"It could be a crypt of some kind," he said. He went to the truck and got a shovel. "I have an idea." He went to work.
Dog Meat arrived and chattered excitedly. Angel came running, listened, and translated.
"The village is up in arms. Nangolat is making a speech and the young men are getting ready to make war."
Rick dug, working on a shaft under the dragon's pedestal. The earth was packed hard and he had to get a pick. Tony relieved him, and they took turns until the shaft slanted in to what they estimated was a point directly under the center of the pedestal.
"Now," Rick said, and took the probe. He put it into the shaft and watched expectantly while Tony adjusted the controls. Suddenly the scope flickered, breaking up the Christmas tree pattern. There were at least three different responses, two of them definitely in the metals range.
"This is it!" Tony yelled. "It has to be! Rick, that was an inspiration. The cache is right under the dragon!"
There was another yell, from outside the recess. It was Balaban, on the terrace above. "They come!"
For the moment the find was forgotten. The Spindrift party stood between the truck and jeep watching as nearly a hundred Ifugao warriors walked with menacing silence to the edge of the meadow and stopped.
Nangolat, naked except for a breechcloth, stepped from the ranks of Ifugao warriors. He held a spear a foot taller than he, a vicious weapon with a triangular point and flared base.
The Ifugao walked ceremoniously across the meadow to a point twenty yards in front of the recess. "You're trapped," he said. His voice trembled with hatred. "You can't get away from us now. Come out and throw down your weapons."