Tony had gone to see a colleague, a Filipino archaeologist by the name of Dr. Remedios Okola. It was through Okola that arrangements had been made with the Philippine Government for their expedition—or would be made. Their permit had not yet been issued.
"I didn't know they had a university here." Scotty added, "Until Tony started writing to this Filipino scientist."
"You should read the stuff Tony brought," Rick replied. "The Philippines has a dozen universities."
Scotty grinned. "Chahda is probably taking a course in one of them. Getting a degree of D.D."
Rick took the bait. "What? Doctor of Divinity or Doctor of Dentistry?"
"Neither. Dean of Disappearances."
Rick groaned. Still, it was true. Chahda was the most disappearing person he had ever known. The truth was, as he well knew, Chahda loved the dramatic. The little Hindu boy thoroughly enjoyed baffling his pals with theatrical appearances and disappearances. Not that he did his vanishing act just for fun, however. There was usually a good reason.
Arrangements had been made by mail and confirmed by phone that morning for hangar space at Manila International Airport. While giant transpacific passenger liners landed or took off, and while the busy twin-engined island hoppers of Philippine Air Lines kept the field active, the boys assembled the Sky Wagon.
Even allowing for Rick's pride of ownership, the Sky Wagon was a beauty. It was painted pure white with a red strip along the fuselage. It could carry four, plus a fair amount of cargo. It had flaps which permitted slow landings and short take-offs, and it had retractable landing gear and variable-pitch propeller.
Under the rear seats was a special feature—a small hatch through which a winch-driven cable could be operated.