After Scotty had gone below, Rick sat quietly, depending more on ears than eyes to keep watch. Again and again he reviewed every bit of information they had obtained, re-examining it to see if any nugget of value might have been overlooked. At last he decided they had done everything possible. The rest would be persistence, and luck.
His thoughts turned to home, and he wondered what his folks were doing. It was nine o'clock, Manila time. At Spindrift it was eight this morning. The family would be gathering for breakfast, and Barby would be slipping Dismal, the family pup, scraps of bacon under the table.
Rick resolved to send a cable from Tawi Tawi, if they should stop there. He knew the family would be anxious to know how things were going.
The watch ticked away without incident. A few minutes before midnight Rick woke Chahda and joined the Hindu boy in a glass of cold coke. Then he went to bed and drifted off to sleep immediately.
Some inner instinct awakened him. For a moment he lay quietly, his heart pounding, eyes blinking in the darkness. Then he heard the pad of bare feet as Scotty got to his feet.
"What's up?" Rick whispered.
"Just restless, I guess," Scotty whispered back.
Rick was wide awake now. He slipped into shoes and trousers while Scotty did the same. A few minutes in the cool air on deck would make him sleepy again, he thought.
"On deck!" Chahda gave a wild yell. "Come quick!" The words were punctuated by gunfire.
Instantly Zircon leaped to his feet and ran for the door.