"Next time will be okay," Rick replied. "But this time I aged ten years."
The Filipino pilot walked to meet them, grinning. "How do you like Baguio airport?"
"I've landed on fields I liked better," Rick replied. "Thanks for leading us in."
"You're welcome. I remember my first landing. Couldn't fly again for a week. All I could think of was spreading my passengers all over the hillside. But only the first time is hard. We fly in and out of here several times a day, and we've never had a serious accident."
"Your air line doesn't go in for accidents," Tony Briotti said. "You have a remarkable safety record."
"We do our best," the pilot said. "Going into town? I am. I have a car behind the control shack. Be glad to give you a lift."
"Thanks a million," Rick answered. "First I have to make arrangements for my plane."
The pilot grinned. "None to make. No hangars, no service except gas. Just stake it down and lock the door. It will be all right."
It had to be all right. There was nothing else to do. The Spindrifters took the earth scanner and their personal luggage, then locked the plane, leaving the alarm activated. As an afterthought, Rick left a duplicate key with the Filipino field official. Someone might touch it casually and set the alarm off, and it would sound until the door was unlocked and relocked again with the key. He explained how it worked and then joined the pilot and his friends in the official air-line car.
The pilot dropped them at Muller's, a combination boardinghouse and old-fashioned inn. They checked in, then climbed a nearby hill for a view of Baguio.