The Pirates of Shan: A Rick Brant Science-Adventure Story Read online

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  THE PIRATES OF SHAN

  A RICK BRANT SCIENCE-ADVENTURE STORY

  BY JOHN BLAINE

  GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERSNEW YORK, N. Y.1958

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  _Printed in the United States of America_

  _Rick wielded the kris with deadly effect_]

  Contents

  I THE MISSING SCIENTISTS

  II THE HINDU MERCHANT

  III BAGOBO COUNTRY

  IV THE HEADMAN'S SECRET

  V TRAIL OF THE "SAMPAGUITA"

  VI THE MAN IN THE RED FEZ

  VII NEWS AT ZAMBOANGA

  VIII THE "SWIFT ARROW"

  IX THE MORO KNIVES

  X SOUTH OF SULU

  XI THE DANCING PIRATES

  XII SEARCH THE WIDE SEAS

  XIII THE TWO DATUS

  XIV THE HIGH FIRE

  XV PLAN OF ATTACK

  XVI THE BLACK CLIFF

  XVII THE RADIO LINK

  XVIII UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS

  XIX CHAHDA SWEEPS THE SEA

  XX THE PATROL TAKES OVER

  List of Illustrations

  _Rick wielded the kris with deadly effect_

  _The warrior shook Rick's hand and smiled_

  _The man's back was tattooed with a strange design_

  "_All hands on deck! Pirates!_"

  _A sudden jerk would attract the guard's attention_

  _Rick braced himself for the shock_

  THE PIRATES OF SHAN

  CHAPTER I

  The Missing Scientists

  "We'd better do something," Rick Brant stated grimly, "and we'd betterdo it fast." He picked up a stone and threw it far out into the greenwaters of the Atlantic, a gesture that did little to relieve his worryand anxiety.

  Don Scott, nicknamed Scotty, said soothingly, "I know how you feel. Ifeel the same way. But don't forget that Dad is just as worried as weare--maybe even more so, because he feels responsible. Besides, I don'tthink we have long to wait, not with Colonel Rojas here."

  Rick knew that his dark-haired pal was right, but inaction, even underordinary circumstances, made him restless, and now that two staffscientists had mysteriously disappeared, his normal desire to keepthings moving swiftly was augmented by fear for their safety.

  The Spindrift Scientific Foundation, with headquarters on famedSpindrift Island off the New Jersey coast, was regarded by most peopleas a typical group of scientists, impersonal and efficient, whosometimes made important discoveries or got involved in scientificadventures. But the picture of the Foundation, given mostly throughimpersonal scientific publications, was wrong.

  The scientific efficiency and purpose of Spindrift could not be denied.But what the public failed to appreciate was that the staff, headed byRick Brant's scientist father, was more like a family than acorporation. The center of activity was the big Brant house and theadjoining laboratory on Spindrift Island. The scientists were not onlycolleagues, but close personal friends.

  As a consequence, when the staff zoologist, Dr. Howard Shannon, and thestaff archaeologist, Dr. Anthony Briotti, failed to turn up on schedulefrom an expedition to the Sulu Sea, the entire Foundation becamepersonally concerned. All work stopped while the staff speculated onwhat might have happened, what course of action to take.

  Rick Brant and his pal Scotty were particularly upset when the dayspassed and Hartson Brant failed to decide on a course of action. Rickknew, of course, that his father was proceeding logically, obtaininginformation by cable and phone from the Philippines, but he resented thepassing days.

  "I'm glad Rojas is here," Rick said. "That must mean Dad is making uphis mind. And you know what I hope, don't you?"

  "Same as I do. But don't hope too much. Maybe Dad will decide this is ajob for professionals, and not for us."

  Hartson Brant had returned only a few minutes ago from a hurried trip toNew York. He had brought with him Colonel Felix Rojas of the PhilippinesConstabulary. The tall, slender officer was at present on duty with hiscountry's United Nations delegation. He was an old friend, dating backto the adventure of _The Golden Skull_ when Rick, Scotty, Chahda, andTony Briotti had gone to the fabulous rice terraces of Ifugao.

  The colonel was having a belated lunch with Dr. and Mrs. Brant, andRick's father had indicated politely but firmly that the two boys werenot to broach the subject of the missing scientists until the colonelhad finished eating. Dr. Brant had promised to call them for the meetingwhich was to take place immediately after lunch. Both boys were soimpatient for the meeting to begin that it seemed to them the otherswere taking an unduly long time to consume the meal.

  "Rick, Scotty. Come on into the library."

  The boys turned swiftly at Hartson Brant's call and hurried from thewaterfront to the big Brant house. As they entered, Hobart Zircon wasjust coming down the stairs from his room. The distinguished nuclearphysicist greeted them with a comradely wink. "So you two are attendingthe meeting too, eh? I have an idea we may be joining forces again."

