Chahda grinned. "Safe or no, I go. I hungry."
Rick and Scotty were hungry, too. The Spanish-Filipino custom of dining late did not appeal to them. But as it developed, dinner was worth waiting for. Captain Lim was apparently a gourmet. He had ordered soup made of smoked oysters from Palawan Island, a second course of delicate butterfly fish fillets in a marvelous sauce of fresh coconut, a main course of breasts of chicken boiled in coconut milk, a salad of hearts of palm, a Spanish dessert called lecheflan, which was a kind of custard swimming in caramel sauce, and thick, aromatic Batangas coffee.
Rick and Scotty ate until they could hold no more, and Chahda groaned, "Once I read words 'stuffed like Christmas goose.' This now fits me."
Zircon lighted a Manila cigar and sat back in his chair, a look of pure contentment on his face. "A wonderful meal, Captain. Thank you, for all of us. I haven't dined so well in months."
Captain Lim beamed his pleasure. "Then you may forgive me for failing with the Moro. He would say nothing. I have no legal grounds on which to hold him for long, either."
Zircon nodded his understanding. "We expected nothing, but we had to try. Chahda, tell Captain Lim what you found out in Davao, and I'll give him Okola's message."
The exchange of information completed, Zircon changed the subject. The scientist knew they were in need of something to take their minds off the search for a while, and he encouraged Captain Lim to tell them about Zamboanga and its long and sometimes bloody history.
The officer turned out to be an entertaining story-teller. He kept them laughing, or on the edges of their chairs until after midnight. Then he began teaching them the famous song that goes:
The monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga!
The monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga!
The monkeys have no tails;
They were bitten off by whales!
Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga!
The Spindrifters had just gotten into the swing of the rollicking melody when a sergeant came in with a message for the captain. Lim tore the envelope open and read rapidly. Then he slapped his hand on the table. "Good! This is from Major Lacson. A boat answering the description of the Sampaguita was seen about four days after the kidnaping, heading south of the island of Bulan. A fisherman saw it."