"Filipino saying. 'What good is hay to a dead horse.'"
"Wait!" Rick had a quick mental image of the Filipino officer who had first spoken the phrase. Colonel Felix Rojas. He would believe the story. Hadn't he warned them?
"Get me Manila," Rick said. "Quickly. Constabulary Headquarters!"
It took time. It seemed like an hour, but was only fifteen minutes. And Colonel Felix Rojas was on the wire.
Rick talked fast, telling the colonel the whole story, including Chahda's espionage activities. When he had finished, Rojas said crisply, "No time to get troops there. It will take planes. I will send a fighter plane first. Then will come a platoon of paratroopers, if I can get the Army to move fast enough. But it will be two hours before the troopers can get there, even with the best speed possible. The fighter will be there in an hour. Tell your friends to hold out. Return to Manila as soon as your party is safe. See no one, talk to no one until you see me."
The colonel rang off.
"An hour," Rick said. "And an hour after that before the paratroopers arrive. Can they hold out?"
"They must," Chahda said flatly.