the side of the trail, there
+was a sudden chittering and a tiny furry form made a fantastic leap to
+the safety of a rattan vine. Rick caught a glimpse of a monkeylike face
+and huge eyes.
+
+"A tarsier," Zircon remarked. "Shannon had hoped to collect one."
+
+Rick wondered whether Shannon and Briotti had hiked up this trail. The
+headman of the Bagobo village had told Lacson that the Americans had not
+been seen by his people. Might they have vanished on this trail?
+
+He wiped his face and neck with a sodden handkerchief and plodded ahead
+through the green steam bath. Insects formed a cloud around his head,
+flew into his eyes and even into his mouth. He bore it stoically. It was
+as bad for the others.
+
+Anyone who walked off the beaten trails would be helplessly lost without
+a compass or an experienced guide. A man could wander in the dense
+growth until death in some unpleasant form claimed him. One couldn't
+even see a trail from more than a few feet away.
+
+Half an hour later, Rick saw that the growth was giving way to a
+different kind of jungle forest, as the trail sloped upward. In a short
+time they entered a more normal forest of tall, white lauans over a
+hundred feet high, with strange roots like flying buttresses.
+
+Soon the forest gave way to open plain, sparsely dotted with papaya
+trees and a lone mango. Lacson called that they were almost at their
+destination. Rick wiped his face and was grateful. His clothes hung on
+him as though he had been caught in a torrential rain. In spite of the
+insect repellent, he had been chewed by assorted bugs.
+
+He forgot his discomfort at the sight of the village. Apparently
+civilization had reached the Bagobos. The huts were of sawed lumber and
+tin roofing material. He saw one roof made from an American gasoline
+sign.
+
+In contrast with the drab surroundings, the people were bright spots of
+color. They eyed the group with frank curiosity, then followed as Juan
+led the way to the headman's hut.
+
+The headman met them with dignified courtesy. Rick saw that the man was
+nearly six feet tall, with a lean, hawklike face, the skin stretched
+tightly over high cheekbones. He looked like an American Indian, but his
+skin was the color of a white man who has spent his life outdoors in the
+tropics. The Bagobos clearly were of a different race than the
+Filipinos.
+
+"That's quite a man," Scotty whispered.
+
+Rick nodded. He, too, was impressed by the headman, except for one
+thing. Although the Bagobo talked freely, through Juan, his eyes never
+once met those of any of the party. He looked everywhere but at the
+visitors.
+
+It was out of character, Rick thought. This man, who obviously had a
+kind of fierce, barbaric pride, should look any man squarely in the eye.
+
+The talk went smoothly, and Rick realized the headman had been through
+all this before, probably more than once, in interviews with the
+constabulary. To each question the Bagobo chieftain answered that he had
+seen no Americans, nor had his people. Had they come to the village, he
+would know it.
+
+"We'll get nothing here," Zircon finally said to the major. "Frankly, I
+expected nothing. If there was information to be gained from this man,
+you could have gotten it."
+
+Lacson shrugged. "True, perhaps. But I thought you would want to check
+for yourself."
+
+Rick only half listened. He noticed a Bagobo standing nearby, watching
+intently, and on impulse walked over to him and held out his hand. The
+warrior took it instantly and smiled, his brown eyes on Rick's.
+
+[Illustration: _The warrior shook Rick's hand and smiled_]
+
+Rick returned the smile and walked back to his friends, forehead
+wrinkled in thought. That had been a straightforward reaction; the
+Bagobo had met his eyes squarely and openly.
+
+On the way back to Davao, Rick pondered the meaning of the headman's
+failure to look at any of them. But not until they were cleaning up at
+the hotel did he decide to put his thoughts into words.
+
+"The headman lied," Rick stated. "I can't figure it any other way. It's
+easy to see that the Bagobos are a proud race. They're any man's equal,
+and they know it. The headman should be the proudest of all, but
+instead, he was shifty. He wouldn't look at any of us."
+
+"That's right," Scotty acknowledged. "He kept his eyes everywhere but on
+us."
+
+Rick nodded. "What's more, he's not a shifty type. He looks like a
+fierce old eagle who'd stare down a charging elephant. But he couldn't
+look at us because he was lying, and he was ashamed of it."
+
+"You may have something," Zircon agreed after a moment of thought. "I
+wasn't that observant, but now that you mention it, I believe the
+headman kept his eyes on the ground most of the time. I agree it
+certainly seemed out of character."
+
+"If he was lying, what can we do about it?" Scotty asked.
+
+Rick wasn't sure, but he had an idea of how to start. Earlier,
+immediately on arrival, he had tried to contact Chahda without success.
+Now he got a Megabuck unit, put the earplug into place, and tried again.
+
+"Chahda, this is Rick. Are you on?"
+
+The Hindu boy answered at once, and the signal was loud. He probably was
+in the hotel. "Waiting, Rick. Where you been?"
+
+Rick quickly sketched the day's activities, and Chahda replied that he
+had spent time with his Indian contacts but had discovered nothing new.
+
+"Okay, Rick," Chahda concluded. "I try to find out why headman lies.
+Tomorrow I go to Bagobo village to sell tax-tills. Be back noon, meet
+you hotel."
+
+"I hope you find out more than we did," Rick said.
+
+Chahda urged, "Please not to worry. This good day's work. One man who
+lies maybe has keys to many doors!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+The Headman's Secret
+
+
+On the following morning Major Paulo Lacson joined the Spindrifters for
+breakfast at the hotel. The young officer answered questions about the
+region for an hour, but Rick refrained from bringing up the subject of
+the headman until breakfast was over. But that was deferred when Scotty
+asked a startling question.
+
+"Major, what ever happened to the boat our friends came in?"
+
+Lacson's eyebrows went up. "Boat? What boat?"
+
+"You mean you didn't know they came by boat?" Zircon bellowed
+incredulously.
+
+The major shook his head. "This is the first I have heard of a boat. I
+assumed they came by air. The instructions I got from Manila were simply
+to find two missing Americans, with their names and descriptions. Since
+most Americans stay at this hotel I inquired and found they had checked
+out. That established their presence in Davao. It didn't occur to me to
+be interested in where they had come from, although I knew from my
+instructions that it was Zamboanga. Later, I checked the airline to see
+if they had left by air, but there was no record."
+
+It was incredible, but there it was. Rick knew it was the kind of slip
+that often happens when the background given with instructions is not
+complete.
+
+"I will get on this right away," Lacson said. "You have a description of
+the boat?"
+
+"I'm afraid not. It was chartered in Zamboanga. Can you get a
+description from there?"
+
+"Of course. It's strange the detail of the boat never came to light.
+Why, I even had a full description of their Moro guide."
+
+"Guide?" The three said it simultaneously. It was their turn to be
+astonished. No one had mentioned a third person in the party.
+
+"You didn't know?" Lacson clapped a hand to his forehead in a gesture of
+chagrin. "The lack of communications is ridiculous! Yes, they had a
+guide. Apparently they picked him up in Zamboanga. A young Moro, no
+outstanding features, who gave his name as Azid Hajullah. We have not
+been able to find out any more about him."
+
+Lacson rose, to get a message off about the boat, but Rick stopped him
+and quickly outlined his conclusion about the headman, and Chahda's trip
+to the Bagobo village.
+
+The major scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "It is just possible you are
+right," he said at last. "I myself noted that the old man was not at
+ease, but I attributed it to the presence of strange Americans, plus my
+own official status. Many primitive peoples are shy in the presence of
+authority. However, I agree the headman may have overdone it somewhat.
+We will see. I will phone you when I have news of the boat, and perhaps
+you will let me know when you hear from this Indian friend of yours."
+
+The morning dragged on after Lacson's departure. The three walked the
+streets of Davao and found it to be quite a modern city with two
+newspapers, a radio station, and some good stores. Both Rick and Scotty
+had the feeling that they were being watched, but the most careful
+observation failed to uncover a tail.
+
+Nevertheless, the boys were certain their movements were known to
+someone. If only they could discover the invisible watcher, Rick
+thought, and squeeze some information out of him....
+
+The tropical sun grew hot as the day progressed, and the three returned
+to the hotel and sat in the small dining room over cold limeades and
+chilled mango. Rick had kept the Megabuck earphone in place all morning,
+and as he started to order another mango, Chahda's voice sounded in his
+ear. "Rick, you there?"
+
+"Here," he replied swiftly. "Go ahead."
+
+"Got recording. I think you plenty on ball, Rick. Headman lied like
+champ. Meet you hotel room right away. I just driving up. What number
+room?"
+
+Rick told the Hindu boy and signed off. He turned to the others. "Let's
+go. Chahda's got something!"
+
+They hurried to their room, and Zircon at once placed a call to Lacson.
+The constabulary office replied that the major was en route to the hotel
+and should be there in a few minutes.
+
+Chahda burst into their room. The Hindu boy was grinning from ear to
+ear. He took the tiny recorder from his pocket and handed it to Zircon.
+"Plenty hot, you bet. Can I have drink, please?"
+
+Scotty picked up the telephone and ordered him a double limeade with
+plenty of ice.
+
+"Much thanks, Scotty. Well, this morning at dawn we merchants go to
+Bagobo village. Sell plenty cloths, too. You know some Bagobos speak a
+little English? Not much, but enough. While I sell, I start asking
+questions, but I get no answer. Then, boy my age starts buying cloth for
+new turban. We alone, so I try bribe. I say, 'Tell me about missing
+Americans and I give cloth for free.' And you know, he starts!"
+
+"Go on, confound it!" Zircon bellowed. "Don't keep us in suspense like
+this."
+
+"Okay, Professor. I talk fast. This boy gets no chance to say something,
+because headman busts in and he shoots words at boy like machine gun.
+Boy no more will talk to me, but I give him cloth, anyway. Because all
+the time I have wire machine going!"
+
+"Wonderful!" Rick exclaimed. "Now, if we can only get it translated!"
+
+Scotty opened the door at a knock and admitted Major Lacson. Zircon
+introduced Chahda and explained quickly what had happened. He showed the
+officer the wire recorder.
+
+"Good!" Lacson picked up the telephone and made a call. After a brief
+exchange in the local dialect he hung up. "We will take it to Davao
+University. Dr. Gonzalez, the professor of languages, will translate it.
+He speaks Bagobo expertly. Come. My car is outside."
+
+Chahda hung back. "You go. Better I stay under cover while longer. You
+call me on radio when you find something."
+
+Rick agreed, then followed the others. They piled into Lacson's command
+car and headed for the university.
+
+"I have some news myself," Lacson reported. "Your friends came in a
+sloop called the _Sampaguita_, which is a local flower. They tied up at
+a private dock on the waterfront."
+
+"Where is the boat now?" Scotty asked.
+
+Lacson shrugged. "Who knows? No one saw it leave, but it was there the
+night your friends disappeared, and gone the following morning."
+
+Rick pondered that bit of information while Lacson and Zircon worked
+with Dr. Gonzalez, a short, bald Filipino, on the translation of the
+wire recording. Certainly Briotti and Shannon wouldn't have walked back
+from the Bagobo village and taken the boat themselves. And if they had
+walked to Calinan and obtained a car, Lacson would have found out about
+it. There weren't so many people in the area that the rental, or
+borrowing of a car, by two Americans couldn't be discovered easily. Had
+they hitched a ride Lacson would surely have found that out, too. Few
+cars traveled the road to Calinan.
+
+Rick took Lacson aside and questioned him while Zircon played the wire
+over and over again for the Filipino language expert. The major
+confirmed that he had checked, and was satisfied that the scientists had
+not obtained a ride back from Calinan from any of the local people.
+There were no cars to rent, either.
+
+Rick dropped the subject abruptly as Zircon and Gonzalez finished making
+notes and switched off the recorder.
+
+"Dr. Gonzalez has it," Zircon said with quiet triumph. "The language is
+difficult, and the headman was far from the microphone, but the sense of
+what is on the tape is clear."
+
+The boys and Lacson listened closely as the language professor read.
+
+"'Say nothing, young fool! It is forbidden to speak of the white men.
+One word that they were here and the wrath of'--I don't know one word
+here--'will fall on the whole village. Do you want to die? Do you want
+us all to die? I forbid you to speak on pain of death!'"
+
+"They _were_ there!" Scotty exclaimed. "Now maybe we can find out what
+happened."
+
+"At once," Major Lacson added grimly. "Doctor, what does the missing
+word sound like?"
+
+The Filipino professor shook his head. "It is a word I've never heard,
+Major. It doesn't sound like a Bagobo word at all. It's 'shoon' or
+'shawn.' Something like that. It's not clear."
+
+"Will you come with us to translate, Doctor? Juan speaks enough Bagobo
+to get by, but I'd rather have you for this trip. It may be difficult."
+
+"I'll be glad to. May I have a few moments to change clothing?"
+
+"Of course. I'll take these gentlemen to the hotel and they can change,
+too. We'll pick you up."
+
+Rick took advantage of the few moments in their hotel room to call
+Chahda. The Hindu boy answered at once.
+
+"The recording had the answer," Rick told him. "That was a good piece of
+work, Chahda. We're leaving for the village at once."
+
+"Good. Something I can do?"
+
+"Not right now. I'll call when we get back."
+
+Rick changed swiftly into khaki trail clothes. Their tropical suit
+trousers had been cleaned overnight and he didn't want to ruin his
+again.
+
+Outside, Lacson was waiting. Two other command cars had joined him, each
+one carrying six armed troopers. The three jumped in with the major and
+went past the university to pick up Dr. Gonzalez.
+
+The caravan broke all speed records getting to Calinan. Juan, the local
+trooper, got into the last car in line and they roared off to the road's
+end. This time the Spindrifters were dressed for the hike, and were well
+sprayed with protection against insects. Each had a hat, and a head net.
+
+The group traveled at good speed. Then, as they emerged from the jungle
+trail into the clearing that led to the village, a squad of four
+troopers, under Juan, broke off from the party and started away at a
+dogtrot to make a wide circle and approach the village from the opposite
+side.
+
+The rest walked straight ahead, at a slow pace that would give Juan's
+squad time to move into position. Rick's party reached the first house
+in the village and Major Lacson held up his hand. From the far side of
+the village came Juan's whistle blast.
+
+The major's hand dropped. Troopers with rifles charged into the Bagobo
+village, scattering among the houses. Lacson drew his pistol and marched
+straight to the headman's house.
+
+The headman walked to meet them, and his face stiffened as he saw the
+pistol. He spoke rapidly.
+
+Gonzalez translated. "He wants to know why you come with a weapon
+pointed at him, and why your men raid his houses."
+
+"Tell him we come as enemies because he lied. The Americans were here.
+My men search for evidence."
+
+The Filipino professor translated, and the headman made an expressive
+gesture with his hands. He sat down on a seat made of a split tanguile
+log and stared straight ahead, obviously intending to maintain a stony
+silence.
+
+A trooper ran up, waving a tubular object which he handed to the major.
+Rick saw that it was a high-powered telescope, like one Shannon had
+owned. His pulse quickened as Scotty removed the protective lens caps
+and examined the object.
+
+"Shannon's," Scotty stated. "His initials are stamped on the side, and
+on the front lens cap."
+
+The headman seemed to wilt.
+
+Another trooper ran up, and he carried a leather quiver that Rick
+recognized instantly. It also was Shannon's. He knew it well, from their
+field archery games. In the quiver was the bow, a takedown model, and
+three dozen arrows.
+
+"Major, what are we going to do?"
+
+For reply, the officer planted himself in front of the headman, his
+voice harsh. "Tell him, Professor Gonzalez, that we have evidence
+enough. Unless he has a good explanation, we must believe that his
+village murdered the Americans. For this, some of his people may pay
+with their lives."
+
+Dr. Gonzalez translated into Bagobo. For long minutes the headman sat
+quietly, then he rose to his full height and looked the officer in the
+eye.
+
+"I am caught between a knife and a spear," Dr. Gonzalez translated.
+"There is death either way. It is true, the Americans came. We made them
+welcome. For one evening they stayed. We gave them and their Moro a
+house to sleep in. Then, after it was dark and we slept, men came. The
+Americans and the Moro fought, but the men tied them up and carried them
+away. Then the men said that if one person in my village spoke of this,
+all would die. The two things we found were not taken because they were
+in a corner of the hut and were not seen. All else was removed."
+
+"Ask him who the men were and why he didn't fight for the Americans,"
+Lacson directed.
+
+The Filipino language expert posed the question, then translated the
+reply. "He does not know the men, or their names. He did not fight
+because it was useless. His people would have died and the Americans
+would not have been saved."
+
+"Ask him how he knows this."
+
+The Bagobo's reply was terse. "He knows," Gonzalez said. "He will say no
+more."
+
+Lacson made a sound of disgust. "He means it, too. Look at him."
+
+Rick saw what Lacson meant. The stern face and glittering eyes indicated
+clearly that the headman would die before he said more about the
+attackers.
+
+"Does he know where the Americans were taken?" Zircon asked.
+
+"He does not know. The men took them down the trail. Of course some
+Bagobos followed. But at the road the men put the Americans and their
+guide into a car and drove away. Apparently there were two or three
+cars. The Bagobos could not follow."
+
+"Then Shannon, Briotti, and their guide were probably on the boat when
+it left Davao," Rick said thoughtfully. "But where did the boat go?"
+
+Major Lacson answered. "We don't know. But it is possible we may find
+out. I've sent out an all-points bulletin asking for information. We may
+get a lead to its whereabouts."
+
+"We'd better," Scotty said grimly. "Unless someone has seen it, we have
+the whole Sulu Sea to search!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+Trail of the "Sampaguita"
+
+
+The PAL plane droned westward, over the incredible swamps of the Pulangi
+River, toward Cotabato. Rick watched the sweltering marshland unfold
+below and caught glimpses of the winding brown river that turned the
+countryside into a morass. From Colonel Rojas' briefing he knew that the
+countryside was alive with crocodiles and less pleasant creatures.
+
+In the seat next to Rick, Scotty catnapped. Zircon, across the aisle,
+was apparently deep in thought.
+
+Rick hoped fervently that they weren't on a wild-goose chase. At Davao
+they had learned that Briotti, Shannon, and their guide had been
+kidnaped by some group the Bagobos feared. The reason for the kidnaping
+could not be guessed. No requests for ransom had been made, and the
+scientists had no known personal enemies.
+
+Instead of clearing up the mystery, Rick thought, the little they had
+found had only deepened it. His concern for his missing friends had
+turned to a deep fear that they might not be found until too late. He
+was very conscious of the passage of time. Nearly three weeks had
+elapsed since the scientists had been forcefully taken from the Bagobo
+village.
+
+"Think they were taken away on the boat?" Scotty asked suddenly.
+
+Rick turned quickly. Scotty hadn't been napping after all. "We can't be
+sure, but doesn't it seem likely?"
+
+"It does to me. Of course the kidnapers might have carried them into the
+interior, but I can't imagine anyone carrying prisoners over those
+jungle trails. Besides, the boat is missing."
+
+"There are no roads where they could have been taken by car," Rick
+agreed. "Lacson will try to find the cars that brought them into Davao,
+but even if he succeeds, it won't tell us much." He changed the subject.
+"Who could those men have been? They must have been pretty fierce to
+frighten the Bagobos. That headman doesn't look like a man who scares
+easily."
+
+"I haven't the glimmer of an idea. Kidnaping two scientists makes no
+sense at all."
+
+"True. But it must have made sense to the kidnapers."
+
+Scotty didn't comment further. After a while Rick reached under the seat
+and drew out Shannon's quiver. He had wrapped it in a plastic bag in
+which his trousers had been returned by the dry cleaner.
+
+The quiver was of soft leather, and made to be slung on the back. It was
+compartmented for three kinds of arrows. Rick drew one out and saw that
+it was a blunt type for hunting small game. Next to the blunt ones were
+razor-sharp broadhead arrows. The third variety was smaller broadheads.
+There were a dozen of each.
+
+On the back of the quiver were two zippered pouches. In the first Rick
+found four new bowstrings and beeswax for waxing them, plus a small file
+and a whetstone for keeping the broadheads sharp. In the other
+compartment were two sets of finger cots, or protectors, and a stiff
+leather arm guard. He slipped a protector, made like sections of glove
+fingers, on the first three fingers of his right hand. A size too large,
+but it would do. The arm guard would be all right when he adjusted it.
+
+The bow was in its own special compartment. Rick checked and saw that it
+was undamaged. It was in two sections, the upper limb made to be fitted
+into the handle, which was permanently attached to the lower limb. It
+was an excellent bow, not as heavy as some, but a deadly weapon in the
+hands of a good shot. It pulled fifty pounds at twenty-eight inches
+draw.
+
+Rick slipped the quiver back under the seat. He planned to carry it when
+necessary, so that he, too, would be armed. He was a better than average
+bowman. It was one of the few sports in which he could nearly always
+beat Scotty, thanks to his own aptitude and Shannon's teaching. He
+noticed suddenly that the seat belt light had flashed on. He tightened
+his belt as the plane descended into Cotabato.
+
+He watched as the city came into view. It was a community of small
+houses located on a series of rivers or canals. The surrounding
+countryside was given over to rice paddies and occasional coconut
+groves.
+
+This was the first step in the backward trail. Rick had no idea what
+they might find, but lacking any other course of action they had decided
+to go back along the _Sampaguita's_ route hoping to pick up a clue. They
+would stay in Cotabato only as long as the plane stopped, just time
+enough to meet Tony Briotti's friend, Father Murray, an American
+missionary priest.
+
+As the plane swept in for a landing across the unpaved runway Rick saw
+the white robes of a priest and knew that Major Lacson's message to the
+Cotabato constabulary detachment asking that the priest meet the plane
+had been received.
+
+Father Murray, a lean, tanned, sun-helmeted man of youthful appearance,
+greeted them as they stepped from the plane. Zircon introduced himself
+and the boys, and the four retired to the shade of a royal palm to talk.
+
+"Tony and Howard's disappearance was shocking news," Father Murray
+commented. "You have no new information about what happened to them?"
+
+Zircon told him the little they knew. "We stopped by to see you, hoping
+you could shed some light on the kidnaping."
+
+The priest shook his head. "I haven't the remotest idea. Their visit
+here was without incident, except for a robbery attempt. I don't even
+recall any conversation that might be helpful. We talked mostly about
+their research project."
+
+"You mentioned a robbery?" Rick asked.
+
+"Yes, the first night they were here. Thieves broke into the _convento_,
+but by good luck, some of my Christian parishioners who live next door
+were awake. They hurried to the rescue with guns, and the thieves fled
+before they found where we were sleeping. My people said they were
+Moros."
+
+Zircon gestured at a group of Moros lounging in the shade of the wooden
+airport building. "You seem to have quite a few of them here."
+
+Father Murray chuckled. "Indeed we do. This is a Moro province. Both the
+mayor and governor are Moros. Christians are few."
+
+Rick noted the tight trousers and bolero-type vests that exposed
+muscular chests. Two of the Moros wore purple velvet caps. The others
+wore straw hats of intricately woven design that reminded him of
+helmets.
