"Hello," he said, "I want to speak to the boss." There was a pause. "Hello," he said again. "We got the kid—found him where Stevenson thought he saw the fire."
Johnny heard a voice coming back over the instrument. He thought he recognized it, but he couldn't make out any words.
"No," the pilot spoke into the instrument, "the kid says the bear ran away, but I think he's lying. We're going to search from the plane. Can't send anybody down because of the leopards. One had the kid when we found him." There was another pause. "No, not hurt. When we're finished I'll drop him at the colony." There was a long pause. Johnny caught the words, "if I know that bear," and then there was more he couldn't catch.
"That's a smart idea," the scar-faced man said. "We'll do just what you said. O.K. Be seeing you!" The pilot turned back to the other two, who had binoculars trained down into the jungle.
"See anything, Barney?"
"Not a thing, Ed!" the black-eyed man replied.
"You, Shorty?"
The other man shook his head. "Not even a bird."
For over an hour they searched. While they were searching, Ed, the pilot, put in another call and told someone else what had happened. He hinted that even if they didn't find the bear, there was still a way they might get their hands on him.
Johnny sat with his fists clenched. He knew they would shoot if Baba showed himself.