The warrior shook Rick's hand and smiled
Rick returned the smile and walked back to his friends, forehead wrinkled in thought. That had been a straightforward reaction; the Bagobo had met his eyes squarely and openly.
On the way back to Davao, Rick pondered the meaning of the headman's failure to look at any of them. But not until they were cleaning up at the hotel did he decide to put his thoughts into words.
"The headman lied," Rick stated. "I can't figure it any other way. It's easy to see that the Bagobos are a proud race. They're any man's equal, and they know it. The headman should be the proudest of all, but instead, he was shifty. He wouldn't look at any of us."
"That's right," Scotty acknowledged. "He kept his eyes everywhere but on us."
Rick nodded. "What's more, he's not a shifty type. He looks like a fierce old eagle who'd stare down a charging elephant. But he couldn't look at us because he was lying, and he was ashamed of it."
"You may have something," Zircon agreed after a moment of thought. "I wasn't that observant, but now that you mention it, I believe the headman kept his eyes on the ground most of the time. I agree it certainly seemed out of character."
"If he was lying, what can we do about it?" Scotty asked.
Rick wasn't sure, but he had an idea of how to start. Earlier, immediately on arrival, he had tried to contact Chahda without success. Now he got a Megabuck unit, put the earplug into place, and tried again.