+
+"Was a Moro guide with our friends?" Zircon asked.
+
+"Yes. He seemed like a respectable young man. I saw little of him,
+however. He stayed with us, but kept to himself, probably bored with our
+talk. Did you know that Tony and I were classmates in high school?"
+
+The three hadn't known it. No wonder Tony and Shannon had gone so far
+out of their way to visit Cotabato.
+
+"That robbery attempt interests me," Scotty said. "Have you ever had
+such an incident before?"
+
+"Never. The Moros let us alone. Besides, the proverbial church mice
+would seem rich compared with us. We have literally nothing worth
+robbing."
+
+The flight was called and the Spindrifters shook hands with Father
+Murray. He waved as they boarded the plane and prepared to take off.
+
+"Not very helpful," Professor Zircon remarked, "although I'm glad we had
+a chance to meet Father Murray."
+
+Rick agreed, but added, "Doesn't it strike you as pretty strange
+coincidence that thieves should try to rob him for the first time, on
+the night Briotti and Shannon arrived?"
+
+Scotty saw at once what Rick meant. "You think they might not have been
+thieves? That it might have been a kidnap attempt that failed?"
+
+"It's a possibility," Rick pointed out.
+
+Zircon leaned across the aisle. "Consider the implications of what
+you're saying, Rick. Cotabato is a long way from Davao. Why would a gang
+chase our friends across Mindanao?"
+
+"Why were they kidnaped?" Rick retorted.
+
+"Obviously, we don't know. If we accept your idea, do we assume it was
+the same gang that traveled from Cotabato to Davao? Or, were both groups
+local people?"
+
+Scotty swallowed. "If they were local people, that has to mean some kind
+of well-organized syndicate with members in just about every port!"
+
+Rick nodded. He had seen at once the implications of his idea. "It could
+mean that."
+
+Scotty sank back into his seat. "But whatever it means, it gives no
+explanation of why Tony and Shannon were kidnaped."
+
+"We'll find the explanation somehow," Rick said, with more assurance
+than he felt. He added grimly, "We've got to!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+The Man in the Red Fez
+
+
+The famous tropical port of Zamboanga lived up to its reputation as an
+exotic place. As the taxi carried the Spindrifters from the airport past
+the waterfront area, Rick saw bright-colored sails mixed with the drab
+steel of cargo ships. There were many Moros, but Christian Filipinos
+seemed to be in the majority.
+
+The taxi took them to Bayot's Hotel, a rambling, picturesque affair only
+two stories high, noted for the best food in the Sulu Sea region. The
+hotel was almost overgrown with orchids and lush tropical creepers.
+
+As the three checked in, Zircon began asking questions of the man at the
+desk. "You had Dr. Briotti and Dr. Shannon as guests, I believe?"
+
+"Yes. They stayed here for two days. I read of their disappearance.
+Incredible."
+
+"Can you tell us if they had any visitors?"
+
+"I recall none."
+
+Rick asked, "Did anyone show unusual interest in them?"
+
+"Not that one could notice. You realize, Americans are not an unusual
+sight. There are a number who live here."
+
+"Did you know their Moro guide?" Scotty queried.
+
+"I did not know him. I saw him, however. He was an unusual type."
+
+"In what way?" Zircon asked quickly.
+
+"He spoke no Chebucano. When I asked about this he said he was brought
+up in Tawi Tawi where Chebucano is not spoken. I might have believed
+this, except for one other thing."
+
+"Yes?" Zircon prompted.
+
+"He spoke excellent Spanish, which also is not spoken on Tawi Tawi."
+
+Rick asked thoughtfully, "You think he might not have been a Moro?"
+
+The man shrugged. "What is a Moro? It is simply a Filipino, of a
+different religion, and to some extent a different way of life. An
+educated Moro is like any other educated Filipino. I cannot say if this
+guide was a Moro. He said he was."
+
+Zircon nodded his understanding. "Do you know if they hired him here?"
+
+"They did. I mean in this city, not in my hotel. I believe they met him
+on the waterfront."
+
+Rick had seen at once that the man was not a Filipino, and he thought he
+recognized the accent as Spanish. He asked, "Are you the manager?"
+
+"Yes. I may say, these questions you ask have already been answered by
+me to Captain Lim of the constabulary. Perhaps he can help you."
+
+"We intend to see him," Zircon replied. "Is his office nearby?"
+
+"No, you will need a car, which I will arrange. He is at the fort,
+Nuestra Señora Del Pilar. We call it simply Fort Pilar. Now I will show
+you to your rooms."
+
+Zircon had a room to himself, while Rick and Scotty shared one. The
+rooms were small, and like all tropic hotel rooms, sparsely furnished
+but adequate. The three changed clothes quickly and got into their
+comfortable khaki trousers and shirts. When they returned to the lobby,
+the manager had a car waiting, with one of the hotel's employees to
+drive it.
+
+Fort Pilar was a tremendous mass of hand-cut stone many feet thick,
+pierced for muskets and cannon. It was obviously Spanish in design, and
+very old. The walls were covered with creepers, and palms had sprung up
+on what had once been a parade ground. Visible beyond the fort were the
+clear waters of Basilan Strait.
+
+A sentry took them to Captain Diosdado Lim, who greeted them courteously
+and scanned the letter they had brought from Colonel Rojas.
+
+"We are at your service," the captain said formally. "This letter makes
+you more than guests. You are also friends. I welcome you."
+
+"Thank you, Captain," Zircon replied with equal formality. "You knew of
+our coming from Major Lacson?"
+
+"Yes. We are prepared. We will send your car back and you will ride into
+town with me. I will introduce you to the man from whom the boat was
+hired."
+
+"Any news of the boat?" Rick asked hopefully.
+
+"Not yet. The seas are big and our outposts are few. But we will hope
+for good fortune."
+
+The captain had a stilted way of speaking, Rick noted. His English was
+good, but he obviously didn't speak it often. The officer was young and
+dark, and looked more Chinese than Filipino. He was probably a mestizo,
+a person of mixed blood.
+
+Zircon launched into questions as soon as they got underway in the
+captain's sedan. It was soon clear that the officer had little to add to
+what they already knew. He did say, however, that Azid Hajullah, the
+Moro guide, had not been a local young man, and that the detachment on
+Tawi Tawi did not know him. No one, apparently, knew where the guide had
+come from. It sounded suspicious to Rick. He might have been a plant, to
+betray the scientists to the unknown kidnapers.
+
+Captain Lim took them to the boatyard operated by José Santos, a fat
+little Filipino who had once served in the United States Navy. Santos
+was friendly, and very sad about the scientists. Rick felt he honestly
+was more disturbed about the two men than about his missing boat.
+
+The _Sampaguita_, he said, was a thirty-foot auxiliary sloop with white
+hull and red sails. It had once been the private yacht of an American
+copra planter on Basilan who, alas, had been murdered by his Moro field
+hands. Santos had not known the Moro guide, and had noticed nothing
+unusual about him. And there the interview ended. Rick shook his head.
+They were certainly not making progress.
+
+"Is there anything I can do?" Captain Lim asked.
+
+"I'm afraid not," Zircon replied. "Thank you, Captain. If you don't
+mind, we'll walk back to the hotel. It's only a short distance. And I'm
+sure the boys want to see this part of town. I do."
+
+"Of course. Anyway, you must be my guests for dinner at the hotel. At
+ten o'clock."
+
+"We'll be delighted," Zircon answered. "Will you go back to the fort
+now?"
+
+"No. If you want me I will be at home, behind the hotel. It is the small
+white cottage."
+
+The three waved good-by, then turned toward the teeming wharf area,
+which was also the town's market place. Just beyond the breakwater,
+native outrigger boats with bright-colored sails in stripes and patterns
+swept by in a kind of convoy.
+
+Scotty asked an elderly Filipino who was watching, "Sir, may I ask the
+name of that kind of boat?"
+
+The Filipino smiled. "Colorful, yes? They are vintas. Moro boats from
+Sulu Sea. They come to sell fish."
+
+Scotty thanked him and the three walked slowly through the market place.
+By unspoken consent they said nothing about their problem. All of them
+knew they had reached a dead end, and none knew where to go from this
+point.
+
+They stopped once to watch two fighting cocks sparring with shielded
+spurs. A few yards away they stopped once more, at a fruit vendor's
+stall. Many of the fruits were new and strange. They took a moment to
+learn about them from the vendor. There were mangosteens, not related to
+mangoes, with red husks and pure-white fruit; lanzones that looked like
+clusters of brown plums; foul-smelling but tasty durian; star apples,
+and several varieties of banana, none of which looked like the Central
+American variety.
+
+Rick tried a mangosteen. He passed sections of the white fruit to Scotty
+and Zircon, then bit into his, It was cool, tart, and delicious, unlike
+anything he had ever tasted before. He decided he could become a
+mangosteen addict in no time and started back to buy a bagful. A low
+comment from Scotty stopped him.
+
+"We've picked up a friend. He's been with us for the past ten minutes."
+
+"Let's stop at this stand and look at the baskets," Zircon invited
+casually.
+
+They did so, and pretended great interest in the huge variety of woven
+ware while Scotty maneuvered to look back the way they had come. Rick
+saw his pal's face change, then Scotty fingered a basket and used it as
+a cover while talking.
+
+"It's nice to find a familiar face in a strange place," Scotty said.
+"Believe it or not, it's the man in the red fez who trailed us in
+Manila!"
+
+"Are you certain?" Zircon asked swiftly.
+
+"Yes. It isn't just the fez, it's the face. Besides, he's wearing the
+same clothes."
+
+Zircon's normally loud voice dropped to a whisper. "Lay a plan, Scotty.
+We'll mousetrap him. I have a few questions I'd like to ask."
+
+"All right. Let's move on and look for a place. This is too crowded."
+
+They sauntered on, elaborately casual, stopping now and then to examine
+goods in an open market stall or to marvel at the colors of fish offered
+for sale. Rick wondered about the man in the red fez. Since he had
+trailed them in Manila, and had come all the way to Zamboanga, his
+interest in them must be linked to the missing scientists. Maybe, if the
+man would talk, they could finally learn something of value!
+
+Rick kept his eyes open, watching for a likely place to set a trap. He
+saw that the market place ended in an open park that ran along both
+sides of the street leading from the wharves into town. Up the street,
+where the park ended, he saw a big warehouse marked with the name MANUAL
+WEE SIT & CO.
+
+"That shed is the best bet," Scotty said softly. "Let's step it up a
+little, walk to the end of the warehouse, then go around the corner.
+Look for a doorway in which we can wait for him."
+
+The three walked faster, but only as tourists might do who had left an
+interesting area and wanted to go elsewhere. They passed the end of the
+warehouse and rounded the corner. There was an open shed-type door
+there, and seated in front of it on a nail keg was an elderly Chinese,
+smoking his water pipe and getting the afternoon sun. He didn't look up
+at the three Americans.
+
+"Step in the doorway," Scotty said swiftly. "The old man must be
+dreaming about something. He won't bother us."
+
+It was cool and dim in the warehouse. Rick saw flour barrels and case
+after case of canned food, many with American brand names.
+
+Scotty took a position just inside the door where he could watch through
+the opening. In a moment he tensed, ready to spring. Rick saw the Moro's
+shadow just as Scotty leaped.
+
+Rick ran out, Zircon right behind him, in time to see Scotty confront
+the Moro. The man's eyes widened. His hand flashed to his sash with the
+speed of a striking snake and emerged with a short dagger, a vicious
+thing with a wavy blade like a kris.
+
+Scotty didn't hesitate. He let go with a punch that had his powerful
+shoulder behind it. But fast as Scotty was, the Moro dodged, then lunged
+forward with the knife.
+
+Rick sprang forward to help, but Scotty was ready. The boy stepped to
+one side and in the same motion grabbed the wrist that held the knife.
+He doubled the Moro's arm back, twisting at the same time. Rick ran to
+pick up the knife as it fell.
+
+The Moro hadn't given up. He kicked out, his foot catching Scotty under
+the armpit, breaking his hold. The Moro broke free and started to run.
+
+"Get him!" Zircon bellowed.
+
+Scotty dove, both hands outstretched, with Rick right behind him. One
+of Scotty's hands caught the Moro by shirt and jacket, stopping him long
+enough for the other hand to get a grip, too. The Moro plunged wildly
+and the clothing ripped loose. By then Rick was in position. He
+delivered a judo chop to the side of the Moro's neck. The man slumped to
+the ground, the red fez dropping into the dust.
+
+For the first time Rick got a look at the Moro's back, where Scotty's
+frantic grab had bared it. The man was tattooed with a strange design. A
+Moro kris was crossed with a barong, and both weapons dripped blood.
+Above the knives, in bright blue ink, was a symbol composed of a short
+horizontal line from which three vertical lines rose. The middle
+vertical line was slightly taller than the other two.
+
+[Illustration: _The man's back was tattooed with a strange design_]
+
+Sound smote Rick's ears. He turned swiftly and saw that the old Chinese
+had come to frightened life. The old man's eyes were open wide, staring
+at the tattooed design. His mouth was open, and he was wailing at such
+high pitch that Rick flinched.
+
+Then the old man babbled something and ran like one possessed into the
+shelter of the warehouse.
+
+Scotty stared after him in amazement. "What got into him? He ran as
+though he'd got a sudden look at the devil!"
+
+Zircon hauled the groggy Moro to his feet. "Possibly he did," the
+physicist stated. He pointed to the symbol. "This looks like a Chinese
+character. Perhaps the old man recognized it."
+
+Swift excitement ran through Rick. "If he did, maybe we've just hit a
+jackpot!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+News at Zamboanga
+
+
+A crowd of Filipinos, including several Moros, was attracted by the
+brief fight. A few departed in a hurry after one look at the captive's
+bared back. The rest remained at a distance, talking in the local
+dialect. Rick and Scotty kept alert, ready to act if anyone tried to
+free the captive. Scotty had tied him up with his own sash. He was
+seated against the warehouse wall, sullen and silent.
+
+Zircon emerged from the warehouse. "I got the captain on the phone. He's
+on his way."
+
+Apparently the captain wasted no time. In less than two minutes his
+sedan skidded to a stop and he jumped out. "What is going on?"
+
+"He was trailing us," Zircon said, indicating the Moro. "He also trailed
+us in Manila. We thought it best to try to find out why. Incidentally,
+an old Chinese is hiding in the warehouse. He ran when he saw the symbol
+on the Moro's back. It may be a Chinese character of some sort."
+
+Captain Lim inspected the design and nodded. "It is. I know Chinese.
+Those lines form the word for 'shan,' which in English is mountain. But
+I have no idea why it should frighten the old man. I will ask."
+
+The three Spindrifters looked at each other, excitement on all of their
+faces. "Now we know the word the headman at the Bagobo village used,"
+Zircon commented. "Shan, or mountain."
+
+They waited, keeping close watch on the crowd until Captain Lim emerged.
+The officer shook his head. "I could get little from him. He fears the
+'Pirates of Shan,' of which he says this Moro is a member. He would not
+elaborate."
+
+"Who are the Pirates of Shan?" Rick demanded.
+
+"I don't know. The phrase is new to me."
+
+"Silly," Scotty muttered. "Piracy has been dead for a century."
+
+"Not so," Lim corrected. "Excuse me, but piracy is not uncommon,
+especially along the China coast and in the islands south of Borneo.
+Only a short time ago Chinese pirates captured an ocean-going cargo
+ship."
+
+"He's right," Zircon confirmed. "I've read of piracy quite recently. And
+don't forget, the Moros of Sulu were a pirate nation until Spanish
+gunboats and troops cut down the activity, and the Americans finally
+stopped it. Piracy is not new to this part of the world."
+
+Scotty helped Captain Lim put the Moro in the sedan. "I will be
+surprised if we get much from this man," Lim said, "but we can try at
+the Fort. I will see you at dinner tonight."
+
+The crowd dispersed and the three walked back to the hotel. Zircon left
+them in the lobby. "Be back shortly. I'm going to wire Okola about
+pirates."
+
+In their room the boys took off their outer clothes and sprawled on
+their beds in shorts. "This is shaping up to something big," Rick said
+thoughtfully.
+
+"I know what you mean. Robbery at Cotabato, kidnaping at Davao, and now
+this. It must tie together. Apparently some people have heard of the
+Pirates of Shan, but most haven't."
+
+"Strange the constabulary doesn't know about them. But I suppose it's
+natural enough in an area like this, with only a few troops and millions
+of square miles. But why would pirates take our friends?"
+
+Scotty didn't even try to guess. "Isn't Chahda due pretty soon?" he
+asked.
+
+"Not until eight." Rick had given Chahda details of the findings at the
+Bagobo village and the Hindu boy had decided to spend another day in
+Davao. He would join them at Bayot's.
+
+"At least we're collecting some pieces that add up," Rick said with more
+satisfaction than he had felt in a long time. He closed his eyes and
+began to review the information they had obtained. Presently he drifted
+off to sleep.
+
+Scotty woke Rick some time later. "Wake up! Chahda's here."
+
+Rick sat up, blinking. "What time is it?"
+
+"After nine. We're due at dinner shortly."
+
+"Where's Chahda?"
+
+"Getting cleaned up. He'll be back."
+
+"Where's Zircon?"
+
+"Gone out. He had a call from the hotel desk."
+
+Rick got into the shower for a quick wake-up bath. By the time he was
+dressed Zircon had returned, a yellow sheet of paper in his hands.
+Chahda arrived a moment later.
+
+"All here," Chahda said. "Good. Now I tell. You know who got our
+friends? Pirates!"
+
+Rick stared at him in awe. "How did you find that out?"
+
+"Word you said, one that scared Bagobos. I said it too, in few places at
+Davao. I try different ways to say, and I must have said it good one
+time. Filipino snapped at me to shut up, because word no good. But did
+Chahda shut up?"
+
+"Never," Scotty said emphatically.
+
+"Is true. Anyway, Filipino whispers to me about Pirates of Shan. He
+knows little. Only that they kill quick, and no one knows who is a
+pirate and who is not. Not many have heard of them."
+
+"Some have," Zircon interjected. He waved the paper. "Okola replied by
+return wire. Listen."
+
+The big physicist read: "'Pirates of Shan date back to seventeenth
+century. Originally Chinese Moslems, later joined by Filipino Moslems
+and some Malays. Most active around 1800. Shan is from Chinese word for
+mountain, but no one knows what mountain. Some believe Shan located near
+Borneo coast. Some mention pirates in action against Japanese during
+World War Two. No record since. Regret no more available.'"
+
+"Okola certainly knows his history," Scotty stated. "Well, at least we
+have a tag to hang on the enemy. The kidnapers were pirates."
+
+Zircon agreed. "Being trailed by one certainly seems to tie up with Tony
+and Howard's disappearance. And speaking of kidnapers, that Filipino
+boy, Elpidio Torres was kidnaped. His folks now have a ransom demand."
+He held out a recent newspaper.
+
+Rick scanned the front-page story. "Think there might be a connection?"
+
+"Possible, I suppose, but consider the distance. According to the story,
+a ransom of one million pesos is to be left on the Batangas coast, south
+of Manila."
+
+Scotty whistled. "Half a million bucks! That would make piracy worth
+while!"
+
+"Yes, but Manila isn't the Sulu Sea," Zircon pointed out. "Also, there
+has been no ransom demand for Tony and Howard. They weren't taken until
+some time after the Torres boy vanished."
+
+"What we do now?" Chahda asked.
+
+"We eat, with the local constabulary chief," Rick replied. "Think it's
+safe to join us?"
+
+Chahda grinned. "Safe or no, I go. I hungry."
+
+Rick and Scotty were hungry, too. The Spanish-Filipino custom of dining
+late did not appeal to them. But as it developed, dinner was worth
+waiting for. Captain Lim was apparently a gourmet. He had ordered soup
+made of smoked oysters from Palawan Island, a second course of delicate
+butterfly fish fillets in a marvelous sauce of fresh coconut, a main
+course of breasts of chicken boiled in coconut milk, a salad of hearts
+of palm, a Spanish dessert called _lecheflan_, which was a kind of
+custard swimming in caramel sauce, and thick, aromatic Batangas coffee.
+
+Rick and Scotty ate until they could hold no more, and Chahda groaned,
+"Once I read words 'stuffed like Christmas goose.' This now fits me."
+
+Zircon lighted a Manila cigar and sat back in his chair, a look of pure
+contentment on his face. "A wonderful meal, Captain. Thank you, for all
+of us. I haven't dined so well in months."
+
+Captain Lim beamed his pleasure. "Then you may forgive me for failing
+with the Moro. He would say nothing. I have no legal grounds on which to
+hold him for long, either."
+
+Zircon nodded his understanding. "We expected nothing, but we had to
+try. Chahda, tell Captain Lim what you found out in Davao, and I'll give
+him Okola's message."
+
+The exchange of information completed, Zircon changed the subject. The
+scientist knew they were in need of something to take their minds off
+the search for a while, and he encouraged Captain Lim to tell them about
+Zamboanga and its long and sometimes bloody history.
+
+The officer turned out to be an entertaining story-teller. He kept them
+laughing, or on the edges of their chairs until after midnight. Then he
+began teaching them the famous song that goes:
+
+    _The monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga!
+    The monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga!
+    The monkeys have no tails;
+    They were bitten off by whales!
+    Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga!_
+
+The Spindrifters had just gotten into the swing of the rollicking melody
+when a sergeant came in with a message for the captain. Lim tore the
+envelope open and read rapidly. Then he slapped his hand on the table.
+"Good! This is from Major Lacson. A boat answering the description of
+the _Sampaguita_ was seen about four days after the kidnaping, heading
+south of the island of Bulan. A fisherman saw it."
+
+Rick's heart leaped with sudden hope and excitement. "Where is Bulan?"
+
+"Across the Strait from here is Basilan. Bulan is a small island south
+of it."
+
+Scotty said with relief, "At least we know now which way they're
+heading."
+
+"And we know what to do next," Zircon added.
+
+"We go after it!" Chahda concluded grimly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+The "Swift Arrow"
+
+
+José Santos' boatyard was not large, but to Rick it seemed as though the
+Filipino boatman had a sample of every kind of craft from a rowboat to a
+Chinese junk.
+
+"We want a boat," Zircon stated. "Not a sailboat. That would be too
+slow. We want something reasonably fast, and with enough room for
+comfort. We may have to live aboard for some time."
+
+Santos nodded. "You no care how big?"
+
+"There are four of us to handle it."
+
+"Plenty," Santos said. "No more help needed for my _Swift Arrow_. See
+over there?"
+
+Rick's quick eyes caught the lines of the craft first. He exclaimed,
+"Well, I'll be a galloping grampus! It's a torpedo boat!"
+
+"Yes," Santos confirmed, beaming. "Motor torpedo boat. I convert her
+myself. Come see."
+
+Chahda asked, "Rick, what is torpedo boat?"
