cause a single guard
would be enough while at anchor, and it would allow each of them a good
night's sleep.

Zircon and Chahda retired at once, but Scotty lingered. The two sat on
the afterdeck and watched the stars for a few moments.

"How are we doing?" Scotty asked quietly.

Rick knew what he meant. "I'm scared," he said. "It's a big ocean, and
we could miss easily. Also, I'm thinking about what Chahda said. Even if
we find Shan, we won't get Tony and Shannon back without a fight. There
must be hundreds of pirates, if the fleets we've seen are a sample." He
was sure that the northern attack had been made by a different group
than the one that attacked earlier in the day.

"Do you think they're still alive?" Scotty asked.

"We have to assume they are. What else can we do?"

"Nothing," Scotty replied sensibly. "Except say our prayers faithfully."

"Amen," Rick said. "Go on to bed. You must be tired."

"I am. See you in the morning."

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 h