  Zircon had shared many adventures with the boys. More than once, hisenormous size and legendary strength had gotten them out of a tightspot. The physicist was considerably over six feet tall and built like afighting bull, and he had a booming voice that fitted his physique.

  Hartson Brant introduced Zircon to Colonel Rojas, waved the group toseats, and got down to business. He addressed the Filipino officer."First, let me say for all of us that we are indebted to you for leavingyour office on such short notice to give us the benefit of your adviceand counsel."

  "It is nothing. If I can be of help, I will be grateful. Perhaps if youwill start at the beginning, it will clarify things."

  The scientist nodded assent. "I'll be glad to. As I told you on the wayover, two of our staff members are missing. You know one of them--Dr.Anthony Briotti. The other is Dr. Howard Shannon, our zoologist. Tony,of course, is an archaeologist. They departed for the Sulu Sea severalweeks ago on a joint expedition to try to find new evidence for a theoryof migration of the early peoples in the Pacific."

  Hobart Zircon added, "We started on this theory some time ago with atrip to an island in the western Pacific. Dr. Briotti continued thatwork during the rice-terrace expedition. I believe you met him then."

  "I did," Colonel Rojas agreed. "How is the present expedition connectedwith your previous work? The combination of an archaeologist and azoologist seems unusual."

  "Tony has determined that the origins of the Bajaus, the Sea Gypsies ofSulu, may be of importance," Hartson Brant explained. "In addition, hewanted to check some details of Bagobo culture. Dr. Shannon hoped tocontribute some evidence based on the early migration of some animalsfrom the Asia mainland to the islands."

  Colonel Rojas nodded. "I understand. The presence of some animals mayshow that a land bridge existed between Sulu and the mainland acrosswhich the early peoples may have migrated."

  "Exactly. I'm sure you also know that our staff has been co-operatingwith Dr. Remedios Okola of the University of the Philippines. It wasfrom him we learned that our friends had vanished, when they failed tokeep an important appointment."

  "You know their itinerary?"

  "Yes. They flew to Manila and spent a few days with Dr. Okola. At thattime he persuaded them to revise their schedule, to return to Manilalong enough to join him on a trip to the rice terraces. They flew toZamboanga, chartered a boat of some sort, and sailed to Davao by way ofCotabato. They were supposed to leave the boat at Davao and
fly back toManila to take the trip with Okola, after which they would return toDavao, pick up the boat, and go into the Sulu Sea." The scientist's lipstightened, then he added, "They never kept the appointment with Okola!"

  "What did Okola do about it?"

  "He got in touch with the constabulary and asked for a check on theirwhereabouts, thinking they might have been delayed. The constabulary atDavao reported that Shannon and Briotti had reached Davao and hired atruck to take them to a Bagobo village. The truck driver let them off ata foot trail to the village. No one has seen them since."

  Rojas rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You have heard from the Americanconsulate at Manila?"

  "Yes, by phone, on the same day I talked with Okola. The consulate hasasked your government for help. However, yesterday I received a cablestating that a second investigation has uncovered nothing new. Itappears that both our governments have done all they can, but obviouslywe cannot stop there. So I have decided to send Dr. Zircon, with Rickand Scotty, to hunt for our friends."

  Rick and Scotty exchanged relieved glances. It was what they had hopedand expected.

  The colonel nodded. "I have not had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Zirconuntil now, but I have seen Rick and Scotty in action. They areresourceful, and they are lucky--two necessary qualities for aexpedition such as this. Do you also plan to use their Hindu friend,Chahda?"

  Rick leaned forward anxiously. He had suggested getting Chahda to helpout several days ago, but his father was at that time waiting forfurther word from the American consulate. Chahda, a one-time Bombaybeggar boy, had been a close friend since the Tibet relay expedition. Hewas a real wizard at uncovering information.

  "Yes," Hartson Brant replied. "I have sent him a cable, through hisorganization, but he has not yet replied."

  Chahda was now a combination assistant and secretary to the chief FarEast agent for JANIG, the secret government agency charged with theprotection of United States top secrets. The Hindu boy's boss, CarlBradley, was an old friend of Hartson Brant. Rick knew that Bradleywould release Chahda at once, if assistance to Spindrift was involved,not only because of his friendship for the Brants, but because theisland scientists had once helped to solve a case for the Far Eastagent. Chahda would be especially helpful in the search for the missingscientists, because he knew his way around the Philippines and hadfriends there. It occurred to Rick that his father had probably wiredChahda, in care of Bradley, via the Spindrift contact in JANIG--SpecialAgent Steve Ames.