+
+"It's a very fast, light boat, designed to launch torpedoes at bigger
+ships. It depends on speed for safety. This one must be left over from
+World War Two."
+
+"Plenty old," Chahda said doubtfully.
+
+Scotty chuckled. "Age doesn't mean anything to a boat if it's well built
+and well taken care of. The MTB's were light, but very well built.
+You'll see."
+
+Zircon was well acquainted with boats and Rick and Scotty were not
+novices. They went over the _Swift Arrow_ from stem to stern, missing
+nothing. The armament had been removed and the original gasoline engines
+were gone. Instead, it was operated by a pair of marine diesels. Santos
+claimed that the engines were in excellent shape and that the boat could
+make a speed of twenty knots even in rough water, with a top speed of
+nearly thirty knots in calm seas.
+
+Scotty checked the engines and confirmed the claim. They ran like Swiss
+watches. The boat was fully equipped, even to searchlight, horn, and a
+brass saluting cannon that fired blanks much like shotgun shells.
+
+"We'll take it," Zircon announced. "Fill it with fuel and water, put
+charts for the whole area aboard with navigation instruments, and we'll
+be back in an hour and get under way." He hastily signed a traveler's
+check for the advance fee, then the four hiked back to the hotel and got
+down to business.
+
+They made up a provision list, arranged to rent bed linens and towels
+from the hotel, found out where ammunition could be purchased, packed
+their bags, and prepared to check out.
+
+Chahda spoke up. "Where you go first? Jolo, maybe? Suppose I go ahead on
+PAL, and snoop round a little. Meet you there."
+
+Zircon considered. "I suppose Jolo is the logical destination. It's the
+capital of the Sulu Archipelago. We'll refuel there, probably by
+tomorrow morning."
+
+Rick thought it was probably a good idea for Chahda to go ahead. He
+could use his Indian contacts to pick up any information that might be
+available. It would save them time. "I'm for it," he said.
+
+Zircon made sure Chahda had ample funds, then the three bade him good-by
+for the time being and started on their shopping tour.
+
+Within the promised hour they had their luggage and provisions loaded
+aboard and were prepared to cast off. Santos had the boat ready, even to
+putting in a box of shells for the saluting cannon.
+
+Scotty and Rick cast off while Zircon sent the MTB smoothly away from
+the dock, through the breakwater and into Basilan Strait. Then Scotty
+took over, while Zircon checked the first leg of their course. On the
+charts Santos had given them the routes between principal ports were
+clearly marked. Zircon found the route from Zamboanga to Jolo and gave
+Scotty the first compass setting.
+
+Scotty opened the throttle wide. The _Swift Arrow_ responded instantly,
+planing along at a fast clip. Zircon took sightings with the pelorus,
+then calculated his readings.
+
+Rick watched with interest, anxious to find out what speed they were
+making. Finally the big physicist looked up, grinning. "We've picked a
+champion. Twenty-eight knots!"
+
+It was far below the original speed of the craft, but probably far above
+the speed of anything else in the Sulu Sea. Rick was satisfied. "I'm
+going below. I'll store the chow, then relieve Scotty."
+
+In a short time, taking turns at the helm, the three had everything
+stowed and bunks ready for occupancy. Zircon and Scotty had broken out
+the newly purchased ammunition and loaded their weapons. Rick hung
+Shannon's quiver on a hook near the bunks.
+
+The _Swift Arrow_ sped steadily on. Basilan dropped astern as they
+negotiated the countless islands of the Pilas Group. Two islands formed
+a narrow channel ahead, Rick saw, as he took the wheel from Scotty. Once
+through the channel they would be in open water, nothing between them
+and Jolo but the Sulu Sea.
+
+Scotty walked to the bow, to check on the readiness of the anchor. In a
+moment he returned and joined Rick. "Must be good fishing country. Lots
+of vintas in the channel ahead."
+
+Rick had noticed. "Must be two dozen." Between the islands, the channel
+was dotted with red, purple, green, and brown sails. As the MTB drew
+nearer, Rick throttled down a little. He was already traveling at
+cruising speed, considerably less than top speed, but he didn't want to
+take a chance of ramming one of the Moro craft.
+
+The distance closed rapidly, and Zircon pointed out that the vintas
+seemed to be spreading in a line across the channel, only a boat's
+length between them. "Slow down more," he advised. "They may be hauling
+a net or something."
+
+Rick did so, keeping a careful eye out for net floats. "Not much room to
+go through. I'll toot the horn."
+
+He gave the horn a long blast. The Moros paid no attention. Apparently
+fishing boats had the right of way, and they didn't intend to move. The
+_Swift Arrow_ was close enough now, so he could see the triangular masts
+and the booms of the lateen sails. He could make out the crews, too. The
+boats seemed to be crowded with men.
+
+"They're not going to make way!" Zircon exclaimed. The MTB was already
+well within the channel.
+
+"They're intercepting us front and rear!" Scotty yelled. "Look!"
+
+The vintas on the ends of the line had moved rapidly, and the rest
+followed. The MTB would soon be surrounded! Rick spun the wheel and
+turned the big boat nearly in its own length, heeling far over. In the
+same instant a rifle slug splintered wood on the cabin roof overhead.
+
+Scotty jumped for his rifle and started firing. Zircon hauled the
+automatic from his belt and yelled, "Gun it, Rick!"
+
+Rick didn't need the advice. He straightened the MTB out and rammed the
+throttles to full speed. Slugs smacked into the hull or blossomed as
+stars on the glass of the pilothouse. He made the MTB dance through the
+water at top speed. His evasive action made it hard for Scotty and
+Zircon to fire accurately and they stopped.
+
+In a few moments they were out of range of the vintas. Zircon called out
+a new course that would take them through another channel more to the
+west. It was longer, but safer.
+
+The three remained silent while Rick got on the new course. Attack by
+vintas in open water was about the last thing any of them had expected.
+
+Finally Zircon slipped the clip from his pistol, ejected the shell in
+the chamber, and reloaded. The scientist said severely, "Mr. Scott, on a
+certain occasion at Zamboanga yesterday, you were heard to make a remark
+to the effect that piracy has been dead for a century. In view of our
+recent experience, I believe it is only fair to offer an opportunity to
+correct the record."
+
+Scotty bowed ceremoniously. "You are most kind, Dr. Zircon. It would
+perhaps be more accurate to state that piracy has not been dead for a
+century. My conclusion is entirely empirical, of course, but observation
+leads me to conclude that the vintas in the channel may indeed have been
+manned by pirates."
+
+"Handsomely said, Mr. Scott. You have a comment, Mr. Brant?"
+
+"I concur," Rick said gravely. "Would you care to hazard a surmise about
+the identity of these putative pirates?"
+
+Zircon stroked his chin thoughtfully. "We had no opportunity to remove
+shirts and examine backs. Yet I must venture the opinion that the men in
+the vintas carry the mark of the mountain."
+
+"And why did they lay in wait for us?" Scotty asked.
+
+"My surmise," Zircon boomed, "is that we are doing exactly the right
+thing. They fear our ultimate success. Ergo, they try to remove us."
+
+Rick had to grin. "I've always wanted to hear someone say 'ergo.' But
+how did they know we were coming?"
+
+Zircon shook his head. "The islands in the vicinity are too small to
+have radio or telephone. However, we've not been too careful about our
+plans. The waiter last night, or a houseboy outside our hotel door could
+have overheard us, and a vinta could have gotten here in time to lay a
+trap."
+
+"We'll probably never be sure," Rick said. Suddenly he grinned widely.
+He had the feeling they were making progress.
+
+"At least," he stated, "we've met the Pirates of Shan!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+The Moro Knives
+
+
+Rick walked to the bow as the _Swift Arrow_ approached the harbor of
+Jolo in the early-morning hours. He used Shannon's long glass to inspect
+some curious-looking houses to the west of the harbor entrance. The
+glass showed him they were built on stilts over the water, and connected
+by a series of bamboo walkways.
+
+Zircon joined him and borrowed the glass for a look. "Samal village," he
+explained. "I've never seen one, but I spent last night reading a pocket
+guide I picked up at Bayot's. The Samals are Moros, noted as fishermen."
+
+"And pirates?"
+
+Zircon smiled. "The book didn't say."
+
+In spite of the primitive Samal village, the dock and the city were
+fairly modern. As Scotty took the _Swift Arrow_ closer, Rick and Zircon
+looked for a place to tie up.
+
+Chahda saved them the trouble. The Hindu boy appeared on a bale of abacá
+and waved both arms until they saw him, then he motioned them to the
+left and ran down the dock. Scotty swung the MTB past the dock and saw a
+smaller dock where a few pleasure boats were tied up. In a moment they
+were alongside. Chahda caught the line Rick threw and hauled the bow in.
+
+The Hindu boy jumped aboard as soon as they were tied up. "You early,"
+he greeted them.
+
+"We could have been here last night, but we decided to take it easy and
+not risk running into vintas and things in the darkness," Rick replied.
+
+"It was a fine trip," Scotty added. "We met some friends."
+
+"Friends? You meaning purposies?"
+
+"Porpoises," Rick corrected. "Not exactly. He means pirates. They took
+some shots at us."
+
+Chahda's wide eyes took in the bullet holes. He muttered to himself in
+Hindi.
+
+"We were a little surprised," Zircon added. "We're not even sure they
+were especially after us. They might have been waiting for any craft
+that came along. We can't imagine how they could communicate so rapidly,
+unless they had advance notice of our plans."
+
+Chahda shook his head. "Smarter than you think, these Moros. Sometimes
+use strange way to get letter far distances. I amazed."
+
+"What is this strange way?" Zircon asked.
+
+"You know there plenty parrots here? Moros teach birds to talk, then
+tell message and say, 'Okay bird. You go now and tell Charlie.'"
+
+Rick and Zircon stared at the Hindu boy incredulously, but Scotty had
+been the object of Chahda's humor often enough to recognize it first. He
+grabbed the lithe brown boy and held him out over the muddy harbor
+waters in spite of his struggles.
+
+"Take it back!" he demanded.
+
+"Is took!" Chahda yelled. He straightened his shirt as Scotty hauled him
+in again, and looked at the dark-haired boy accusingly. "That plenty
+good yarn. You just scooptical, that's all."
+
+"Skeptical," Rick corrected.
+
+"Is so. Anyway, if parrots don't fly, pigeons do. Sometimes my Indian
+friends use pigeons for messages to islands with no radios. So why not
+pirates?"
+
+Why not? Rick thought Chahda very likely had the answer. Carrier pigeons
+would serve a useful purpose in a remote place like the Sulu Sea, and
+one could have reached the channel from Zamboanga after they departed.
+
+"Let's go into the cabin," Zircon suggested. The boys followed him and
+took seats on the bunks, waiting expectantly.
+
+"Let's start with Chahda. Learn anything?"
+
+The Hindu boy nodded. "Little. Some peoples here think pirates took
+plenty boats now missing. Not many hear of pirates, but more than in
+Davao."
+
+"Any guesses on their hideout?" Scotty asked.
+
+"None good. Some say far to south, maybe near Tawi Tawi. Plenty small
+islands, no people."
+
+"I agree," Zircon added. "I've studied the chart, and that seems to be
+the most likely area. We can go right on to Borneo, if need be. It's
+only about a hundred and twenty-five miles from Jolo. It's even possible
+the pirate hangout is off the Borneo coast."
+
+Rick spoke up. "I've been thinking about that pirate attack. Yesterday
+we got away through sheer speed, right? Well, word about our speed will
+spread. Now, we don't want the pirates to give up because our boat is
+too fast for them. We want them to think they can attack us
+successfully, because the attacks are our best clue to whether or not
+we're on the right track."
+
+He believed that no further attack would mean they were getting cold,
+while increasing attacks would mean they were getting warm, to use the
+old game terms. The closer to the pirate stronghold, the more determined
+the attacks would be, particularly if the pirates saw a chance of taking
+over the MTB.
+
+Scotty saw what Rick had in mind. "You mean we have to convince them
+we're no longer fast?"
+
+"That's it. There must be pirate spies here in Jolo. Why not plant a
+story that one engine is bad?"
+
+"Very good!" Zircon exclaimed. "We could do it by trying, very publicly,
+to get some engine part. Which one, Scotty? It has to be one we won't be
+able to get."
+
+Scotty thought it over while the others watched him anxiously, then
+suddenly he snapped his fingers. "Got it. A new timing gear. I'll be
+surprised if there's one nearer than Manila. I can juggle the spark, so
+the engine sounds as though the timing were off. That will make it more
+convincing."
+
+Zircon rose. "We'll do it. Chahda, you've seen the town. Can you stand
+by while the rest of us make a quick trip? We must see the constabulary,
+and I have a purchase to make."
+
+"Gladly do," Chahda assented. "First I go and get suitcase. This time I
+stay with you until we find our friends."
+
+The Hindu boy got his luggage and a paper-wrapped package from the dock
+guard's hut. Rick and the others left him to guard the _Swift Arrow_.
+
+The main street of Jolo started only a few hundred feet from the dock
+area. Wooden stores and houses predominated, but there were a few of
+ancient stone. The people were almost entirely Moro, with only a
+sprinkling of Christian Filipinos. They saw no other Americans, although
+a few lived in the town.
+
+"Wish we had more time here," Zircon remarked. "After all, Jolo is the
+seat of Islam in this part of the world."
+
+"Of what?" Scotty asked.
+
+"Islam is the proper name for the religion we called Mohammedanism.
+Moros are Moslems. The name is from the old Spanish for Moor. This
+island--my guidebook says--is the home of the Sultan of Sulu, the
+spiritual head of Islam in the Philippines."
+
+Rick noted a strange pair of men making their way down the street. Their
+skins were brown, but their bushy hair was an odd orange red. They
+walked with knees bent sharply, as though on the verge of sitting down.
+Their legs were spindly, the knees prominent.
+
+"Bajaus," Zircon said. "Sea gypsies. I recognize them from my talks with
+Tony. He was interested in studying them. They spend their entire lives
+in vintas, usually in a squatting position. That's the reason for the
+odd posture. They have trouble standing upright. Their hair is that
+color because sun and salt have bleached it."
+
+A pair of Moros went by, carrying a bamboo pole from which a dozen small
+sharks were suspended by the gills. Rick saw that the fins had been cut
+off, probably bought by some Chinese for making soup.
+
+There were shops everywhere. Zircon looked them over carefully. "Watch
+for a hardware store," he requested.
+
+They reached the constabulary office before finding a hardware store,
+however. Rick and Scotty decided to wait outside and enjoy the
+interesting street scene while Zircon checked in.
+
+The boys noted that many Moros were armed, with krises or barongs in
+fancy sheaths. Some had small daggers with pistol-grip type handles
+tucked in their sashes. While Rick and Scotty watched, they were on the
+alert for possible enemies, but so many Moros eyed them curiously, it
+was hard to pick out any one of them as being suspicious. Just the same,
+both had the feeling of being tailed.
+
+Zircon emerged shortly. "Lacson and Lim have both sent messages
+transmitting what details we have. All detachments in the area have been
+alerted to watch for the _Sampaguita_. Now they'll also be told to keep
+a lookout for pirates or information concerning them. Our report on the
+attack has gone to Manila already. They wasted no time."
+
+The Spindrifters resumed their hike up the main street and came upon a
+hard-goods store. Inside, Zircon finally succeeded in making his wants
+known. To the boys' amazement, he bought ten dozen boxes of ordinary
+household tacks! He refused to tell them what the tacks were for.
+
+"He's going to nail down the facts," Rick suggested.
+
+Scotty shook his head. "Nope. He thinks we have a sailboat, and anyone
+knows sailboats have to tack into the wind."
+
+Zircon merely grinned and said nothing.
+
+Visits to four ship supply stores followed. Zircon expressed amazement
+at the top of his voice that no timing gear was available. He bemoaned
+the loss of one engine unless the gear was forthcoming. He sounded
+pretty convincing.
+
+"We've got it made," Scotty said with satisfaction as the three walked
+back to the dock. "Did you know we have a tail? He's good, too. I had
+trouble spotting him. You can bet he heard the professor's sad story,
+which means the vintas will know about our 'bad engine.'"
+
+The _Swift Arrow_ was in sight now. Rick stared for a heartbeat, then
+broke into a run. "Come on! Chahda's fighting with someone!"
+
+Rick had seen the Hindu boy dance into sight on the stern of the boat,
+then lunge behind the pilot house again, a long knife in his hand.
+
+The three pounded down the dock and leaped aboard, then stopped short at
+the sight on the stern. Chahda had suspended a large bunch of bananas
+from a convenient hook and was methodically slicing it to pieces with a
+long Moro knife in each hand.
+
+Rick exploded, "What in the name of an Indian idiot are you doing?"
+
+Chahda paused in his dancing attack to welcome them aboard with a grin.
+"I get in shape. You like my weapons?"
+
+Rick and the others examined them with considerable interest. One was a
+barong, with a heavy blade about two feet long. The blade curved along
+the bottom, or cutting edge, but was nearly straight along the top,
+which was nearly a quarter of an inch thick. The second weapon was a
+kris, about the same length, but with two cutting edges, both of which
+were wavy in typical kris fashion. The kris was more swordlike, but it
+was a cutting weapon not used for stabbing.
+
+Chahda proceeded to give a demonstration, a blade in each hand. Rick was
+amazed to see that he used both hands equally well.
+
+"Why all the sudden interest in weapons?" Rick asked.
+
+Chahda sent the remainder of the bananas flying with one cut. "We go
+after scientists, yes? We find them, too. But, Rick, don't think we get
+them back without one big fight!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+South of Sulu
+
+
+The _Swift Arrow_ rounded the western end of Jolo and headed south
+toward the Tapul islands. On the south side of the group was the island
+of Siasi where Zircon planned to top off the fuel tanks and check in
+with the constabulary again.
+
+The four set up watches, two to a watch, four hours at a stretch. They
+settled down to a long search. At Siasi they would be at the center of
+the Sulu Archipelago, and would leave the Sulu Sea behind and enter the
+Celebes Sea. The sun blazed down from nearly overhead at noon until the
+caulking in the deck bubbled and the sea seemed to steam. They were less
+than six degrees above the Equator now.
+
+Vintas dotted the waters close to the islands, but they were apparently
+peaceful Samal fishermen. There was no sign of a pirate fleet.
+
+"I doubt that the pirates will bother us in these waters," Zircon
+remarked. "Too close to islands with civilization on them. We can look
+for trouble in the more open waters to the south."
+
+"They bothered us close to Zamboanga," Rick pointed out.
+
+"True. However, I suspect it was simply a quick try at getting us before
+we were well under way. I'm rather flattered, as a matter of fact. Of
+course they know what we're after. It was in the Manila papers. But they
+must realize we won't quit until we find Tony and Howard, and they must
+be afraid we'll succeed. Otherwise, why attack us?"
+
+Rick saw the sense of Zircon's reasoning. "Then this mysterious island
+may not be hard to find, at least for anyone who's really determined."
+
+"That's my guess. Anyway, I think we may be attacked when we
+accidentally start toward their base. And it will be an accident, since
+we have no clues."
+
+At Siasi the constabulary had no further information of value, except
+that the government was showing deep interest and concern about the
+pirates. The searchers topped off the fuel and water tanks, and anchored
+for the night in the protected harbor. At dawn they hauled anchor and
+rounded Siasi.
+
+Zircon laid a course that took them south-south-west toward the
+Kinapusan Islands and cautioned all hands to be on the alert. By noon
+they had crossed Taapan Passage.
+
+Chahda and Rick were in the galley, cooking hamburgers for lunch. Chahda
+was explaining the technique of using the Moro blades.
+
+"Must remember, knife is not just a thing. Is part of your arm. Is
+sharp part that just makes arm longer. You no swing knife. You swing
+arm, like trying to cut with end of finger. Okay?"
+
+"I get it," Rick agreed. "Don't think of the knife as something
+separate. Think of it as part of your own body."
+
+"Yes," Chahda assented. "Next, balancing of knife is important. If is
+good, is like part of you. If is bad, can never be part of you. Moro
+knives well-balanced. You see..."
+
+Chahda never got a chance to finish.
+
+"All hands on deck! Pirates!" Scotty yelled.
+
+[Illustration: "_All hands on deck! Pirates!_"]
+
+Rick and Chahda piled out of the galley at top speed, Rick grabbing
+Shannon's quiver from its hook as he passed. He quickly put the bow
+together and strung it, then swung the quiver to his back as he reached
+the deck.
+
+Ahead was a line of vintas, already curving in an arc to trap them. Rick
+glanced behind and saw that other Moro craft were closing in. They would
+be surrounded this time, unless they chose to give up their pretense of
+a crippled engine.
+
+"Chahda!" Scotty called. "Take the wheel so I can use my rifle."
+
+The Hindu boy checked to be sure his knives were at hand, then took over
+from Scotty, who laid out extra clips and got ready to fire.
+
+Zircon had extra clips for his pistol close at hand. He was watching the
+vintas through the long glass.
+
+Rick put on his arm guard and finger protectors. Since the vintas were
+still out of bowshot he took a moment to beeswax his string. Then he
+took a small broadhead arrow from the quiver, nocked it, and drew a few
+times to unlimber his muscles, being careful not to let the string snap
+out of his fingers.
+
+"What now?" he asked.
+
+"We'll go straight ahead," Zircon answered. "Chahda, use nearly full
+speed on one engine. Have the second engine idling, but don't use it
+unless we get into serious trouble. Notice that the vintas ahead of us
+are running before the wind? If we can get through the line we'll have
+the weather gauge of them. In other words, they'll have to tack with the
+wind against them. We'll be able to get free easily on one engine."
+
+Scotty pointed to a gap between a vinta with a solid purple sail and one
+with blue-and-white stripes. "There's a hole to go through, Chahda."
+
+Rick saw that the vintas ahead were closing in. The Moro craft would be
+two deep by the time the MTB reached them. He loosened his quiver and
+made sure the arrows were free. He might have to shoot pretty fast.
+
+His senses were unnaturally alert. The water was bluer than blue and the
+small patches of fair-weather clouds seemed brilliantly white. The sails
+on the Moro craft were gaudy, their crews properly fierce and
+picturesque. He was detached from the reality of the scene, as though
+this were some movie he was watching.
+
+Zircon brought him back to reality with a jolt. "Pick off the helmsmen
+first!"
+
+Rick could hear yells now, as the Moros saw that the _Swift Arrow_ was
+almost within reach. He ran to the foredeck and knelt on one knee, arrow
+nocked and ready. Scotty climbed to the top of the pilothouse and lay
+prone, rifle thrust out.
+
+The pirate yells were louder now, and some Moros brandished barongs or
+krises while others waved rifles. Rick suppressed a shudder. If the
+pirates got on board with those knives ...
