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.

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.