and some Malays. Most active around 1800. Shan is from Chinese word for
mountain, but no one knows what mountain. Some believe Shan located near
Borneo coast. Some mention pirates in action against Japanese during
World War Two. No record since. Regret no more available.'"

"Okola certainly knows his history," Scotty stated. "Well, at least we
have a tag to hang on the enemy. The kidnapers were pirates."

Zircon agreed. "Being trailed by one certainly seems to tie up with Tony
and Howard's disappearance. And speaking of kidnapers, that Filipino
boy, Elpidio Torres was kidnaped. His folks now have a ransom demand."
He held out a recent newspaper.

Rick scanned the front-page story. "Think there might be a connection?"

"Possible, I suppose, but consider the distance. According to the story,
a ransom of one million pesos is to be left on the Batangas coast, south
of Manila."

Scotty whistled. "Half a million bucks! That would make piracy worth
while!"

"Yes, but Manila isn't the Sulu Sea," Zircon pointed out. "Also, there
has been no ransom demand for Tony and Howard. They weren't taken until
some time after the Torres boy vanished."

"What we do now?" Chahda asked.

"We eat, with the local constabulary chief," Rick replied. "Think it's
safe to join us?"

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