+
+The pirate fleet opened fire. A slug whined off a ventilator cowl a foot
+from Rick's head, but he forced himself to wait. It was still a little
+far for bow shooting. It was not too far for Scotty, however. Rick heard
+the sharp crack of his pal's rifle, and saw a Moro helmsman slump over
+in the nearest vinta. The craft sheered off. Another Moro jumped to take
+the helmsman's place and Scotty's second shot splintered the rudder
+handle in his hands.
+
+A vinta closed to within twenty yards, an easy bowshot. Rick mentally
+timed the rise and fall of the craft on the swell. Then, as it broached
+slightly, he had a clear shot at the helmsman. Kneeling, he drew swiftly
+and loosed. The shaft caught the Moro in the hollow of the shoulder and
+pinned him back against the stern transom.
+
+Rick reached for another arrow in the smooth rhythm Shannon had taught
+him, but the rhythm was abruptly shattered by a sudden blast almost in
+his ear! He whirled swiftly to meet the new threat, just in time to see
+Zircon open the breech of the saluting cannon and extract a smoking
+shell.
+
+For an instant Rick wondered if the scientist had taken leave of his
+senses. He saw Zircon ram home a blank cartridge and close the breech.
+
+Then, suddenly, the action made sense to Rick. For Zircon upended the
+cannon muzzle and poured in a box of tacks!
+
+The scientist depressed the muzzle, sighted calmly, and pulled the
+lanyard. A swath of tacks spewed into the bow of the nearest vinta
+bringing a chorus of pirate yells. The craft swerved away.
+
+Shouting with delight at the scientist's ingenuity, Rick jumped to
+Zircon's side. Working together, they fired box after box of tacks, and
+saw the vintas slowly clear the way.
+
+The Moros could face cold steel or hot lead without a qualm, but the
+fierce, stinging tacks were too much, and too unexpected. They failed to
+press the attack at the crucial moment and the _Swift Arrow_ slipped
+through the line.
+
+As Zircon had predicted, one engine gave them enough speed to get clear,
+once the Moros had lost the advantage of a favorable wind. Scotty fired
+a few more shots at the vintas within range, then dropped to the deck.
+The fight was over.
+
+The four gathered in the pilothouse and the three boys stared at Zircon
+with mixed admiration and amusement.
+
+"It's nothing," the big physicist said modestly. "You see, in my
+lifetime I have been an avid reader. At one time, while at the
+university, I read of some round-the-world traveler using tacks in a
+signal gun. So I disclaim originality."
+
+"My 'Worrold Alm-in-ack' not saying about this," Chahda said, grinning.
+"Is pretty lucky you have good memory for other books, Professor!"
+
+Rick looked back at the vintas, rapidly falling astern. The pirates were
+well beyond gunshot now. "Victory at Sea," he proclaimed. "Thanks to the
+professor's college education!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+The Dancing Pirates
+
+
+The _Swift Arrow_ rode at anchor in the gathering dusk, inside a snug
+bay formed by a U-shaped island of the Kinapusan Group. The island was
+very small, and uninhabited. It was surrounded by larger islands that
+formed a kind of screen.
+
+"Let's hope we can spend the night undisturbed," Zircon boomed as he
+finished the last of his coffee. "I could use a good night's sleep."
+
+"We all could," Rick agreed. He helped himself to more of the stew
+Scotty had concocted. "Funny about a fight. That one was over in a few
+minutes, but I feel as though I'd done a day's work at hard labor."
+
+"A perfectly normal reaction," Zircon replied. "Our minds and bodies are
+wonderful things. When we face danger our whole system goes into high
+gear, our endocrines pumping fluids that get our bodies ready for fast
+action, or for wounds. We operate at top physical efficiency. Then, when
+the danger is past and our minds signal that it's time to get back to
+normal, we show the effects of our overstimulation by a kind of
+lassitude."
+
+That was true, Rick knew from his own experience. It seemed that he was
+always scared stiff before a fight, cool as could be during it, and limp
+as boiled lettuce when it was over.
+
+Zircon changed the subject. "Scotty, when you first spotted the pirates,
+from what direction were they coming?"
+
+The boy thought it over. "From about due south," he said at last. "But
+when they spotted us the line shifted to the east, on an interception
+course. They came from south originally, though."
+
+"Not from southwest?" Zircon persisted.
+
+"No. If anything, it was a little east of south, not west."
+
+"Uhuh. That was my impression, but I wanted to be sure. Now, according
+to the chart, most of the scattered islands of the Tawi Tawi Group lie
+more westerly than south of here. If the pirates came from due south, it
+means they swung wide to miss the inhabited islands."
+
+Chahda asked, "What means this to you, sir?"
+
+"I'm not sure. I think it means we had better search the seas to the
+eastward of the main Tawi Tawi chain. The pirates would certainly have
+come from a westerly direction if their headquarters were anywhere near
+Tawi Tawi."
+
+The big scientist rose. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm for
+bed. Who has the first watch?"
+
+"I'm on the eight-to-midnight," Rick replied. "It's after eight now, so
+I'll stand by. Chahda relieves me at twelve, you come on at four, and
+Scotty finishes the night."
+
+They had arranged the anchor watches that way because a single guard
+would be enough while at anchor, and it would allow each of them a good
+night's sleep.
+
+Zircon and Chahda retired at once, but Scotty lingered. The two sat on
+the afterdeck and watched the stars for a few moments.
+
+"How are we doing?" Scotty asked quietly.
+
+Rick knew what he meant. "I'm scared," he said. "It's a big ocean, and
+we could miss easily. Also, I'm thinking about what Chahda said. Even if
+we find Shan, we won't get Tony and Shannon back without a fight. There
+must be hundreds of pirates, if the fleets we've seen are a sample." He
+was sure that the northern attack had been made by a different group
+than the one that attacked earlier in the day.
+
+"Do you think they're still alive?" Scotty asked.
+
+"We have to assume they are. What else can we do?"
+
+"Nothing," Scotty replied sensibly. "Except say our prayers faithfully."
+
+"Amen," Rick said. "Go on to bed. You must be tired."
+
+"I am. See you in the morning."
+
+After Scotty had gone below, Rick sat quietly, depending more on ears
+than eyes to keep watch. Again and again he reviewed every bit of
+information they had obtained, re-examining it to see if any nugget of
+value might have been overlooked. At last he decided they had done
+everything possible. The rest would be persistence, and luck.
+
+His thoughts turned to home, and he wondered what his folks were doing.
+It was nine o'clock, Manila time. At Spindrift it was eight this
+morning. The family would be gathering for breakfast, and Barby would be
+slipping Dismal, the family pup, scraps of bacon under the table.
+
+Rick resolved to send a cable from Tawi Tawi, if they should stop there.
+He knew the family would be anxious to know how things were going.
+
+The watch ticked away without incident. A few minutes before midnight
+Rick woke Chahda and joined the Hindu boy in a glass of cold coke. Then
+he went to bed and drifted off to sleep immediately.
+
+Some inner instinct awakened him. For a moment he lay quietly, his heart
+pounding, eyes blinking in the darkness. Then he heard the pad of bare
+feet as Scotty got to his feet.
+
+"What's up?" Rick whispered.
+
+"Just restless, I guess," Scotty whispered back.
+
+Rick was wide awake now. He slipped into shoes and trousers while Scotty
+did the same. A few minutes in the cool air on deck would make him
+sleepy again, he thought.
+
+"On deck!" Chahda gave a wild yell. "Come quick!" The words were
+punctuated by gunfire.
+
+Instantly Zircon leaped to his feet and ran for the door.
+
+Rick emerged into the lesser darkness of the deck in time to see Chahda
+fire at moving shapes on the water. The Hindu boy's shot was answered by
+a dozen rifles, and Rick heard Chahda gasp.
+
+"Pirates!" Chahda yelled. "Where is light?"
+
+For answer, Scotty switched on the boat's searchlight and swiveled it.
+Rick shouted. A dozen vintas were closing rapidly, propelled by paddles.
+Fleetingly he thought that some sound or sense of danger must have
+awakened him, then he grabbed for Shannon's bow, realized in the same
+instant that it would do little good in the darkness, and put it back.
+
+Zircon took the pistol from Chahda while Scotty found his rifle. The two
+started a steady fire that was returned in ragged volleys as the pirates
+tried to shoot out the light. They came close, but the light stood
+undamaged. Rick thanked his guardian angel that they were poor shots.
+
+It was obvious that even pistol and rifle fire could not keep the
+pirates from boarding. Rick jumped to the controls and started the
+engines. If they could only slip the anchor, it might be possible to ram
+through the pirate craft and find safety in the open water. But even as
+he borrowed Chahda's kris and started to run to the bow to cut the
+anchor rope, the first vinta slammed into the torpedo boat.
+
+Dark figures swarmed up the sides with piercing yells. Rick ran to meet
+them, swinging the kris.
+
+He realized vaguely that the pirate yells had turned somehow to screams
+that seemed anguished, but his thoughts were occupied only with getting
+the Moros off the deck. In the faint scattered light at the side of the
+searchlight beam he saw that they were dancing, wildly, like Indians in
+a TV horse opera!
+
+Scotty joined him in the wild rush up the deck and the two boys hit the
+Moros at the same instant. Rick swung the kris like a flail, while the
+butt of Scotty's rifle slammed into bodies and heads.
+
+The Moros turned with one accord and went over the side!
+
+Zircon yelled, "Another boat back here!"
+
+But Rick and Scotty had troubles of their own. Moros were pouring onto
+the deck from the bow, where another vinta had tied up to the anchor
+rope. They ran to meet the new attack, and were astonished to see the
+pirates go into the same screaming dance. Then they were fighting again,
+Rick wielding the kris with deadly effect, too frantic even to wonder
+why the Moros weren't fighting more fiercely.
+
+From the stern came a wild yell from Zircon, a great bellow that had
+overtones of pain. Rick's breath caught. Had the big scientist gone
+down?
+
+But the bellowing roar continued and he knew Zircon was still alive.
+Rick could do nothing at the moment anyway, except to swing the kris
+until his arm felt as though the muscles were on fire. Next to him,
+Scotty slammed home a butt stroke that lifted a pirate high off his feet
+and threw him outward into the water. It was an instant before Rick
+realized the deck was clear, then he turned and ran to the stern while
+Scotty reversed his rifle and shot the vinta clear of pirates in the
+glare from the searchlight. From the corner of his eye Rick could see
+the Moros from the bow vinta scuttling through the water toward other
+boats, and toward land.
+
+At the stern Zircon towered like a mighty champion of mythology. Rick
+saw him lift a pirate bodily, pluck the barong from his hand, and throw
+him against two other pirates. At the scientist's side Chahda fought
+valiantly with his left hand, his flying barong glittering in the
+scattered back light of the searchlight. By the time Rick reached his
+friends the deck was clear.
+
+Chahda ran and swiveled the searchlight, and Rick saw that the vintas
+were pulling away, amidst yells of rage from the pirates. Up on the bow,
+Scotty was shooting as fast as he could aim and pull trigger, with
+pauses only to slap a fresh clip into the rifle. The return fire
+continued, but without order or enthusiasm, and in a few moments it
+stopped altogether.
+
+"They're gone," Rick said with relief. "Is anyone hurt?"
+
+"Little bit," the Hindu boy answered. "When is time, maybe could use
+bandage."
+
+Scotty joined the three on the stern. "I'll get the first-aid kit.
+Professor, are you hurt?"
+
+"Like fire," Zircon answered grimly. "I'll never be the same again." He
+sank down on a convenient seat and began to examine his feet. "But let's
+get out of here and attend to Chahda when we're under way. They may
+attack again, if they can find shoes."
+
+The comment baffled Rick, but he didn't stop to question. He hurried
+forward to pull in the anchor, and found a vinta still attached to the
+rope. For a moment he debated about cutting it loose, then realized that
+it would only be picked up by the pirates and used against them. He
+untied the vinta line from the anchor rope and temporarily hitched it to
+a bitt while he hauled in the anchor.
+
+The vinta was light and easy to tow. He hauled it to the stern of the
+MTB and attached the line to a cleat. Scotty was already at the wheel.
+
+"Go!" Rick commanded.
+
+Scotty shot the searchlight beam toward the entrance to the harbor and
+put the engines in gear. The MTB moved with gathering speed, following
+the clear path indicated by the searchlight. Once the light picked up a
+vinta, but off to one side. Scotty gave it a wide berth.
+
+As they cleared the bay, Rick got the first-aid kit and took Chahda down
+into the cabin. The Hindu boy's shoulder was covered with blood. Rick
+hurriedly cut way the clothes, afraid of what he might find. Zircon
+joined him, watching anxiously.
+
+"Is not bad," Chahda said. "Just made me stop fighting for a few
+minutes."
+
+Rick saw that the boy was right. A bullet had creased his right
+shoulder, digging a deep furrow from which the blood welled. It was
+painful, but at least they weren't faced with the problem of getting the
+bullet out. He sterilized the wound and bound it tightly with gauze
+pads. Then he washed Chahda clean of blood and put him to bed with a
+blanket over him in case of shock.
+
+"How about you, Professor?" Rick asked. "You said something about being
+wounded, but I don't see any blood."
+
+Zircon chuckled grimly. "Not much blood, anyway. How did you happen to
+be wearing shoes?"
+
+Rick explained that he and Scotty had awakened before the attack and had
+gotten partially dressed to go on deck.
+
+"Then you don't know," Zircon said. Suddenly he put his head back and
+roared with laughter. "Did you ever see anything weirder than those
+pirates dancing? I thought they'd gone insane in wholesale lots!"
+
+Rick stared at the scientist. "I noticed," he said. "I wondered about
+it, too."
+
+"But you don't know the reason!" Zircon pointed at Chahda, who grinned
+weakly from his bunk. "There's the cause of it all. He routed the enemy
+with minimum help from us, even after he was wounded."
+
+Rick turned to stare at Chahda. "What's he talking about?"
+
+The Hindu boy shook his head. "I was sleepy, and I afraid maybe fall
+asleep, which big disgrace. So what I do? I fix things to hurt pirates,
+but also I hurt Professor Zircon, for which I plenty sorry."
+
+"But how?" Rick demanded.
+
+"Oh, I remembered that in Jolo I never see Moros wear shoes. Not very
+many, anyway."
+
+Zircon had mentioned shoes, too. Rick groaned with impatience. "What
+have shoes to do with it?"
+
+Chahda grinned. "I borrow the professor's cannon ammunition. All around
+edge of deck I sprinkled, so when pirates come, they dance, and soon
+they have plenty."
+
+Rick got it then. He sat down and laughed until Scotty had to stick his
+head in to see what was going on.
+
+Rick pointed at Chahda. "The Hindu wizard!" he roared. "You know what he
+did? He sprinkled the deck with tacks! No wonder the pirates danced!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+Search the Wide Seas
+
+
+There was an atmosphere of rising excitement on the _Swift Arrow_. Rick
+felt it, and knew the others did, too. Little by little they were
+narrowing the search. With only a few island groups remaining, he felt
+sure it would not be long before the pirate stronghold was located.
+
+The _Swift Arrow_ had poked its sharp bow into nearly every port in the
+vast Tawi Tawi Group, and had put into the port of Dungun on the main
+island to refuel. Since the pirate attack of two nights before, the
+Spindrifters had practically eliminated the Tawi Tawi islands as
+possibilities for the pirate hideout.
+
+Hobart Zircon, checking their progress on the chart, called the boys
+together.
+
+"There's only one island group remaining in this immediate area," Zircon
+pointed out, "and I'm not even sure it's in Philippines waters."
+
+Rick studied the place on the chart indicated by the big scientist.
+There were only three tiny islands in the Datu Amman Group.
+
+"They're pretty far to the southeast," Rick commented. "Just about on
+the border of Indonesia and the Philippines. Do we head for them next?"
+
+Zircon poked a big finger at the chart. "I think we'd better. Then, if
+we find nothing, we can head southwest toward Sibutu Island."
+
+"These Datu Amman islands aren't very big," Rick pointed out. "But
+that's the general direction from which the pirates have been coming. We
+have to eliminate every island in this area before going on to Sibutu
+and Borneo."
+
+"We've got full tanks," Scotty observed. "Might as well get started."
+
+"I think this also," Chahda agreed. "We not miss any islands. Besides,
+these far out of way, not on ship lanes. Could be good place for
+pirates."
+
+"My thoughts exactly," Zircon stated. "Who has the wheel?...
+Chahda?... All right. Head southeast, and I'll plot a course."
+
+"Why not use both engines?" Rick suggested. "Then we can get there
+before dark. If nothing turns up, we can travel all night from there to
+Sibutu. It's all open water."
+
+"If we use both engines, someone had better keep watch from on top of
+the pilothouse," Scotty added. "Then, if we see vintas, we can throttle
+down. That way, we won't have to give up our disguise of being a partial
+cripple."
+
+"Good idea," Zircon approved. "Suppose you start, Scotty? Rick can
+relieve you later."
+
+Rick grinned. "That's what you get for having ideas. Tell you what,
+I'll toss you. Heads I take the first watch topside, tails I'll start
+making lunch."
+
+"Sold." Scotty produced a centavo and they flipped. Rick won and climbed
+to the top of the pilothouse while Scotty went below to prepare
+sandwiches.
+
+Rick sat in a canvas chair Zircon handed up to him and watched the sea,
+now and then sweeping the horizon with Shannon's long glass. The _Swift
+Arrow_ cut the water cleanly, with both engines roaring at
+three-quarters throttle.
+
+They were cruising the Celebes Sea now, the Sulu Archipelago rapidly
+falling astern. It was a calm, clear day without even a single whitecap
+to mar the blue perfection of the sea. Now and then a school of flying
+fish broke water from under the MTB's bow, and twice Rick spotted
+sharks, one of them a hammerhead. There were no vintas in sight.
+
+Zircon handed up sandwiches and coffee, then relieved Chahda at the
+wheel. The Hindu boy's shoulder was healing nicely, but it was still a
+little stiff and he was careful not to move his arm more than necessary
+for fear of breaking open the wound.
+
+The afternoon wore on without sign of a sail. Scotty relieved Rick, who
+relaxed on the afterdeck. The boy glanced at his watch. They should be
+picking up the islands soon.
+
+Suddenly Scotty sang out, "Sail ho."
+
+"How many?" Rick called.
+
+"Just one. On the horizon, off the port bow."
+
+Rick relieved Chahda at the helm, and the Hindu boy hurried below,
+saying that he wanted a cold drink before the fight started. Rick
+watched for the vinta sail, but before the craft was visible from his
+lower vantage point, Scotty called out again. "Land! Behind the vinta.
+Looks like a coral atoll. I can see the tips of palms."
+
+Zircon checked the chart. "It should be the most westerly of the three
+islands," the physicist reported. "Scotty, any more vintas?"
+
+"Just the one."
+
+"Head for the island," Zircon instructed Rick. "We'll want a close
+look."
+
+Chahda emerged from the galley with cold cokes for all hands, and they
+drank while waiting for the boat to get within examination distance of
+the island. It was clearly visible within a short time. As Scotty had
+said, it was a coral atoll, the highest point not more than ten feet
+above sea level.
+
+They passed the vinta at a distance of a hundred yards. There were only
+three men aboard, and they were fishing. Then Rick cut closer to the
+island while Scotty kept a sharp lookout for shoal waters and coral
+heads.
+
+Details were clearly visible now. There were a dozen huts on the island,
+and only a handful of people were visible. Zircon took the long glass
+from Scotty and inspected carefully, "Apparently it's a small fishing
+community. I see nets, and another three vintas pulled up on shore.
+There seems to be ... Wait!"
+
+Rick watched as the scientist swung the long glass into the air,
+followed something for a moment, then lowered it, his face grim.
+
+"I caught a glimpse of a man releasing something into the air, and
+managed to pick it up with the glass. It was a pigeon. And you know what
+that means!"
+
+The boys did. "Which way did it go?" Rick asked.
+
+"Due east."
+
+Rick swung the MTB onto an easterly course without another word. He knew
+from the chart that the biggest island of the three in the Datu Amman
+Group lay that way. The third island was about ten miles to the north.
+Release of the carrier pigeon could mean only that the island they were
+now passing was a lookout position, from which the people on the biggest
+island had now been notified of their arrival. And that meant ... what?
+Rick had a good idea, which inspection should soon prove!
+
+"Land ho!" Scotty called down. "It's a peak of some sort."
+
+Rick saw it a few moments later, a golden glitter on the ocean as the
+fast-setting sun struck land.
+
+The four watched as the land mass slowly took shape. "It's a mountain,
+all right," Zircon said, excitement in his booming voice. "Looks like a
+volcanic cone. Can you see it clearly, Scotty?"
+
+"It's a cone, and not much land under it, either. Hey! Vintas ahead!
+Must be a hundred of them!"
+
+Rick felt excitement surge through him. That was too many vintas for a
+simple fishing community on an island of small size!
+
+"They're forming a line between us and the island!" Scotty called down a
+moment later.
+
+Rick could make out the tips of sails, and as the _Swift Arrow_ forged
+ahead, the entire fleet slowly came into view. Scotty was right. The
+vintas were in a line--like a planned defense!
+
+The island was almost entirely visible, now. A volcanic cone, perhaps
+five hundred feet high, formed most of the island. From the base of the
+cone, flat land spread out toward the oncoming MTB, ending in a white
+beach.
+
+"Get within gunshot of the vintas," Zircon directed grimly. "Let's see
+if they're really hostile. If they are, we'll know we've found
+something. And forget the crippled engine disguise. It's served its
+purpose."
+
+Rick figured his course carefully. He would take the MTB on a gradually
+sweeping curve that would place them within gunshot, but in a position
+to beat a fast retreat. In a few minutes, now, they would be in
+position. He kept his fingers crossed. Things looked promising. If this
+were only the end of the search.
+
+He throttled back a little, in order to keep a good amount of speed in
+reserve, and kept the MTB on the course he had planned, sweeping toward
+one end of the vinta line. He saw the outrigger craft back their sails
+as they turned to intercept him. Then, as the long curve brought him
+within rifle range he put the helm hard over, running broadside to the
+line of bright sails.
+
+Scotty called, "Watch it! Heads down!" The boy was flat on the top of
+the pilothouse now, his own rifle within reach.
+
+As an echo to his warning Chahda yelled, "They shoot!"
+
+Rick couldn't hear the shots above the engine roar, but he took Chahda's
+word for it. He put the helm over again, turning the stern toward the
+line of boats.
+
+Scotty jumped to the deck. "They took several shots at us, but none hit.
+I saw the muzzle flashes."
+
+Zircon nodded. "I saw muzzle flashes, too. Lads, it looks as though
+we've really found something, including a mountain. Now, I suggest we
+reconnoiter thoroughly."
+
+"What's your plan?" Rick asked.
+
+"Circle the island completely, at close range. Swing wide, to approach
+from the north, then go around the island clockwise, staying as close to
+shore as safety allows. We can outrun the vintas without trouble. If
+necessary, we can even cut inside the line for a close look." The big
+physicist was almost trembling with excitement.