  Colonel Rojas lighted a Manila cigar and settled back in his chair."First of all, let us examine the area in which your friends havedisappeared. Davao is on the island of Mindanao, the largest in thePhilippines. It is peaceful, for the most part, even though we have amixture of Moros, Christians, and pagans there."

  Rick knew about the Moros, Filipinos of the Moslem faith. They wereknown as valiant and deadly fighting men. The pagans were primitivepeople, like the Bagobos.

  "Davao is a large, fairly modern city. But once outside of the cityitself, the country becomes wild. Some of the Bagobo villages are quiteclose to Davao. They are peaceful folk, and quite harmless, but thereare savages in the back country who may not be."

  "Perhaps we should take arms," Zircon said.

  "I would say so. At least a rifle and a sidearm of some kind."

  Scotty spoke up. "I can take my rifle."

  "And I can borrow Hartson's forty-five automatic," Zircon added. "Thatshould be enough."

  "True," the colonel agreed. "You can always call on the constabulary forhelp. I will give you letters to all commanding officers in the area."

  Rick knew that would open many doors, because Rojas was not only aformer commandant of the constabulary, but popular with the entireforce.

  "How about clothing, Colonel?" Rick asked.

  "I assume you will go by air. That means very little baggage. Onetropical suit and the rest rough clothing would be my suggestion."

  Scotty changed the subject. "Sir, have you any idea what might havehappened to our friends?"

  The officer shrugged. "No more than you have. Scientists generally arenot rich enough to rob, but they are not so poor that they can be harmedwith impunity. Robbery is always possible, although unlikely, with oneexception. Did they have any weapons with them?"

  "Shannon had a hunting bow and arrows," Mr. Brant replied. "He plannedto collect some specimens. Briotti had no weapon at all."

  "Then that eliminates the only robbery possibility I can think of. Hadthey been well armed, Moros might have attacked to get their weapons.The Moro loves weapons of all kinds, and may even kill to get them--apoint you might remember."

  Rick shook his head. "It's hard to imagine why anyone would want to harmthem--if anyone did. I think we'd better get to Mindanao as soon aspossible. When do we leave, Dad?"

  "Tomorrow night, son. I made reservations for you while I was in NewYork this morning."

  "Are we going to take special equipment?" Scotty asked.

  Rick had been thinking about that very point. "I'm planning to take theMegabuck network. It will be useful if we have to separate."

  The little network of three miniature radio units, transmitters, andreceivers combined, had been of invaluable help in rounding up a groupof foreign agents bent on stealing the plans for a United Statesintercontinental ballistic missile.

  The unusual name, Megabuck, had grown out of a joke Rick had conceivedabout a "million bucks" television quiz program. Two of the sets werepocket size, and used hearing-aid-type earphones. The third had beenmade in the form of an ornamental hair band for Rick's sister Barby towear. The tiny microphone worked by sound induction through the bones ofthe head. The earphone was incorporated into one end of the band.

  Zircon and Scotty agreed that the radio units might come in handy, andthe physicist added, "I have a pocket-size, battery-operated wirerecorder I use for making notes. I think I'll take that. It may behelpful for recording conversations for later translation."

  "A good idea," the colonel approved. "The local dialect is calledChebucano. Of course many people speak some English. Have you an atlas?I think it might be useful if we went over a map of Mindanao and theSulu Sea area."

  The map study was very helpful. The three absorbed Colonel Rojas' fundof information about the area. It was a part of the world none of themhad ever seen, located only a few degrees above the Equator in the deeptropics. To the west of Mindanao was the Sulu Sea, with the Celebes Seato the south. The widely scattered centers of civilization had famous,imagination-stirring names, like Jolo, Tawi Tawi, Cotabato, andZamboanga.

  Later, the Filipino officer dictated letters of introduction to Rick'ssister Barby, a pretty blond girl a year younger than her brother. Barbytook the dictation directly on the typewriter. Once the letters weresigned and turned over to Dr. Zircon, Hartson Brant escorted the colonelto the mainland, where arrangements had been made for a local taxiservice to drive him back to New York. Rojas' parting statement was"This affair worries me. I shall be most interested in developments, andyou may hear from me sooner than you think."

  Later, Scotty and Rick gathered in the latter's room and talked whileloading the radio units with fresh batteries.

  "Wonder how long it will take to hear from Chahda?" Rick asked.

  "Depends on where he is and how fast Steve Ames can get a message tohim. He'll join us if he can. You can bet on it."

  "I hope so," Rick said thoughtfully. "We'll be in Manila in a couple ofdays, and we'll need him. We've got a job ahead of us, because Tony andShannon aren't lost. You can be sure of that. They're not the kind toget lost. And if they had been in an accident of some kind we'd haveheard."

  "Meaning what?"

  Rick's eyes met Scotty's. "That leaves only one logical answer, doesn'tit? They've either been killed or captured!"