"We know," Rick said. "Chahda again. Now Chahda is going to lead us to the truck, and we're going to get our equipment back."
"Do you know where the truck is?" Scotty asked Chahda.
"Dog Meat does. Nangolat drove it to a village on the north side of the valley. Nangolat is there now. Maybe we meet him on the road, maybe at the village. We make flying raid, okay? Swoop down, take truck, and leave."
"Sounds good to me," Scotty said. "We'll use one jeep to attack, with the other standing by as a flying reserve. Angel, take the reserve jeep with Pilipil and Balaban. No, I've a better idea. We have too many men. We need the extra jeep in case of a breakdown, not for the men it will carry. Pilipil and Balaban should stay here. The rest of us split up between the two jeeps. When we find the truck, I'll drive it, with Chahda as guard. That will leave Rick and Tony in one jeep, and Angel and Dog Meat in the other. Sound all right?"
It sounded fine. Angel spoke up. "I'd rather be in the first jeep, in case we meet Nangolat."
Scotty shook his head. "Not tonight. Your turn will come later, Angel. The first thing is to get the truck back. Pilipil, will you be all right here until we get back?"
"I be fine. You go."
They loaded into the jeeps while Pilipil and Balaban moved into a clump of brush and prepared to wait.
"Don't bother about silence," Scotty said. "We'll just hit and run. If they hear us coming it won't matter, because they won't be sure what we're after."
"How about those Ifugao natives from the village?" Tony asked. "They're probably swarming over the road like flies."