+
+Rick wasted no time in swinging north, away from the vintas. Scotty went
+back to the top of the pilothouse to watch for shoal waters. Once he was
+far beyond the line of vintas, Rick cut back again, pointing the bow of
+the MTB at the northern shore of the island. He took out his
+handkerchief to wipe palms that were suddenly damp with nervous
+perspiration. This had to be the place!
+
+He could see now that the volcanic peak occupied the entire eastern part
+of the island. It dropped steeply into the ocean on both the eastern and
+northern shores. The inhabitable land area was a broad shelf that sloped
+from the base of the volcano to the western shore.
+
+As the MTB plowed toward the island more details became visible. There
+was a very small crescent of beach on the northern shore, but black
+volcanic rock dropped into the sea in most places.
+
+"Let's see what the rest of this place looks like," Zircon directed.
+
+Rick put the MTB on a curving course that would take them completely
+around the island, about a hundred yards offshore. They left the
+northern coast and passed the eastern edge of the island. Surf broke on
+the black volcanic rock on the eastern shore, except at one point where
+there appeared to be a fair-sized cove.
+
+The southern shore was equally forbidding until the volcanic cone was
+passed. There was a large cove where the land shelf met the volcano.
+Docks could be seen, and a few vintas. Apparently this was the island's
+boat anchorage.
+
+Zircon nodded his satisfaction. "We seem to have something here, boys.
+It's an ideal spot for a pirate stronghold. Notice they didn't try to
+follow us, or cut us off anywhere except on the west? That's because the
+island is a natural fortress, except for the western land slope. They
+need only look for trouble from the west."
+
+The MTB was in sight of the pirate fleet again. They were still in a
+battle array to protect the vulnerable western shore. The line of vintas
+formed a long curve from a point just off the pirate anchorage around
+the western shore to where the volcano rose from the land shelf on the
+north.
+
+"I'll stay out of rifleshot," Rick said. "Take a look at the village
+through the long glass, Professor. There may be some sign of Shannon and
+Tony."
+
+"I'm not hopeful about that," Zircon replied. "They'd be under cover."
+
+The pirates made no move to follow the MTB on its curving course around
+their battle line. Apparently the vintas were holding position in a
+planned defense. Across the vinta line, Rick could see a field of what
+appeared to be grain, separated by a street from a field of what was
+certainly corn. The village itself was of nipa shacks on stilts, all of
+them located near the volcano. There were a few trees, mostly mango and
+avocado.
+
+"Plenty room for plenty pirates," Chahda commented.
+
+Rick grinned mirthlessly. "You're so right." The village would provide
+housing for three or four hundred, anyway.
+
+"No sign of volcanic activity," Scotty said. "It must be a dead volcano.
+Anyway, I don't think even pirates would be foolish enough to live under
+a live one."
+
+"You're right," Zircon agreed. He waved a hand at the island. "Does
+anyone doubt that this is the right place?"
+
+No one did.
+
+"I not seeing scientists," Chahda observed.
+
+"They wouldn't be in the open, anyway. But did anyone see their boat?"
+
+"All boats were vintas," Rick replied.
+
+"I thought so, too. However, I wouldn't expect the pirates to keep the
+_Sampaguita_ in sight. Head back toward Tawi Tawi, Rick. We've plans to
+make!"
+
+Rick returned the scientist's jubilant grin, then he turned to look back
+at the rapidly receding pirate island, the volcano black and forbidding
+in the gathering dusk.
+
+"We'll be back," he promised the invisible scientists. "We'll be back!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+The Two Datus
+
+
+The _Swift Arrow_ moved slowly through the darkness toward the Tawi Tawi
+Group. Chahda was at the helm, while Rick, Scotty, and Zircon held a
+council of war in the cabin. The Hindu boy kept popping in and out,
+letting the MTB travel with locked rudder for a few minutes at a time so
+he could be in on the conference.
+
+"It has to be Shan," Rick said flatly. "No fishing village ever had that
+many vintas. And no peaceful fishermen ever fired on a stranger the way
+that mob fired on us. Besides, there's a mountain."
+
+"I agree." Zircon examined his pistol barrel carefully, then ran a
+cleaning rag through it again. "Furthermore, those vintas operated in a
+planned defense, in a way no fishermen would ever do. I'm convinced that
+it is the right island. The problem now is, what do we do?"
+
+Scotty paused in reassembling his rifle after a thorough cleaning. "Is
+there a choice? We can't rush the village and rescue our friends, even
+if we knew where they were. We'll have to get the constabulary, and the
+Philippines Naval Patrol, and mount an all-out assault on the place."
+
+"No!" Rick exclaimed. "We can't do that. If the pirates saw an armed
+fleet approaching, they'd kill Tony and Shannon, and get rid of their
+bodies. The fleet would find nothing at all."
+
+Chahda asked in quick alarm, "You think they kill scientists when we
+come today?"
+
+"I doubt it," Rick explained. "After all, one boat isn't a threat to
+them, even a fast one like this one. I think they'd only get rid of Tony
+and Shannon if they saw they were going to be invaded."
+
+"Then what can we do?" Scotty asked.
+
+"I'm not sure. Anyway, the first thing is to see if our friends are
+really there. When we get some more facts, maybe we can work out a
+plan."
+
+Zircon nodded. "That's sensible. The question is, how can we reconnoiter
+the island? Circling it in the boat again will only tell us what we
+already know."
+
+"Only one way. We go look," Chahda pointed out.
+
+Rick knew the Hindu boy was right. But getting ashore presented
+problems. If the MTB got within swimming distance, the pirates would see
+it. Of course they could row ashore by night in the rubber life raft the
+big boat carried. He suggested it to the others.
+
+Chahda leaped at the idea. "Silent boat is good, Rick, but not rubber
+boat. You remember we still got vinta?"
+
+"Of course!" Rick saw that Chahda had hit on the answer. They had left
+the captured vinta in a small cove on the shore of an uninhabited island
+a few miles to the north. "We can get it and tow it to easy sailing
+distance. The pirates won't think anything of a single vinta even if
+they see it. There must be boats coming and going all the time."
+
+"That is what I think too." Chahda ran back to the helm.
+
+"Won't they recognize the vinta?" Scotty asked, then answered his own
+question, "I guess not. I've seen a dozen sails like it, and the hull
+looks like all the rest."
+
+"The plan might work," Zircon agreed. "We'll try it. First we get the
+vinta, then head south. By morning we'll be far out in the open sea. We
+can then make a wide circle and approach the island from the east. They
+won't expect us from that direction. Besides, only the western shore was
+guarded, so far as I could see."
+
+Rick had a picture in his mind of the strip of isolated beach on the
+northern shore. If they could land there, no one would see them. Then
+they could climb over the stretch of lava between the beach and the
+land, or swim around to the point where the land began.
+
+"I know the place," he volunteered, and told the others his idea,
+repeating it for Chahda's benefit as the boy reappeared at the cabin
+door.
+
+Zircon thought it over. "It should work, unless they have a lookout
+posted at each side of the island. But we can't know that until we try.
+Frankly, I doubt it. I think they believe the island is safe on all
+sides except the west. Now, who will go on this reconnaissance?"
+
+"Rick and me," Chahda said firmly.
+
+"I'm going," Scotty stated.
+
+Zircon held up his hand. "Wait. Chahda, from your tone of voice, you
+have a reason. What is it?"
+
+"Plenty reason. This small island, so who goes ashore will be seen, I
+think. So, must be in Moro clothes. Professor, you and Scotty not good
+size for Moro. You too big, and Scotty has too wide shoulders. Rick is
+maybe a little tall, but not so wide. He can maybe stoop a little. Me, I
+perfect for Moro. Even same color."
+
+"You're right," Zircon agreed. "No question of it. So curb your
+impatience, Scotty. Your turn will come and so will mine. Chahda, you
+take the lead in figuring out disguises for you and Rick. Scotty, you
+and I will take over the watch and get underway."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By morning the _Swift Arrow_, with the vinta in tow, was in Indonesian
+waters far from shipping lanes or fishing grounds. Zircon figured their
+position as 120 degrees 29 minutes longitude, and 4 degrees 21 seconds
+latitude. They had seen no sails for hours.
+
+The MTB was allowed to drift while the group went about the business of
+making ready. Chahda had created a Moro cap for Rick from a piece of
+upholstery he had cut from a seat bottom. Rick had cut the seams in a
+pair of white duck trousers and laced them with twine from the rope
+locker until they fitted as tightly as Moro pants. One of his own
+shirts, dirtied up a little and left open at the collar, would complete
+his outfit.
+
+Chahda cut one of his extra turbans in half and made sashes for both of
+them, and modified the wrapping of his own turban so that it was more
+like the flat Moro variety.
+
+The only real problem was Rick's color. In spite of his deep tan he
+couldn't possibly pass for a Moro. He and Chahda searched the boat for
+something that would serve as a stain, then finally took their problem
+to the others.
+
+Scotty had the answer. With a broad grin he went to his suitcase and
+drew out a can of brown shoe polish. "Neatness pays," he proclaimed. He
+passed it to Chahda with a flourish. "Don't give him too high a gloss
+when you polish him."
+
+"How about shoes?" Zircon asked. "The polish reminded me. The pirates
+don't wear any."
+
+"This pirate does," Rick declared. "I'll rub the shine off, but I can't
+go barefoot."
+
+"Also," Chahda agreed. "Foots too tender. We could not run or fight in
+barefoots."
+
+When everything was in readiness except for the application of polish,
+Rick and Chahda took time to eat, then got into the vinta and began
+practicing.
+
+The craft was filthy, from years of accumulated dirt and no cleaning,
+and it offended Rick's nose. But more than that, it was hard to handle.
+He could sail in conventional craft, but the outrigger design had its
+own peculiarities.
+
+Slowly, as the day wore on, the two boys learned the Moro craft's ways
+until they could handle it fairly well. There were paddles, in case the
+wind failed, and Rick thought they might end up using the paddles,
+anyway.
+
+As they tied up after the last practice run Zircon called them to eat,
+then instructed them to get some sleep. None of the four had slept more
+than an hour at a time since the previous morning, but the big scientist
+and Scotty had decided to handle the MTB themselves on the way to the
+pirate island, so Rick and Chahda could be fresh for the night's
+adventure.
+
+After a meal of hot soup and crackers, the two boys climbed into their
+bunks and drifted off to sleep. Zircon and Scotty had already started
+the run toward Shan.
+
+Rick awoke with Scotty shaking him. "Time to rise, old son."
+
+The boy swung to the deck. "Where are we?"
+
+"About five miles east of the island." Scotty shook Chahda and told the
+Hindu boy it was time to get up, then he sat down next to Rick. "I feel
+funny, not going with you. Maybe I'd better go along. I could stay in
+the vinta, and be ready in case of trouble."
+
+Rick gave his pal a sympathetic grin. He knew how Scotty felt. "Look at
+it this way. If Chahda and I get caught, that leaves only you and
+Zircon. And you couldn't give up, even with us out of the picture."
+
+"I guess so." Scotty gave in reluctantly. "Come on. Coffee and
+sandwiches waiting. I'll go topside and help the professor keep a
+lookout."
+
+Rick and Chahda got into their outfits, then the Hindu boy carefully
+rubbed in polish on Rick's face, neck, arms, and hands, and his chest
+where it showed through the open shirt.
+
+Finally the Hindu boy stood back and admired his handiwork. "Plenty
+good. You make fine Moro, Rick."
+
+Rick adjusted Chahda's kris in his sash. "So are you. You'd fool the
+Sultan of Sulu himself."
+
+"We be two Datus," Chahda said, grinning. "Datu Rick and Datu Chahda."
+
+"What's this date business?" Scotty asked as he came down from the
+pilothouse.
+
+"Is Datu, not date. Datu is what Moros call Chiefs. We Datus."
+
+"Okay, Datus. The professor wants a look at you. I'll go take the wheel
+while he comes down. We're blacked out topside, just in case there's a
+lookout on this side of the island."
+
+In a moment Zircon came down and inspected them carefully. "You'd never
+pass in daylight, Rick," he said finally. "But at night there should be
+no trouble unless someone gives you a close inspection--in which case
+you'd be caught, anyway. Now, have some coffee and sandwiches while
+Scotty and I move the boat in closer."
+
+Rick said doubtfully, "Isn't it dangerous to get too close?"
+
+Chahda chimed in. "In 'Worrold Alm-in-ack,' says can see pretty far at
+sea. Volcano is maybe five hundred feet. Man on top can maybe see 25.6
+ocean miles, says 'Alm-in-ack.'"
+
+"True." Zircon smiled. "But that would be in daylight, with absolutely
+clear visibility. You recall that we didn't see the island yesterday
+until we were perhaps ten miles away? Water vapor in the air cuts down
+visibility here, and at night of course it's even less. If we're blacked
+out, I think we can get within two miles with safety. Fortunately, the
+moon set shortly after sunset. So our principal problem will be guessing
+how far away we can be heard. At low speed, on only one engine, I think
+two miles will be safe."
+
+The professor had been figuring things out, Rick realized. He nodded
+approval. "All right. We'll be ready by the time you're in position.
+I'll leave my Megabuck unit on the boat, and we'll depend on Chahda's.
+Then, if we get caught, you and Scotty will still have two sets."
+
+"You won't get caught," Zircon stated emphatically. "Don't even
+entertain the idea. I'm sure you can outrun the pirates. If you're
+spotted, call us, then get to the shore. We'll come roaring in. Also, I
+want you to take the pistol and extra clips. Then, if need be, you can
+hold off the mob for the few minutes it will take us to get there."
+
+"All right." Rick didn't really believe they would be caught. Chahda
+was an expert at reconnoitering, and he had had plenty of experience
+himself. Besides, it was good to be moving into action, no matter what
+the danger. They had searched for a long time. Now, their missing
+friends were within reach. He had to believe that because the
+alternative was to think they were dead.
+
+"Let's eat, Chahda," he said. "Almost time to go."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+The High Fire
+
+
+The Celebes Sea was dark, with a low swell but no chop. There was just
+enough wind to fill the vinta's sail, which suited Rick. At this stage
+in the proceedings he was more concerned about silence and safety than
+speed. Zircon and Scotty had moved another mile seaward as soon as the
+vinta was launched. That was to avoid anyone on the island hearing the
+engines in case a sudden onshore wind came up.
+
+Up ahead, Chahda was a dark blur against the sail, trimming it for
+maximum efficiency. Presently the Hindu boy came back to the tiller and
+sat down near Rick.
+
+Shan's volcanic cone blotted out the stars ahead. There were no lights
+of any kind on the mountain itself, and the number of lights in the
+village was gradually diminishing.
+
+The water splashed a little under the rudder, and the cordage holding
+the mast and sail creaked as a vagrant breeze caught the vinta.
+Otherwise, there was no sound. Once a fish jumped nearby, and Rick was
+halfway to his feet, hand going to the pistol at his belt, before he
+realized what it was. He smiled at his own tenseness.
+
+Rick wiped moist palms on the thighs of his tight pants and strained to
+see the first sign of the beach on which he and Chahda would land.
+Chahda, according to plan, moved to the bow of the Moro craft in order
+to keep a lookout.
+
+The timing was all right, Rick thought. There were still lights in the
+village, but not many. Early, when too many pirates were out of doors,
+would not be a good time. Later, when perhaps only guards were moving
+around, would be even worse. They had tried to time their reconnaissance
+for an in-between period, and it looked as though the selection of the
+hour was good. Most villagers were in bed, but enough kerosene lamps and
+candles burned to show that the two of them probably would not attract
+special attention by being out so late.
+
+Chahda came back and whispered, "We drop sail now."
+
+"Okay." Rick was careful to keep his voice at a whisper. He knew sound
+carried across the water.
+
+The boys let the sail down and lashed it just enough to keep a sudden
+breeze from tangling the lines, then took paddles and steered for the
+small crescent of beach that made a light streak between the sea and the
+black rock of the volcano. The lights of the village were gradually lost
+as the jutting rock between the beach and the western land slope blocked
+their view.
+
+Rick and Chahda timed their paddle strokes to catch a low wave as it
+sped to shore, and in a moment the vinta's bow grated on sand. Chahda
+jumped to shore, carrying the craft's anchor--a block of stone with a
+hole in it for the rope--and hauled the vinta's bow up on dry coral
+sand. Rick stepped to the sand and paused, ears tuned for any unusual
+noise. He heard nothing except the sharp barking of a dog in the
+village.
+
+"If this is like most Asiatic villages, there'll be enough mutts to make
+it a dog catcher's paradise," he whispered in Chahda's ear. "They'll
+give us away sure!"
+
+Chahda shook his head. "Leave to me. Have plenty sad experience with
+dogs. I come ready for them."
+
+Rick wondered how the Hindu boy was prepared, but he realized this was
+no time for questions. He put his lips close to the hidden radio unit
+under Chahda's turban and called softly, "Rick to home base."
+
+"Go ahead, Rick," Zircon's voice said faintly through the heavy folds of
+turban.
+
+"We're on the beach, about to leave the vinta."
+
+"Good luck. We're standing by for a fast run if needed. Be careful."
+
+"We will," Rick promised. "Off for now." He drew the automatic from his
+sash, pulled back the slide, and let it carry a round into the chamber.
+Then he lowered the hammer to half cock and made sure the safety was on.
+He tucked the pistol into his sash, and loosened the kris in its
+sheath.
+
+Chahda drew his barong and made a few practice swings. The blade gleamed
+in the starlight.
+
+Rick led the way, westward along the beach to where the black lava rock
+lay in tumbled masses. If they could climb across the tongue of lava,
+all would be well. If not, they would have to return to the beach and
+swim around it.
+
+The lava was in big chunks, and there were ample hand and footholds. It
+was an easy climb to the top of the flow, only about twenty feet above
+sea level, and an easy climb down again. The only hard part was moving
+across the top of the flow, through the mass of lava boulders.
+
+Presently the two boys stood on soil, still hidden among lava
+outcroppings. The village was to their left. In front of them, to the
+west, was a cornfield. Rick wasn't surprised to see the corn. He knew
+that from the central Philippines south to Sulu there was more corn
+eaten than rice.
+
+"Keep an eye open for a guard," he whispered to Chahda. "We'll wait a
+few minutes to see if one shows up. Then, if it seems clear, we'll move
+along the edge of the cornfield toward the village."
+
+"Good plan," Chahda agreed.
+
+Rick strained to catch sound or motion. When his luminous watch dial
+told him five minutes had elapsed, he leaned toward Chahda. "No sign of
+a guard. Let's go."
+
+Apparently the pirates were sure attack could come only from the west,
+as Zircon had thought.
+
+Undoubtedly they had lookouts on the western shore.
+
+Rick led the way, keeping close to the abrupt rise of the volcanic cone.
+He saw there were plenty of gaps and holes in the lava into which they
+could duck, as well as the cornfield. Knowing they could be out of sight
+in a matter of seconds gave him confidence, and he moved rapidly ahead.
+
+A slight breeze brought him the scent--or rather stench--of the village.
+He wrinkled his nose and suppressed a sneeze. Wow! If the pirates
+possessed any virtues, cleanliness was not one of them.
+
+The cornfield ran right up to the edge of the village, which was nestled
+under a point where the volcano dropped steeply for perhaps a hundred
+feet. It was a good defensive position, Rick saw. The black lava cliff
+probably could be climbed, and would offer a wonderful location for
+riflemen. Even heavy weapons would have a hard time dislodging them.
+
+Ahead was a kind of street, a wide gap between rows of houses. Some of
+the houses showed the yellow flickering light of candles or kerosene
+lamps, but most were dark. The houses were raised up on piles, in the
+fashion common throughout the Philippines, and most of them offered
+little obstruction to the view.
+
+Rick shrank back as a man walked down the street, turned, and went up a
+ladder into one of the houses. In the dim light Rick could see that he
+had tight pants, a flat turban, and a rifle in his hand. The boy
+shuddered. There probably were enough deadly weapons in the village to
+outfit a regimental combat team. One slip and those weapons would be
+turned on them.
+
+Chahda put his lips close to Rick's ear. "What we do now?"
+
+"Look for a house with guards, I guess."
+
+It seemed the only possibility. If Tony and Shannon were in the village,
+they would almost certainly be guarded. Guards probably would be the
+only clue to their presence.
+
+For long moments Rick debated on how best to approach the problem. There
+wasn't any easy way. He tapped Chahda on the shoulder. "Let's go."
+
+The two boys stepped out from their concealment against the volcanic
+wall and walked boldly into the village.
+
+Rick had his fingers crossed for luck, but he was ready to uncross them
+in a hurry and go for the pistol in his sash. Their disguises had to
+protect them from casual viewers. He had confidence that the deep
+shadows of the village would conceal the fact that they were strangers,
+unless they came face to face with someone.
+
+The street paralleled the face of the volcano, with houses on both
+sides. For the first few steps they saw no one, then far down the street
+a Moro crossed, and it took all of Rick's courage to keep walking
+casually ahead.
+
+Nearby a dog barked, and the noise sent a stream of sweat dripping down
+Rick's back. The barking continued, drew nearer. Rick half drew his
+kris, but Chahda whispered hoarsely, "Wait!"
+
+A mongrel of indiscriminate breed sidled up to them, hackles raised,
+teeth gleaming faintly in a snarl. Chahda bent low and murmured. The dog
+leaped frantically, and Rick's heart caught in his throat. Then the
+Hindu boy miraculously was petting the vicious mutt.
+
+"What did you do?" Rick demanded in a whisper.
+
+"You remember canned hombargers? I open can and put some in my pocket.
+Feed one to dog. He our friend now. Come on."
+
+Rick had to grin. The mysterious Hindu! Behind the mystery was a
+practical solution to problems. Just stick a couple of "hombargers" in
+the pocket.
+
+The boy led the way again, Chahda hurrying to catch up. Beside them, the
+once-fierce dog gamboled like a puppy, hoping for another handout.
+
+In a few moments Rick saw that the two streets of the town formed a huge
+T, with the stem starting under the mountain and running toward the
+west. He had an idea that Tony and Shannon would be near the center of
+the village, in the most protected position--simply because it would be
+easier to guard them that way. That meant they would be close to the
+intersection where he and Chahda now stood.
+
+A poke in the ribs from Chahda took his mind off the problem in a hurry,
+and put it on a new and immediate one. A man was walking directly
+toward them, coming from the direction of the western shore. Rick
+couldn't see him clearly; it was too dark in the village. But he could
+see enough to know that the pirate carried a rifle and had a barong
+tucked into his belt.
+
+Rick's hand started for the pistol, then paused. He couldn't shoot now.
+It would bring the whole village down on them. For a moment he nearly
+panicked, then with a nod to Chahda he walked directly toward the man.
+The bold approach was the best one, he figured. To run was to bring a
+shot. He had a vague idea of getting within range, then jumping the
+Moro. Certainly they couldn't stop and talk with him; neither of them
+knew the language.
