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.