Hal felt almost staggered with the cheapness of things here, as compared with the curio stores in Manila. Forty dollars "Mex" meant but about twenty dollars in United States currency.
"I have some cheaper ones," went on Cerverra. "Here is one at eighteen dollars."
"I'm going to have one of these campilan," Hal told himself.
In his interest he did not note that the Tagalo who had brought him to the shop had left him and was standing on the sidewalk outside.
"Are you interested in these creeses?" inquired Cerverra, passing down the shop and pointing to another wall case.
The creese is an ancient Malay knife, with a waved, snaky blade—a weapon with which the Malay pirates of the past used to do fearful execution.
Hal stepped before the wall case. "They are very interesting looking," he replied. "What does a good creese cost?"
The young sergeant did not wait for an answer.
Click! A spring bolt on the under side of a trap door on which he was standing shot out of place.
Down dropped the trap door with such suddenness that Hal Overton did not have even time to clutch at anything.