+
+The pirate didn't seem uncertain, or alarmed. He walked toward the two
+boys casually, obviously not yet recognizing them as strangers. He would
+soon, Rick knew. It was important to get the jump on the Moro first, and
+prevent him yelling, if possible.
+
+Then, as Rick prepared for a wild spring and a roundhouse punch, Chahda
+whispered, "Be ready," and lifted his hand in salute. The Moro lifted
+his hand, too, and said something in the native tongue. It might have
+been a greeting; neither boy ever knew for sure.
+
+Chahda walked right up to him, muttering something that was probably
+Hindu double talk. The Indian boy moved so that the Moro swung around,
+trying to understand what Chahda was saying.
+
+For an instant the pirate's back was to Rick. He moved like a charging
+panther. The pistol came out of his sash and descended barrel first, all
+his desperate strength behind it. He felt it slam down on the pirate's
+turban and connect solidly with the head underneath.
+
+Chahda caught the man as he fell, and in an instant the two boys had
+hauled him under the nearest house.
+
+Rick found the man's pulse and breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. It
+was thready and slow, but it was there. The pirate would wake up, but
+not for some time. The dog sniffed inquiringly at the fallen Moro, but
+made no noise. Rick took Chahda by the arm and pulled him out into the
+street again, pausing anxiously to see if the brief and violent meeting
+had attracted attention. Apparently it hadn't. There were no signs of
+life in nearby houses, and no one looked out of those with lights
+farther along the street.
+
+Rick decided they had better conduct their search with all possible
+speed. The boys moved rapidly along the street at the top of the T,
+toward the waterfront on the south. The dog trotted alongside, their
+firm friend now. Rick knew the boat dock must be at the end of the
+street. That would certainly mean guards, and it wouldn't be wise to go
+too close.
+
+He had a sudden thought that the scientists might be prisoners on one of
+the vintas, then rejected it. No vinta they had seen was big enough to
+serve as a prison, and there had been no sign of the boat the missing
+men had rented. That could also mean the scientists weren't even on the
+island. But if not, where could they be?
+
+Chahda's hand on his arm stopped Rick. He saw that they had nearly
+completed their inspection of this particular street. The masts of
+vintas and the sheen of water among the pirate craft were visible
+directly ahead.
+
+He put his lips close to Chahda's ear and whispered, "Let's cut west,
+through the houses."
+
+Rick's idea was to go through the quadrant of town they were now
+traversing, until he saw the waterfront on the west. Then they could
+cross the street that he pictured as the stem of the "T" and turn back
+toward the mountain, going through the town on the other side. That way,
+if any trouble developed, they would be only a few yards from the
+cornfield, and could certainly lose themselves until Zircon and Scotty
+could come roaring in.
+
+They passed under a lighted house, and through the split bamboo floor
+laths they could see two men drinking _basi_, or some other native
+beverage, from sections of bamboo. Now and then the two men talked in
+casual, drowsy tones.
+
+Nowhere was there a sign of guards until Rick and Chahda passed
+completely through the village and emerged under the great branches of a
+mango tree. Ahead of them was a field of grain, probably millet, and
+beyond it was the western shore of the island. As they watched, two men
+walked along the shore toward each other, met, chatted for a moment,
+then turned and walked away from each other again.
+
+"Guards," Rick said softly. "Walking their patrols along the beach."
+
+It was as he suspected. The two guards, patrolling the beach, could see
+everything that offered danger by walking from where they had met to
+points roughly halfway around the island.
+
+"Maybe they see us in the vinta," Chahda whispered. "But maybe they no
+think much about it."
+
+Rick thought he might be right, but the greater probability was that
+they hadn't been seen at all, especially if they had approached the
+shore while the guards were walking toward each other near the western
+end of the island.
+
+"We'll be a little more cautious on the way back," Rick returned softly.
+
+"Is so," Chahda agreed. "What we do now?"
+
+Rick motioned toward the street that led from the volcano to the western
+shore. "Cross that and look at the houses on the other side. Come on."
+
+With a quick look around to be sure no one was watching, or showing any
+undue interest in them, he moved out from the shadow of the mango tree
+and headed past the irregularly placed houses to where the wide strip of
+yellow dust marked the street.
+
+They reached the street's edge without incident, and paused for another
+quick look before crossing. As Rick glanced up the street a flicker of
+yellow high in the air caught his eye. He lifted his head and stared
+directly at it. A fire! It was high up on the face of the cliff behind
+the village, where they couldn't have seen it from the street under the
+cliff.
+
+He wondered. Was it a beacon for pirates who might be out in the vintas?
+Apparently it was on a shelf of some sort more than a hundred feet above
+the village.
+
+Then, as he watched, a tall, thin figure passed in front of the fire and
+was silhouetted briefly against the flames.
+
+He grabbed for Chahda. That was no Moro, not with those long legs and
+arms! And no Moro on this island would wear thick glasses, from which
+the firelight had glinted momentarily.
+
+That was Howard Shannon!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+Plan of Attack
+
+
+The boys crossed the street, crept past several houses, and gained the
+safety of the cornfield. Slowly, so that rustling leaves and stalks
+would not give them away, they crossed the cornfield. To Rick, at least,
+it was a terribly long and slow journey. He wanted to give a yell of joy
+and triumph. He wanted to call Zircon immediately and pass on the good
+news. But he knew silence was important, and he kept his exultation
+locked inside.
+
+As they reached the lava flow Chahda gave the now-faithful pirate dog
+the last of his hamburgers, and the boys climbed across the lava to the
+beach. Only then did Rick dare to stop long enough to call the _Swift
+Arrow_.
+
+"We found Shannon," he said triumphantly. "Now we have to get out of
+here. We'll give you the details later."
+
+The boys pushed off in the vinta and paddled toward the east in order to
+get farther away from the guards before putting up the sail. Then,
+because the slight breeze had shifted, it was necessary to tack the
+cranky craft until dawn was pale in the east before they reached the
+_Swift Arrow_.
+
+As the MTB moved quietly south, out of danger, Rick reported. "We saw
+Shannon, as I told you on the radio. I'm sure it was he. They're on the
+cliff at the back of the village. I'd guess the shelf where we saw the
+fire is over a hundred feet up."
+
+"No sign of Briotti?" Zircon asked.
+
+"None at all. Of course we couldn't see onto the shelf. There wasn't
+enough light and it was too high."
+
+Scotty rubbed his chin. "How did they get up there?"
+
+"Must be ladder," Chahda answered.
+
+"A pretty good prison," Zircon commented. "No danger of escape, once the
+ladder or steps were removed, and the whole village serves as guard. The
+big question is, how do we get them out of there?"
+
+Rick had thought about it during the tedious trip back. He had turned
+over every possibility in his mind and eliminated all but one. What's
+more, he wasn't sure that would work.
+
+"I have an idea," he explained, "but it depends on a daytime look at the
+island."
+
+Zircon nodded. "All right. We'll take a look. Now, tell us about the
+village. Any trouble?"
+
+The two boys gave Zircon and Scotty a quick account of their
+reconnaissance, and both chuckled at Chahda's trick of feeding the dog.
+
+"He'll probably be standing on the beach waiting when you get back,"
+Scotty said with a grin. "Bet it's the first hamburger the pooch ever
+had. That pirate you belted with the pistol bothers me, though. Won't he
+set off an alarm that will put the whole mob on the alert?"
+
+"I hope not. There's a chance he might think it was someone in the
+village who has a grudge against him."
+
+Zircon shrugged. "One way or another, there's nothing we can do about it
+now. We'll have to assume the whole place is alerted."
+
+"How about some sleep?" Scotty suggested.
+
+Rick shook his head. The first part of his plan had to be put into
+operation immediately. "It's only a little while to dawn. By sunrise we
+have to be east of the island."
+
+He explained quickly. For a safe, undetected look at the areas of the
+island he wanted to see, they would have to depend on the sun for a
+shield. They could proceed immediately on a roundabout course that would
+bring them to the east of the island just as the sun was rising. Hidden
+in the sun's glare, they would have a few minutes in which to examine
+the eastern slope of the volcano.
+
+"I'm beginning to see your plan," Zircon said. "Then what?"
+
+"Then we go into safe waters for the day. At sunset we hide in the sun
+again, while we look at the island from the west. We'll wait until the
+sun is low enough, so no one on the island will be looking into it, then
+we'll use it for a shield and take a good look at Shannon's cliff
+dwelling through the long glass."
+
+Scotty shook his head. "But we already know what's on the eastern and
+western shores. Why go to all this trouble?"
+
+"We don't know much about the terrain. If it looks possible, you and I
+go climbing tonight. We land on the eastern shore, climb the volcano, go
+over the top and down the western side until we come out right above the
+shelf where the scientists are held prisoner. Then we haul them up on a
+rope."
+
+Scotty stared at his pal. "Wow! We take them out by the back door, huh?"
+
+Zircon held up his hand. "Not so fast. The plan is a good one, Rick. I
+won't mention my natural dislike of being dismissed from the scheme
+without being consulted, because you and Scotty are the logical ones to
+go for a reconnaissance of this kind. But I'll buy only this: You and
+Scotty will look over the terrain tonight. If possible, you will deliver
+a Megabuck radio unit to Shannon and Briotti. Then you will return
+without attracting attention. That will be time enough for us to plan
+the rescue, in conjunction with our friends on the cliff."
+
+Rick had to admit Zircon's plan made better sense, even though he
+disliked the idea of another day's delay in rescuing their friends. He
+nodded.
+
+Scotty rose, his pleasure at the plan evident in his wide grin. "Let's
+go!"
+
+Fifteen hours later the _Swift Arrow_ withdrew to the open waters to the
+south as the sun slowly fell below the horizon. The four adventurers
+gathered around the chart table and studied the island of Shan,
+comparing notes.
+
+Zircon used a pair of dividers as a pointer. "This cove on the eastern
+shore looks like the best possibility for anchoring the vinta, and I'd
+say the climb up the volcano from there is no harder than from any other
+place."
+
+Rick agreed. "It looked that way to me, too. We'll call that cove our
+back door. The only real puzzle is, does the volcano have a crater? If
+so, we'll have to go around it. Climbing down into the crater and up
+again would use up too much time."
+
+Zircon shrugged. "We have no way of telling. Did anyone notice a
+preferred way around the cone?"
+
+"The southern slope looks a little less steep," Scotty volunteered.
+
+Chahda nodded agreement. "I also think this. To me, big trouble is place
+right above cliff. Is pretty steep, I think."
+
+The Hindu boy was right as usual, Rick thought. He had seen through the
+long glass that the area above the steep cliff was only slightly less
+vertical than the cliff itself, with an occasional shelf of rock. Not
+only would that be the hardest part of the trip, he guessed, but the
+most dangerous, since they would be in sight of the village part of the
+time.
+
+"It's steep," Scotty agreed. "I'd say it's not a place to pick for a
+casual stroll, but I can't think of any other way to get our friends off
+that shelf. Can you?"
+
+The others shook their heads. They had discussed it at length during the
+daylight hours while they floated patiently in the waters south of Shan,
+alternately sleeping and preparing for the night's work. Since no other
+plan seemed even remotely feasible, Rick and Scotty were to make the
+first try in about two hours.
+
+The time passed swiftly with last-minute preparations. The boys carried
+rope, heavy spikes to be used as pitons on particularly difficult
+places, flashlights taped so only a pinpoint of light could emerge, cans
+of water from the emergency rations, work gloves from the clothing
+locker, and candy bars for quick-energy rations.
+
+In addition, Rick had Zircon's pistol, a takedown fishing rod, with reel
+and line, a radio unit, and the long glass. Scotty had his rifle, a
+small first-aid kit, and a wooden caulking mallet.
+
+The two boys were having a last cup of coffee when Chahda came down from
+the upper deck. "Is time," the Hindu boy told them. "We two miles east
+of Shan. Good wind. You make good time going in, not so good coming
+back."
+
+The boys finished their coffee and went on deck. The four shook hands
+all around, and Zircon cautioned, "Give yourselves plenty of time for
+the return trip. Remember that if you're late, you'll have to hide on
+the volcano all day!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+The Black Cliff
+
+
+Heavy seas broke against the rocky base of the island. Rick surveyed the
+cove they had chosen with some misgiving. The vinta wouldn't be safe if
+tied to shore. The breaking surf would batter it to bits before they
+could get back.
+
+Scotty moved to his side. "Now what?"
+
+"Swim," Rick said grimly. "Around that point looks like the most
+sheltered place, but it isn't good. The wind blows these waves halfway
+around the world, and they've got plenty of steam."
+
+"Have to chance it," Scotty stated.
+
+They maneuvered the cranky craft into the meager shelter of the point
+Rick had indicated, then dropped the stone anchor. It dragged along the
+bottom briefly, then caught in a cleft between two underwater rocks. It
+would hold unless the rope broke.
+
+The boys took their belongings and bundled them in their clothes, along
+with shoes and weapons. Then, holding the bundles high with one hand,
+they slipped into the water. In a few moments the two were rubbing
+themselves dry and putting their clothes on again.
+
+Rick tried the radio unit while they rested. "Rick to Zircon."
+
+"Standing by, Rick. Where are you?"
+
+"Ashore." He described the situation briefly.
+
+"I should have thought of that," Zircon replied. "The eastern shore is
+to windward. You were bound to have surf. Are you all right?"
+
+"Yes. We're starting out now. We'll talk to you from on top, if it's
+safe." He hung the little radio around his neck by its lanyard, and
+stood up. "Ready to climb Mount Everest, brother Scott?"
+
+Scotty stared up at the slope of the volcano. "If you are, brother
+Brant."
+
+Neither boy was an experienced mountaineer, but both knew the principles
+of operation. They roped together and started the long climb. It was
+easy at first. The slopes low down were not steep, and the broken lava
+gave plenty of hand and footholds. But as they reached a point Rick
+estimated to be about two hundred feet above the water, the slope
+steepened sharply.
+
+"Rest a moment," Scotty suggested. "We'll last longer if we take a
+breather once in a while."
+
+Rick knew Scotty was right, but he resented the need for sitting idly
+for even a few minutes. He used the five-minute rest period to report to
+Zircon that all was well.
+
+Rick led the way again as soon as the luminous dial of his wrist watch
+showed that five minutes had elapsed. Twice he and Scotty were stalled
+for a brief time, but finally found a route and improved it by hammering
+the steel spikes in clefts in the rock. With the hammer padded, the
+sound was muffled to a point where it couldn't be heard more than a few
+feet away. The spikes could be used to belay their rope on the way down.
+
+The last stage of the upward journey was to the top of the cone. It was
+nearly vertical, but wide cracks made it less difficult than some of the
+areas below. Scotty was leading now. He reached the top, then waited for
+Rick to join him.
+
+Silently the two boys looked out over the dark sea, and Rick wished for
+a moment that he could see the view by daylight.
+
+"Let's check the crater," Scotty suggested. He drew his flashlight, then
+inched forward across the rubble of the rim. Rick stayed beside him.
+
+"Any danger of the beam being seen?" Scotty asked softly.
+
+"No. The angle is wrong. If you keep it directed toward the crater, it
+will be invisible from the sea."
+
+Rick watched as Scotty switched the light on. The pencil of light swept
+downward, and finally lost itself in nothingness.
+
+The two boys stared at each other.
+
+"The whole island's hollow!" Rick breathed. "I'll say this thing has a
+crater!"
+
+"Plenty deep," Scotty agreed. "Well, that tears it. Nothing to do but go
+around. You lead the way."
+
+Rick felt his way down until at last he was standing on the shoulder of
+the ancient volcano just below the final sweep upward to the crest. In a
+moment Scotty joined him. Slowly and carefully they started the long
+journey around, taking the southern slope as previously agreed.
+
+It was hard going. In spots the lava was crumbly and gave under foot or
+hand. In others it was dense as steel slag.
+
+When Rick estimated that over half the distance around the volcano had
+been covered he called Zircon and reported, then told the big scientist
+it would be their last contact for a while.
+
+Within a hundred feet the lights of the village came in sight far below.
+The boys paused to survey the situation, and to examine the western part
+of the island. Most of it was visible from their vantage point. Only the
+cove where the vintas were kept and the section of village closest to
+the cliff were out of sight. Rick could see the beach clearly, and
+wondered if the guards were looking their way.
+
+"Go carefully," Scotty whispered. "This is no time to start a
+landslide."
+
+"Good advice," Rick whispered back. "But which way do we go now?"
+
+"The slope to the left looks pretty good," Scotty answered softly. "We
+can cut back when we get down a little."
+
+At the bottom of the slope, they found another drift that angled away
+toward the north. By the time they reached the bottom of it, Rick
+whispered that they must be directly above the cave. He could see the
+lighter path of the street that ran from below the shelf toward the
+western end of the island. Now all that remained was to make their way
+down to within reach of the scientists.
+
+They moved with extreme caution, fearful that the slightest noise would
+give them away, or that a wrong step would start a rockslide. It was
+painful work, going down backward most of the way. Once they reached
+what seemed to be a dead end, and lay on their stomachs surveying a
+sheer wall nearly twelve feet high.
+
+Rick solved the problem by finding a lava boulder big enough and stable
+enough to serve as a rope anchor. They took an extra length of line
+Scotty carried and made it fast, then went down the rope hand over hand.
+
+The whole village was spread before them now. Rick could even see the
+cross street that ran below the base of the cliff, and he knew they must
+be nearly within sight of the shelf on which the scientists were
+imprisoned.
+
+"Tough section below," Scotty whispered so low that Rick could barely
+hear him. "I think it drops off sheer."
+
+Another dozen feet of slow progress proved that Scotty was right. There
+was a small shelf, then the slope dropped away abruptly. Both boys lay
+flat, and slowly inched up to the drop and looked over.
+
+Rick felt Scotty's hand grip his arm like an iron clamp at the same
+moment that he realized that another shelf was directly below, a tiny
+campfire burning on it!
+
+But that wasn't what Scotty had seen. At a point off to their right, and
+only slightly below them was a second, smaller shelf. On it sat a pirate
+guard, rifle across his knees, staring out to sea.
+
+Rick swallowed his heart, which had climbed into his throat. They were
+in plain sight of the guard, or at least their heads were. He backed
+away as rapidly as the rough surface allowed, until the guard was no
+longer in sight. He and Scotty held a whispered exchange, their voices
+no louder than a zephyr.
+
+"Keep your eyes off him," Rick said. "He may feel someone looking at
+him."
+
+"Right. He's in a wonderful position. He looks down on the shelf where
+the fire is located. Did you see the ladder?"
+
+Rick hadn't.
+
+"It leads from his perch to the shelf. I suppose ladders lead down to
+the ground from there."
+
+The guard was an obstacle Rick hadn't expected. He wondered if the guard
+on duty last night had seen him slug the pirate, and he decided it
+didn't make much difference. As Zircon had said, they had to assume the
+whole colony was alerted.
+
+"Let's look out one at a time," he whispered. "I didn't see anyone on
+the ledge."
+
+He inched forward once more and put his head over the edge of the drop.
+The fire on the rocky shelf was a small one, probably only a cooking
+fire. There wasn't anyone in sight. He guessed the scientists must be
+in a cave under the rock on which he crouched. He could only hope they
+were awake.
+
+Rick estimated the situation. It was perhaps thirty feet down to the
+shelf. The guard was ten feet below, and twenty feet to his right. He
+noticed that the guard didn't look down at the shelf. He was awake, but
+his attention was focused outward. In all probability he was a lookout
+rather than a guard, watching for signs of ship movement to the west,
+the direction from which danger to the pirates might be expected to
+come.
+
+The boy withdrew and joined Scotty. "No sign of anyone on the shelf. I'm
+going to lower the radio unit, anyway."
+
+"Okay. Let's get the rod out."
+
+Rick had carried the rod-section case on his back, tied to shoulders and
+belt with line. He untied the line swiftly and assembled the rod. Scotty
+helped him put the reel in place and feed the line through the guides.
+Then Rick carefully wrapped the radio unit in his handkerchief, and put
+the whole thing in a black denim ditty bag borrowed from Chahda for the
+purpose. He secured the drawstring of the ditty bag to the end of the
+fishing line and inched forward again. Scotty moved forward, too, his
+rifle unslung and ready for action.
+
+Rick hadn't even bothered with a note. Both Shannon and Briotti would
+recognize the radio unit instantly. There were no others like it outside
+of Spindrift. They would immediately put it to use and be talking to
+Zircon before the two boys had moved away from the position over their
+heads.
+
+Carefully Rick pushed the tip of the rod out far enough so the ditty bag
+would clear all obstructions on the way down, then he swung the bag
+clear and began to feed out the line.
+
+The bag went down an inch at a time, while he concentrated on keeping
+the motion slow but steady. A sudden jerk might attract the guard's
+attention, but very slow motion probably wouldn't.
+
+[Illustration: _A sudden jerk would attract the guard's attention_]
+
+He was sweating profusely by the time the bag got within reach of the
+shelf below. He began to worry. He had seen no one. Had the pirates
+removed the scientists, leaving the lookout in his usual position?
+
+He kept the bag moving until suddenly strain went off the line and he
+knew it was down. He could see it in the faint glow from the fire, lying
+motion-less on the rock below. Long moments ticked by and he felt the
+trickle of sweat down his face, the sweat of apprehension. Why didn't
+someone show up?
+
+And then, as though in answer to the frantic thought, a man stepped into
+view below, and casually dropped his coat over the ditty bag.
+
+Rick almost sobbed with relief. Tony Briotti! The familiar crew cut had
+grown long, but it was Tony!
+
+Swiftly the boy drew his knife and cut the line, letting the loose end
+tumble down. Then, careful of the fishing rod, he withdrew from the edge
+and touched Scotty to indicate he should withdraw, too.
+
+For a few seconds they just lay there, weak with relief. Then Rick
+disassembled the rod and restowed it. Scotty reslung his rifle. On hands
+and knees, the two started their retreat. Not until they were certain
+that the guard could no longer see them did they stand upright and begin
+to move more rapidly.
+
+Their mission was a success, but perhaps the plan was not. Rick was no
+longer filled with enthusiasm for his scheme. The guard had changed all
+that.
+
+How were they going to get the scientists out with a guard watching
+them?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+The Radio Link
+
+
+Dawn was showing its first pale light in the east when Rick and Scotty
+tied the vinta at the stern of the _Swift Arrow_ and climbed aboard.
+Hobart Zircon and Chahda greeted them with relief.
+
+"We thinking you lost or caught," Chahda said happily. "Glad we wrong."
+
+Zircon added, "We were about to make a run toward shore, hoping to see
+you."
+
+"It was the wind," Scotty said wearily. "We had to beat to windward all
+the way back. Did you ever try tacking a vinta for hours against a stiff
+breeze?"
+
+Rick slumped down on a convenient bench. "Save the talk for later. We'd
+better get out of here. It's nearly daylight."
+
+"You're right!" Zircon hurried to the controls and headed the _Swift
+Arrow_ south. Gradually he opened the throttles until, at a safe
+distance from the island, the MTB was moving at full-cruising speed.
+Only then did the four take time to talk.
+
+"Any radio contact?" Rick demanded.
+
+Zircon's wide grin answered him.
+
+"Are they all right?" Scotty yelled.
+
+"Yes. Want to say hello?"
+
+Rick jumped for the radio unit the scientist held out, and plugged in
+the earphone. Scotty took Chahda's set.
+
+"Rick and Scotty here," Rick called. "Do you hear us?"
+
+Tony Briotti's familiar voice answered. "Rick and Scotty! You two young
+cliff hangers! What took you so long to get back? Zircon kept us posted,
+and we were worried sick. We kept watching the village, expecting you to
+be hauled in as prisoners."
+
+Rick explained about the unfavorable wind, and Scotty added, "Besides,
+we took it easy crossing the volcano. We hammered spikes in a few rough
+places to make it easier when we come back for you."
+
+"You can't," Tony said swiftly. "Boys, believe me, we're grateful for
+the attempt, but you can't get away with it. There's a lookout in
+position to see us at all times, and there's no way you can sneak up on
+him. I've told Zircon this. You must not try!"
+
+"How is Dr. Shannon?" Rick asked.
+
+"Fine. We're all fine, although we could use a bath and some home
+cooking. But don't try to change the subject, Rick. You must not try to
+get us out of here. You'd end up in this prison, if not dead."
+
+Rick could see that the conversation was leading nowhere, and he knew
+now that the scientists were all right. "We're tired, Tony," he said
+wearily. "It's been a rough night."
+
+"All right, boys. One of us will be awake at all times, so call us
+whenever you wish."
+
+Zircon looked at them anxiously as they put the radio units away. "How
+about it? Is Tony right?"
+
+"Right as radishes," Rick assented. "The lookout is where we can't reach
+him, except with a gun, and the noise of a shot would defeat us. I'm
+sure there's some way out of this, but I can't think straight. I'm too
+tired."
+
+"Below and into your bunks, both of you," Zircon commanded. "Chahda and
+I will stand by until we're in safe waters, then we can all get some
+sleep."
+
+Rick needed no second invitation. He was asleep in five minutes. Hours
+later a ray of sun through the porthole woke him out of deep, dreamless
+slumber. He stretched luxuriously. A wash and a cold drink would be just
+right, he decided, and wondered how long he had been asleep. His watch
+told him it was two thirty in the afternoon.
+
+He got to his feet and saw that Scotty was out of his bunk, probably on
+deck. Chahda was sleeping quietly, even though the swinging quiver Rick
+had placed on a hook near the bunk struck him in the elbow every time
+the boat rolled.
+
+Rick lifted the quiver down and started to hang it where Chahda wouldn't
+be bothered. He paused, brows furrowed. He had the answer to their
+problem in his hands. An arrow was silent.
+
+He shook his head and put the quiver away. It would mean putting a
+hunting arrow through the guard's head without warning. He knew
+perfectly well he was incapable of killing a man in cold blood, no
+matter what the provocation. It would be an easy shot, but one he would
+never make.
+
+Zircon and Scotty were relaxed on deck when Rick joined them after a
+quick shower. They greeted him soberly.
+
+"Did you dream the right answer?" Scotty asked.
+
+"Didn't dream at all," he retorted. "I've had only one idea, and it
+won't do." He told them about the bow.
+
+Zircon smiled understandingly. "I quite agree, Rick. I couldn't do it
+either, even if I had the skill." He changed the subject. "I talked with
+Howard while you were sleeping. He agrees with Tony. We must not make
+the try."
+
+"Let's not give up," Scotty pleaded. "We haven't explored every possible
+idea."
+
+"True," Zircon agreed. "Rick, you don't know all that Tony and Howard
+told us. It seems there was a reason behind their kidnaping after all."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Yes. Remember the missing Filipino boy from Manila? Elpidio Torres?
+Seems he's a young naturalist. He ran away from home to join Shannon and
+Briotti when he read of their expedition in the papers. And how do you
+suppose he did it?"
+
+The light dawned. "Of course! The young Moro guide!" Rick exclaimed. "I
+get it now. The pirates weren't after our boys at all. They were after
+the Torres kid. Only to get him, they had to grab Briotti and Shannon,
+too!"
+
+"Exactly right. Tony and Howard didn't even know who he was. They hired
+him in good faith. Then, when the pirates showed up in the Bagobo
+village, they tried to defend the boy and got taken, too. They were
+brought here in the rented sailboat, along with the Torres boy. The
+sailboat was repainted and taken into Indonesia to be sold. Now, Tony
+says, the pirates are getting restless. If the ransom for the Torres boy
+isn't forthcoming in a few days, they may all vanish for good."
+
+Rick swallowed hard. There must be a way to get that guard! He looked at
+Scotty. "Could you bean that lookout with a stone from a sling?"
+
+Scotty shook his head. "Angle and range are wrong. I might be lucky, but
+I might not. If not, there goes the ball game. Of course I could make a
+sling easily enough."
+
+The boys referred to the ancient variety of sling, rather than the
+modern slingshot. Both were adept in its use, although Scotty was the
+better shot.
+
+Scotty continued, "Why does a bowshot have to be lethal? You've got some
+blunt arrows."
+
+The moment the words "blunt arrows" were spoken Rick's mind went into
+high gear. The arrows in the quiver wouldn't do; at that range, with so
+powerful a bow, even a blunt arrow in the head would kill. But if he
+could somehow give the arrow a broader and blunter head, so the impact
+would be spread over a greater area, it could stun without killing.
+
+"Professor, get the details on when the lookout is changed and anything
+else that might be useful," Rick said quickly. "I think I've got an idea
+that will work, thanks to Scotty's comment."
+
+He hurried below, went forward, and rummaged around in the rope locker.
+He moved to the paint locker and examined everything within reach. There
+was nothing suitable. Disappointed, he went on deck and examined the
+superstructure. A wooden barrel plug would be ideal, but they didn't
+have a barrel aboard. There was only a fifty-gallon steel drum used as a
+spare fuel supply. If worst came to worst, he could fashion a head from
+a piece of the fender board. Then his eyes suddenly fell on the
+flagstaff astern and he let out a yell of delight.
+
+Scotty and Zircon watched as he unshipped the staff from its holder and
+pulled it down. It had a gilded sphere about the size of a baseball on
+top. Rick tested it anxiously. It was glued tightly.
+
+"Scotty!" Zircon bellowed. "There's a saw in the tool chest, and I
+believe I saw a brace and bits."
+
+Both Scotty and Zircon had seen instantly what Rick was after. The
+large, smooth ball would spread the arrow's impact over a greater area.
+Scotty returned in a moment with the tools, and sawed the ball off. Then
+Rick got a blunt arrow from the quiver and cut the metal tip off with
+his knife. He bored a hole of the proper size in the base of the ball.
+The arrow fitted perfectly.
+
+Rick tested the balance of the now-ungainly arrow and shook his head.
+"I'm not sure I can hit anything with it."
+
+"Get the bow!" Zircon commanded. "Scotty, put a screw through the base
+of the ball to hold it on the shaft. I'm going to rig a backstop so Rick
+can practice."
+
+The scientist found a tarpaulin and strung it up like a curtain across
+the stern. At the center of the tarpaulin he pinned a work glove.
+
+Rick studied the setup. The canvas would give, absorbing the shock of
+the arrow and allowing it to fall on deck. It would be all right. He
+didn't want to chance losing the ball.
+
+He consulted with Scotty, and they paced off the approximate distance he
+would have to shoot, then he climbed on the pilothouse roof to get the
+proper elevation. Spreading the bow a few times to loosen his muscles,
+he began to practice.
+
+The arrow was terribly nose heavy, and its whole response to the bow was
+changed. At first he missed by two or three feet. Then, as he continued
+to practice, his accuracy began to improve.
+
+He stopped after a while and had a coke. "I'll never be able to shoot a
+normal arrow again," he complained.
+
+Scotty grinned. "Make this shot and you'll never have to shoot again."
+
+By the time Chahda emerged, rubbing sleep from his eyes, Rick was on
+target. Four out of five shots hit the glove. Then, nine out of ten were
+in the palm.
+
+Zircon called a halt, took the glove from the tarp, and slipped it on.
+He tucked a folded handkerchief into the glove, then stood with hand
+outstretched before the tarp. "Hit it," he invited.
+
+"I'll hurt you," Rick objected.
+
+"No. My hand will give with the arrow. I want an idea of the impact."
+
+Rick nodded. He nocked the arrow, took a firm stance, and drew. For an
+instant he held, then loosed smoothly.
+
+The ball smacked into the scientist's hand. The scientist swung lightly
+with the blow and stood grinning, the ball and its projecting shaft held
+firmly in his hand.
+
+"A real beanball," Zircon boomed. "It will do, Rick. Now check your
+equipment and put it away. We have to make plans."
+
+Rick realized the professor had chosen an apt simile when he said
+beanball. Like a fast ball hurled by a big-league pitcher, the arrow
+could be caught in the hand, but would knock for a loop anyone it hit in
+the head. Now all he had to do was shoot straight just one time.
+
+Zircon gathered the boys around him. "Tony says the lookout changes at
+sundown, and again sometime near dawn. So, if we make our try as soon
+after dark as possible, we'll have until dawn to return. And this time,
+there will be no beating to windward with the vinta. We'll take it in as
+you did last night. But when it's time to leave, Chahda will come after
+us in the big boat. Meanwhile, we say nothing to Tony and Howard. We'll
+explain after we've landed."
+
+The Hindu boy looked pained. "I not go?"
+
+Zircon put a hand gently on the boy's wounded shoulder. "You can't climb
+without opening that shoulder, Chahda. So you're elected to operate the
+boat. You'll keep your own radio set and we'll call you in when we're
+ready to be taken off. And when we call, come a-running!"
+
+"That I will do," Chahda promised.
+
+"Right. Now, from your description of the climb, boys, I think we need a
+few rope ladders. Let's get started making them!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+Under Cover of Darkness
+
+
+Hobart Zircon's usually booming voice couldn't have been heard more than
+two yards away as he spoke into the tiny Megabuck radio unit.
+
+"We're starting down the western slope of the volcano. How are things,
+Tony?"
+
+Rick and Scotty, their ears close to the tiny earphone Zircon held out,
+heard Briotti's reply. The kidnaped scientists had given up trying to
+dissuade them.
+
+"Everything normal, Hobart. The lookout is settling down now. He's one
+of the regulars. He relaxes completely as a sleeping cat, but he's wide
+awake. Don't let his appearance deceive you."
+
+"We won't," Zircon promised. "We'll call you again as we get into the
+danger zone. Chahda?"
+
+The Hindu boy answered instantly. "Here."
+
+"Fine. Keep listening and you'll know how we're doing."
+
+"Will do. Tell Rick shoot straight."
+
+Rick grinned. It was good advice. Nevertheless, apprehension had kept
+him in a sweat. He had never before been in a position where success or
+failure--and probably all their lives--hung on a single shot.
+
+Scotty put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "This is just another
+shot, old son. You've made far tougher ones on the course back home."
+
+"He's right." Hobart Zircon added. "You showed this afternoon that you
+could hit a small target with that unwieldy club you invented. Let's
+go."
+
+Scotty took the lead, following the route he and Rick had explored the
+night before. Rick followed close on his heels, and Zircon brought up
+the rear. In spite of his bulk, the scientist was light-footed and
+silent.
+
+They reached a point where the boys had tied a rope to a boulder the
+night before and now they paused to attach the rope ladder Rick carried.
+It was one of four they had fashioned. Two already had been placed.
+Zircon carried the last one. Scotty went down first, with Zircon
+following cautiously.
+
+The ropes creaked, but held. Zircon stepped to firm ground and Rick
+followed down the ladder. They negotiated a bend in the trail, then
+Scotty stopped and held up his hand.
+
+Rick took Shannon's bow from the quiver. While he was getting ready,
+Zircon made a last check with Tony and Chahda. When Rick signaled,
+Scotty led the way down the last few dozen yards of steep lava to the
+final shelf.
+
+There, just out of sight of the guard, Scotty unslung his rifle. The
+dark-haired boy went forward and peered over the edge of rock that
+shielded them. For a long moment he surveyed the scene below, then
+backed away. Rick caught his gesture. It was time.
+
+He had planned how he would do this. He couldn't shoot in a lying-down
+position, and kneeling would expose him to the guard just as surely as
+standing upright would do--if the guard happened to be looking. So, he
+would shoot while standing erect. His accuracy would be better that way.
+
+Rick fitted the arrow's nock to the bowstring, got his fingers in
+position to draw, and flexed the bow slightly. Then, taking a deep
+breath, he stepped calmly forward to the edge of rock.
+
+It took only three steps to bring him within sight of the guard. He had
+a quick vision of a black velvet cap, hunched shoulders, and a rifle
+held casually across the knees. He drew smoothly, held for the briefest
+instant, and released the shaft.
+
+Scotty was at his side, rifle ready, the moment the shaft left the bow.
+
+It wasn't necessary. Rick had an instant's impression of sound, like a
+baseball slapping into a catcher's mitt. The guard didn't even move from
+his position. His shoulders slumped a little more and his head went
+forward between his knees. He stayed that way. The arrow skittered
+across the stone shelf and stopped.
+
+Rick knew his aim had been a little off. The ball had caught the guard
+behind the ear, instead of directly in the back of the head. Cold sweat
+bathed the boy at the nearness of it. He had almost missed!
+
+But there wasn't time to think about that now. Scotty and Zircon were
+already moving into action. The big scientist unwound the rope ladder
+from around his waist while Scotty drove spikes into a cleft in the
+lava. His wooden mallet, muffled with cloth padding, made only a dull,
+almost inaudible sound.
+
+Zircon secured the end of the ladder to the spikes, then put his weight
+on it, testing. It held. He moved forward, and lowered the free end over
+the cliff.
+
+Rick and Scotty stood by to give a hand to the men on the ledge below.
+They were already on their way, Howard Shannon first.
+
+Rick eyed the village anxiously. He was sure they were practically
+invisible against the dark lava, but he wouldn't feel secure until they
+had moved out of sight.
+
+Shannon reached the top, and Rick and Scotty helped him over. A Filipino
+boy was next up, and Rick knew this must be the famous Elpidio Torres.
+The boy came up the ladder like a sailor and scrambled over the top
+without help.
+
+Tony Briotti was last. The youthful archaeologist wasted no time in
+swarming up the ladder to the top, and in a moment the six of them were
+shaking hands in silent glee.
+
+Scotty pulled the ladder up, so it wouldn't be seen dangling, then
+whispered urgently, "Let's get going."
+
+By prearrangement, Scotty led the way with Zircon next in line, followed
+by Shannon, Briotti, and the Filipino boy, with Rick bringing up the
+rear. He paused long enough to unstring the bow and put it back in the
+quiver.
+
+As the group paused before making the difficult stage of the journey
+around the cone, Rick took the Megabuck unit from Tony. In the
+excitement no one had called Chahda.
+
+"On our way back now, Chahda," Rick said calmly. "All six of us."
+
+The Hindu boy's yell of triumph and relief almost shattered Rick's
+eardrum. He whispered, "Stow it, you wild Indian. You'll ruin my
+hearing."
+
+"Sorry," Chahda said, but he didn't sound it. "Hurry back now. I wait
+for word to come."
+
+Rick followed as the group started off again. He wondered how the guard
+was doing. By all reckoning, the man should still be unconscious. He'd
+better be!
+
+The party reached the eastern slope of the volcano, directly under the
+cone, and started the last descent. The rope ladders made the trip
+comparatively easy, except for the final drop before the ground leveled
+off somewhat. It was a rough stretch, too long for a ladder. A single
+rope had been saved for the purpose. Rick took it from Scotty and made
+it fast around a spike they had driven earlier. Zircon was the first to
+use it. He went down swiftly, keeping hold of the rope in case of a
+slip.
+
+Scotty followed, then Shannon. The lanky zoologist was halfway down when
+Rick felt the rope tighten with a jerk and he heard Shannon's choked
+cry of pain. Rick rechecked to be sure the rope was secure, then
+motioned to Briotti and the Filipino boy. "Go on. We've got to get down
+to him."
+
+Scotty and Zircon, climbing back from below, reached Shannon's side
+before Rick and the others could get there. In a few moments the six
+were clustered together.
+
+"A rock turned under me," Shannon explained. "I felt the bone snap in my
+leg. You'd better go on. You can send help back to me later."
+
+"Nonsense," Zircon grated. "Boys, what can we use for a splint?"
+
+Rick was already pulling arrows out of the quiver. "These are Dr.
+Shannon's. I'm sure he won't mind if we use them."
+
+"You have my permission," Shannon said with a painful chuckle.
+
+The blunt-headed arrows were quickly lashed into two bundles. Rick and
+Scotty shed their light jackets and Scotty's knife flashed in the faint
+starlight as he sliced them into padding. Rick took the extra bowstrings
+from the quiver and handed them to Zircon. The bowstrings would make
+ideal ties. Within a short time Shannon's leg was securely splinted and
+Zircon was giving instructions.
+
+"Scotty, go untie the rope and bring it down. You and Rick will hold
+from above, while Tony and I carry Howard. You, Mr. Torres, will please
+stay directly in front of us to test the footing and warn us of loose
+stones."
+
+"Of course, sir," the Filipino boy replied quickly.
+
+Scotty returned from his climb with the rope coiled. He made several
+turns around Shannon's waist, pulled the rope up under his armpits, and
+secured it with a bowline.
+
+"Slow and easy does it," Zircon directed.
+
+Slow was the key word. Rick and Scotty kept the safety line taut while
+Briotti and Zircon moved the injured man an inch at a time, bracing
+themselves against the rock and feeling for each step. Zircon, the most
+powerful of them all, had to carry most of the scientist's weight.
+
+Rick was worried. The trip across the volcano had taken quite a while
+and now time was running out on them. He looked at the luminous dial of
+his watch and realized with a sudden chill that dawn was only a half
+hour away. "We've got to hurry," he said.
+
+"They change the lookout just before dawn," Tony said. "Even if he's
+still unconscious we won't have much time once they find him!"
+
+"You're right." Zircon stopped and began untying the rope that secured
+Shannon.
+
+"What are you doing?" Scotty asked anxiously.
+
+"Changing methods," Zircon said grimly. He handed the rope to Scotty.
+"Cut off a length and tie Howard to me. Then secure the remainder under
+my armpits."
+
+Rick knew that it would be a terrible strain on the big scientist, but
+it would be faster--if his strength held out.
+
+Zircon picked Shannon up in his arms, and Scotty lashed them together,
+making a kind of sling that would help support Shannon's weight. Then he
+tied one end of the remaining rope around Zircon's barrel chest, up
+under his armpits.
+
+Rick, Scotty, Briotti, and the Filipino boy grasped the rope and held it
+firmly while the big scientist walked upright down the remaining slope,
+one slow step after another, the others following but always keeping the
+rope tight in case he started to fall.
+
+They negotiated the hardest part of the slope, then Zircon leaned back
+against a boulder and rested for a moment. The final hundred yards
+wasn't steep, but it was strewn with loose boulders and lava chunks.
+Zircon wouldn't be able to speed up much. Rick looked at his watch
+again, then at the sky. He didn't say anything. The big physicist was
+doing more than any man should be asked to do. He couldn't do it any
+faster.
+
+Scotty moved to his side. "Got arrows left?"
+
+"Yes. Most of the big broadheads and half a dozen of the small
+broadheads. Why?"
+
+"We may need them. I'm scared. The guard's relief must know by now that
+his pal got conked."
+
+"We're both scared," Rick corrected. "But what can we do?"
+
+"Be ready to fight."
+
+Zircon called hoarsely, "Let's go!"
+
+They were off again, the scientist plodding slowly ahead, down the last
+stretch to the cove. About half of the distance had been covered when
+Rick saw the first sail. It was close to shore, near the cove where
+they had anchored the vinta.
+
+Zircon saw it, too. He called softly, "Scotty! Leave the rope to the
+others. Get ahead of me and cover us. But don't shoot until they start
+something."
+
+Scotty moved ahead, unslinging his rifle as he went.
+
+Zircon speeded up as much as possible. Fortunately, the going was easier
+now and the big scientist could make better time. Rick helped to keep
+the rope braced, and tried to divide his attention between watching the
+uncertain footing and looking for other sails.
+
+The first pirate vinta was nosing into the cove when two others came
+into sight. And, at nearly the same moment, Zircon reached the small
+patch of level ground at the cove's edge.
+
+Rick dropped the rope and hurried to the big scientist's side, drawing
+his knife. He cut the ropes that bound Shannon to Zircon, and they
+lowered the injured zoologist to a sitting position with a big rock at
+his back.
+
+Dawn was breaking fast now. Already Rick could see details more clearly
+and he knew it was only minutes to practically full daylight. The
+Spindrift group could see the pirate vintas clearly now against the sea,
+but the pirates could not yet see them because they were still in
+shadow, dark rock at their backs. Still, the pirates would try the cove
+first. It was the logical place.
+
+He estimated their chances quickly, and saw that the situation was
+hopeless. There was no chance of getting their vinta past the pirates.
+They would have to fight. He drew the bow sections out of the quiver and
+got ready. Next to him, Zircon was checking the clip in his pistol.
+
+Rick took the Megabuck network unit from his pocket and called softly,
+"Chahda!"
+
+"Here, Rick. Long time wait. How things go?"
+
+"Not good. Shannon broke a leg. Also, we're at the cove, which is
+filling up with pirate vintas. We're cut off."
+
+Chahda whistled. "I say plenty no good! Look, you figure way to get to
+clear water. I figure way to pick you up. Starting right now!"
+
+"Okay," Rick said, without knowing how it could be done. "Come on in,
+but don't get trapped!"
+
+There was a sudden chorus of pirate yells, then one of the Moros fired a
+shot. Scotty's rifle snapped, and pirate rifles answered. The fight was
+on! Rick grabbed a broadhead arrow from the quiver and hurried forward.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+Chahda Sweeps the Sea
+
+
+The exchange of rifleshots lasted only a few moments without causing
+casualties to either side. Scotty had fired more in warning than to
+score a hit. The Spindrifters had taken cover behind the rocks, and the
+protection had been enough.
+
+Rick sized up the situation. More vintas were crowding into the cove.
+There were so many now they got in each other's way. Before long the
+entire cove would be jammed with vintas and the Moros would come
+swarming ashore. Unfortunately, the sea was calm, with only low surf on
+the eastern shore. Heavy breakers would have been helpful in keeping the
+pirates busy, Rick thought.
+
+One thing was clear as glass. They couldn't wait for the pirates to
+overrun them. Rick hurried to Zircon's side. "Professor, can you carry
+Shannon? We've got to get to the other side of the cove, then across the
+rocks to the sea. It's a better position to defend, and we might have a
+chance to get to the water when Chahda comes. I've called him. He's on
+the way in."
+
+"Rick's right," Scotty chimed in. "Get going and I'll cover you."
+
+Zircon nodded without speaking. He stepped swiftly to Shannon's side and
+picked the zoologist up. Then he followed Rick to the end of the cove
+and started the climb over the tiny spit of land that separated the cove
+from the open sea.
+
+It was rough going. Tony Briotti gave Zircon a hand over the roughest
+places, while Rick and Elpidio Torres stood by to assist where needed.
+Scotty stayed at the edge of the cove, rifle at the ready.
+
+The pirates hadn't gotten organized yet. The Spindrifters were still in
+deep shadow and not clearly visible. Now and then a pirate took a
+rifleshot, but that was more from lack of discipline than a target at
+which to shoot.
+
+Rick hoped that the Spindrift group could reach the seaward side of the
+spit they were now climbing before the pirates swarmed ashore. There was
+a good chance of defending the spit, particularly with Scotty's rifle.
+
+Zircon reached the top and went over, and Rick called, "Scotty! Come
+on!"
+
+Scotty instantly turned and ran.
+
+A hail of badly aimed rifle slugs spattered off the rock across an area
+forty feet wide as the pirates shot at the sound of Rick's voice. None
+came near the mark. Then, a few pirates, smarter than the rest, realized
+what was going on. As Tony Briotti and the Torres boy were silhouetted
+briefly against the sky at the top of the rise, the handful of alert
+pirates fired. Most shots missed, but Rick heard the Filipino boy gasp.
+
+Scotty reached Rick's side and said softly, "Let's go, and slide over
+the top on your stomach."
+
+Rick didn't need the advice. He had no intention of letting the pirates
+catch him in silhouette. He crouched low and moved the few feet to the
+top, found a boulder, and slipped quickly around it. Scotty followed a
+moment later.
+
+"I'm staying here at the top," Scotty said. "If any pirates try to come
+after us, I'll have a clear shot. And when they get wise and come around
+to the sea side, I can shoot down on them. How are we going to get out
+of this?"
+
+"You tell me," Rick suggested. "I don't know."
+
+The pirates hadn't been long in catching on. A few vintas were already
+rounding the cove point heading for the party now huddled behind
+boulders on a ledge just above the sea. Rick hurried down to join the
+others, leaving Scotty to guard the rear.
+
+Tony Briotti greeted him. "Look."
+
+Rick's eyes followed the archaeologist's pointing finger. Off to the
+southeast, on a sea tinted pink from the rising sun, he saw the low
+lines of the _Swift Arrow_. Chahda was on his way!
+
+Zircon bellowed, "Watch it!" He echoed his words with the flat slap of a
+pistol shot. The first vinta had reached the group and was standing only
+a few feet offshore. Others were crowding in behind it. Rick got ready
+to shoot again, and saw that the Torres boy, a bloody handkerchief tied
+around his upper arm, was throwing rocks with his good hand. Tony
+Briotti followed suit, picking up large chunks of lava and slamming them
+into the pirate craft.
+
+Rick spotted a rifleman in the nearest vinta and sent a broadhead arrow
+at him. The arrow passed between the pirate's arm and side, but pinned
+him by his shirt to the vinta mast. Rick quickly nocked another arrow
+and waited for a clear shot.
+
+Behind him, Scotty's rifle spoke once, twice, then a third time. Yells
+from beyond the spit of land showed that the pirates had tried to come
+at them overland. Rick hoped Scotty's single rifle would be enough. At
+least his pal was shooting from cover, while the pirates were in the
+open.
+
+A vinta tried to approach and Rick sent an arrow into the helmsman's
+shoulder. The vinta sheered off and collided with another.
+
+It was only a question of time before the pirates were forced ashore by
+their very numbers. Rick knew that his small group wouldn't last long,
+not against barongs and krises. He shot again, and took a pirate
+rifleman out of the action. Zircon's heavy automatic picked off the
+first pirate that tried to climb ashore, and slammed him back onto his
+fellows.
+
+Tony Briotti aided the sudden pile-up of pirates with a chunk of lava
+the size of a basketball. Sudden screams of pain and rage came from the
+mass of struggling Moros.
+
+Other vintas had pulled into shore farther away and Rick saw pirates
+scrambling up the rock unhindered. He got two with arrows, then Scotty
+fired from his vantage point and drove them to cover.
+
+Above the Moro battle cries and screams of rage Rick suddenly heard the
+horn blast of the _Swift Arrow_. He looked up in time to see Chahda
+driving at full speed, parallel with the beach. As the Hindu boy drew
+close, the _Swift Arrow's_ saluting cannon suddenly erupted a load of
+tacks into the cluster of vintas. The pirates scrambled to cover against
+this new menace as the MTB swept by. The terrific bow wave lifted the
+vintas high and sent them crashing into one another. Two of them turned
+over.
+
+Rick fell back and grabbed his radio unit, quickly plugging in the
+earphone. "Chahda! That was great!"
+
+The Hindu boy sounded excited. "I make short turn now, do same thing
+again, only closer. You get ready. When I toot horn, you get to water
+somehow. Okay?"
+
+"We'll try," Rick answered grimly. He beckoned to Scotty, who came down
+to join him, keeping a watchful eye to the rear in case a pirate tried
+to come over the rise. The two hurried to Zircon's side. Rick said
+swiftly, "We've got to get to the water. Chahda's coming back right now.
+We have to be ready when he toots."
+
+Zircon handed Tony the pistol. "Keep their heads down, Tony. I'm going
+to take Howard up the shore to that nearest vinta. The rest of you come
+after me. Hurry it up! We'll have to swim for it, unless we can grab the
+vinta."
+
+The big scientist reached Shannon's side just as Chahda started his
+second run. Again the Hindu boy opened with a blast from the saluting
+cannon, then crowded close inshore, letting his bow wave drive the
+vintas hard against each other and the shore. The crashing vintas sent
+their crews down in heaps. The MTB was so close to shore that Rick could
+see the string Chahda had rigged to trigger the cannon by remote
+control.
+
+The pirates were too busy to worry about the Spindrifters for the
+moment. Zircon scooped Shannon up and hurried along the shore, ignoring
+the wash from the MTB that lashed over the rocks. Rick and Scotty were
+right behind him, weapons ready.
+
+A vinta with only two pirates aboard was scraping back down over the
+rock. The rest of its crew were struggling in the water.
+
+"Get them!" Zircon yelled.
+
+Rick caught one with an arrow just as the man rose to a sitting position
+on the gunwale. The heavy shaft carried him over the side. Scotty's
+rifle sent the other one to the bottom of the vinta in a heap.
+
+The boys moved fast, grabbing the vinta before the retreating waves
+carried it away. Zircon jumped in, turning as he did so. He fell, the
+zoologist in his arms. The mast took the blow of the scientist's great
+weight and broke off short, leaving a tangle of sail, mast, and boom.
+
+"Get in!" Scotty yelled at Tony and Torres. His rifle barked at the
+pirates further up the beach, driving them to cover again. Zircon put
+Shannon down and heaved the pirate Scotty had wounded onto the shore.
+
+Rick followed Tony and Torres into the boat, then yelled for Scotty to
+push off. He grabbed the radio unit again and called, "Chahda! What do
+we do now?"
+
+"Get little way from shore and go into water. Catch rope when I come.
+All must catch! You watch when I toot horn, and you see."
+
+Rick yelled the instructions to the others, then stuffed the set back
+into his pocket, dropped his bow, and took a paddle. Scotty knelt beside
+him, a length of board in his hand. "Let's go, boy," he said urgently.
+
+Under the impetus of Scotty's initial shove and the boys' paddles the
+vinta moved slowly out until it was a good thirty feet from shore. The
+nearest of the pirate craft moved to intercept it, four Moros at the
+paddles.
+
+Scotty stopped paddling and started shooting. The pirates dropped
+paddles and dove to the bottom of the vinta.
+
+Rick looked about anxiously. Where was Chahda?
+
+Then he saw the MTB making a sweeping turn at the northern tip of the
+island. As he watched, Chahda straightened out and the bow wave of the
+MTB curled as he picked up speed.
+
+"Better get in the water!" Rick called. "Tony, give me the pistol, and
+take Shannon's bow and quiver. Better hang them both on your back.
+Scotty and I will stay in the vinta and cover you!"
+
+Tony nodded and exchanged weapons. "I'll help Zircon with Shannon. Come
+on, Pete. Over the side and swim out a little way."
+
+The Torres boy responded at once, diving headlong into the water. Tony
+followed and took Shannon as Zircon handed the injured man down. Then
+Zircon got into the water, too, and led the four away from the vinta.
+
+Rick and Scotty watched the tangle of pirate craft, waiting for the next
+pirate boat to get untangled and make a try for them. Chahda's bow wave
+had left the pirate fleet in a shambles, some of the vintas turned over,
+nearly all with sails and booms in a heap on deck or over the pirates.
+
+One vinta extricated itself and the pirates suddenly located the boys. A
+Moro raised his rifle to fire and found it smashed in his hands as
+Scotty snapped off a shot. The pirate's stock splintered and the force
+of the slug smashed the barrel across his face. He went down.
+
+Then one of the pirates on shore made a try. He stood upright, rifle
+poised. Rick fired with the heavy automatic. He missed. The pirate
+looked at the silvery spatter of lead on a rock two inches from his
+right knee and dove for cover.
+
+Chahda flashed by, and the bow wave lifted Rick and Scotty high into the
+air. They grabbed at the vinta with their free hands and had to grip
+tightly to keep from being thrown as it rolled wildly. Rick snapped the
+safety on and lowered the hammer to half cock, then tucked the pistol
+securely in his belt. For a moment he hung on with both hands, then
+called to Scotty.
+
+"Let's hit the drink!"
+
+Scotty was trying to sling his rifle on his back while holding on with
+one hand. He gave it up and went over the side. Once in the sea, he rose
+to the surface and got the rifle sling into position. Rick waited until
+the vinta was on the downward slope of the backwash from the shore, then
+went in headfirst. The cool water engulfed him and he twisted upward and
+broke the surface.
+
+Scotty was waiting. The two of them swam outward, to where the other
+four were treading water, waiting for Chahda.
+
+Rick heard the MTB's horn let go with a long blast, and he rose high out
+of the water to look. For a moment he thought Chahda was out of control,
+because the big boat was spinning in a tight circle. That could only be
+done by putting one engine in full reverse and the other in full
+forward!
+
+Then the boy saw what Chahda had done. The centrifugal force of the
+whirling MTB sent a fifty-gallon drum dancing across the water to the
+full length of a long rope. As the barrel swung wide, Chahda
+straightened out and put on speed.
+
+"Come on!" Rick yelled at Scotty. He stretched out in the water for a
+fast sprint. Leave it to Chahda! Had he tried to swing the barrel out
+while traveling in a straight line, it would merely have fallen astern.
+Circling the MTB at a fast speed was the only way to get the rope out
+far enough from the boat to give them all a chance of grabbing it.
+
+Rick looked up and saw that both he and Scotty were just inside the path
+that the barrel was traveling. It was falling astern now that Chahda was
+on a straight course, but it would still be far enough away from the
+side to catch them all.
+
+He stopped and looked at his friends, and saw that Zircon had locked his
+legs around Shannon's chest and was ready. Tony and Torres were facing
+the oncoming MTB, ready to grab.
+
+"Stand by," he called to Scotty.
+
+"Don't miss it," Scotty called back.
+
+Chahda flashed by.
+
+Rick had a quick glimpse of Zircon being hauled along like an oversized
+surfboard, then the rope was on him. He grabbed with both hands and
+braced himself for the shock. The jerk on his arms was tremendous, but
+he held tight and flailed his legs to get his head above water. After
+one gasping breath he managed to turn himself against the force of the
+water and lay flat on his stomach. By arching his back, he brought his
+face above water, and in a moment he was planing along like a water ski.
+Next to him on the rope Scotty had done the same.
+
+[Illustration: _Rick braced himself for the shock_]
+
+Rick counted anxiously, then heaved a relieved sigh. All present! But
+unless Chahda slowed down soon, Shannon would be in serious trouble.
+Apparently the Hindu boy was keeping a close watch on his catch. He
+dropped his speed until he was barely making headway, giving Zircon a
+chance to pull Shannon up to the rope where the injured man could help
+himself.
+
+Then Chahda hauled in on the rope until Zircon was directly alongside.
+The Hindu boy had thrown over the ship's boarding ladder. Zircon grabbed
+it and held.
+
+Rick and Scotty left the rope and swam rapidly toward the boat. Both had
+realized that Zircon would need help. So had Tony, who was already
+helping Shannon to the ladder.
+
+Chahda lowered a line with a bowline in the end, and Zircon slipped the
+loop over Shannon's shoulders and made sure it was secure under his
+arms. Then the big scientist hurried up the ladder and called down,
+"Hold him away from the side! Rick, get on the ladder. Scotty, come help
+me. Tony, keep his feet clear."
+
+In a moment all hands were in position. Rick wrapped one leg around a
+wooden rung and slipped one arm behind the ropes. Then, as Scotty and
+Zircon hauled, he held Shannon out from the boat so the injured leg
+could not strike the side or a rung.
+
+As soon as Shannon's shoulders were at the railing, Tony went by Rick
+and helped pull the scientist aboard. Rick waited to give Torres a hand,
+noting as the Filipino boy climbed up that the rough bandage on his
+wounded arm was stained with fresh blood. The boy gave him a wide grin
+as he climbed to safety.
+
+A rifle slug interrupted Rick's answering grin. It slapped into the hull
+only a few feet away. With his free hand he found his knife and severed
+the rope that held the barrel, then he called, "Go, Chahda! Get out of
+here!"
+
+The roar of the twin engines was his answer. By the time he had climbed
+over the side and hauled in the ladder, the MTB was reaching top speed
+as Chahda put the pirate island astern.
+
+Rick glanced back. The pirate vintas were still clustered around the
+shore near the cove. Far above them, the black rock of the volcano was
+pink with the rays of the newly risen sun.
+
+For long moments Rick stared at Shan, then he turned with a grin to
+shake hands with his friends.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+The Patrol Takes Over
+
+
+Colonel Felix Rojas of the Philippines Constabulary paced the deck of
+the _Swift Arrow_ while he listened to the story related by the
+Spindrifters. Next to the MTB was a gunboat of the Philippines Naval
+Patrol, and beyond that a destroyer-escort loaded to the gunwales with
+constabulary troopers.
+
+Rick and his friends had arrived at the port of Dalun, on Tawi Tawi,
+just in time to catch the two-ship convoy that was about to leave in
+search of them. The presence of Colonel Rojas was a surprise, but, as he
+explained, once reports of the pirates reached him, he had taken the
+next plane home to assume command.
+
+The group in the pilothouse of the MTB was complete, except for Shannon
+and Elpidio Torres who were receiving medical treatment on the gunboat.
+
+Hobart Zircon covered the story from the point of view of the searchers,
+then Tony Briotti filled in the details of what had happened to him,
+Shannon, and "Pete" Torres.
+
+Colonel Rojas listened without interruption, then shook his head. "I
+can't understand it. The pirates didn't want you and Dr. Shannon. They
+wanted the Torres boy. Why didn't they simply kill the two of you?"
+
+Tony Briotti shrugged. "It wasn't simple humanity, believe me. They have
+none. I think they realized that Pete Torres had to be returned alive.
+His father is too important a man in this country for Pete to be harmed.
+It would mean that the entire armed forces of the country would be
+turned loose to hunt the pirates down. So, if they planned to send Pete
+home after getting the ransom, they also had to return us."
+
+"Because young Torres would have reported your deaths, and the
+Philippines armed forces would probably be augmented by American
+warships," Colonel Rojas finished. "That's as good a reason as any.
+We'll accept it for lack of anything else."
+
+Rick spoke up. "There's one hole in Tony's reasoning. They also had to
+assume that once the prisoners were released, the authorities would have
+a description of the island. So it would only be a matter of time before
+the pirate hangout was located."
+
+"Sorry, Rick," Tony corrected. "None of us had the remotest idea of
+where we were, or what the island looked like. We were brought in by
+night, blindfolded, and taken to the cliff cave. From there we could see
+only the western shore. Why, we didn't even know we were on the side of
+a volcano until you took us off."
+
+"That gives your reason even greater acceptance," Zircon boomed.
+"Actually, what puzzles me is why the pirates kept you so long. Usually,
+if ransom isn't forthcoming pretty fast, the victims are never seen
+alive."
+
+Rojas answered, "That's generally true, I'm sure. But we have to
+remember the distances and lack of communications in this part of the
+world. Also, the ransom was a million pesos. No one has that much in
+cash, even a wealthy man like Torres. He had sent word that he would
+pay, but that it would take many days to raise the cash in small bills.
+His deadline was the day after tomorrow."
+
+The ransom would never be paid now, Rick thought. Cables had been sent
+to Manila and Spindrift the very first thing, while Shannon and Torres
+were being moved to the gunboat's sick bay.
+
+Zircon waved a big hand. "Anyway, it's all over now, and reasons become
+less important. My question, Colonel Rojas, is what are you going to do
+about these pirates? I'm sure you can wipe out the main island, but
+there are groups on many other islands."
+
+The constabulary officer smiled grimly. "We will strike Shan just before
+dawn tomorrow. I assure you that my men and the sailors of the patrol
+will take pleasure in breaking up that little nest. As for the other
+groups, that is a more difficult problem."
+
+"You need spies," Chahda stated.
+
+"We do," Rojas agreed. "However, once the main island is taken, the
+local groups will have no central leadership. I might add that Paulo
+Lacson has already broken up the Davao gang."
+
+"So fast?" Scotty asked incredulously.
+
+"Three days ago. The Bagobos had reasons to fear reprisals, you see, and
+Paulo took no chances. He kept a platoon with full automatic weapons
+hidden in the village houses. The pirate gang attacked and got a very
+warm reception. Those who survived are prisoners."
+
+"Good for Major Lacson!" Rick exclaimed. "We were impressed by his
+efficiency. You can see why."
+
+"How about Zamboanga?" Zircon boomed.
+
+"Apparently there is no gang there. Captain Lim released the Moro you
+caught, but he's back in custody again, recaptured by Lim as soon as
+orders went out from Manila. Lim believes he's one of the main leaders
+of the pirates, partly because he personally checked on you in Manila,
+then followed you to Zamboanga. The gang nearest Zamboanga is the one
+that tried to get you in the channel. Another gunboat is searching the
+area right now, trying to locate an island fishing colony with too many
+armed vintas and too many rifles."
+
+"Maybe you can find pirate pigeons and turn loose," Chahda offered.
+"Then planes could follow."
+
+Rojas stared at the boy thoughtfully. "Now there is a useful idea. I'll
+get off a general instruction to look for pigeon cotes."
+
+Tony Briotti chuckled. "He's full of ideas. Now, if he can only get one
+about cleaning the polish from Rick's face so we can recognize him
+again, we can call this case closed."
+
+A hail from the gunboat brought the talk to a halt. Shannon and Torres
+were ready to rejoin the party. The scientist's broken leg was in a
+cast, with a steel brace at the bottom so that he would be able to walk
+around, cast and all, in a few days. Pete Torres had a neat bandage on
+his arm; apparently the Filipino Naval medico had removed the pirate
+rifle slug easily enough.
+
+Once the group was assembled again, Rojas asked, "What are your plans?"
+
+"Back to Manila from Zamboanga, and then to Spindrift by the first
+plane," Zircon stated.
+
+"Go if you like," Howard Shannon said calmly. "Tony and I haven't even
+started our work here. We're staying."
+
+"You can't go rambling around with a broken leg," Zircon roared.
+
+"Whose leg is it? Besides, I work with my head, not my legs."
+
+Scotty whispered to Rick, "Who's going to win?"
+
+Rick grinned. "Shannon. Zircon's yelling too loud. That means he's only
+arguing for effect."
+
+His prediction was right. After a few more exchanges Zircon turned to
+the boys. "You want to stay on with these stubborn idiots?"
+
+"Maybe for a little while," Rick said, and Scotty nodded.
+
+Zircon threw up his hands. "All right! If we all pitch in, maybe we can
+leave sooner."
+
+Chahda offered, "Pretty good vacation, maybe. I stay a while."
+
+"If you stay, you'll need a guide, won't you?" Elpidio Torres asked
+hesitatingly.
+
+The Spindrifters stared at him, then broke into laughter.
+
+"That makes it unanimous," Rick said with a grin. "If Pete can get
+permission from his father."
+
+Colonel Rojas looked at the group with admiration. "Nothing stops you,
+does it? Not even being kidnaped by pirates and held for weeks."
+
+"It wasn't so bad," Tony Briotti replied. "They fed us, and we weren't
+mistreated, except for being knocked around that first night. We're
+healthy enough, barring Howard's leg and Pete's arm."
+
+Zircon sighed. "Well, I suppose we can go back to Zamboanga and start
+over again. We'll have to talk with Santos about his missing boat. Let's
+hope you can recover it, through diplomatic channels, or something.
+Otherwise, I'm sure his insurance will take care of it."
+
+Colonel Rojas coughed. "This expedition against Shan won't take more
+than a day or two, and I'm in need of a little rest myself. I may join
+you."
+
+His announcement was greeted with cheers.
+
+"There's only one thing that bothers me about this plan." Tony Briotti
+said, "Howard and I are peaceful folk, on a peaceful mission. But we
+know from long experience that when Rick, Scotty, and Chahda walk into
+a place, peace flies out the window."
+
+"It's already flown for this trip," Rick pointed out. "We weren't the
+ones who chased it, either."
+
+"No," Tony said warmly. "If we haven't really thanked you, it's only
+because words just aren't adequate. You didn't drive peace away this
+time, but you certainly brought it back!"
+
+
+
+
+_The_ RICK BRANT SCIENCE-ADVENTURE _Stories_
+
+
+BY JOHN BLAINE
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Rick Brant is the boy who with his pal Scotty lives on an island called
+Spindrift and takes part in so many thrilling adventures and baffling
+mysteries involving science and electronics. You can share every one of
+these adventures in the pages of Rick's books. They are available at
+your book store in handsome, low-priced editions.
+
+
+    THE ROCKET'S SHADOW
+
+    THE LOST CITY
+
+    SEA GOLD
+
+    100 FATHOMS UNDER
+
+    THE WHISPERING BOX MYSTERY
+
+    THE PHANTOM SHARK
+
+    SMUGGLERS' REEF
+
+    THE CAVES OF FEAR
+
+    STAIRWAY TO DANGER
+
+    THE GOLDEN SKULL
+
+    THE WAILING OCTOPUS
+
+    THE ELECTRONIC MIND READER
+
+    THE SCARLET LAKE MYSTERY
+
+    THE PIRATES OF SHAN
+
+    THE BLUE GHOST MYSTERY
+
+    THE EGYPTIAN CAT MYSTERY
+
+    THE FLAMING MOUNTAIN
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Pirates of Shan, by Harold Leland Goodwin
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PIRATES OF SHAN ***
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